ISTANBUL (AP) – A group of retired Turkish admirals was attacked on Sunday for issuing a statement that government officials linked the history of Turkish military coups.
The 103 former naval officers criticized the suggestion that Turkey could withdraw from the international treaty that regulates navigation through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, which link the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay compared the signers of the declaration to “cowards whistling in a cemetery”. Numan Kurtulus, the deputy leader of Turkey’s ruling party, tweeted that they were “lovers of old Turkey who see themselves above the will of the nation”.
The possibility of leaving the 1936 Montreux Convention was raised earlier this week during discussions about the construction of a navigation channel north of Istanbul that would bypass the Bosphorus.
“The fact that the withdrawal of the Montreux Convention was open to debate as part of the negotiations on the Istanbul Channel and the authority to withdraw from international treaties has been met with concern,” said the retired admirals in a statement released late Saturday.
“We believe that all kinds of comments and actions that lead to discussions about the Montreux Convention, which occupies a significant place in Turkey’s survival, should be avoided,” the group said.
The ruling party and government officials have drawn a parallel with statements that accompanied previous military takeovers in Turkey. The chief prosecutor in Ankara has launched an investigation into the admiral’s statement.
Turkey suffered coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980, and military intervention in 1997 caused the resignation of a coalition government led by Islamists. In 2016, a failed coup resulted in more than 250 deaths.
“The statement by a group of retired military personnel evoking the period of coups only made them look ridiculous and pathetic,” tweeted Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin.
“Let them know that our beloved nation and its representatives will never allow this mentality and enthusiasm for (military) guardianship,” said Kalin.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that the Armed Forces cannot be used as “a vehicle for the greed, ambition and personal goals of those who have no duties or responsibilities”.