Lieutenant Generals and their superiors

Mustafa Kemal's military lieutenants and superiors were dismissed by a majority decision of the Supreme Disciplinary Board of the K.K.K. A majority vote means that not all members of the board approved the decision. That is to say, some members of the committee put a comment on this decision. The names of those who approved and disapproved the decision have not yet been announced. 

Will it be announced, that is also a mystery.

Let's look at who is in this committee.

Members of the High Disciplinary Board of the K.K.K:
Chief of Staff 
Head of Personnel 
Head of Intelligence 
Head of Operations 
Head of Logistics 
Head of project management department 
Head of the transfer department 
Legal Counsellor 
Seniority registry branch manager

So why and from where were these lieutenants and their superiors dismissed?

The apparent reason is lack of discipline. We will see what kind of indiscipline can lead to dismissal when the reasoned decision is announced. However, it is obvious that this decision was political, not military, and that the real reason for dismissal was not indiscipline.

The lieutenants and their supervisors were dismissed from Mustafa Kemal's army and from being Mustafa Kemal's soldiers because they said ‘We are soldiers of Mustafa Kemal’ and swore allegiance to Atatürk, outside the ceremony programme. Moreover, let's remember that when this incident first came to light, the actions of the lieutenants were approved by the government and the opposition, and no criticism was made, but suddenly the incident was stirred up by trolls and the opinion of those in power was changed.

It was as if a hidden hand had created an offence that did not exist and intended to behead someone. The sentence given to the lieutenants has gone down in history as an indication of the politicisation of the law in the country and the increasing pressure of the government through the law. This dismissal decision may have pleased the supporters of the government, but it is obvious that it is an unjust decision in the eyes of the majority of the people. 

The political power fails to realise that it is being played by the trolls it thinks it supports. The biggest weakness of the government is that it does not realise that the wrong decisions and erroneous practices it takes under the pressure of the partisan media cause it to lose votes. Political and media structures that appear to support the government take advantage of this weakness and weaken the government in the eyes of the public. Considering the fact that polls show that nearly 80 per cent of the society disapproves of this dismissal, it is natural that the decision is interpreted politically, and it is obvious that such a decision will harm the government, not help it.

Let us return to the lieutenants.

As an academician who graduated from the Military Academy, I have written articles on this subject three times under the titles ‘Being Mustafa Kemal's Soldier I-II-III’ and emphasised that lieutenants should not be dismissed, but should not be penalised in any way. I tried to explain that those who dismissed Atatürk's soldiers from Atatürk's army, those who did not put an annotation under this decision, and those in authority who approved the dismissal will definitely have to pay for this decision one day.

Apparently we did not make our point.

The reasoning of the members who signed the decision dismissing the lieutenants and those who annotated against it is not known, as it has not yet been announced. However, what is clear at this stage is that these lieutenants have raised their rank in the hearts of the nation to general with their dismissal decision, while those who made or had made this dismissal decision did not or could not act in accordance with their rank and position in the eyes of the nation. 

Whether it is the expectation of personal fulfilment, favouring the government or cronies, obligation, obedience to pressure from above, or a strange understanding of discipline, whatever the reason, those who took this decision will attract the great reaction of all Atatürkists, both military and civilian, for the rest of their lives. These people, who will not even be able to face the current and retired Atatürkist personnel in the TAF in the future, have destroyed their future in order to save the day. Those who are unable to perceive the magnitude of this misfortune today will see that they will not be able to look their comrades in arms in the future when they retire, that they will have to live in their own loneliness, and they will surely realise the mistake they have made.

Positions and positions come and go. 

What has been experienced and what has been done is not forgotten.

The future is on the side of the brave.