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Turkey Blocks YouTube Access Over Clip

Posted on: Friday, 9 March 2007, 15:00 CST

A Turkish court has blocked access to the YouTube Web site after a derogatory video on the founder of modern Turkey was found on the site.

Turk Telekom, which provides Internet access to most of Turkey, is complying with the ruling until further notice, Variety said.

This ban has nothing to do with us. Turk Telekom is just executing the court order, which is its legal obligation, said Ahter Kutadgu, Turk Telekom's vice president of corporate relations.

The 33-second video prompting the ban allegedly called Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Turkish people homosexuals. It was posted on YouTube amid what Turkish media outlets dubbed a virtual war between Greeks and Turks.

The Turkish daily Hurriyet reported thousands of Turks had written to YouTube, demanding the video be removed, Variety said.

We respect the authorities in Turkey and are committed to working with them to resolve this, read a statement by YouTube executives, who said the video was no longer on the site.

Source: United Press International

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