BansheeOne Posted June 24, 2019 Posted June 24, 2019 Judging from the fact that people interrupted their vacations to come back to the city and vote, they definitely took the issue serious.
Jeff Posted June 24, 2019 Posted June 24, 2019 Not even close.I wonder what the real vote was given that Erdogan most likely goosed the numbers for his side.
Markus Becker Posted July 9, 2019 Posted July 9, 2019 Be careful what you wish for: The AKP is having second thoughts about the all powerful office of president. After the defeats in the municipal elections they think about the consequences of losing a presidential election. And that's just the start of it. Members of parliament generally don't like the new constitution either because they have way less powers than before. And there are growing rumours that AKP dissidents are about to form a new party. An ex president and the recently stepped down Minister of the Economy are considered as leading figures. Best of luck to them.
Panzermann Posted July 10, 2019 Posted July 10, 2019 Be careful what you wish for: The AKP is having second thoughts about the all powerful office of president. After the defeats in the municipal elections they think about the consequences of losing a presidential election. And that's just the start of it. Members of parliament generally don't like the new constitution either because they have way less powers than before. And there are growing rumours that AKP dissidents are about to form a new party. An ex president and the recently stepped down Minister of the Economy are considered as leading figures. Best of luck to them. After years of boom the turkish economy is also having problems, which makes the rulers seat uncomfortable. The opposition sees an opportunity it looks like.
Josh Posted July 11, 2019 Posted July 11, 2019 The Turkish economy is on the edge of a huge bust. Too many loans in foreign debt need to be serviced by a falling lira and the Receptionist fired the head banker which will only lower foreign investment and confidence in the Turkish economy.
Mistral Posted July 11, 2019 Posted July 11, 2019 S400 delivery has started according to AKP controlled media. I wonder if the US will blink as it seems the Sultan called their bluff. Or so he thinks it's a bluff
Jeff Posted July 11, 2019 Posted July 11, 2019 S400 delivery has started according to AKP controlled media. I wonder if the US will blink as it seems the Sultan called their bluff. Or so he thinks it's a bluff There will be no blinking, the F35 sale is non-negotiable if the S400 deal is consummated, as it appears it will be. This is one more step towards Turkey being marginalized if not outright removed from NATO. Perhaps the Sultan will be gone at some point down the road and we can revisit the relationship.
BansheeOne Posted November 26, 2020 Posted November 26, 2020 Quote Date 26.11.2020 Turkey issues life sentences over failed 2016 coup Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim preacher who was once an Erdogan ally, is accused of ordering the failed putsch. His movement has been proscribed as a terrorist group by Ankara, although he denies all charges. A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced 337 suspects to life in jail over a 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A total of 475 defendants were on trial, 365 of them in jail. It is the latest ruling in a series of cases that began in 2017 to try those accused of trying to overthrow the goverment in a coup that left at least 250 dead and more then 2,000 people injured. What were the sentences in detail? According to Turkish news agency Anadolu, 25 F-16 pilots were given aggravated life sentences while four civilians were each given 79 life sentences. Prosecutors argued former air force commander Akin Ozturk and others at the Akinci air base directed the coup, bombed government buildings, and attempted to kill President Erdogan. A total of 475 people were on trial, 365 of them in custody. "Aggravated life sentences" come with tougher terms than a normal life sentence. They were brought in to replace the death penalty which Turkey abolished in 2004 as part of its long-stalled drive to join the EU. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-issues-life-sentences-over-failed-2016-coup/a-55731587 Quote 24. November 2020 5:11 PM Aktualisiert vor 2 Tagen Erdogan's snap economic rethink prompted by bleak briefings -Turkish sources By Orhan Coskun, Jonathan Spicer ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to oust Turkey’s central bank chief this month was made hours after briefings on the fragile state of the economy, a snap judgement that prompted his son-in-law to resign as finance minister, four sources said. According to the four people familiar with the chain of events, Naci Agbal was propelled into the central bank job after he and other senior AK Party members warned the president about sharply depleted foreign reserves. Their accounts offer important clues to the sudden economic pivot over the weekend of Nov. 6-9. Investors are still trying to navigate what Erdogan has called a new economic era, with the lira rising 10% on the reshuffle but dropping back 5% this week. Over at least two days of briefings leading to Erdogan’s decision on Friday Nov. 6, he was also warned about a failure to secure more foreign funding from abroad, and strains from the lira’s 30% fall since January and COVID-19, the sources said. Alarmed, the president summoned then-central bank governor Murat Uysal that Friday to ask how net FX reserves had fallen by more than half this year and his plan to restore the buffer. The drop is recorded in public central bank data so cannot have been a surprise, but the sources said the chat convinced Erdogan that Uysal must be replaced. “Uysal’s removal and Agbal’s appointment happened in a matter of hours,” one of the sources, who is close to the ruling AK Party (AKP), said. All the sources requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. The presidency declined to comment on Erdogan’s meetings ahead of Uysal’s dismissal, which was announced in the early hours of that Saturday with little explanation. Uysal was not immediately available to comment. On the Sunday, Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak abruptly resigned from his position as finance minister - a political earthquake for a powerful figure once seen as a potential successor to the president. Albayrak could not be reached for comment. [...] IN THE DARK? After years of blaming high interest rates and foreign investors for the economy’s ills, Erdogan said both would now be embraced. Economists have said it was Erdogan’s repeated calls for low rates that limited the central bank’s ability to battle inflation, and prompted it to tap dollar reserves to support the currency. Three of the sources said the president had been misled. “Erdogan was really not informed consistently about the economy. He was always given polished information from one side,” the first source said. A third source said that in the past he was promised reserves would rebound along with the lira. Albayrak’s resignation, in a note posted on Instagram, was not confirmed by the presidency for more than 24 hours. He cited health reasons, but his departure came after he was not invited to two weekend meetings chaired by Erdogan and the vice president, the second source familiar with the matter said. The finance ministry declined to comment on the quick overhaul, in which Lutfi Elvan, another AKP stalwart, replaced Albayrak late on the Monday. The fourth source told Reuters some formerly influential party members had recently felt “resentful and sidelined” but now have “more active roles”. The pivot came ahead of new restrictions imposed last weekend to rein in the coronavirus that are expected to slow the economy, and after Joe Biden’s White House victory, which foreshadows tougher U.S. ties for Turkey. Influential voices convinced Erdogan that “calamity is near,” said GlobalSource Partners analyst Atilla Yesilada. They “forced him to reassess the conditions on the ground and the chances of his regime surviving through the winter.” https://de.reuters.com/article/turkey-economy-erdogan-int/erdogans-snap-economic-rethink-prompted-by-bleak-briefings-turkish-sources-idUSKBN2842G7
Ssnake Posted November 26, 2020 Posted November 26, 2020 2 hours ago, BansheeOne said: “Erdogan was really not informed consistently about the economy. He was always given polished information from one side,” the first source said. A third source said that in the past he was promised reserves would rebound along with the lira. LOL. Penalize dissenting opinions, and you'll be surrounded with Yes Men. Discover that Yes Men tell you only what you want to hear: OH NO! Deceiving treachery!
R011 Posted November 27, 2020 Posted November 27, 2020 13 hours ago, Ssnake said: LOL. Penalize dissenting opinions, and you'll be surrounded with Yes Men. Discover that Yes Men tell you only what you want to hear: OH NO! Deceiving treachery! Eventually someone has to tell the Leader that Steiner ain't coming.
Mistral Posted December 15, 2020 Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) US puts sanctions under CAATSA on Turkey, move condemned by Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. No word if Germany will also condemn them as unproductive... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55311099 Edited December 15, 2020 by Mistral
BansheeOne Posted January 17, 2021 Posted January 17, 2021 Quote Date 17.01.2021 Author Daniel Bellut Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens rivals with jail Left-wing CHP leader Canan Kaftancioglu inflicted a humiliating defeat on Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul in 2019. Now the Turkish president wants revenge in court. Canan Kaftancioglu is a rising political star in Turkey. The popularity ratings of this 48-year-old doctor-turned-politician from the Black Sea region are among the highest in the country. She had always stood out in the social democratic Republican People's Party (CHP) with her left-wing views, and at the beginning of 2018 she was elected Istanbul's provincial president. But Kaftancioglu real breakthrough came a good year later after she masterminded one of the most successful election campaigns in Turkish history. This was the campaign of Ekrem Imamoglu, a relatively unknown local, in Istanbul's mayoral elections of March 2019. Few people expected this newcomer to win against the ruling AKP's candidate, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. But the CHP's focus on reconciliation rather than polarization in an emotional election went down well with the voters. The party's decision to condemn nepotism, mismanagement, and the misspending of public funds turned out to be a good strategy during an economic crisis, as many voters grew sick of pomp and arrogance on the part of certain politicians. However, after Imamoglu only won by a small margin, the AKP refused to concede and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly put pressure on the election board to call for a re-run. To little avail: The next time round, the CHP won by a much clearer margin. Increasing pressure Losing the city, Turkey's economic and social center with a population of 16 million, was the president's biggest electoral defeat so far. And Kaftancioglu's biggest victory. But she is now under growing legal pressure. In September 2019, she was sentenced to almost 10 years in jail after being charged with a series of crimes, including defamation, inciting public hatred and violence, spreading "terrorist propaganda," as well as insulting the president and the Turkish state. According to her supporters, the evidence against her came out of thin air, largely comprising a series of tweets she had posted between 2012 and 2017. CHP leaders said that her sentencing was an act of revenge for the election debacle in Istanbul. Kaftancioglu denied all the accusations and has appealed against the sentence. She cannot be jailed pending the appeals process. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/turkeys-recep-tayyip-erdogan-threatens-rivals-with-jail/a-56252279
BansheeOne Posted January 31, 2021 Posted January 31, 2021 Quote Date 31.01.2021 Author Daniel Bellut, Fatima Celik Turkey's Erdogan fails to get double-digit inflation under control Double-digit inflation and rising consumer prices have taken their toll on Turkey. Experts blame the government for the runaway prices while President Erdogan says foreign entities are behind his country's demise. Turkey's economic woes are nothing new. The country's official currency, the lira, has been on a downward slide for the past two years, forcing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to announce tough monetary and fiscal measures to stop the decline. And that's not all he's done. He also fired his central bank chief, Murat Uysal, and the finance minister, his son-in-law Berat Albayrak, who officially left office for health reasons. Nothing seems to have worked, however, and little has improved in Turkey. The lira remains anemic, food and consumer prices have dramatically increased, and life for people in the country has grown all the more difficult — not to mention more expensive. According to consumer price indicators, year-on-year inflation is up 6% and overall inflation is at 20.6%. Erdogan promises harsh measures Turkey's currency troubles aren't just abstract concerns. A visit to a local market reveals that everyday items like fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, olive oil and milk are much more expensive than they were just weeks ago. Many everyday purchases have seen price hikes of 25%, while fruits and vegetables are now almost 34% more expensive, breaking previous records. Erdogan has blamed merchants for price gouging and promised to punish those responsible. "We can no longer tolerate the oppression of normal Turks in this way," he said, calling on merchants to stop bullying consumers. The president said he would regulate food prices in the coming months and plans to introduce an "early warning system" to detect exorbitant price changes at local markets. Critics blame the government for the skyrocketing food prices, saying it spent too much time propping up the county's construction industry while ignoring its agricultural sector. Turkey, climatically speaking, is well suited to produce the food it needs but is dependent upon imports of both fruits and vegetables from abroad to meet demand. Are Turkey's farms doomed? Economist Baris Soydan said he blames neo-liberal policies for runaway inflation in Turkey is experiencing on the food front. "There's less and less acreage these days to actually farm on, which explains why farmers can't harvest what consumers actually need," Soydan said. "The government in the last 10 years took away farmland and placed huge housing projects on them." Turkey's parliament said it wants to do more for farmers and plans to lower taxes, guarantee sales and clamp down on exports. [...] Erdogan, however, continues to blame greedy merchants, global drought and the coronavirus pandemic for the country's woes. In the past, the Turkish president was keen to blame what he termed dark forces and so-called foreign "food terrorists" for the country's problems. He said the terrorists, working together with international speculators, were bent on doing nothing less than spiking Turkey's food prices. https://www.dw.com/en/turkeys-erdogan-fails-to-get-double-digit-inflation-under-control/a-56392772
Mistral Posted January 31, 2021 Posted January 31, 2021 Oh the bouble will be epic for sure, using state banks to finance real estate. I am sure nothing will go wrong. https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/record-15m-houses-sold-in-turkey-in-2020-on-back-of-cheap-loans
Roman Alymov Posted January 31, 2021 Posted January 31, 2021 2 hours ago, Mistral said: Oh the bouble will be epic for sure, using state banks to finance real estate. I am sure nothing will go wrong. https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/record-15m-houses-sold-in-turkey-in-2020-on-back-of-cheap-loans Turkey is more or less traditional society, so more room for fasmily will result in more children born. And it is far more important than money (since money are not what it was in past - see US printing more money in Covid year than collected by China in reserves by decades of hard work). By the way Russia is also financing cheap property loans for young families - resulting on property boom https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/07/27/cheap-coronavirus-loans-propel-russias-mortgage-market-a70985
Tim the Tank Nut Posted February 1, 2021 Posted February 1, 2021 "than collected by China in reserves by decades of" stealing other peoples' intellectual property manipulating currency exploiting the Chinese working class exploiting other nations via the road and belt initiative any of these would be a more honest answer than hard work
Roman Alymov Posted February 1, 2021 Posted February 1, 2021 16 minutes ago, Tim the Tank Nut said: "than collected by China in reserves by decades of" stealing other peoples' intellectual property manipulating currency exploiting the Chinese working class exploiting other nations via the road and belt initiative any of these would be a more honest answer than hard work Well, i am not going to argue about it (as it is up to Chinese, if they feel like to) - so let's put it as follow "amount of money, saved by China by decades of <listed above>, was issued (not even physically printed) by US in few month". As for me, it is massive devaluation of very idea of money as jjust convenient equivalent of labor.
Tim the Tank Nut Posted February 1, 2021 Posted February 1, 2021 I think it is a devaluation but that's where commodities come in. We haven't had the gold standard for a long time but the price of certain objects is invariably tied to the money supply. That's why it pays to keep an eye on the Belt and Road Initiative as China is clearly willing to spend money to acquire the rights to location. A further reason why so much Chinese money enters into American politics is because it is easier to get the American Left to restrict the supply of vital mineralogical goods than it is to restrict them any other way. Sadly there are many Americans who will happily "sell the rope" if it gives them a leg up on the competition.
BansheeOne Posted February 20, 2021 Posted February 20, 2021 Quote Date 19.02.2021 Turkey's Erdogan exploits nationalism at home after Turks die in Iraq Last week, 13 Turkish citizens were killed in northern Iraq during military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey says it's a terror organization and is using it to malign opposition politicians. The circumstances that led to the deaths of 13 Turkish citizens in the Gara region of northern Iraq are unclear. According to the Turkish government, they were each executed with a shot to the head by PKK operatives, but the Kurdish militant group says they died in bombings conducted by the Turkish air force. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the army had been trying to free kidnapped citizens. "We didn't succeed," he said. The citizens were Turkish civil servants, including police and soldiers, whom the PKK kidnapped in southeastern Turkey in 2015 and 2016, and then took to northern Iraq to be held hostage. Lots of kidnappings after government broke off peace talks The PKK has kidnapped a number of Turkish citizens since Erdogan put an end to Turkey's peace talks with Kurdish militants in 2015. Still, the issue has not received a great deal of public attention. Opposition politicians and human rights organizations have criticized the government's lack of transparency on the hostage-takings. According to the Turkish non-governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Association (IHD), none of the 13 hostages' families received any news about the whereabouts or well-being of their loved ones for years. They turned to politicians and NGOs to find out more about the kidnappings — to no avail. IHD head Ozturk Turkdogan told DW: "All attempts to make contact failed. The state simply did not want to communicate." [...] Bizarre presidential PR stunt at party congress This week was also witness to another curious scene related to the hostages. During a speech delivered at an AKP party congress in the Black Sea city of Rize, Erdogan's home district, the president suddenly pulled out his phone and called the mother of one of the dead hostages. He told her she would be honored because her son was now a martyr, who, "God willing, had become a neighbor of our beloved Prophet." He then promised to avenge her son. The opposition criticized the phone call and chastised the president for again finding a pretext — in this case, the deaths of 13 citizens — to stir nationalist sentiments to serve his own agenda. Erdogan is often accused of using nationalist rhetoric to distract from the real problems Turkey faces — for instance, its grim economic situation and myriad failures in the fight against COVID-19. Erdogan criticized the pro-Kurdish HDP, accusing it of being "official terrorist accomplices." He went on to say, "A party that does not define the PKK as a terrorist organization and does not distance itself from it cannot be a political party in this country." Going after political enemies The president's tirade was preceded by the arrest of 718 people — including provincial and district HDP leaders — over the incident in Gara. According to the Turkish Ministry of the Interior Affairs, those arrested are accused of having connections to the PKK — a frequent allegation often backed by little or no evidence. "The allegations and attacks on the HDP are an attempted lynching and part of a political campaign," deputy HDP leader Saruhan Oluc told DW: "We reject it." Some political observers believe the Turkish government is trying to criminalize the party gradually in order to justify an outright ban later. The left-leaning party is the country's second-largest opposition party and has recently tipped the scales of elections. If the HDP were to clear the 10% hurdle in the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections, it could be difficult for Erdogan's conservative Islamic AKP to win a majority, as its popularity has been on the wane in recent months. https://www.dw.com/en/turkeys-erdogan-exploits-nationalism-at-home-after-turks-die-in-iraq/a-56630138
BansheeOne Posted March 20, 2021 Posted March 20, 2021 Quote Date 20.03.2021 Turkey: Erdogan sacks central bank chief after raising interest rate Naci Agbal, the governor of the Turkish central bank, has been fired after four months in the job. His policy of keeping interest rates high was opposed by President Erdogan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday fired the country's central bank governor, Naci Agbal, a former finance minister. The move, announced without explanation in a decree published in the Official Gazette early on Saturday, came shortly after the bank sharply raised its main interest rate. Agbal has continually hiked the benchmark rate during his months in office — a measure Erdogan claims leads to higher inflation. Agbal is to be replaced by Sahap Kavioglu, a banking professor and columnist in a pro-government newspaper. He will become the fourth bank head appointed since July 2019. Like Erdogan, Kavioglu has also argued that high interest rates lead to high inflation, though this is a view not shared by most economists. Many have blamed Erdogan's unorthodox belief for bringing about Turkey's current economic plight, with the president pressuring the bank to keep rates low to fuel borrowing and growth. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-erdogan-sacks-central-bank-chief-after-raising-interest-rate/a-56937024 Quote Date 20.03.2021 Turkey quits European accord on violence against women President Erdogan has pulled the country out of a Council of Europe accord that provided a legal framework to prevent femicide and promote gender equality. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has withdrawn Turkey from an international accord to prevent violence against women, the country's official gazette said on Saturday. The decision comes amid increasing calls in Turkey to combat domestic violence as femicide rates rise. "The guarantee of women's rights are the current regulations in our bylaws, primarily our Constitution. Our judicial system is dynamic and strong enough to implement new regulations as needed," Family, Labour and Social Policies Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk said on Twitter. What is the accord? The 2011 agreement, commonly referred to as the Istanbul Convention, was drafted by the Council of Europe in the Turkish city in 2011. It is a legal framework seeking to protect women and promote gender equality through legislation, education and spreading awareness. According to the accord, signatories had to "take the necessary legislative and other measures to adopt and implement state-wide effective, comprehensive and coordinated policies encompassing all relevant measures" to prevent violence against women. The convention was signed by 45 European countries, plus the EU as an institution. Women's rights groups had said Turkish authorities were not applying the legal norms of the Istanbul Convention nor providing the intended assistance and protective measures for women. Some conservatives in Turkey say the deal threatens family structures and promotes homosexuality, citing its principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. But critics of Saturday's decision said it kept Ankara further from aligning with the European Union's values, which Turkey remains a candidate to join. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-quits-european-accord-on-violence-against-women/a-56936323 Quote Date 20.03.2021 Turkish police detain dozens of pro-Kurdish party officials Authorities also arrested a prominent human rights activist as prosecutors cracked down on the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the nation's third-largest. Turkish police Friday arrested dozens of officials Friday from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic (HDP) as prosecutors step up action to ban the country's third-largest party. Altogether, representatives from the HDP said at least 36 party members were detained over suspected links to militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Separately, the Ankara chief public prosecutor issued 12 arrest warrants for other suspects over their alleged ties to the PKK. Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency said Friday that police had arrested at least 10 of those sought. Police also detained 15 more suspects accused of making social media propaganda for the PKK in the southern province of Adana. The private DHA news agency reported another 15 current and former HDP executives were also detained in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, and the party itself said one of its officials had been detained in the central province of Eskisehir. Arrests comes after court seeks to ban HDP The actions come only two days after a Turkish court began hearings over banning the leftist opposition HDP. The indictment before the Constitutional Court to dissolve the HDP seeks to ban 687 party members from engaging in politics for five years. The court took the first step in this direction on Friday with the appointment of a rapporteur to conduct the investigation and prepare a report for the court's 15 judges. It is the latest in a series of crackdowns on the HDP since 2016 during which a majority of its elected mayors have been dismissed and replaced by government-appointed trustees. Head of Human Rights Association also arrested In further police action, Ozturk Turkdogan, head of the Ankara-based Human Rights Association (IHD), was also detained and his house in the city was raided, the organization said. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/turkish-police-detain-dozens-of-pro-kurdish-party-officials/a-56935856
Mistral Posted March 20, 2021 Posted March 20, 2021 A lot of foreign banks were bullish after the rate hike by 2% to 19% on Thursday by the now sacked central banker. Lira gained around 5% by Friday. A lot of them really thought the central bank finally was allowed to function independently in trying to reduce rampant inflation. Well idiots and their money... I would not want to be a Spanish banker at the moment.
Mistral Posted April 4, 2021 Posted April 4, 2021 Coup is in the air again. it seems Erdogan has put on feelers that he plans to withdraw from the Montreux treaty and over 100 retired admirals have signed a letter warning against it. Now they are under investigation for links to previous putschists. https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/legislation/turkish-officials-strongly-condemn-anti-democratic-declaration loved this quote from above article...talk about a clear proof! Turkey's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also underlined that the declaration was released by 103 admirals while noting that 103 days remain until the fifth anniversary of the July 15 failed coup attempt organized by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
BansheeOne Posted April 6, 2021 Posted April 6, 2021 Quote Date 05.04.2021 Turkey arrests retired admirals over shipping treaty declaration The former senior navy officers were detained for a statement they made about maritime Black Sea access. Ankara said the comments were evocative of previous military coup attempts. Turkey on Monday arrested 10 retired admirals who signed a statement asserting the importance of the Montreux Convention, designed to prevent the militarization of the Black Sea. The statement prompted retaliation from Ankara, which saw it as a direct challenge from the military to the civilian government evocative of the 2016 coup attempt. What was the admirals' concern? The statement, signed by 104 former high-ranking navy officials, appeared to question the government's commitment to the Montreux Convention. The convention was signed in 1936 and regulates the use of both the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits by cargo ships. It also limits the access of military vessels. The admirals say the convention made it possible for Turkey to maintain its neutrality during World War II and avoid being dragged into a potentially devastating conflict. Turkey is planning to build a huge "Canal Istanbul" project connecting the Black Sea north of Istanbul to the south-lying Marmara Sea. An official has said that the new stretch of water will not be covered by the convention. The retired military officials highlighted this, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authority to withdraw from international pacts such as the Istanbul Convention on violence against women, as causes for concern. "The fact that withdrawing from the Montreux Convention was opened to debate as part of talks on Canal Istanbul and the authority to exit from international treaties was met with concern,'' they said. "There is a need to avoid any statements and actions that could cause the Montreux Convention, an important treaty in terms of Turkey's survival, to be brought up for discussion." What was Ankara's response? The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the 10 retired admirals were detained as part of an investigation launched by Ankara's chief prosecutor. Four others were summoned to report to authorities within the next few days. The 14 individuals are suspected of having organized the declaration. The statement prompted strong condemnation by officials from the ruling party and government officials. They said it compared with statements that had accompanied past military takeovers in Turkey. Anadolu reported that the suspects were being investigated on the possible charge of reaching "an agreement with the aim of committing a crime against the security of the state and the constitutional order." The detained admirals included some of the country's most famous naval commanders. Among them is Cem Gurdeniz, sometimes described as the father of Turkey's "Blue Homeland" maritime doctrine. The doctrine argues that Turkey has the rights to substantially expanded maritime borders including the water surrounding some Greek islands. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the statement bore typical characteristics of a military plot to overthrow the government. He said it evoked memories of a 2016 failed coup. "A group of retired soldiers is putting themselves into a laughable and miserable position with their statement that echoes military coup times," he said. [...] https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-arrests-retired-admirals-over-shipping-treaty-declaration/a-57102684
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