RSSTurkey Blocks Access to YouTube
By Ed Oswald | Published March 7, 2007, 11:23 AM
Access to YouTube from within Turkey was blocked Wednesday after prosecutors pointed out videos insulting the founder of the modern version of the country were appearing on the site.
Laws within the country forbid such comments that place Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or Turkey in general in a bad light, and are punishable by a prison term.
The videos in question were the result of an online battle between Turkish and Greek users of the site who were posting videos insulting each other. Videos ranging from insults about the country's founder to Greek soldiers singing songs about killing Turks have appeared on YouTube.
One video, said to be the impetus for the court action, claimed Ataturk along with the Turkish people were homosexuals. The nation's largest ISP, Turk Telecom, immediately moved to block access to YouTube, and it is expected that others would soon follow suit.
The Turkish media led calls to have the videos removed, with some news outlets saying the site had received some 220,000 e-mails demanding their removal.
The Turkish media reported Wednesday that YouTube had removed the videos, and Reuters reported that the court had taken steps to have the ban lifted after the videos were removed. However, it was not clear when the new ruling would take effect.
YouTube has so far not commented publicly on the dispute, or on the removal of the videos.
Nyxxx, Since you can edit why don't you edit the lies about Sweden below and learn the freaking difference between Sweden and Switzerland. You embarras us Turks living in Sweden... Its hard enough being an immigrant as it is!
http://www.turkishdailyn...ticle.php?enewsid=67957
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland
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|I am a Turkish citizen and i am against this censor, but i want to point out to you guys some facts. Recently, the French Encyclopedia named Quid has been sued and punished for *including* Turkish arguments about so-called Armenian genocide. In France and Sweden (maybe in some more countries) if you refuse so-called Armenian genocide, you will be sued by the government and go the courts.. So you are being forced to accept it, no matter what..
Today, a Turkish politician/lawyer named Do?u Perinçek has been verdicted for 90 days of jail because he rejected so-called Armeinan genocide within the borders of Sweden.
So, any attacks to Turkish Democracy via cencor subject, i would call that act hypocritical, just like the whole EU. Many of the European people need to open their eyes and recognize the corruption within themselves.
P.S. Side with ideas, not races.
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|Nyxxx.
1, Get your facts right. It's only in France you'll get prosecuted for denying the claims about Armenian genocide. Not in Sweden.
2, And the other thing that EU is hypocritical, your absolutely right!!! But the difference is that I'm allowed to say it in Sweden but your're not allowed to say that about Turkey which is a quite good marker how far Turkish democracy/freedom of speech has come e.g. not very far.
PS And about Dogu Perinçek, that was in Switzerland and because of general racial laws not special Armenien genocide denial laws! So you've insulted Sweden, Switzerland (and Turkey because your ignorance gives a bad reputation to us Turks living in other countries than Turkey) even if you're totally wrong... But hey, that is ok, that's your right to do it. That's freedom of speech for you! Enjoy it ;) DS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden
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|I think the Turks, namely the existing political organizations, belong in the same category as opressive Red countries, militant islamic countries (that may be a oxymoron for this right?)...and whatever else that tends to war with people who don't agree with them and have the inability to allow those people their ideas and opinions?
Greeks...I love em. I have to side with the Greeks :D
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|i dont agree with you, but i respect your ideas and i respect for your love of Greece. We, Turks, also have close friends in Greece, and Greeks visit Turkey more times than any other nationality. My point is that this affair cannot be fully understood with an approach of "love & hate", it is completely about a battle of ideas & opinions. You should also visit Turkey to see the difference from the examples you gave.
We, Turks, have more than just pure political organisations, it is a country of progress, great culture, Orhan Pamuk, M. Kemal Ataturk, Naz?m Hikmet,Mevlana, hospitality. Please search Turkey on internet more and got the truth:)
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|program86 yizuman and badlron tree;
Turk Telecom was blocked youtube because they didn't care about the complaints and remove the video too too too late,Turkey has insulted and youtube didn't care about the complaints for 5 days.
and Turkey is not living in stone age,you can't insult our country because of some incident which you don't know the details of.
and program 86 ,you're totally out of your line,stop saying outrageous things!!!
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|"Turkey has insulted and youtube didn't care about the complaints for 5 days"
So, that's what we call freedom of speech! You enjoy freedom of speech when you insult everybody else but everybody else should pay for insulting Turkey? Clever?
"you can't insult our country because of some incident which you don't know the details of."
Yes you can! That what freedom of speech is all about. You have the freedom to say whatever you want without getting prosecuted for it. If what you say is the truth or not is another story.
"and program 86 ,you're totally out of your line,stop saying outrageous things!!!"
Ok, have to agree on that. Shame on you Program 86
I'm a Swedish Turk and honestly all this talk about insult here, insult there is so much BS. Freedom of speech is the one thing that is holy in a democracy without exceptions, for Atatürk or anybody. If you can't accept that then you can't accept real democracy. And yes I think the french law is undemocratic despite what I personally think about the Armenian history.
Cezmi, Turk for democracy, understaning and tolerance (Stockholm, Sweden)
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|heyy dudes,
hold on just a second,
i see the same feeling of alienation in this site as well, this is not a story of black and white.
As a Turk, i cannot welcome neither any insult to my own identity nor the state-censorship on my right of free broadcasting.
By the way, you people, I think, should know that nobody or no nation has a monopoly on universal values and ideals (the EU' values or membership). We, Turks, deserve the EU membership as much as you, you seems more bigot than even those censoring youtube.
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|Its unbelievable to see such racist comments even in this age.
I think Internet does not mean complete freedom. We should not let the Evil take over it.
Why can't we live in peace on Earth and on the Internet? If we could get rid of this racism disease, we would have saved billions of dollars (by not spending for wars, armies, weapons etc.) for solving global problems: poverty, global warming...
Don't hate other people just because they are different than you!
Peace...
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|Everytime on youtube there are lot's of propogandas against Turkish goverment and Turkish citizens. And youtube does not do anything against these kind of videos. I think the decision of Turkish goverment is very right and i have respect to my country' s leader MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK.
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|Yeah, governments are always right as long as what they do doesn't affect you personally, aren't they?
(sigh)
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|So that gives them the right to censorship?
Screw your head on straight "tdmehmet"
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|Every country men would have their own respect on their national leaders. It is not good to insult such people. And blocking the site doesn't seem a reasonable reaction. Still people may have access to those files through different blogs.
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|You don't have to watch them if you don't want to!
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|and you certainly don't have to share their opinion!
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|Join EU!!!!???NO THANKS!!!!
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|I am from Turkey, you can see the page that appears when I type youtube's URL: http://i17.tinypic.com/42vffk8.jpg
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|Complete censorship of rights... nice to see you haven't advanced past the 1800's Turkey.
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|Yep, it's nice of them still living in the stone age.
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|lol and they want to join EU LOL
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|hopefully they'll take on the euro and brick it.
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|i think, you were quite familiar with that process of bricking "stone-man";)
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|Now, you mean what paradise FH is doin' is not a personal attack and all others, particularly those we, Turks, entered are so.
Dont be funny, you'r one-sided and I wont read your site and comment on any other topic anymore. YOU ARE NOT AN OBJECTIVE NEWS AGENCY!!!!!!!!
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