| Background on the situation can be seen here. |
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
detained 10 retired admirals for signing a statement supporting an 85-year-old maritime accord, and President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
said on Monday the document went beyond freedom of expression and implied a coup.
The statement, signed by more than a hundred former high-ranking navy personnel, voiced concern that the Montreux Convention could be debated or abandoned after having played an important role in Turkey’s security and past neutrality.
Government officials responded by accusing them of conspiring against the constitutional order, and Erdogan said the statement was unacceptable given Turkey’s history of military coups.
"The duty of retired admirals is... not publishing statements about a political debate that includes an implication of a coup," Erdogan told ministers and AK Party members.
The military staged three coups between 1960-1980 and, with a statement by the National Security Council, pressured the first Islamist-led government out of power in 1997. Another coup was attempted in 2016.
"In a country that has a history full of coups and statements, it is unacceptable for 104 retired admirals to attempt such an endeavor," Erdogan said, adding Turkey remained committed to the accord but could review it in the future.
The main opposition party said the government sought to distract from more critical issues, including a shock 12% lira depreciation two weeks ago, and record daily coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
cases. Erdogan blamed the opposition for the statement.
Montreux, signed in 1936, gives Turkey control over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits within its borders, and during peacetime guarantees access for civilian vessels. It also limits access of naval warships and governs foreign cargo ships.
The retired admirals defended the accord as strategically important for security, given Erdogan’s authority to withdraw from such pacts. Last month, the president suddenly ditched an international accord meant to prevent violence against women.
Prosecutors accuse the admirals of conspiring against state security, news website Haberturk said. State news agency Anadolu said four other suspects were called to report to police within three days as part of the probe.
The statement came as the government moves forward with plans to construct a massive canal connecting the Black Sea north of Istanbul to the Sea of Marmara to the south, parallel to the Bosphorus.
A
The secularist armed forces were once the dominant force in Turkey but Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party have eroded their influence since coming to power in 2002.
| Al Ahram adds: |
Authorities stripped the suspects of their rights to government lodgings and bodyguards, Anadolu reported, even before the investigation is concluded.
The statement was issued amid a debate over whether
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
from a international convention to protect women last month, could also pull the country out of the 1936 Treaty of Montreux, which regulates the passage through the straits, and other international treaties.
Anadolu reported that those detained include Cem Gurdeniz, the name behind Turkey's controversial ``Blue Homeland'' doctrine, which claims vast sections of the Mediterranean and Aegean and its undersea energy deposits. The concept is at odds with Greece and Cyprus' claims in the region.
The suspects were detained at their homes in Ankara, Istanbul and Kocaeli, and were to be questioned by the chief prosecutor's office in the capital.