The Commission, YAŞ decisions, and the 1921 Constitution

Since these two topics coincided on the same days, I wanted to provide a reminder. On one hand, there are the YAŞ (Supreme Military Council) decisions and concerns about the military being transformed into a party-state army... On the other hand, there is the commission in Parliament...

They have dangled a candy in front of us called a "Terror-Free Turkey." They found a fancy name for it: the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission. In reality, what is happening is a new phase in the imperialism project, the Greater Middle East Project (BOP). The target is Lausanne and the two fundamental characteristics of the Republic of Turkey: the nation-state and the secular state structure.

They say they will not propose a new constitution, but everyone knows that their intention is to eliminate the principles of the nation-state and secularism by saying, "Let us take the 1921 Constitution as an example." Why 1921? According to separatist Kurds, the 1921 Constitution contained autonomy for local governments! Political Islamists, meanwhile, see the lack of an emphasis on secularism as an opportunity.

Let us first recall the spirit of the 1921 Constitution, and then evaluate the current structure of the Turkish Armed Forces together.

"The 1921 Constitution is not the constitution of an established state, but of a state that is being founded through war. Article 10 of the Constitution states, 'Turkey is divided into provinces based on geographical situation and economic relations, and provinces are composed of districts, and districts are composed of sub-districts.' In other words, the understanding of local government in the 1921 Constitution does not contain distinctions based on ethnic origin or sect. There is geographical guardianship and economic relations. (Prof. Dr. Barış Doster, 12 Punto News Site, July 22, 2025)"

The 1924 Constitution, on the other hand, is the constitution of the new Republic, a new state, established with the victory of the War of Independence behind it and the victory of Lausanne at the table. The Parliament that created the 1921 Constitution abolished it and created the 1924 Constitution in its place. The changes in the 1924 Constitution are also important. Along with the Enlightenment Revolutions, the article stating that the religion of the state is Islam was removed in 1928, and in 1937, the principle of secularism was added to Article 2 of the Constitution, along with the principles of populism, statism, reformism, and republicanism.

The foundation and spirit of the 1921 Constitution, adopted on January 20, 1921, are based on the Populism Declaration presented to Parliament by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha on September 13, 1920. To better understand the spirit of that declaration, let us first take a brief look at the recent YAŞ decisions and the image of the Turkish Armed Forces.

STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN THE ARMY

Even though the "fully independent national identity" of the Republic of Turkey's Army began to be damaged by the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid in 1947-48 and NATO membership in 1952, the Turkish Armed Forces were able to remain distant from the influence of political powers and, relatively speaking, were able to protect their national identity. (1961, 1971, and 1980 are separate topics.)

In the 1990s, especially during the invasion of Iraq, the Turkish Army resisted the US's Greater Middle East Project. We understand from the correspondence of US ambassadors and CIA station chiefs, which later surfaced in the press, that from those dates on, the US decided to launch an operation against the Ataturkist core of the army. I have written about this before. These things are not done suddenly like blitzkriegs. They are carried out insidiously with Slow War tactics. (For those interested, see the article by Meriç Köyatası on the 12 Punto News Site dated July 12 regarding Slow War.)

Shortly before the AKP came to power, the army began to be worn down internally through intense propaganda by turncoat leftists, those posing as democrats, useful idiots calling themselves intellectuals, and political Islamists, which appeared innocent. With the AKP government, the dose of this erosion was increased with the sauce of full EU membership. Through conspiracy cases such as Ergenekon, Balyoz, Military Espionage, and February 28, the trained officer capacity of the Turkish army was liquidated by half. The structure of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), which carries out promotions and appointments in the army, was changed. Merit was eliminated in appointments. Ataturkist officers who prevented the July 15 coup were retired. The dismissal of Ataturkist lieutenants and the purging of commanders who resisted the dismissal of these lieutenants deeply wounded the public conscience.

The prevailing opinion in society is that the AKP is trying to build its own army. The TSK must remain the army of the Turkish nation and the Republic of Turkey, not of a party-state or a party.

Let us stop here regarding the erosion of the Turkish Army, its politicization, and the purging of Ataturkist officers in the latest YAŞ decisions, and remind those who say "Let us take the 1921 Constitution as an example" of the Populism Declaration that forms the spirit of the 1921 Constitution. We can now better grasp this declaration and its spirit.

POPULISM DECLARATION

The Populism Declaration, which he presented to Parliament on September 13, 1920, reflects Mustafa Kemal Pasha's perspective on imperialism and capitalism, as well as the reason for the army's existence. However, for some reason, the Populism Declaration was ignored and attempts were made to make it forgotten after the Ataturk era. Dr. Serdar Şahinkaya unearthed the Populism Declaration from the archives with the precision of a jeweler and presented it to the public again with a book he published in May 2022.

The Populism Declaration is strictly anti-imperialist. It was presented to Parliament on September 13, 1920, under the signature of the Speaker of the TBMM. It was discussed in Parliament and in the commission, and on November 18, 1920, the first four articles were accepted as a separate declaration and entered into the records. In summary...

"The Grand National Assembly of Turkey possesses an army established with the determination to defend against the attacks of imperialist and capitalist enemies who are assassinating the life and independence of the nation, and to punish (teach a lesson to) those who act against this purpose. The authority of command and control lies in the moral personality of the Grand National Assembly." (Dr. Serdar Şahinkaya, First Step Towards Revolution: Mustafa Kemal Pasha's Populism Program, Telgrafhane Publications)

According to Serdar Şahinkaya, the definition of the army's function as defense against the attacks of imperialist and capitalist enemies is the crucial point of the declaration.

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha repeated the same views about four months later, in a telegram he sent to Tevfik Pasha, who was to be sent to London on January 29, 1921.

"Our nation has been suffering and in pain for centuries under the pressure of two tyrannical forces, two destructive forces. One of these forces is the tyrants who claim to directly govern the country and the nation, and the second is the entire imperialist and capitalist world." (Prof. Dr. Zafer Toprak, Atatürk, Türkiye İş Bankası Publications)

The meaning of the message in modern Turkish is as follows: Our nation has long been under the pressure of two destructive forces. The first of these is the sultanate that claims to govern the country and the nation, and the second is the entire imperialist and capitalist world.

INSPIRATION FOR A NEW CONSTITUTION

With the changes made, the current Constitution has turned into a monstrosity, in the words of legal scholars. A new Constitution is necessary, but new constitutions are made by constituent assemblies. This parliament does not have such authority. If you say, "Let us give up on a new constitution and make changes to the constitutional articles," how acceptable is it for a parliament that no longer has a mandate from the people to make such a constitution today? There are so many articles written on the necessity of a new constitution. Let us not get into this topic for now. But let us remind those who bring up the 1921 Constitution of this.

The 1921 Constitution is not a state constitution, but the constitution of a state that is being founded through war. The constitution that will inspire an established state is not the 1921 Constitution, but the 1924 Constitution and the subsequent changes made in 1937. We also have the 1961 Constitution to draw inspiration from. What is to be inspired by 1921 is the anti-imperialist spirit that won the War of Independence and founded the Republic.

Turkey today is also under heavy attack from imperialists, capitalists, and their local collaborators. While the work of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission in the TBMM and the YAŞ decisions are on the agenda, I wanted to remind you of the Populism Declaration of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, which was accepted by Parliament.

The duty is to protect the Turkish nation from the oppression of imperialism (and its collaborators).