Major clash between Kemalists and Islamists in the Turkish military: Yeni Şafak

Turkish media reported on the presence of “junta captains” following incidents at the Tuzla Infantry School in the province of Istanbul between Kemalist ultra-nationalists and Islamists.

According to the Turkish pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak newspaper, a series of WhatsApp group conversations reveal the methods used by Kemalist captains, who targeted religious students at the school, applying pressure and issuing threats.

Incidents at the school in Tuzla prompted the judicial inquiry on November 10, when, during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of Kemal Atatürk, around 100 captains attacked religious student officers because the latter refused to wear pictures of him. Kemal, citing “the absence of pins”.

Tensions, however, continued, with student officers going to the quarters of the Kemalist captains to demand their word. In general, such incidents were repeated in the following days, while abusive expressions and threats against state officials were detected in the WhatsApp conversations of “hunt” captains – not even Erdoğan escaped their thoughts.

At the same time, the opposition Kemalist press is talking about the presence of core Islamists at the Infantry School, controlled by religious brotherhoods, communicating with each other through a group they created on WhatsApp and gathering in homes on weekends. The Kemalist captains intended to bring them into the public debate, informing former prosecutors.

During a press conference for the annual review of the ministry, the Minister of Defence, Yaşar Güler, also described the situation of November 10 and how it started. As he said, the case was referred to Justice and the disciplinary board, while the administrative employees who were found responsible have been suspended.

Meanwhile, Yeni Şafak links the captains to the chairman of the Zafer Partisi (Victory Party), Umit Özdag, who, in his social media posts, has taken a clear stand in favour of the Kemalist captains.

“The Ground Forces Command Disciplinary Board decided to fire four patriotic Turkish lieutenants from the Turkish Armed Forces who retaliated against a lieutenant not wearing a photo of Atatürk on his chest. Remember, Mustafa Kemal won in the end, and Mustafa Kemal will win again,” he wrote.

READ MORE: Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves threaten Israeli athletes participating at the Paris 2024 Olympics.