Turkey’s Erdogan launches construction of Istanbul canal (English)

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Turkey’s Erdogan launches construction of Istanbul canal (English)

In a blaze of publicity, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid a foundation stone close to Istanbul, starting the construction of a 45-kilometer canal linking the Black and Marmara seas. Erdogan declared the project would usher in a new era for Istanbul and for Turkey.

“This going to be a brand-new page in Turkey’s development. On the path to this development, we will leap forward," he said, adding, "This will save Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway.”

The canal will provide an alternative route from the Bosphorus, which cuts through Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul, and is one of the world’s busiest waterways.

Erdogan said the channel would offer a more efficient, faster and safer passage. But this month, Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, voiced alarm.

"I am sweating when I talk about this channel, because I can feel this is a nightmare, I can feel it deep inside," he said. "Because I listened to tens of briefings from the scientists who are all warning against it.”

...critics of the project say it opens up the key Montreux Convention signed in 1936 for discussion...

...Erdogan said in January the Montreux Convention would only apply to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in terms of maritime traffic, not the planned canal.

“Do no worry about that. Montreux only binds the straits. This is totally outside Montreux.”

...More than 120 retired Turkish ambassadors released a statement on Friday warning the project could put the Montreux Convention in jeopardy and negatively affect Turkey’s “absolute sovereignty” over the waterways.

Following that up, an open letter was signed by 104 retired admirals and published overnight on Saturday, causing an uproar among government officials.

Admirals said the treaty allowed Turkey to maintain its neutrality during World War II, calling it “the biggest diplomatic victory that completed the Lausanne Peace Treaty”, which determined most of modern Turkey’s borders.

“We are of the opinion that 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,” the statement said.

Turkey’s opposition parties have also expressed similar criticism of the project in previous months.

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...The canal also is a point of tension with Russia. Erdogan has said the canal is not covered by the 1936 International Montreux Convention. The convention limits foreign warships' size and their access to the Black Sea to 21 days.

Moscow considers the convention vital to limiting NATO’s naval presence and maintaining the sea as its sphere of influence. NATO-Russian tensions have been rising since Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory in early 2014.

While questions remain over whether the funds exist to complete the canal, Zaur Gasimov of Germany's Bonn University said Ankara sees the project as a bargaining chip with Moscow.

“That would open certain leverage for Ankara," Gasimov said. "That would open a new field for the negotiation between Moscow and Ankara, and that gives new possibilities for Ankara to promote its interests in its interaction with Russia.”

Analysts say the importance of access to the Black Sea is likely to grow in coming years, as NATO-Russia tensions escalate over Ukraine.

Next week, the United States is scheduled to carry out a major naval exercise with Ukraine in the Black Sea.

... Who are the critics?

More than 120 retired Turkish ambassadors released a statement on Friday warning the project could put the Montreux Convention in jeopardy and negatively affect Turkey’s “absolute sovereignty” over the waterways.

Following that up, an open letter was signed by 104 retired admirals and published overnight on Saturday, causing an uproar among government officials who said it harkened back to coup times of Turkey’s past.

Admirals said the treaty allowed Turkey to maintain its neutrality during World War II, calling it “the biggest diplomatic victory that completed the Lausanne Peace Treaty”, which determined most of modern Turkey’s borders.

“We are of the opinion that 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,” the statement said.

Turkey’s opposition parties have also expressed similar criticism of the project in previous months.

Investigation and detentions

In addition to the harsh public reaction by officials, who said they viewed the admirals’ letter as an attempt to intervene in civilian politics, Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation.

Ten retired admirals who signed the open letter were detained. Four other suspects were ordered to report within three days to Ankara police, which opted not to detain them because of their age.

The former senior military leaders are reportedly accused of “using force and violence to get rid of the constitutional order”.

Past coups

The Turkish military staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and another recent attempt in 2016.

The failed overthrow of Erdogan by a group in the military in 2016 was blamed on followers of United States-based Muslim preacher and businessman Fethullah Gulen.

The government has accused Gulen’s backers of forming a “parallel state” following its own agenda inside state institutions, including the police, judiciary and military.

Following the failed coup, tens of thousands of people were held pending trial and civil servants, military personnel and others were jailed, sacked or suspended. More than 20,000 people have been expelled from the Turkish military.

Turkey’s Western allies and rights groups have condemned the government over the crackdowns, purges and weakening of judicial independence after the 2016 putsch, accusing the government of using it as a pretext to silence opposition.

Ankara says the country upholds the rule of law and necessary moves are taken with the aim to remove Gulen’s supporters from state institutions.

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Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, voiced alarm.

"I am sweating when I talk about this channel, because I can feel this is a nightmare, I can feel it deep inside," he said. "Because I listened to tens of briefings from the scientists who are all warning against it.”

The mayor warned that the project threatens the city's water supplies and risks wider environmental consequences in the region's delicate balance of interconnected seas.

Marine biologist Cemal Saydam, contending that the government was ignoring the scientists, said such concerns were well-founded.

“If you are connecting two marine bodies, you have to ask the opinion of marine scientists, which they have not done," Saydam said. "Scientifically, it's going to devastate the Sea of Marmara for sure, and it's going to devastate the Black Sea for sure, and it's going to change the whole water budget of the Mediterranean Sea, as well, because there are interconnected seas.“

The government dismisses such warnings, claiming it has carried out the necessary research. But most of Turkey's leading banks are refusing to finance the canal, with an estimated cost of up to $$$65 billion, citing international commitments to support only environmentally sustainable projects.