The furor raging around an April 4 statement issued by 104 retired Turkish admirals warning of the perils of Turkey’s withdrawal from a landmark maritime treaty shows no signs of abating, as Turkey’s ruling Islamist-Ultranationalist alliance continues to paint the affair as an attempted coup. Some 910 associations, 408 foundations, 27 universities, 114 professional chambers, 550 unions and 46 federations, presumably all pro-government, have filed criminal complaints against the former naval commanders.
Ten of the signatories of the open letter airing concerns over Turkey’s possible withdrawal from the 1936 Montreux Convention, which granted Turkey full sovereignty over the Bosporus and Dardanelles, remain in custody, as prosecutors investigate their possible links to “foreign powers.” The retired admirals are facing charges of conspiracy to commit “a crime against the security and constitutional order of the Turkish state.” They have already been stripped of their pension rights, free lodging and security detail.
