Ertugrul Ozkok: A note of warning to the commanders
Güncelleme Tarihi:
I would be pleased to learn that certain commanders in the Turkish Armed Forces had read the column I am presenting below. I have thought a lot about whether to write this. I made my decision after reading the list of allegations that have been launched against General Yasar Buyukanit of the Turkish Land Forces. I am hoping that he, and others like him, will understand better what they are going through after reading the following.
Last summer, the son of an old friend of mine finished up his military service in Turkey (he did the short kind that you can do if you pay) and returned to his home abroad. After returning, he wrote me an email which I have never forgotten. Now, just to preface this, let me explain that this person is not an ideologically-driven sort at all. He has strong ties to Turkey, as well as a very healthy and objective way of analyzing things.
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What this son of the friend of mine wrote me about in his email was some of the incidents which took place during his short military service. He mostly focused on the "doctrine education" which took place throughout his service. There had been long talks by commanders from the Turkish Armed Forces, in which, as he saw it, the commanders attempted to impose their own stance against Turkish membership in the EU onto the soldiers. These same commanders explained to them how the Fener Patriarchate was an enemy organization on Turkish soil, and how it was trying to destroy Turkey. There was also apparently talk of Christian missionary activity in Turkey, as well as many unkind words for EU allies of Turkey's. This son of my friend's was very disturbed by this all, as well as by the general style used in the training camp, wherein soldiers who defended Turkish entrance into the EU were labeled "traitors."
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The most striking observation made by this youth was this: "The style used by these commanders in speaking to us was very close to that used by some radical religious newspapers."
When I became general editor of this newspaper in 1990, I gave two important new orders to writers and photographers for the paper. One was that I wanted no more photographs of bearded people emerging from Friday prayers at the mosque, with the words "Black Friday" underneath. The other was that I didn't want ugly pictures of Turkish soldiers to grace the pages of the paper. And so what I'm saying here today is within the framework of these two orders. I want to know whether or not the General Staff of the Turkish military is aware of the talks these commanders are having with new soldiers. Or are commanders simply airing their own viewpoints to these young men?
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The commanders of the Turkish Armed Forces were made very uncomfortable by the recent allegations that came from the Van Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya regarding the Semdinli events. But as much discomfort as they felt from these allegations, they must still be careful when it comes to their behavior and stance within other organizations in our society.