ANKARA, Turkey– Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said that Turkey was blocking over 3,700 internet sites solely for “arbitrary and political reasons.”  OSCE urged that Turkey rescind these restrictions in an effort to show further commitment to freedom of expression in the country.

Milos Haraszti, the spokesperson for the OSCE, said that Turkey’s Internet law is infringing upon freedom of expression in the country and that the law should be changed or rescinded immediately.  In a statement released by the OSCE, Haraszti said that “in its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens’ right to access information.”

Haraszti then commented that Turkey, a candidate for acceptance into the European Union, was barring access to some 3,700 websites including most notably YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages.  He acknowledged that some of the content that is being barred is in fact bad, sites which for example promote child pornography.  Yet, in the end, Haraszti said that “by blocking access to entire websites, Turkey is paralyzing access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks.”

“Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and capricious, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of expression commitments,” said Haraszti.  When asked about the OSCE remarks, a Turkish communications ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that “Turkey provides unlimited and equal access for all parts of society.  It is above the EU average on this issue.”  The official added that “the regulations over Internet (usage) have a dynamic structure and necessary legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation.”

Despite the official’s comments, Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing in its attempt to safeguard freedom of expression while numerous criminal codes clauses were being used against journalists who risk being sent to jail as a result.

Back in October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership said that Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

For more information, please see:

AFP- Turkey Should ‘Reform or Abolish’ Internet Law– 18 January 2010

Reuters- Turkey Blocking 3,700 Websites, Reform Needed– 18 January 2010

Times Online- YouTube Banned in Turkey After Video Insults– 7 March 2007