AKP's Çelik, who said 'There is nothing more natural than them commemorating Atatürk,' offers new commentary on 'lieutenants'

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik made statements regarding the lieutenants' oath during a live broadcast he attended. Çelik said, "Mr. Özgür Özel says, 'You are launching an investigation into children who say Atatürk.' Look, this is an incorrect statement. This investigation is not being launched because these children said 'Atatürk.' This investigation is being launched to determine elements of indiscipline," he said.

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made his first statement today regarding the lieutenants who drew their swords and read an oath after chanting "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" following the Military Academy graduation ceremony.

Addressing the controversy surrounding the lieutenants' oath—for which the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) announced it had launched an investigation—eight days later, Erdoğan targeted the lieutenants in his speech at the Imam Hatip Graduates Assembly, saying, "Who are you drawing your swords against? All necessary investigations are being conducted regarding them. The few ignorant ones there will also be cleared out. No matter how many they are, it is impossible for them to remain in our army." Erdoğan added, "There are three of our daughters who graduated first. One of these daughters is named İkra... Three siblings, her name is İkra. She is from Manisa and she came in first. The other two are also children of Anatolia. But of course, how they fell into this trap, how it happened; we are now conducting our work. We are taking steps to ensure they are cleared out rapidly," he said.

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, who made statements to Habertürk TV Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy, evaluated Erdoğan's remarks.

The AKP spokesperson, who had said earlier in the week that insulting the lieutenants was unacceptable, had used the expressions, "There is nothing more natural than them commemorating Atatürk at the graduation ceremony. Neither disrespect toward Atatürk nor toward Erdoğan can be accepted."

Çelik said the following today regarding the statements made by Erdoğan:

"After the images, I said something in four categories regarding the discussion. I said that my citizens rightfully expressed their sensitivities about whether images of tutelage from the old Turkey were emerging in such footage, or if there was an uprising. I said this is extremely respectable.

There are citizens who share in this joy. Two issues came to the agenda. While I was trying to answer these, there were those who used insulting expressions toward the lieutenants. This is also not right. Our President gave very clear messages regarding Turkey's security and foreign policy. Here, female lieutenants from all three forces graduated first. Regarding the image that emerged, I said at the beginning that democratic oversight mechanisms are working. This also applies to the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces). We have great experience in putting civil-military relations in their proper place.

The issue where sensitivity is shown here is that the matter of an alternative oath has emerged. Military service requires 100 percent discipline. We also know that in the past, some new graduates, some retired soldiers, and so on, tried to code it differently. We saw it during the April 27 process. We saw it at other times as well. We are in a position to see this entire framework 360 degrees. The things said by our citizens who show sensitivity by asking if there is an anti-democratic movement here are extremely respectable. Messages like 'this was done against this government, a message was sent' on social media will be examined. As expressed in our President's speech today, it is seen that the first results are also emerging. Our President is the commander-in-chief of our armies by constitutional requirement. If you remember, an incident occurred last year. It was about whether or not to wear an Atatürk pin. Later, there was an intervention regarding this. At that time, the discussion was also carried out over whether or not an Atatürk pin was worn. What both sides did here is indiscipline. In the end, this was examined and the necessary action was taken.

It is not right to go for a wholesale accusation after such a graduation ceremony, considering the vast majority. Democratic mechanisms are working right now. Intent, negligence, and indiscipline will be examined in this context and the necessary action will be taken. Since I stand on the political side, let us see the result of the investigation. Our President's statement today expresses it clearly. It is emerging that those acting with anti-democratic motivation have also been identified. These will be examined. There must be an absolute and definitive sensitivity regarding democracy.

The thing that wears down the TSK the most is the exploitation of the TSK within the framework of these coups, postmodern coups, and uprisings. Armed force derives its legitimacy from the republic. The army is the apple of the nation's eye. When you read into the past, all coups are projects with external focal points. A coup is a project produced by those who want to collapse Turkey's sovereignty system and want to give direction outside of national dynamics. The biggest mistake is for the armed forces to draw weapons on their own nation. It is extremely important for our citizens to show sensitivity on this matter.

"IT IS CLEAR THAT THE ISSUE OF READING A DIFFERENT OATH NEEDS TO BE REGULATED"

For a very long time, until 15 years after the AK Party was founded, one of the most important mottos has been the supremacy of civil politics. Whether an issue is a coup, an uprising, indiscipline, intent, or negligence, these are different things. These will be evaluated.

It is clear that the issue of reading a different oath needs to be regulated.

Mr. Özgür Özel says, 'You are launching an investigation into children who say Atatürk.' This is wrong. An investigation is being launched into indiscipline here. On April 27, they were talking about a President suitable for Atatürkist thought during the memorandum attempt. This is not the job of the military bureaucracy, is it? When you move this discussion to the Atatürk axis, you take it out of its true channel. We have heavy experiences; the sensitivity shown is normal.

The issue here is the transformation of the security mechanism into a political focal point. There is no patriotism outside the law. The highest loyalty is to the constitutional order. I am speaking from a historical perspective; I am not referring to the current one. When you go outside the constitutional order, there is neither a Republic, nor democracy, nor an army left.

That day, the discussion was being carried out with the Presidential election. Nothing had been published by the military bureaucracy. At that time, it was shown as normal. At that time, there were more MGK (National Security Council) meetings in Turkey than Cabinet meetings. I had made an assessment when I entered the MKYK meeting, 'Today is a tremendous turning point in Turkey; the number of journalists watching the MKYK today has exceeded the number of journalists watching the MGK,' I said. That night, a declaration was published regarding what kind of president was wanted and how the Minister of National Education should be. At that time, it was our President's Prime Ministry period. He was living in Keçiören. Our President said, 'If we do not give this answer today, we cannot talk about the supremacy of civil politics.' We held a meeting at the Foreign Ministry residence. We held a meeting until 07:00 in the morning. April 27 is an important day for this answer to be given. For the first time in the history of the Republic, a government has written this down. That day, the following expression required courage: 'The General Staff is subordinate to the Prime Ministry.' At that time, the following discussion was being held: Is it subordinate to the Prime Ministry, or is it responsible to the Prime Ministry? In a democratic state, it is subordinate to the Prime Ministry.

"IT WAS A SITUATION THAT INFECTED THE ENTIRE SYSTEM"

They write the declaration and disappear. They were not answering phones. There cannot be such a state order. There cannot be such a relationship network. There was a nightmare of tutelage over Turkey. My phone never rang that night. No one called. Normally, it would ring often.

Sentences that are easily formed today required a price to be paid back then. In the first years of our government, a Chief of General Staff had said, 'We are the army of the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey).'

Even this had created a ripple. There was a section in the TBMM; deputies could not enter there. They were blocking them. As a result, this was harming the Republic, democracy, the army, the vision of the future, the national will, and Turkey's security. It was a situation that infected the entire system. Our President set the basic principle today by saying, 'This army is our nation's army.' Afterwards, he said, 'We will do what is necessary.'

Fighting for democracy on April 27 is a struggle for the homeland. The stance taken that day has never been taken during the periods of Republican governments. They tried to issue a memorandum; when the government responded, what they wanted to do with the memorandum became a piece of paper. It is that clear. Everyone says the following: We encountered those people in various places, they said, 'that was the atmosphere of that period.' One must set the principle here. What is normal is democracy. It is not to make the Republic and democracy fight. It is to know that there can be no patriotism that targets democracy. One should set the measure as follows; what is normal is democracy. This is a civic duty. If we do not protect democracy, we have not protected our country. Times when democracy is bruised are years when Turkey's self-confidence is wounded and it goes backward.

They damage democracy with coups and uprisings by saying 'I am a Republican.' They talk about autonomy by saying 'I am a democrat,' and this also gets bruised. Ensuring the supremacy of civil politics is important. How was the system working? A tutelary Presidential office had been established over the government at that time. There was something called the red book above the Constitution.

There is an internal threat perception more than an external threat. Even the changing of the internal security strategy document is a secret revolution in Turkey. Articles were written every time. For example, the fight against reactionism. However, there was no information about it. There was no explanation. The struggle our President gave and the price he paid are extremely valuable in terms of world democracy history. Now, the normal democratic process is taking place.

Now look, is there anything in the MGK declarations that targets its own citizens? There is not. From here, if there are indisciplines within the Turkish Armed Forces, if there are those who do wrong, targeting the TSK as a whole and insulting it can never be accepted. This army is the nation's army and it is the apple of this nation's eye.

"ÖZGÜR ÖZEL TARGETED OUR PRESIDENT"

The statements coming from the CHP do not come to the agenda in connection with the normal general agenda. They come to the agenda regarding the discussions within the CHP itself. Mr. Özgür Özel became the chairman. After coming out of the election, he tried to pull the CHP a bit toward the center. Some sentences like those of social democrats in Europe began to be heard. While discussions were being held to infect and target the will of the voter, just after the election, Mr. Özel said, 'I am not in favor of an early election in any way, after we have delivered the services to the citizens.' He came to our party, our President visited them. Now he has targeted our President. When his move toward the center disturbed the power centers within the CHP, he returned to the balance policy and moved away from the politics of giving a central message to society.

There was strange traffic at the 6-Party Table. Now this traffic exists within the CHP. 'Those three came together, those two came together, was this a message?' There was a discussion like this. Anti-democratic literature was used. The real situation is that we had opposed this. They carried the same situation into the CHP. There is a will at the CHP headquarters and there is a will carried out through the municipalities. The early election discussion is being brought to the agenda to consolidate the issue. Politics is not a matter of which stops you stop at, but which path you walk. Why are we holding an election? The citizen says, 'I am giving you this much time in the central government, do these jobs.' Currently, there is no early election discussion. Just as Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu's reconciliation was wasted, now they are wasting normalization as well. The early election agenda does not exist for us. We saw May 14-28. The dynamics of general elections and local elections are different things. We do not have an early election agenda.

Everyone is making their calculations according to the normal election. Our President is a leader who has the highest sociological dynamics not only for Turkey but for world history, and is tightly connected to the sociological base. His political leadership was realized continuously with the will of the nation. Whatever the national will says that day, that will happen. Turkey has spent its most intense summer in 20 years. In terms of domestic policy agenda and foreign policy agenda. Above us is the Russia-Ukraine war, below us is the Gaza crisis, the Iran-Israel tension in the middle. When we look at the PYD/PKK and the issues in domestic politics, if it were a country that we call a big country, it would have fallen apart. We could write 3 pages of tension areas. Over a long time, we have seen that if we cannot manage ourselves, we cannot manage the issues. Our citizens should be at ease; these issues are being managed with our President, who is the most experienced in world and Turkey politics. Our most senior colleagues are dealing with this management.

"WE ARE A PARTY THAT IS EXTREMELY OPEN TO RENEWING OURSELVES"

We will continue with the policies regarding the economy. In September, all our colleagues will go to the field. When we do our normal work, the AK Party and the People's Alliance meet with the public. The economy is an extremely important dynamic. All our units have drawn lessons and results from the outcomes. When we look at all of these, in terms of adding new methods to politics, meeting with the citizen, and creating new models, our organization head made presentations at the last MYK (Central Executive Board). We are a party that is extremely open to renewing ourselves while preserving traditional accumulations.

Our colleagues are in command of the subject in the economy. Both Mr. Mehmet Şimşek and Mr. Cevdet Yılmaz are in command of the subject. Goals are being reached in many respects. Different dynamics intervene; there are requirements of domestic and foreign policies. Steps are taken while reaching goals. Managing market dynamics correctly and the emergence of a picture where various segments can see ahead are jobs that require fine-tuning. As the economic management, it is in command of its own business. At the same time, we, as the economic management and the political delegation in the party, make joint evaluations. We do this often. We look at how the dialectic of field experience and the decisions taken at the center works.

We are a party that is the winner of the general election. We are realistic. We could not form the government on June 7. It was the first time it had happened to us. A delegation under my chairmanship sat down with the CHP, and exploratory talks were held. We held a press conference at the end of every meeting. These meetings really went gentlemanly. Still, thank God, both we and those colleagues protect the privacy of the meeting. We had seen that we could not reach an agreement to a large extent in domestic policy, foreign policy, and education. We had seen that there could be no partnership in any way. Now we cannot agree either, of course; we say Blue Homeland, they call Blue Homeland a 'fairy tale.' Then what happened? It was said, 'we are going to an election.' We look at this. Of course, we pay attention to the polls. We look at the polls as much as the middle referee looks at the assistant referee while making a decision; that is, we do not go to VAR.

"THEY MAY TRY TO DRAG THE AK PARTY INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHT"

We are not a party that does change from time to time, in certain periods, seasonally. Change is always there. Social demands create a new rhythm, and politics needs to adjust itself to this rhythm. We are entering a new period; we have come out of summer. Our congress period is starting. District and provincial congresses are coming, and after March, the grand congress is coming. The congress process is an intensified renewal process. Names can of course change; it is of course at the initiative of our chairman. Social demands emerge, some of them move to a higher stage, all of these are put in their proper place. The AK Party has various boards other than the MYK and MKYK. We see producing politics as the most important issue. Those who produce politics can also change. The congress process is such a process. There will be changes in the MKYK and also in the MYK. Since this is a center party, it has become a mass party. Because it carries the common values of society.

From time to time, they may try to drag the AK Party into a neighborhood fight. There are things that are reasonable and not reasonable for the AK Party. In this process, the actors who will change at the discretion of our chairman will change. The highest social activity for us is politics. We do politics through central values. Does the work we do add strength to politics, or does it remain insufficient? As a result, the duty of a center party is not to build walls; it is to build as many bridges as possible. Our President makes speeches in the closed sessions of the MKYK. There, he asks, 'how will we reach those we could not reach?' A center party shows itself with its bridge-building performance. What you call politics is carried out in center parties with bridge-building activities.

Look from the election to this side. I am saying this in terms of both domestic policy and foreign policy. From the UAE to Egypt, our President's will is constantly on building bridges. Turkey's will to build bridges is happening at a time when the mainstream in the world is built on building walls. While the whole world is trying to hide behind walls, such a picture emerges. The international system seems to have left itself to rot behind walls. Against this, the highest activity and voice come from our President. Look at Turkey's mediation; all of these show bridge-building activities.

"THEY COULD NOT KEEP THE RHYTHM"

The party scans the field; we have the potential to embrace everyone who transforms social demand into political representation around certain values. We showed that we are open here. When there was a visit from the CHP, we expressed that we were pleased with this. Our President visited the CHP. We expressed that we were pleased with the hospitality; in the end, they could not keep the rhythm of this. The President will visit you, and then you will call him a 'dictator.' They could not keep the rhythm. If you call our President a 'dictator,' this is contrary to the alphabet of democracy. It is an effort to try to close all their current deficits with us.

In the new constitution, all political parties must put their hands under the stone. Our Parliament Speaker is carrying out an initiative; we must not miss this opportunity. We must gift it to future generations. We have red lines regarding the basic qualities of the state. When someone brings something regarding the flag, the capital, or the official language, we have red lines regarding the integrity of the country and the protection of democracy. Provided that basic values are protected, issues in the political arena can be negotiated. Many common topics can be found. The ground for this is the Parliament."