Opposition divided on retired admirals' 'Montreux Declaration'

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While the government slammed the 103 retired admirals over the "Montreux declaration," accusing them of implicitly threatening the government with a coup, reactions from opposition politicians were diverse.

The declaration released on Saturday (April 3) night warns against opening up the Montreux Convention on the Turkish Straits for discussion and makes criticism over leaked photos allegedly showing an admiral at a meeting of a religious cult.

CLICK - Retired admirals' midnight declaration on Montreux Convention triggers 'coup' debate

CHP: Patriotic criticism

Several senior figures of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) announced support for the retired officers, saying that they offered "patriotic criticism" and exercised their freedom of expression.

CHP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Engin Özkoç said in a Twitter post that the admirals in question "stood still" against the coup attempt in July 2016. "I congratulate patriotic criticisms," he wrote.

CHP deputy Aykut Erdoğdu said, "The retired officers that prepared the declaration are civilian citizens who left their uniforms and weapons. The civilian putschists perceiving the concerns they shared as 'coup' implications is a part of 'Goebbels' tactics."

CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Spokesperson Faik Öztrak called the debate a "fake agenda" meant to distract the public from the real problems.

"We don't find the fake agendas worth talking about ... The situation of our youth is not seen from palaces but I'm telling you, these young people know what manipulation is. Don't waste your breath," Öztrak wrote on Twitter.

Quoting his message, Kılıçdaroğlu wrote, "These fake agendas won't work. The only real agenda of our people is their dining tables."

"The great and famous economist, I'll make you face the economic destruction that you have caused," he wrote, addressing President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

İYİ Party: Babbling

İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener held a press conference about the issue yesterday (April 4), saying that what the admirals did was "babbling."

"We woke up in the morning and saw that retired admirals released a declaration out of boredom ... My personal opinion is that this is babbling. This country suffered a lot from such babblings," she said.

She also underlined the real problem of the country is economic issues, saying, "I was in Hakkari yesterday and in Konya on Thursday. We must talk about the troubles of the unemployed youth, children without tablets. We must talk about the problems of shopkeepers."

She added the fact that the declaration was released at midnight resembled coup memorandums and this gave the government the opportunity to "stamp on it."

Aytun Çıray, an İYİ Party MP and Akşener's senior adviser, however, announced support for the declaration. "As a medical lieutenant I put my signature under it," he wrote on Twitter shortly after the declaration was released.

"We are fed up with the coup paranoia and theater. This country has 400 thousand soldiers and 300 thousand police officers. And the Turkish nation that would sacrifice their lives against putschists," he wrote.

HDP: Look in the mirror

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Garo Paylan recalled the dismissal of his party's mayors and MPs, saying that the government should "look in the mirror" to find putschists. "Putting elected members of parliament, elected mayors in jail and laying down the law about the national will is hypocritical," he wrote on Twitter.

Davutoğlu: Ill-intentioned

Ahmet Davutoğlu, the former PM who founded the Future Party (GP) in 2019 after leaving the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), criticized the admirals, saying what they did was "ill-intentioned and irresponsible."

"The Future Party stands with the national will, the state of law and democracy. Regardless of being military or civilian those who desire a coup cannot be allowed," he said.

Babacan: The solution is full democracy

Ali Babacan, who served as the foreign minister and deputy prime minister during the AKP's term and founded the Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party last year, also criticized the admirals, saying that "The pages of shame in our history are full of military intervention in politics. This painful memory should not be relapsed," adding that the government shouldn't include state institutions in its campaign against the declaration and the solution is "full democracy." (AS/VK)