'Montreux Declaration saved government from talking about people's problems'

What happened?

At midnight on April 3, some 103 retired admirals released a declaration concerning the Montreux Convention, the international treaty regulating the status of the Turkish Straits.

"The opening of the Montreux Convention to debate as part of Canal İstanbul and the authority of the annulment of international treaties is met with concern," says the declaration.

It has been debated whether the Montreux Convention will be binding for Canal İstanbul, a planned artificial waterway parallel to the Bosphorus Strait. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously said it wouldn't be.

More recently, Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop said that the president can also withdraw the country from the Montreux Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.

He later clarified his remarks, saying that he made a comment in terms of legal technicalities rather than the government's intentions.

"Being one of the most important waterways in the world, the Turkish Straits have been administered in accordance with multinational treaties throughout the history," says the declaration, noting that it gives Turkey full sovereignty over the straits and made it possible for Turkey to remain neutral in World War II.

"We are of the opinion that all kinds of statements and actions that can make the Montreux Convention, which holds a significant place in Turkey's survival, a subject of debate or put it onto the table should be avoided."

Religious groups

The declaration also mentions leaked photos showing rear admiral Mehmet Sarı in Islamic clothes in a home together with the members of who are said to be members of a pro-government religious cult.

The retired officers said the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) should maintain the Constitution's unchangeable values and the "modern path" drawn by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic.

"The TSK and our Naval Forces have suffered a very deliberate attack by FETÖ ["Fetullahist Terrorist Organization"] and sacrificed its valuable staff members to these treacherous conspiracies," says the statement, in reference to an Islamic group led by US-based cleric Fetullah Gülen, which was allied with the government until late 2013.

The group is held responsible for the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, and numerous officers have been dismissed from the army for being members of it since then.

"For these reasons, we condemn and oppose with all our existence the efforts to portray the TSK and our Naval forces as if they moved away from these values and the modern path drawn by Atatürk.

"Otherwise, the Republic of Turkey may face the risk and threat of experiencing depressing and the most dangerous incidents for its survival, which have examples in history."

Government reactions

Government officials strongly reacted to the declaration, which they said was an implicit coup threat.

Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter, "A few admirals came together and wrote a 'declaration.' And the fifth column elements got excited. Sit the hell down. That Turkey is now in the past! This nation showed friends and enemies on July 15 how it trampled those who desired a coup. Know your place!"

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın also said on Twitter that the retired officers should "know their place."

Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop tweeted, "Expressing an opinion and is one thing, preparing a declaration resembling a coup is another."

The investigation

Prosecutors in Ankara opened an investigation into the declaration one day later and 10 retired officers were detained on April 5.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that an ex officio investigation was launched into the declaration on charge of "making an agreement to commit a crime against the security of the state and the Constitutional order" as per the Article 316/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

The Article 316/1 of the TCK says, "Where two or more persons make an agreement to commit any one of the offences listed in parts four and five of this chapter by using appropriate means, a penalty of imprisonment for a term of three to twelve years shall be imposed, depending upon the gravity of the offence."

On April 5, 96 former MPs released a joint statement in support of the retired admirals.