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Censorship in Turkey linked to past blackouts on minorities
By E. Baris
Sept. 7, 2014
It is not surprising that Turkey, which has in the past used
censorship against Armenians and Kurds, is now experiencing censorship
as restrictions on free speech used against one group are doomed to
spread to others, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame has said.
Assange was speaking at the Internet Ungovernance Forum (IUF), an
alternative to the UN-sponsored Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held
in Ä°stanbul last week, last Friday via video-conference when he said
the use of free-speech repression mechanisms against one group will
inevitably lead to the eventual repression of other groups. He
recalled that past censoring of the arguments of the country's Kurds
and those of Armenians, who claim that the mass killings of 1915
amount to genocide, had been met with silence.
His point found resonance at the IUF, held in a country where more
than 51,000 websites are currently blocked. Turkey has also banned
YouTube and Twitter in the past in an attempt on the part of the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government to silence
anonymous groups speaking out against alleged government corruption.
Turkey's president has several times referred to social media,
particularly Twitter, as a nuisance bringing together agitators and
alleged coup plotters. The IUF, an alternative though not a
counter-IGF event according to its organizers, brought together
academics, activists and others who `demand free, secure and open
Internet for the people.'
The WikiLeaks founder appeared as a surprise guest at the IUF, which
took place on Sept. 4-5 in the last session of the event. He noted, in
response to a question from the audience in Turkey, `It seems clear to
me that Turkish media freedom is going down,' adding that Turkey
currently has the highest number of journalists in prison.
In response to a question on general Internet surveillance, Assange
said, `Censorship and surveillance are the two sides of the same
coin,' and that they rely on the same mechanisms. `Authority should
come from legitimate exercise of power, not from censoring,' he added.
He also spoke at length about the main issues discussed at the IUF,
including how governments, corporations and Internet giants like
Google and Facebook interact and collaborate to spy on individual
citizens.
Assange shared information on a leaked cable that indicated that
Denmark shut down Roj TV, a Kurdish television station, which operates
in Denmark, when NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen was prime minister
of Denmark to appease Turkish authorities, who had long sought to
close down the station as part of a deal for the former Danish prime
minister to head NATO.
Censorship in Turkey linked to past blackouts on minorities
By E. Baris
Sept. 7, 2014
It is not surprising that Turkey, which has in the past used
censorship against Armenians and Kurds, is now experiencing censorship
as restrictions on free speech used against one group are doomed to
spread to others, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame has said.
Assange was speaking at the Internet Ungovernance Forum (IUF), an
alternative to the UN-sponsored Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held
in Ä°stanbul last week, last Friday via video-conference when he said
the use of free-speech repression mechanisms against one group will
inevitably lead to the eventual repression of other groups. He
recalled that past censoring of the arguments of the country's Kurds
and those of Armenians, who claim that the mass killings of 1915
amount to genocide, had been met with silence.
His point found resonance at the IUF, held in a country where more
than 51,000 websites are currently blocked. Turkey has also banned
YouTube and Twitter in the past in an attempt on the part of the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government to silence
anonymous groups speaking out against alleged government corruption.
Turkey's president has several times referred to social media,
particularly Twitter, as a nuisance bringing together agitators and
alleged coup plotters. The IUF, an alternative though not a
counter-IGF event according to its organizers, brought together
academics, activists and others who `demand free, secure and open
Internet for the people.'
The WikiLeaks founder appeared as a surprise guest at the IUF, which
took place on Sept. 4-5 in the last session of the event. He noted, in
response to a question from the audience in Turkey, `It seems clear to
me that Turkish media freedom is going down,' adding that Turkey
currently has the highest number of journalists in prison.
In response to a question on general Internet surveillance, Assange
said, `Censorship and surveillance are the two sides of the same
coin,' and that they rely on the same mechanisms. `Authority should
come from legitimate exercise of power, not from censoring,' he added.
He also spoke at length about the main issues discussed at the IUF,
including how governments, corporations and Internet giants like
Google and Facebook interact and collaborate to spy on individual
citizens.
Assange shared information on a leaked cable that indicated that
Denmark shut down Roj TV, a Kurdish television station, which operates
in Denmark, when NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen was prime minister
of Denmark to appease Turkish authorities, who had long sought to
close down the station as part of a deal for the former Danish prime
minister to head NATO.