Six retired Turkish admirals were arrested on Monday, the day after the publication of an open letter signed by a hundred former officers criticizing a plan by the head of state to build a canal in Istanbul which they believe could threaten the freedom of navigation. According to the Ankara Attorney General’s Office, the ten retired admirals have been taken into custody. Four other former officers were not arrested because of their age, but were ordered to report to Ankara police within the next three days.
An investigation has been opened against the retired soldiers who signed the letter for “meeting aimed at committing a crime against state security and constitutional order”, according to the prosecutor’s office. Senior Turkish officials condemned on Sunday the open letter signed by more than 100 retired admirals warning against the threat that they believe the “Istanbul Canal” project, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for a treaty that guarantees free passage through the Bosphorus Strait.
A debate deemed “worrying”
Turkey’s approval last month of plans to develop a navigation canal in Istanbul comparable to those in Panama or Suez opened the debate on the Montreux Convention. “Canal Istanbul” is the most ambitious of what President Erdogan calls his “crazy projects”, which have seen him transform Turkey’s infrastructure with new airports, bridges, roads and tunnels during his 18 years as a government. power. The government argues that this canal would provide Istanbul with a new center of attraction in addition to relieving the Bosporus, one of the most congested straits in the world.
But opponents say that in addition to its impact on the environment, the project could compromise the Montreux Convention, dating from 1936, which guarantees the free passage of civilian ships in the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, both in peacetime. that of war. In their open letter, 104 retired admirals said it is “worrying” to open a debate on the Treaty of Montreux, saying it is an agreement which “protects Turkish interests as well as possible” .
The admirals’ letter sparked a sharp response from government officials. “Not only those who signed, but also those who encourage them will be held accountable in court,” Fahrettin Altun, President Erdogan’s communications chief, said on Twitter on Sunday. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to address this issue at a meeting on Monday at 12 p.m., the presidency said.
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