What Was a Military Academy Commander's Advice to Lieutenants?!

The AKP seems determined not to let go of the lieutenants who crossed their swords and recited the officer's oath after the graduation ceremony, declaring, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal."

According to reports from the pro-government media, during Monday's AKP Central Executive Committee (MYK) meeting, Erdoğan reiterated his sensitivity on the matter and, after stating that they could not accept such a thing, said the following:

"This issue has once again shown us the importance of the AK Party. We are conducting the process with calmness, fortitude, and determination. You should also maintain the same sensitivity... We will investigate whether there are connections inside or outside; we will pursue it, do what is necessary, and follow up on it."

He also gave the green light for a curriculum change in military academies, saying, "We will also put issues such as the curriculum, the recruitment process, etc., on the table here."

The curriculum program of the military academies had already been a target for some well-known circles supporting the AKP for a long time; it is obvious that they will use the lieutenants' incident as an opportunity to intervene in this first.

Perhaps, even before the Constitution, they will attempt to remove the "principles of a democratic, secular, and social state of law and Atatürk's Principles and Revolutions" from the military academies' training program and prevent retired soldiers from teaching classes!..

Fear of God and Shame Before Others

One of the events that left its mark on last week was the assessment made by former Chief of General Staff and Minister of National Defense, AKP Kayseri Deputy Hulusi Akar, regarding the purpose of education. In summary, Akar said the following:

"The purpose of education is not to acquire knowledge. The purpose of education is, first, the fear of God, and second, shame before others. If we instill the fear of God in our children between the ages of 4-12, if we teach them to fear God, to feel shame before others, the love of country, nation, and flag, if we teach them to do good for others, and if we instill our other national and spiritual values in them, then no matter where this child goes, even if they go to the ends of the earth, do not fear this child. If this is not provided... we get the picture we see now. Then, are you going to deal with atheists, deists, LGBT, or drugs?.. After that, we start asking, 'Sir, where is the prosecutor? Where is the police?' Friends, this cannot be done with prosecutors and police. The beginning and the cure of the matter is education. If we provide this, we provide it; if we cannot, our own children become alienated from us, our own grandchildren become alienated from us."

Furthermore, he blamed mothers, saying, "Mothers are very much to blame. When the children are small, they don't have the heart to wake them up for morning prayer, they say they can't go to the mosque, let them sleep. - 10 years pass, the child stops listening. You should have thought about this from the very beginning."

Especially regarding the "rights of others," there is much to be written about Akar, item by item, from the Balyoz conspiracy to the July 15 coup attempt; but for now, that is not our subject, but rather the targeting of the lieutenants and the military academy curriculum program.

Akar's statements received quite a reaction. One of the most notable was the reaction of former MHP deputy and former Ülkü Ocakları President Atila Kaya. Kaya shared the following:

"A former Chief of General Staff who did not attend a military high school and whose only reference is the poses he gave at the feet of Necip Fazıl and Nuri Pakdil could only explain in three sentences that he knows neither military service, nor education, nor religion. If he received that education he speaks of, it seems he didn't quite reach his goal!"

True, Hulusi Akar did not attend a military high school; but he is a graduate of the Turkish Military Academy. Moreover, he served as the commander of this school when he was a Major General.

And look, what advice did he give to the lieutenants as the Military Academy Commander at the graduation ceremony in 2004; he said:

"Being aware of the honor and responsibility on your shoulders, never remain neutral. Under all circumstances, be on the side of the secular, democratic, and modern Republic of Turkey."

According to allegations, when Hulusi Akar left the Military Academy Command, the students chanted, "The era of 'Hulusination' is over, the era of rehabilitation has begun," which is a separate issue; but in any case, it is a complete picture of "how it started, how it's going," isn't it?!