The Lieutenants and Those Who Say 'Mustafa Kemal’s Dogs'!

Let us explain the incident of the lieutenants who are facing expulsion from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for gathering after the graduation ceremony, crossing their swords, reciting the Officer’s Oath, and declaring, “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,” as if we were explaining it to a first-grade primary school student.

The lieutenants did not apply to the school administration once, but three times—not seven—to recite this oath as part of the official ceremony, that is, in the presence of Erdoğan. Two of these applications were verbal, and one was written.

None of them received a response. Only the Battalion Commander, having heard of this, ordered first the class valedictorian Ebru Eroğlu, and then the battalion, saying, “The Officer’s Oath will not be recited at the ceremony.”

The lieutenants obeyed the order and did not recite this oath at the official ceremony.

Where is the “insubordination” in this that the lieutenants, and along with them their commanders, are now being sought to be expelled from the TSK?

Well, they say, “even though their direct superiors did not give permission,” they gathered later and did it. And in a “military zone” at that!..

There is a strange situation here:

The lieutenants are being sought for expulsion on the grounds that they “did not obey orders”...

And their commanders are being targeted for, “Why didn’t you give an order for after the ceremony, why didn’t you stop them?”...

First; the commanders had no knowledge that this would be done after the official ceremony.

Second; the graduation ceremony had concluded, the lieutenants had received their diplomas, and they no longer had an administrative connection to the school. At this point, the commanders had no duty or authority other than to process the lieutenants' departure from the school. They were not even in a position to issue an order such as, “You will embrace your families here, you will meet for this long.”

Remember; when we wrote on September 2 that the lieutenants had been summoned to the school and an investigation had been launched against them, did the Ministry of National Defense, which denied this, not state the following as its justification?

“The graduation ceremonies of the Military Academies were held on August 30-31, and the graduated lieutenants no longer have an administrative bond with the Military Academies.”

But now they are turning around and holding the commanders accountable for what happened after the ceremony.

Let us also touch upon this “military zone” issue. After the Officer’s Oath was removed from the Military Academy regulations at the beginning of 2023, did the lieutenants not recite the Officer’s Oath, and even the İzmir March, alongside songs and folk music, while celebrating among themselves inside the Military Academy on August 29 of both that year and this year, that is, one day before the official ceremony? Was the place where they held these celebrations not a “military zone,” and furthermore, were the lieutenants not already under the command of the Military Academy at that time? Why were the lieutenants not accused of “insubordination” then, and their commanders of “failing to prevent it”?

The reason is clearly not “insubordination”; it is that this year’s images were reflected in the public eye, and the ruling wing was disturbed by this!..

THE AKP’S PEN HAS ANNOUNCED THE VERDICT

If that were not the case; would Erdoğan, while the investigation process was still ongoing, have declared the lieutenants guilty in advance, saying, “They will pay the price,” and after the investigation was finished, but before the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board (YDK), which would make the decision on paper, had even met, would he have launched into a tirade about the “1960 coup, 1971 memorandum, 1980 coup, 1997 postmodern memorandum, and July 15,” and then asked the question, “Who knows what the lieutenants who commit insubordination despite the clear instructions of their commanders might do tomorrow?”

Likewise, could Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, the authority to approve the decisions to be taken by the YDK, have officially signaled his opinion by saying more than just, “The Disciplinary Board will decide the punishment,” with the following expressions?

“The crime... is an intentional, organized, and planned act of insubordination despite repeated warnings and orders... The fact that those involved are young, have not been punished before, have not been unsuccessful, or that the text was read beforehand does not change the grounds for insubordination... The preservation of the established order and discipline in the TSK is our sine qua non.”

Indeed, yesterday, Okan Müderrisoğlu, the Ankara Representative of Erdoğan’s newspaper Sabah, ended his article, which began with “The investigation into the lieutenants is about to reach the final decision stage,” by stating, “What happens after this hour? It is clearly on its way to becoming a matter for the administrative judiciary...” and thus announced this “verdict” that had already been reached in advance.

In other words, the YDK has already expelled the lieutenants, Minister Yaşar Güler has approved this decision, and there is nothing left for the lieutenants to do but apply to the administrative judiciary!..

Let us give credit where it is due; Müderrisoğlu also provided the following information regarding the details of the investigation:

“A detailed report is being requested from the National Intelligence Organization regarding the lieutenants' circles of contact and their educational lives before the Military Academy... The lieutenants' ties to civilians and whether there are any individuals or groups inciting them from military or civilian life are also being examined. In addition to sects, congregations, etc., it is being investigated whether they have established links with political elements. At the end of the day, no concrete findings have been reached regarding external connections or a junta-like structure within the TSK.”

Well then, if, as was alleged in the first days, no connection was found between the lieutenants and “FETÖ, retired soldiers, or political or junta structures,” why does Erdoğan still bring the lieutenants together with coups and ask, “Who knows what they might do tomorrow?”

WHILE HOPING FOR HELP FROM İMRALI AND THE DEM PARTY

Let us return to Erdoğan’s speech at the AKP Parliamentary Group meeting on Wednesday, where he held the lieutenants accountable. While targeting the CHP over this issue, he summarized his points as follows:

“This army is not the army of a faction or a party, but the army of the nation. The Turkish Armed Forces are the Hearth of the Prophet... Just as the late Yahya Kemal expressed, this army is a glorious army that has carried the banner of Islam across 3 continents and 7 climates... Despite all their efforts, the CHP mentality has not succeeded in severing the spiritual roots of our army... You will both stomach the insult of 'Mustafa Kemal’s dogs' for the sake of a few votes, if you will pardon the expression, and you will not make a peep while being lectured over and over by supporters of the separatist organization from the parliamentary podium... and then you will come before us today and shamelessly talk to us about Gazi Mustafa Kemal, the Republic, and the love for the homeland, nation, and the Mehmetçik.”

We are certainly not defending the CHP, but let us underline the following:

Who are those who hope for help from bringing the boss of the person who made the insult “Mustafa Kemal’s dogs” from İmralı to speak in Parliament, and from sending the DEM Party, which is under his command, to İmralı?!

And is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk not the “spiritual root of our army”?!

CLOSE THE MILITARY ACADEMIES OR?..

Let us dig a little deeper into Erdoğan’s subconscious.

It was reported that after this ceremony of the lieutenants came to light, at the AKP MKYK meeting on September 3, while boasting that the valedictorians of all three schools were women, he said, “The girls reflect Anatolia. I even chatted with them; one of them is even named İkra.”

Four days later, in that famous speech at the 21st Imam Hatip Graduates Congress, while asking who the lieutenants were drawing these swords against, he explained the following:

“We have three girls who were valedictorians. And one of these girls is named İkra. Three siblings, her name is İkra. She is from Manisa and she came in first. The other two, they are also Anatolian children. But of course, how they fell into this trap, how it happened; we are currently conducting our work.”

Her name is İkra... The girls are Anatolian children... “But is it possible; they are saying ‘We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal’” — is this bewilderment not understood?!

What else did he say at the Imam Hatip Graduates Congress? He said;

- “If they asked me to tell them the only work I have done throughout my life, the answer I would give without hesitation is very clear; it is to remove the obstacles in front of Imam Hatip schools, to increase their number, and to increase the quality of education... We were a handful. Now I see that we have become a flood, we have become a waterfall, we have become a sea, we have even become an ocean.”

- “My dear Imam Hatip graduate brother... Do not forget this; if you exist, the calls to prayer, whose testimonies are the foundation of the religion, will echo eternally over my homeland, will be recited eternally... If you exist, our flag, which takes its color from the blood of our martyrs, will continue to wave proudly. If you exist, this nation will continue to be a source of hope for the oppressed.”

- "We exist so that the minarets do not remain without the call to prayer, the field of jihad without wrestlers, and our heroic army without heroes."

- “The Imam Hatip struggle is a defense of the homeland. The Imam Hatip struggle is a struggle of faith. The Imam Hatip struggle is a struggle of existence or non-existence.”

We are coming to this point:

The pro-government media says of the Officer’s Oath, which began to be recited in 1995, entered the Military Academy regulations in 1999, and was recited at official ceremonies until 2022, that it is “a product of the February 28 process,”

And the government is also seeking revenge for February 28 at every opportunity;

Opportunity from the lieutenants incident; from now on, let a coefficient application be introduced for those other than Imam Hatip graduates for students to be admitted, or let it be decided that only Imam Hatip graduates will be admitted — or at the very least, let the Military Academies be closed down!..