The mosque detail in the lieutenants' file: A 'secularism' lesson for Lieutenant Ebru

Müyesser YILDIZ - 12punto

The file regarding the lieutenants was received today by their lawyers, Mustafa Güler and İlter Aksoylu, who went to the Land Forces Command to collect it.

The lawyers were provided with all correspondence, primarily the 165-page administrative investigation reports from the National Defense University Rectorate, 176 pages of information-gathering minutes, disciplinary investigation reports from the Training and Doctrine Command (EDOK), and other documents.

Meanwhile, the lawyers, having determined that the Ministry of National Defense's letter dated November 29 regarding the opinions and proposals of the lieutenants' disciplinary superiors was missing from the file, added a note to the receipt record. The Land Forces Command official who delivered the file also wrote on the same record: "The superior opinion and proposal forms present in the file were reviewed with the identities of the disciplinary superiors redacted, but no copies were provided."

Erhan Afyoncu: "What are they doing?"

At the beginning of the Administrative Investigation Report, after describing the events and stating, "Following the conclusion of the official part of the graduation ceremony and the departure of the protocol, some of the newly graduated lieutenants entered the ceremony area and recited the aforementioned oath, which was not in the program," it was observed that a summary of the information-gathering minutes of the Military Academy administrators was included.

Gültekin Yaralı, who was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Commander of the 7th Corps with this year's Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) decisions, stated the following in his testimony taken by phone on September 16:

"I handed over my duties on August 19, 2024. I did not attend or watch any ceremony rehearsals. However, I stayed at the location where the ceremony rehearsal area was set up from time to time to see the administrative preparations on-site. I did not receive any information. Neither the cadets, nor the platoon commander, nor the company commander, nor the battalion commander, nor the deputy regiment commander mentioned this request of the cadets to me. I did not hear anything. I saw it when the videos appeared on television after the ceremony while I was in Diyarbakır."

The new Commander of the Military Academy, Brigadier General Levent Sabahattin Güldağı, also stated that he had not received any request from the graduating cadets to recite an oath not in the program during rehearsals or at any time before the ceremony, nor had he heard anything about it, and continued as follows:

"Following the end of the ceremony, after I gave the report to the President, 'The ceremony has concluded, Mr. President,' the President went outside to meet with the families of martyrs from Azerbaijan outside the stadium. I went out with him. During the group photo session with the families of the martyrs, the voices of the lieutenants began to come from the stadium. I heard words like, 'We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal.' I also heard the announcement voice of the class valedictorian, Lieutenant Ebru, saying, 'Families, clear the stadium. Lieutenants, to the stadium.' Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Erhan Afyoncu, came up to me and asked, 'What are they doing?' Since there was no such activity in the planning, I said, 'I don't know. It might be a traditional celebration. I need to ask.' At that moment, I called Colonel Alper, but I could not reach him. After seeing off the protocol, I went to the Yıldız Garden. The Dean of the Military Academy, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Ethem Atnur, and Deputy Dean, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arif Sarı, were there. Lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu, Lieutenant Mevlüt Karabacak, and Lieutenant Pelin Korkusuz, who ranked in the top three, came to receive their gifts, and I gave them their gifts. I asked Lieutenant Ebru, 'Why did you engage in such an act?' and told her that what she did was wrong. Lieutenant Ebru remained silent at first, then I asked, 'Was this a planned activity?' She said, 'No, it developed at that moment.' The Dean and the Deputy Dean called the regiment senior, Talip İzzet Akarsu. When the Dean asked why they did such a thing, Talip İzzet Akarsu replied in a very relaxed tone, 'In the past, we were labeled as a cult. We were uncomfortable with this. We made such an attempt to express ourselves.' Later, Acting Regiment Commander Colonel Alper Topsakal, Deputy Regiment Commander Colonel Önder Hançer, and the new Regiment Commander Lieutenant Colonel Halit Türkoğlu arrived. I asked, 'Why didn't you take the necessary precautions and prevent the lieutenants from entering the field again?' They said that because the President had not yet left the area, the security team had closed it off with barricades and did not allow the lieutenants to go. When I asked, 'Why didn't you intervene while the lieutenants were taking the oath?' they said, 'If we had intervened, an ugly scene could have emerged.'... In the meeting held by Rector Prof. Dr. Erhan Afyoncu at the school on September 5, attended by Deputy Regiment Commander Colonel Önder Hançer, Staff Lieutenant Colonel Halit Türkoğlu, Staff Lieutenant Colonel Ali Aşıcı, Artillery Lieutenant Colonel Yasin Yaşar, and the dean and deputy dean, Rector Afyoncu asked, 'Were you aware of the lieutenants' aforementioned activity?' The Battalion Commander of the graduating lieutenants, Lieutenant Colonel Halit, said, 'Previously, Lieutenant Ebru requested to recite this oath. I rejected it because it was not in the directive. I also made a speech addressing the battalion to ensure that the cadets did not pressure Lieutenant Ebru.' I also used a sentence like, 'It's a good thing they didn't recite it during the ceremony.' Lieutenant Colonel Halit Türkoğlu said that he had also heard rumors that the lieutenants wanted to recite it during the ceremony."

A "Secularism" Lesson for Lieutenant Ebru

The following interesting detail was included in the testimony of the Dean of the Military Academy, Prof. İbrahim Ethem Atanur:

"Our Rector said, 'Call the top three who ranked. Discuss with them why they did such a thing,' and left the school. The School Commander called the top three and the regiment senior. Deputy Dean Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arif Sarı was also with me. I asked Lieutenant Ebru, who ranked in the top three, 'Why did you do this?' She said, 'We had a cult label on us. We needed to take this oath to remove it. We thought we could express ourselves better while the press was there.' The regiment senior, Talip İzzet Akarsu, also said these sentences to me. He was also there. The second and third place winners did not express an opinion on this matter. I and the School Commander told them they did wrong. Furthermore, I said to Lieutenant Ebru, 'If our subject is secularism, you are secularism. You became the class valedictorian as a female lieutenant. You received your diploma from our President, he honored you.'"

Rector Afyoncu's Information from the Police

The remarkable mosque allegation, which has not been brought to the agenda until today in the lieutenants' incident, was voiced by the Deputy Dean of the Military Academy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arif Sarı.

Regarding the events of August 30, Sarı stated, "When the group's voices rose, our Rector, Prof. Dr. Erhan Afyoncu, who had gone outside to see off our President, called me on the phone and said, 'Are you in the stands?' After I said 'Yes,' he said, 'Follow what is happening on the field.' I then sent the photographer waiting in the stands to the field and told him to record the events." After providing this information, he recounted the following regarding the meeting Rector Prof. Afyoncu held at the school on September 5:

"The Rector asked, 'Were you aware that the lieutenants were making preparations or rehearsing for this during the entertainment on the evening of August 29?' The Battalion Commander said, 'On the evening of August 29, the cadets gathered at the Celal Dora ceremony area and had fun, played drums, but did not engage in any different activity.' Afterwards, the Rector asked, 'Did the cadets come to the area near the newly built mosque and gather and chant slogans? Did they make preparations? Did information come from the police in this direction? Are you aware of this?' The Battalion Commander said, 'No, we have no such information.' Our Rector asked, 'It is heard all the way from the police, but it is strange that you do not hear it. Who was the officer on duty that day?' The Dumlupınar Battalion Commander, Tank Staff Lieutenant Colonel Ali Aşıcı, who was present there, replied, 'I was the officer on duty.' Our Rector asked if there was any activity next to the new mosque. He said there was not. Later, our Rector called the intelligence officer and gave the instruction to examine the cameras overlooking the new mosque. I went to examine the camera recordings with the intelligence officer. When I examined the camera recordings, I saw that approximately 300 people had gathered. However, since there was no sound, I did not hear what they were saying. After the answer of Deputy Regiment Commander and Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Halit, 'We had no information about the lieutenants' meeting on the evening of August 29,' Lieutenant Colonel Ali did not give any answer on this matter, he nodded in agreement."

News Source: Müyesser Yıldız