Google defies Turkey, reinstates Atatürk insult videos

Google has reinstated the Atatürk-insulting videos that caused the Turkey's 30-month YouTube ban, setting up yet another run-in with local authorities just days after a Turkish court lifted the ban. Late last week, at the request of the semi-independent Turkish Internet Board, a German company used Google's automatic copyright …

[Chris Thomas Alpha]

let them ban youtube then

if the government want to censor the internet and block youtube, let them, whats the problem here? I mean, if turkey wants to show a censored version of youtube fine, or no youtube fine again.

nothing to see here, move along.

what I don't get is why the head of the internet board is meeting with google, to discuss what? you'll find it hard to defend youtube? ok, I don't remember youtube asking you to defend it, but if you choose to do so, why not.

google were right to put back the video, put it back, let whoever wants to block it, block it, or youtube, or whatever.

they are in a part of the world which is comparatively poor and has barely any money anyway, so what are they gonna miss? a couple of million page impressions. I think the youth in turkey will be far more pissed off when they can't watch their hamster videos anymore than google would at losing about 5 euros worth of ad revenue.

who cares, stop pandering to them, let them ban you, then walk away.

it's like the situation with the CEOP, the uk "save the children" brigade and facebook, why did facebook even turn up, just say "no, our systems work better than yours and cost SIGNIFICANTLY LESS" and walk away. don't return their calls and don't worry about it, what are they gonna do, block facebook? there would be riots! it's the only thing british youth have to care about!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Striesand effect.

Locate, download, reupload.

And again.

And again.

And again.

If the Turkish government wants to ban a site with over two BILLION daily views because someone got offended (aww, sniffle), well they're the government. They can do what they like, and look stupid to the rest of the world as much as they like.

By the way, Lincoln was an arsehole, and so's Queen Lizzie. Wonder if that'll get El Reg banned from the US and UK?

What, no?

It's like we've got, like, some kind of crazy freedom of speech, or something!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure you do... Unless...

You do it in public and/or during an event that your government finds prestigious. Then you have the right to be beaten to death by your "police". But hi don´t let that ruin your sense of superiority.

[32holes]

And just when i was going to state.............

something about turkey joining the EU comes the last sentence. While turkey is far better with their human rights record than, say, iran, they still have lots to improve on.

[Anonymous Coward]

a LOT of room to improve...

Wasn't even ten years ago I had to hear the story of a Kurdish mother being gang raped by the Turkish state police while her 8 or 9 year old son was forced to watched at gun point. Of course neither mother nor child had committed a crime (though I guess "Kurd" automatically qualifies you in Turkey), so you may wonder why did the cops do such a horrific thing? Well it was important for the son to see what the cops where doing to his mum because when the gun was then pointed at the mother the son would know what he had to do if he wanted his mother to survive.

You can froth a lot over the behaviour of British police (e.g., the recent Bobby picking on women that were sexually assaulted), and our EU neighbours, but the likes of Turkey and Serbia need to take the heinous abuse of power and human rights down several notches or their be a new breed of Eurosceptic emerging in the UK.

...yeah, as I said, sorry... I'll get me coat.

[Graham Wilson]

There are two worrying aspects about the Atatürk criticism.

There's two worrying aspects about the Atatürk criticism:

1. That the Turkish government wants to ban the videos.

2. That people feel the need to criticise Atatürk at all.

Today, thinking people from UK, Aust, NZ, France--the countries that attempted but failed to invade Turkey on 25th April 1915 at the Gallipoli peninsular--have considerable respect for this former adversary. These countries failed through incompetence but also because Atatürk was a great soldier and leader of the Turkish fighting force.

Similarly, in peacetime he was a great leader of the Turkish peoples and a reformer and moderniser of Turkey.

Atatürk died over 70 years ago, it is both tragic and disconcerting that there are those who cannot show some degree of magnanimity toward him.

[Anonymous Coward]

I was under the impression....

that part of the Ottoman Empire's military success was down to having a group of German advisors.

Though the German presence didn't stop the destruction of the Ottoman 7th Army (Office Commanding - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ) in the campaign in Palestine.

[Anonymous Coward]

So What ?

You think Atatürk was a great officer and statesman ?

Somebody thinks he was gay ?

Every heard of the concept of "freedom of speech" ?

Your opinion is exactly worth as much as any other opinion. That's what many people in many parts of the world simply don't get. And that's one major reason Turkey is not fit for the European Union. Other reasons are the oppression of women and minorities (Christians, Kurds, Alevites) and human rights in general, but this was not the subject of this article.

[Burch]

It's not a question of why

The fact is people end up in prison in Turkey for voicing any criticism of the man, including academics.

As a moderniser you'd think Atatürk would have objected to such restrictions. But hey, prison's a small price to pay for voicing opinions you don't like.

[Graham Marsden]

A ban on YouTube...?

Exactly whom will that inconvenience?!

(PS Yes, I know all the arguments about censorship etc, it's a *joke* ok?)

[Winkypop]

Atatürk...

...you tell 'em !

[Tigra 07]

So much for democracy

So much for their aspirations to join the EU, they don't even allow freedom of speech

[Harry Highpants]

Att. Graham Wilson

To those not in the know. Google a search for Ataturk and see what atrocities he and his Young Turk movement were responsible for in their time towards the non Turk minorities within Turkey.

Hitler, in response to concerns raised regarding world opinion about their Jewish solution, is known to have stated, "Who remembers the Armenians?"

The brutality of the Young Turk movement eclipsed even that of the Nazis.

[TeeCee]

I am intrigued.....

I'd love to know exactly who the Germans think "Ataturk was gay" is copyright to?

Do I need to pay a royalty for this comment, or is that "fair use"?

[ShaggyDoggy]

But ...

.if he was actually gay, then the truth will inevitably come out, for want of a better expression, making the Turks look even less tolerant than now. Oh well, sow and reap.