Turkey detains 10 retired admirals after statement triggers coup scare
A group of retired Turkish navy admirals are under investigation after penning a letter on a Bosporus Strait treaty government officials claim is “reminiscent of coup times.”
ISTANBUL — Turkish police detained 10 retired navy admirals on April 5 after more than 100 former officers issued an open letter Ankara officials interpreted as a challenge to civilian government rule.
In a statement published midnight Saturday, the retired admirals expressed concern regarding an ongoing debate in Turkey over whether the government would pull out of the 1936 Montreux Convention, which regulates naval traffic in Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait and the Black Sea.
Due to Turkey’s history of repeated military coups, the statement was seen as a threat by members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration, who quickly condemned the letter as an affront on the government’s mandate.
“A group of retired soldiers are putting themselves into a laughable and miserable position with a statement reminiscent of coup times,” presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin tweeted Sunday morning.
