"Outrageous individuals" Erdogan threatens "purges" after oath on "democratic Turkey"

The Turkish military presents itself to graduates as the guardian of the secular constitution. The Islamic-conservative head of state feels provoked.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened those responsible for an oath by military graduates for a secular and democratic Turkey with expulsion. The military would be purged of the few "outrageous individuals" who were behind the events on August 30, Erdogan said at a conference of Islamic schools in Kocaeli at the weekend. "Whoever they are, they cannot be part of our military," he said.

At the swearing-in ceremony, the 960 graduates initially recited the official oath. However, videos showed around 400 of them pulling out their sabres a few hours later in the open field and shouting: "We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers." Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881 to 1938) was the founder of modern secular Turkey. Closing speaker Ebru Eroglu then led the group to the officer's oath, in which the participants swore to defend "a secular, democratic Turkey". This oath was canceled by the Academy in 2022.

Already "purged" in 2016

The Turkish military traditionally sees itself as the guarantor of a secular Turkey in the spirit of Atatürk, which has led to a series of coups. Between 1960 and 1980, it staged three coups against elected governments and in 1997 forced the resignation of the Islamic-conservative Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, whose party Erdogan also belonged to at the time. As head of government and president, Erdogan abolished many of Atatürk's secular traditions. A military coup d'état against him failed in 2016, after which thousands were removed from the armed forces, the judiciary and other public offices.

Commentators close to the government saw the events at the swearing-in ceremony as a potential challenge to Erdogan's government. Others praised it on the internet as a sign that the Turkish military will remain secular, independent of the ruling party. The leader of the nationalist MHP party, Erdogan's ally Devlet Bahceli, called for an investigation.

dpa