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Growing backlash against the dismissal of soldiers who said 'We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers': 'We will change this order...'

The Ministry of National Defense announced that 'Dismissal from the Armed Forces' penalties were imposed on 3 disciplinary officers and 5 lieutenants. Following the decision, citizens began to express their reactions to the Ministry.

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Three disciplinary officers and 5 lieutenants who were referred to disciplinary action for saying ''We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers'' during the traditional 'sword-crossing' ceremony at the graduation ceremony have been dismissed from the TSK.

Top-ranking lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu argued that they did not commit an act of indiscipline, emphasizing that they expressed their loyalty to Atatürk after the official ceremony had ended. The announced dismissal decision sparked reactions on social media.

Following the decision, theologian Prof. Dr. Cemil Kılıç shared a post on his social media account with the message, 'We will change this order, do not bow down.'

On the other hand, former CHP deputy Dr. Ceyhun İrgil stated, 'A decision that will go down in history... History will write about those who made this decision. They will not be able to defend this decision in the future.'

Journalist Sedef Kabaş also reacted to the decision on her X account, noting the following:

''They dismissed the lieutenants who said 'We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers' from the TSK! This is exactly what they call the New Turkey... For me, there is no old or new Turkey! There is only one Turkey... The Turkey of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.''

TSK'S DISMISSAL OF LIEUTENANTS

The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) announced that five lieutenants were dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) as a result of the investigation launched into the footage recorded during the graduation ceremony at the Military Academy. It was also announced that proceedings were initiated against three disciplinary officers.

In the statement made by the MSB, it was stated that the footage reflected in the public eye after the Military Academy Flag Handover and Graduation Ceremony was examined and that the administrative and disciplinary investigations were completed. In this context, while proceedings were applied to three consecutive disciplinary officers by the Ministry of National Defense High Disciplinary Board, it was stated that five lieutenants were given the 'Dismissal from the Armed Forces' penalty by the Land Forces High Disciplinary Board within the framework of the Turkish Armed Forces Disciplinary Law and relevant legislation.

The statement included the following expressions:

''Following the administrative and disciplinary investigations launched after the footage reflected in the public eye after the Military Academy Flag Handover and Graduation Ceremony; a "Dismissal from the Armed Forces" penalty was imposed on 3 consecutive disciplinary officers by the Ministry of National Defense High Disciplinary Board, and on 5 lieutenants by the Land Forces High Disciplinary Board, in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the Turkish Armed Forces Disciplinary Law and the Regulation on Turkish Armed Forces High Disciplinary Boards, as well as other aforementioned legislation.

There should not be the slightest doubt that no act, event, or situation contrary to discipline will be tolerated in our Turkish Armed Forces, whose priority is the preservation and maintenance of established discipline.''