Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued a stern warning to main opposition leader Özgür Özel: “Mr Özel, I am speaking to you as commander-in-chief: watch your step! If you don’t, we know how to make you.” The remarks were made during the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) extended provincial chairpersons’ meeting, where Erdoğan condemned Özel’s criticism of the military leadership.
The dispute stems from the recent dismissal of five lieutenants from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) by the Supreme Disciplinary Board. During a meeting of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) parliamentary group, Özel revealed that the head of the board, Lieutenant General Tevfik Algan, had opposed the dismissals and later resigned under pressure. He accused the Chief of the Land Forces, General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, and the Chief of the Naval Forces, Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, of orchestrating a campaign against officers who identified themselves as ‘Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers’.
In his speech, Erdoğan strongly condemned Özel’s statements, claiming that he had no right to question the military leadership: “You have no right to speak against the command structure of my army. Know your place.” He announced that he would convene the military command to discuss legal action, including lawsuits for non-pecuniary damages. Erdoğan also accused Özel of using irresponsible and aggressive language against the military and said, “Mr Özel’s political debts have put him in a difficult position. His path is neither clear nor politically polite. His irresponsible and hostile remarks against the leadership of our heroic army at yesterday’s group meeting are the latest example”.
Erdoğan’s comments drew sharp criticism from within the CHP. The parliamentary deputy of the CHP, Ali Mahir Başarır, responded with a defiant statement in a social media post, saying, “One day you are the leader of the AKP, another day you are the president, and then you call yourself the commander-in-chief. You cannot maintain your rule by changing masks and resorting to the politics of intimidation! We are the soldiers of the Republic. We will not bow down and we will not retreat”.
Özel had previously claimed that psychological pressure was being exerted on officers within the military, describing it as a “psychological warfare operation”. He said: “I know who put pressure on Algan, who worked for the dismissal of the lieutenants, who pushed this agenda in the media. I also know who within the army plotted against their colleagues and used mobbing. I am taking note of all this and when the time comes, they will be held accountable.”
Erdoğan’s response signals a further escalation in tensions between the ruling AKP and the main opposition CHP, with the military now at the centre of an increasingly heated political battle.
