Lieutenants dismissed from the TAF visit Anıtkabir to pay respects to Atatürk

Five lieutenants who were dismissed while reciting an oath to the "democratic and secular republic" at the Military Academy, affiliated with the National Defense University, have visited Anıtkabir.

At this year's graduation ceremony of the Military Academy, affiliated with the National Defense University (MSÜ), five lieutenants were dismissed from the TAF after chanting the slogan "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" and reciting an oath to the "democratic and secular republic." Yesterday, the lieutenants dismissed from the army visited Anıtkabir and appeared before Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Journalist and 12punto columnist Müyesser Yıldız shared a photograph taken during the lieutenants' visit to Anıtkabir.

Sharing the photo, Müyesser Yıldız wrote, "Our 5 lieutenants, who were dismissed from the TAF on charges of indiscipline, are at Anıtkabir... Contrary to what some want to provoke, they did not go today, but quietly last night to express their loyalty to our Ata..."

"Disiplinsizlik" suçlamasıyla TSK'dan ihraç edilen 5 teğmenimiz Anıtkabir'de...

Öyle birilerinin provoke etmek istediği gibi, bugün değil dün akşam saatlerinde sessiz sedasız giderek Ata'mıza bağlılıklarını bildirdiler... pic.twitter.com/QWnOG0tE3P

— Müyesser Yıldız (@MuyesserYildiz) February 2, 2025

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

During the Military Academy graduation ceremony held on August 30 Victory Day, some of the graduating students gathered separately after reciting the military oath at the official ceremony.

A group of approximately 400 lieutenants crossed their swords and, led by class valedictorian Ebru Eroğlu, recited the "officer's oath" in unison, declaring, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal."

These images were shared on social media accounts and subsequently became a central topic in politics.

In previous statements to the press, Ministry of National Defense (MSB) sources stated that the investigation was not related to the content of the text read or the slogan chanted, saying, "The Turkish Armed Forces cannot have any problem with Atatürk."

Stating that the issue was "disobedience to orders," MSB sources had used the expressions, "What is being questioned here is indiscipline and the motivation behind it."

MSB sources also emphasized that the students had applied seven times to read the text, but were not granted permission.

The words of the oath repeated by the lieutenants after saying "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" are as follows:

"We swear that we will be there against any hands reaching out to the independence of the secular, democratic Republic of Turkey, the indivisible integrity of the country, the honor and dignity of the noble Turkish nation, and even a single inch of the sacred homeland, and our swords will always be sharp and ready. We are the children of the Turkish future. We were born with honor, we will live with honor. How happy is the one who says I am a Turk!"

WHAT DID THE LIEUTENANTS SAY IN THEIR STATEMENTS?

Ebru Eroğlu, who led the oath, stated in her defense that she had "conveyed the request to recite the officer's oath at the official ceremony to her superiors without breaking the chain of command," but was informed that the Military Academy regulations had changed and therefore they could not recite the oath during the ceremony.

In her written statement, Eroğlu said, "We complied with this order and did not act in violation of this order in any way during the ceremony, nor did we even attempt to do so."

The lieutenant whose dismissal from the TAF was requested also stated the following:

"I thought that the press was also moving with the protocol after the protocol left the ceremony area. Because until today, news channels cut their broadcasts after the President left the area and did not broadcast the entire ceremony or what happened afterwards. There was nothing concerning the press in this activity; if I had wanted a photo or video to be taken, I would have invited my family there in the first place."

Lieutenant Talip İzzet Akarsu said the following in his defense:

"The incident is an event that took place during the traditional sword-crossing at the end of the ceremony. We obeyed the order given. There was no order given that the officer's oath would not be recited after the ceremony. We could never have the intention of damaging the reputation of the state or the TAF."

Lieutenant Batuhan Gazi Kılıç stated that they recited the oath after the graduation ceremony and did not disobey any orders.

Kılıç said, "No one gave us an order saying 'you will not recite the officer's oath' after the ceremony ended. For this reason, I never thought that reciting the officer's oath would be an act of indiscipline, and I participated in the recited oath."

Lieutenant Deniz Demirtaş stated that he was outside the circle formed by the lieutenants during the sword-crossing.

Lieutenant Serhat Gündar noted that he only arrived for the second half of the sword-crossing and the recitation of the officer's oath, and said, "I have no intent of indiscipline."

News Source: 12punto