Hundreds gather in Taksim to protest YouTube ban: “Hundreds gather in Taksim to protest YouTube ban
Hundreds of people gathered in İstanbul’s Taksim neighborhood on Saturday to protest a YouTube ban in Turkey because of video clips that allegedly insulted the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

A person named Deniz Kaynak, who issued a press statement on behalf of the protestors in front of Galatasaray High School in Taksim, said that they, as Internet users, do not want a ban that is not compatible with the information age. Stating that they know what is really behind the YouTube ban, Kaynak underlined that YouTube is banned because of censorship. ‘We all came together to emphasize that people’s freedom of expression and right to access information cannot be hampered. We are searching for a solution on the streets. We protest the ban and want the right to Internet access without censorship,’ Kaynak stated.

The hundreds of protesters held signs that read ‘Say no to censorship, the government’s censorship protects you from reality, do not click away our freedom.’

YouTube has been banned several times, mostly for the same reason: insulting Atatürk. Turkey began blocking access to websites in 2007, after Parliament adopted a law against cybercrime in an effort to curb child pornography, prevent the dissemination of terrorist propaganda and stamp out illegal gambling. Websites deemed to be disrespectful of Turkey’s founder Atatürk and of religious beliefs were also outlawed. İstanbul Today’s Zaman

19 July 2010, Monday