Turkish bloggers campaign against internet bans

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times

Internet bans have become a frequent occurrence in Turkey, thanks to regulatory loopholes and a vague legal framework. This year alone, authorities blocked access to at least 1,112 sites following complaints to the Telecommunications Directorate or to courts. The most recent case involved the website of Richard Dawkins, a prominent evolutionary theorist.

An Istanbul court ordered the ban on www.richarddawkins.net last month after Adnan Oktar, author of an anti-evolutionary text called Atlas of Creation, claimed the site libeled his character. Oktar's book contained photographs that purportedly show animals unaffected by evolutionary change.

"These living things have survived for millions of years without the slightest change in their structures. The fact that these insects never changed is a sign that they never evolved," Oktar wrote.

According to Dawkins, however, some of the featured "animals" were actually fishing lures, while Oktar simply misidentified others.

Bloggers are furious about the ban. "Welcome to the Middle Ages," writes Tinca at sansuresansur.org, blasting what he describes as a "new book-burning practice". Baroni, a student living in Ankara, calls on readers to "claim your right to the internet". Turkey's international image is taking a beating because of the bans, Baroni adds, saying the country risks being lumped in with nations such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps in the future, he writes, Turks won't be allowed to use Facebook; their only social networking option will be habibmol.com, a site for Islamic singles.

Turks wishing to learn about science are denied access to Richard Dawkins, but luckily they have Adnan Oktar to help them, jokes eksisozluk. Since the books of "Harun Yahya" (Oktar's pen name) are distributed free of charge, he adds, the internet isn't even necessary!

Emre Kizilkaya is a young Turkish journalist. In his blog, istanbullian, he criticises the Dawkins ban and warns of a wider problem in Turkish society.

"Maybe we have a culture of banning things. Even the word 'ban' (yasak) makes some people relax in Turkey," Kizilkaya writes. As evidence, he posts 20 photos of public signs. These declare prohibitions on -- to name only a few -- spitting, holding hands, writing on plants, playing football on a tennis court, using a lighter or match to look for gas leaks, sitting improperly on a toilet or committing suicide because of an unfaithful lover.

A new blog, yasaklisiteler, aims to monitor internet bans. According to the site, the Dawkins ban follows earlier ones on evolutionist websites, including ateizm.org. Turkey restricts not only websites that offer porn or promote violence but also those that oppose the dominant political system and religious beliefs, the blog suggests.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com