Defense of the lieutenant who tore up Atatürk's photo at Tuzla Infantry School revealed

At the Tuzla Infantry School, during the November 10th Atatürk commemoration ceremonies, a group of lieutenants did not pin a photo of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to their uniforms, instead crumpling it up and putting it in their pockets.

When other lieutenants reacted to this disrespect shown toward Atatürk, a scuffle broke out, and an investigation was launched.

Sözcü columnist Aytunç Erkin, in his article titled "Why did the three lieutenants not submit a defense?", explained why the three lieutenants who defended Atatürk did not submit a defense, while also detailing why the lieutenant who tore up the photo did so.

The relevant part of Erkin's article is as follows:

"I DO NOT AGREE WITH WHAT HE DID AFTER THE REPUBLIC"

"During the November 10th Atatürk commemoration ceremonies at the Tuzla Infantry School, all lieutenants were given an Atatürk photo and badge to pin to their chests. It was alleged that one lieutenant did not wear this badge and crumpled up the photo. When other lieutenants who saw this reacted, the lieutenant who crumpled up the Atatürk photo stated, 'I admire Atatürk's military side, but I do not agree with what he did after the Republic.' Following these words, a scuffle broke out between the soldiers who reacted to the incident and the lieutenant who tore up the Atatürk photo and his friends.

Following this scuffle, other soldiers hung an Atatürk poster on the door of the room belonging to the lieutenant, who was alleged to have 'cult connections' and to have displayed similar behavior at the Military Academy. The same lieutenant tore up this poster as well. Following this, another scuffle occurred between the soldiers who reacted to the lieutenant who showed this disrespect to Atatürk and the soldier who tore up the Atatürk photo and the other soldiers who supported him."

WHY DID THE THREE LIEUTENANTS NOT SUBMIT A DEFENSE?

The three lieutenants who were suspended following the events and who were known for “defending Atatürk” submitted a petition to the Land Forces Command.

According to Erkin's article, that petition is as follows:

“I do not accept any of the accusations made against me. A request for a defense was served to me on December 15, 2023, and I was given an 8-day period. Although our lawyers submitted a written request to our command regarding the provision of the documents forming the basis of the defense, and despite the fact that this period will expire on the weekend, the documents in question have not been provided to either our lawyers or us as of this stage. For this reason, since the documents forming the basis of the defense have not been provided despite our request, it is not possible for us to submit a defense at this stage. As is known, not extending the defense period without serving the documents that form the basis of the defense is both contrary to Article 40 of Law No. 6413 and constitutes a restriction of the constitutional right to defense. In this respect, since the documents forming the basis of the defense have not been provided to me and my lawyers, I will only make my oral and written defense before the High Disciplinary Board together with my lawyers.”

News Source: 12punto