Merdan Yanardağ reacts to retired military personnel bill: 'A complete Hitler law'

The legislative proposal submitted to the Speaker of the Parliament by AKP Group Chairman Abdullah Güler, which makes retired commanders' ability to express opinions in the media subject to the permission of the Ministry of National Defense, has drawn backlash.

TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ, who hosts the program 18 Dakika alongside Prof. Dr. Emre Kongar, described the law as a "complete Hitler law" and an "open attempt at dictatorship."

"AN ATTEMPT AT DICTATORSHIP"

Emphasizing that some retired commanders hold opinions against AKP policies, Merdan Yanardağ spoke as follows:

This is a Hitler law. This is a typical Islamo-fascist law. Look, it is not Islam. Do not distort it at all. This is a dictatorship law. A soldier who has retired is also an intellectual. All soldiers know what kind of training, what kind of process, and what kind of filter one must go through to become a general. People like us who follow the process closely also know this. They go through serious training. Over time, they increasingly become experts in the fields of military service, strategy, and international relations. Not just in terms of the art of war. These people continue their production after they retire. Some of them later receive academic titles as well. They write articles in newspapers related to their fields. So what will they do? They will apply to the Ministry of National Defense and say, 'I am going to write an article about the Ukraine-Russia war, and the content of my article consists of these and these headings.' If the Minister of National Defense gives permission, they will do it. In other words, they are saying this: A legal regulation is being made stating that retired soldiers cannot speak on political, social, economic, or military issues, or on international relations—that is, on any area of life—without the permission of AKP ministers, without the permission of the government. This has nothing to do with democracy or anything of the sort. This is an extremely clear attempt at dictatorship.

News Source: 12punto