Turkey detains ten retired admirals over open letter

Ankara on Monday detained 10 retired admirals after a letter signed by more than 100 of them warned against a possible threat to a treaty governing the use of Turkey's key waterways.

The Ankara chief public prosecutor's office said arrest warrants have been issued for the ten. Prosecutors also ordered four other suspects to report to Ankara police within three days, opting not to detain them because of their age.

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.

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Canal Istanbul is the most ambitious of what President Recep Tayyip Erdogan terms his "crazy projects".

The proposed 75-billion-lira ($9.8-billion) alternative would run to the west of the Bosphorus along a 45-kilometre (28-mile) route.

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.

But opponents say 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 strait 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.

If the new canal is covered by Montreux treaty, Turkey could not demand fees from commercial vessels.

To this end, in their letter, 103 retired admirals said it was "worrying" to open the Montreux 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.

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.