Support for the dismissal of lieutenants from Erdoğan's chief advisor Mehmet Uçum: 'The problem is not saying we are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers...'

The lieutenants who crossed swords and chanted the slogan "We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers" after the graduation ceremony of the National Defense University Military Academy on August 30, 2024, were dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on the grounds of lack of discipline.

Another comment on the dismissal decision regarding the lieutenants came from the Palace.

Mehmet Uçum, chief advisor to AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, defended the dismissal decision, stating, "The issue is never about being a soldier of Mustafa Kemal; it is entirely a matter of military disciplinary law based on lack of discipline. It is a lack of discipline resulting from persistent disobedience to orders."

The full text of Uçum's article titled "Sunday Article: The National Army is the apple of our eye" is as follows:

"Nearly four hundred newly graduated lieutenants said, 'We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers.' Five of them and three ranking officers seen as related to the lack of discipline were given separation penalties (dismissal). To say that the reason for separation is the slogan 'We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers' when this is the reality, amounts to a deliberate distortion.

If the expression 'We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers' were the reason for the separation penalty, an investigation would have had to be opened against nearly four hundred newly graduated lieutenants, and all of them would have had to be dismissed. This means the problem is not saying we are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers, but the lack of discipline resulting from persistent disobedience to orders. 

All members of the Turkish Armed Forces, starting with Commander-in-Chief President Erdoğan, are undoubtedly followers of our founding leader Atatürk. This issue cannot be opened for debate. Therefore, the concrete issue is never about being a soldier of Mustafa Kemal; it is entirely a matter of military disciplinary law based on lack of discipline.

Discipline is the foundation of the entire system in the Turkish Armed Forces. If the Ministry of National Defense and the TSK cannot apply the disciplinary law regarding the army without compromise, they will fall into a great weakness. 

The most severe damage that can be done to the National Army is to infect the army with the virus of indiscipline. Causing this, or turning a blind eye to indiscipline, opens the door to betrayal. 

In the concrete situation, a general tendency has emerged that the act is contrary to military disciplinary law. To say that there is an act contrary to military discipline but that no sanction should be applied would be complete negligence. Especially looking at the issue as 'youthful mistakes should be tolerated' is completely wrong. The issue is the National Army. The issue is to protect the National Army without compromise.

The only point that can be debated then is whether the sanction applied for this faulty act is proportionate. To say that a sanction should be applied but that the applied sanction is heavy is a legal claim. In this case, the owners of this claim must prove it legally. 

Of course, there can be a legal debate based on the reasoned decision. At the very least, a discussion can be held within the framework of military disciplinary law, that is, on the right ground, and this would also have legal meaning. As long as it stays within the limits of the law, this discussion is considered reasonable.

The issue will be handled again with all its legal aspects under administrative judicial review. When legal processes are finished, final decisions that everyone must accept will emerge. Only after that stage will the situation of those who have been sanctioned due to their faulty acts become clear. They, too, will chart a path for themselves. 

As such, those who oppose the decision entirely with prejudice and based on their own agendas are not interested in the concrete law of the matter or the real situation of the people who have been sanctioned; there are even approaches that exploit them.

What is interesting is that some circles objecting to the decision give the impression that they accept the decision legally, even if implicitly. Perhaps for this reason, the essence of the issue is avoided, and statements contrary to the truth are made regarding the justification of the decision.

Therefore, the real concern of many circles, individuals, or opponents who oppose the decision is not the debate on military discipline and law. Their only concern is to exploit this event for their narrow political interests. When the subject is Atatürk and the National Army, the sin of this exploitation becomes very great.

Making the National Army, which has been purged of the FETÖ gang and domestic and foreign coup-plotting nests, a subject of any exploitation is a state of complete heedlessness. 

Furthermore, certain segments, including some politicians, political analysts, commentators, and media figures, are inclined to discuss this dismissal process through big topics (!) that seem attractive to them, such as its effect on the future, the national army-nation relationship, and the army-politics relationship. Those who attempt this make a serious mistake and even become provocative, even if their intentions are not so. 

The National Army is the military guarantee of Turkey's independence, national power, and anti-imperialist struggle. 

The National Army is one of the fundamental guarantees of Turkey's future. 

Turkey's National Army is the hope of Central Afro-Eurasia and the oppressed of the world in the struggle against global imperialism.

The essence of the matter is that our National Army, the apple of our eye, must be protected meticulously."

??SUNDAY ARTICLE

THE NATIONAL ARMY IS THE APPLE OF OUR EYE!

Nearly four hundred newly graduated lieutenants said, “We are Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers.” Five of them and three ranking officers seen as related to the lack of discipline were given separation penalties (dismissal). To say that the reason for separation is the slogan “We are Mustafa Kemal’s…”

— Mehmet Uçum (@mehmetucum) February 2, 2025

News Source: 12punto