A Turkish court
in Istanbul ordered access to YouTube's Web site blocked
on Wednesday because of videos allegedly insulting the
founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The
video prompting the ban allegedly said Ataturk and the
Turkish people were homosexuals, news reports said.
Paul Doany, head
of Turk Telekom, Turkey's largest telecommunications
provider, said his company had immediately begun enforcing
the ban. "We are not in the position of saying that
what YouTube did was an insult, that it was right or
wrong," Doany said in remarks to the state-run
Anatolia news agency. "A court decision was proposed to us,
and we are doing what that court decision says."
Visitors to the
YouTube site from Turkey were greeted with the message
"Access to this site has been blocked by a court decision!"
A message in both Turkish and English at the bottom of
the page said, "Access to https://www.youtube.com site
has been suspended in accordance with decision no:
2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal
Peace Court."
Doany said Turk
Telekom would allow access to the popular video sharing
site again if the court decision were rescinded. Access from
Turkey might be possible through other service
providers, he said. The vast majority of Turkish
Internet users use Turk Telekom, a state-run monopoly until
it was privatized in 2005.
Over the past
week Turkish media publicized what some called a
"virtual war" between Greeks and Turks on YouTube, with
people from both sides posting videos to belittle and
berate the other.
On its front page
on Wednesday, the newspaper Hurriyet said thousands
of people had written to YouTube and that the Ataturk
videos had been removed from the site. "YouTube got
the message," the headline said.
Insulting Ataturk
or "Turkishness" is a crime in Turkey, punishable by
prison sentences.
Turkey, which
hopes to join the European Union, has been roundly
condemned for not doing enough to curb extreme nationalist
sentiments and to protect freedom of expression.
(Benjamin Harvey, AP)
