Erdogan's recent and ongoing challenges brought by a wide sweeping investigation on corruption has prompted the Turkish premiere to move against what he perceives are his enemies, including 350 police officers who have executed the orders of judges in the investigation and now. To make matters worse, he is now planning to closely scrutinize and censor the internet, in an effort to quell further protest.
The bill, which is moving through the parliament this week would see certain websites targeted, and its users monitored for two years.
Web freedoms are the last line of defense for demonstrators. Without the ability to communicate, protest could be stifled. The intimidation factor of knowing that activities are monitored, could also cower many supporters of the opposition.
Erdogan of course is excusing the autocratic move as a crackdown on illegal sites that show pornography, gambling and other forbidden activities.
However, the move is fooling no one. Included in the package of measures, is the ability to prosecute people for defamation made on internet sites. It would also allow Erdogan's administration to block any video or material that criticizes the administration.
All these measures moreover go against the Human Rights Charter outlined in the European Court. Since Turkey is now part of the EU, these further restrictions could run afoul of the requisites for EU membership.
This campaign of intimidation however, had started long ago. The Premier had already ordered a tightening of censorship and monitoring after the Gezi Park protests.
The new measures would also allow some individual URLs to be blocked. In other words, it would not just hit a website or social site, but also users of accounts such as Twitter and Facebook.
At this point, the belief is that the measures will sail through parliament, and that they will adopted immediately.
Op_Ed
Source : Deutsche Welle/ 1.13.14
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