ISTANBUL — Top Turkish officials on Sunday lashed out at an
open letter signed by more than 100 retired admirals warning about a possible
threat to a treaty governing the use of Turkey’s key waterways.
اضافة اعلان
Turkey’s approval last month of plans to develop a shipping
canal in Istanbul comparable to the Panama or Suez canals has opened up debate
about the 1936 Montreux Convention.
Canal Istanbul is the most ambitious of what President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan terms his “crazy projects”, which have seen him transform
Turkey’s infrastructure with new airports, bridges, roads, and tunnels during
his 18 years in power.
Turkish officials argue that the new canal is vital to take
the pressure off Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait, a key route for world trade which
saw more than 38,000 vessels pass through last year.
The waterway between Europe and Asia is clogged with maritime
traffic and has seen several shipping accidents in recent years.
But opponents say apart from its environmental impact, the
new canal venture could undermine the Montreux accord.
The convention guarantees the free passage through the
Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits of civilian vessels in times of both peace
and war.
It also regulates the use of the straits by military vessels
from non-Black Sea states.
The new canal would allow ships to transit between the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea without passing through part of the straits
that are covered by the treaty.
Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, an analyst with the German Marshall
Fund, said whether the new canal would affect the Montreux rules remained
“ambiguous”.
“Montreux is a convention that guarantees Turkey’s security.
Even if the new canal is not bound by the treaty, Turkey must respect its terms
unilaterally,” he told AFP.
The proposed 75-billion-lira ($9.8-billion) alternative
would run to the west of the Bosphorus along a 45km route.
Unluhisarcikli said if the new canal is covered by Montreux
treaty, Turkey could not demand fees from commercial vessels.
In their letter, 104 retired admirals said it was “worrying”
to open the Monteux treaty up to debate, calling it an agreement that “best
protects Turkish interests”.
“We are of the opinion to refrain from any kind of rhetoric
or action that could make the Montreux Convention... a matter of controversy,”
they said.
The letter drew a strong riposte from top government
officials, while prosecutors in Ankara have also launched an investigation.
“Not only those who signed but also those who encourage them
will give an account before justice,” Erdogan’s top media aide Fahrettin Altun
said on Twitter, referring to the probe.
Erdogan is expected to address the issue at a meeting on
Monday, the presidency said.
Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the declaration
was “reminiscent of coup times.”
“They should know that our esteemed nation and its
representatives will never allow this mentality,” he tweeted.
The Turkish military, which has long seen itself as the
guarantor of the country’s secular constitution, staged three coups between
1960 and 1980.
Erdogan’s government also survived an attempted coup in July
2016 which it blamed on followers of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen.
The letter is seen as the most significant military
intervention in politics since 2016.
The defense ministry said the release of such a memorandum
“serves no purpose other than undermining our democracy, negatively influencing
the morale and motivation of the Turkish Armed Forces personnel, and to please
our enemies,” in a statement.
“We are fully confident that the independent Turkish
judiciary will do what is necessary,” the ministry said.
“Knowing and fully aware of the gains and losses under
international agreements, the Turkish Armed Forces cannot be instrumentalized
to serve the ambitions, greed, and personal goals of individuals who have no
official position or responsibilities.”
Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the opposition CHP party is
one of the strongest opponents of the canal project on financial and
environmental grounds.
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