The disciplinary board of Turkey’s Land Forces Command on January 18 decided to dismiss seven officers involved in a dispute over wearing badges bearing the photo of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, during a ceremony at a military academy, according to a special report by the 10Haber news website.
Turkish media reported in December that an altercation took place among lieutenants at the Tuzla Infantry School Command in İstanbul when some of them refused to wear Atatürk badges at a ceremony on November 10 marking the 85th anniversary of Atatürk’s death and allegedly threw the badges on the ground.
The pro-government media also covered the incident, using the term “Lieutenant Junta” in front-page headlines and claiming that pious cadets were being blacklisted at the school.
Yeni Şafak alleged that a group of lieutenants organized and physically assaulted their pious colleagues following the ceremony, during which some officers did not wear Atatürk badges on their lapels, claiming a shortage of pins. The daily said the group used offensive language and later attacked the other officers in the barracks.
The officers who were assaulted filed a criminal complaint, leading to the launch of an investigation, Yeni Şafak reported.
The Defense Ministry released a written statement after the media reports, saying that an administrative investigation had been initiated in addition to the ongoing judicial investigation into the incident.
According to the 10Haber report, the officers defended themselves before the Supreme Disciplinary Council of the Land Forces Command, which met on January 18. The lieutenant who refused to wear a photo of Atatürk and two other lieutenants who supported him did not defend themselves.
The council ruled to dismiss all seven officers.
However, it decided to investigate the administration at the Tuzla Infantry School over their responsibility in the incident.
If the Ministry of Defense approves the decision, the dismissal of the seven lieutenants will be final.
The Turkish military, which was once considered a bastion of secularism, frequently appears on the public agenda due to the use of religious discourse by some army officials, which many attribute to the influence of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).
