Notes on 'Loyalty' to our veterans!..

Is there a distinction between the soldiers who gave their lives for the homeland, the martyrs, and the veterans?

And how!..

While the Ministry of National Defense handles all the rights of other martyrs and veterans, enlisted martyrs and enlisted veterans are under the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Naturally, there is a world of difference between the rights of the two groups.

Even though they have been living in Güvenpark, located in the heart of Ankara, 500-600 meters from the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) and the Ministry of National Defense, for 38 days to have their rights granted, they could not make their voices heard by the authorities.

But as the 39th day of the protest began, at 04:45 in the morning, when they were removed from Güvenpark as if a raid were being conducted on a safe house, taken to the Gazi Harmony House in Bilkent by police buses, their prosthetics stuffed into trash bags, and our glorious flag they had hung there taken down; those who were unaware of these martyr families and our veterans became aware, and a great shame remained.

What 'crime' other than seeking their rights had they committed to be subjected to this treatment?

If there is a 'crime,' isn't the proper procedure to detain them? They had no single crime, yet they were taken and stuffed into the Gazi Harmony House!..

Could it have been out of 'loyalty and respect' for the martyrs?

But the prosthetics they hung in Güvenpark, the posters containing news about PKK attacks and martyrs, the tea machines, and such were confiscated to check whether there were 'elements of crime,' which is another matter.

The Nature of the Raid Day

The residents of Güvenpark showed no lack of respect to the police waiting around them and approaching them; but they were naturally expecting them to intervene upon orders from above. That is why they openly said, 'If an operation order comes, tell us. We are all amputees. Do not drag us into the buses. We will board them walking ourselves.'

However, at 04:45, while they were sleeping on the ground, they were raided by hundreds of police officers. What they did not want to happen, happened.

The day before, these two important things had happened:

The law concerning them and the PKK law, which were accepted in the TBMM one day apart, had been approved by Erdoğan that day and published in the Official Gazette...

Pakize Akbaba, President of the Martyr Mothers Association, who came from Istanbul to support the protest in Güvenpark, had gone to the Ministry of Justice to meet with one of the Ministers or Deputy Ministers, and when she was not allowed inside, she reacted by saying, 'Did you ask us when you were pardoning the murderers of our martyrs?' and the citizens passing by also supported Mother Pakize with their slogans.

Kılıçdaroğlu Reached the Unreachable

You have heard and seen what happened afterward.

When the veterans wanted to leave the Gazi Harmony House where they were stuffed and go to the Ministry of Interior to ask about this raid; first, they were not allowed to leave, then they were blockaded on the road.

Every second of what happened there was tragic.

When the veterans were not allowed to go to the Ministry, Mother Pakize went alone. She waited for hours, but not a single official addressed this martyr mother.

Returning to the veterans under blockade; Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, and deputies from the New Party and the Good Party tried to meet with Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi to find a solution, but they could not succeed.

That was until Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who had not gone to Güvenpark even once in 38 days to listen to their troubles, sent two names.

These two names, who arrived at the scene, gave the good news (!) that Kılıçdaroğlu had obtained an appointment from Minister Çiftçi, and went to the Ministry of Interior with three people representing the veterans.

Look at this distinction in the state; there is none for opposition parties, but there is for the CHP!..

Asked the Minister About Mother Pakize

You have heard the official part of the three veterans' meeting with Minister Çiftçi. The Minister was content with saying that if they provided a file containing their problems, he would forward it to the Ministry of Family.

Yet, what files had the veterans submitted to the Ministry of Family for 3.5 years!..

Let's come to the other details of the meeting.

Platform Spokesperson Erdem Çerçioğlu, saying 'Can I speak openly?', asked whether Mother Pakize's protest in front of the Ministry of Justice had any effect on the 04:45 raid.

Minister Çiftçi, while stating that it had no connection, gave answers such as, 'It has been 38 days. You and the police might be tense... The miners' protest... The Parliament is also closed, there is nothing to be done.'

Çerçioğlu said, 'The Parliament is closed; but we know what changes with a word, with a decree,' and stated that they would continue their protests and asked the Minister to show them a place. However, he received no response.

Who Had That News Published?

At the end of the first day of their eviction from Güvenpark, the veterans ended their protests on the road under blockade and went to the Gazi Harmony House.

Before I convey what happened when they went, let me tell you about their protests yesterday.

The Gazi Harmony House where they stayed that night was also surrounded by police. They were worried that they would not be allowed to leave there in the morning. One by one, some with their own vehicles, some by taxi, they left the Harmony House without encountering any obstacles. The police were content with following each of them separately. After gathering at the Ministry of Family, where they arrived one by one, they announced that they wanted to meet with Minister Mahinur Göktaş. It was said that the Minister was outside of Ankara. Instead, Deputy Minister Adil Çalışkan accepted five people representing the veterans. Çalışkan was the deputy minister responsible for the disabled, not martyrs and veterans, so naturally, he was not familiar with the subject; but fortunately, the relevant general manager was with him.

Deputy Minister Çalışkan first offered to have a meal together. The representatives said that their friends were downstairs and they would not accept. When Çalışkan stated that they could send food to them as well, they said, 'They will not accept.'

During the protest process, what bothered the veterans the most was a news report published in the pro-government media. In the report, apples and oranges were literally mixed, and it was claimed that their salaries would rise to 253 thousand liras with the law to be accepted in the Parliament.

Veteran Mehmet Çelik stated that there was no martyr family or veteran who would be given that salary and demanded that this news be retracted. The Minister and those with him were content with stating that the news in question did not belong to them.

When Veteran Çelik showed his payroll and emphasized that his salary was 58 thousand liras, the answer 'Nice money' came. Çelik was content with saying, 'Yes, very nice money.'

The following dialogues also took place during the meeting:

The veterans asked which of their demands had been met in 3 years. The officials said that all demands were forwarded to the TBMM National Defense Commission, but only a salary increase was made.

To the veterans' question, 'How much of an increase was there?', the response 'It became 66 thousand, 80 thousand' was given.

In the end; Deputy Minister Çalışkan stated that he would convey their demands to Minister Göktaş when he returned to Ankara, and the veterans decided to continue their protests in front of the ministry.

It is impossible not to remind of the state of the pro-government media, which competes with the government in making martyrs and veterans 'the crown of our heads'.

For 38 days, they did not count either the protest in Güvenpark or their eviction from there by a dawn raid as news; but they saw Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi's acceptance of the veterans with Kılıçdaroğlu's initiative!..

If All Denials Are Like This

Let's come to what they experienced that evening at the Gazi Harmony House after the veterans were evicted from Güvenpark and blockaded on the Bilkent road.

When they ended the protest on the road and went to the Harmony House, we also left there. 15-20 minutes had passed when the news came that the veterans were not being allowed in. When I and the retired police chief, Zafer Party Deputy Chairman Fatih Eryılmaz, who is a July 15 veteran, returned, we saw that they were indeed not being allowed inside.

While I shared what happened moment by moment on my social media account and took photos for 1 hour, Fatih Eryılmaz also filmed it.

To summarize; the commander who came to the gate said that as a rule today, only guests could stay, and others could go to the GATA guesthouse. When the veterans tried to enter by force, the soldiers set up a barricade, and arguments occurred. The veterans shouted, 'We cannot enter our own home. Are we terrorists? Why are you not letting us in?' Some managed to run into the garden, but the soldiers blocked their way again, stopped them, and took them outside. Upon this treatment, while some veterans and martyr relatives cried, saying, 'This was the most painful part,' Platform Spokesperson Erdem Çerçioğlu shouted, 'The police do not allow us to go outside. The soldiers do not let us in. What should we do?'

Ultimately, after the police authorities came here and spoke with the commander of the Harmony House for a while, the veterans were allowed to enter around 19:30.

When I returned home and sat at the computer, what do I see; the Presidency's Directorate of Communications Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM) put a red cross over Ümit Özdağ and me, and made the following statement 'regarding the claims that the enlisted veterans protesting in Güvenpark were not taken into the Bilkent Gazi Harmony House':

'The claims in some social media channels that 'enlisted veterans protesting in Ankara Güvenpark were not taken into the Bilkent Gazi Harmony House' are completely untrue. The Gazi Harmony House located in Ankara Bilkent is open to the use of all our veterans without any ifs or buts. The facility continues to provide uninterrupted service for the rehabilitation of our veterans and to meet their social needs. The only restriction regarding access to the facility in question is the security protocol applied in accordance with the legislation for the entry of persons who do not hold the title of veteran. It is kindly requested not to give credence to such baseless claims circulated to mislead the public and to carry out a perception operation over our veterans.'

What kind of thing is it to deny what we saw, what we photographed, what was filmed, and to call these 'perception operations, baseless claims'?!

While writing the article, I saw 53 comments under the DMM's statement. A few, referring to Ümit Özdağ and me, said, 'Close these accounts... Arrest Ümit Özdağ, disinformation will stop immediately,' a few insulted us; but the vast majority denied this statement with video footage, isn't that good?

In the DMM's statement, it is said, 'The facility continues to provide uninterrupted service for the rehabilitation of our veterans and to meet their social needs'; I don't know if they will count it as 'baseless claim, perception operation' again, but I have bad news.

I learned from the veterans who came to the Ministry of Family that when they were leaving the Harmony House, the officials said, 'We will no longer accept daily stays. We will not extend the days of those staying either.'

The reason?

Cleaning, painting, and renovations will be done at the facility in preparation for the September 19 Veterans Day!..

In other words, even if the veterans want to end the protest and go to the Harmony House, they will not be allowed in, and those staying will be removed from here when their time is up.

It is understood why the police did not prevent the veterans from leaving yesterday morning and going to the Ministry of Family after blockading the Harmony House, right?

This is our 'loyalty' report card for the families of our 'dear martyrs' and our veterans who are 'the crown of our heads'!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 21, 2026