Authors against Turkey Twitter ban
Authors have historically been activists 鈥� think Thomas Paine, Aldous Huxley, Susan Sontag 鈥� and today鈥檚 authors are no exceptions.
From protesting Russian laws that purportedly 鈥渟trangle free speech,鈥�, to advocating for a digital bill of rights, to protesting censorship of erotic titles, and even rallying to save an Italian author threatened for his book examining the Neapolitan mafia, authors have a long and proud tradition of activism.
Their latest target? The Turkish government.
Dozens of notable authors 鈥� including Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, and Gunter Grass 鈥� have signed from author-rights advocacy group PEN International protesting Turkey鈥檚 Twitter ban, which it calls 鈥渁n unacceptable violation of the right to freedom of speech,鈥� and urging its leaders to reverse the ban.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan enacted a countrywide ban on Twitter last week following social media leaks suggesting corruption among the nation鈥檚 top public officials.
He also threatened to shut down YouTube and Facebook as well, and on Thursday Turkish media reported its government had blocked YouTube as a 鈥減recautionary administrative measure.鈥�
Authors 鈥� often seen as the canary in the coalmine when free speech rights are curbed 鈥� have been swift to respond via .
鈥淲e, the signatories named below, are writers from around the world who love, live and breathe words. We are united in our belief that freedom of expression is a universal and fundamental human right. We hereby express our grave concern with regard to 鈥渢he freedom of words鈥� in Turkey today,鈥� the letter begins.
鈥淭witter and YouTube are vehicles of expression that give a voice to each and every user, regardless of class, religion, ethnicity, or political stature
The blanket ban on Twitter and YouTube comes in the aftermath of a regressive new internet law and is an unacceptable violation of the right to freedom of speech.鈥�
As , in February, the Turkish parliament passed a new law giving its telecommunications authority 鈥渁lmost unlimited power in tightening its controls over the internet.鈥�
The letter concludes by urging Turkey "not to retreat from democracy and its keystone, freedom of speech; but rather to recognise their obligations under international treaties and to lift the block on Twitter with immediate effect.鈥�
Individual authors have also spoken out separately over the ban, with Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk saying the situation in his country 鈥渋s going from bad to worse and even towards terrible.鈥� Pamuk, author of 鈥淢y Name is Red,鈥� and 鈥淪now,鈥� won the Nobel in 2006 after Turkish authorities charged him with 鈥渋nsulting Turkishness鈥� for comments made about the Armenian genocide. The charges were later dropped.
Turkish author Elif Shafak was also charged with 鈥渋nsulting Turkishness鈥� after the publication of her novel, 鈥淭he Bastard of Istanbul.鈥� The trial went on for a year before charges were dropped, as the .
Shafak left these words for the rulers of her country:
"Turkey's rulers need to understand that democracy is not solely about getting a majority of votes in the ballot box. Far beyond that, democracy is a culture of inclusiveness, openness, human rights and freedom of speech, for each and every one, regardless of whichever party they might have voted for. It is the realization of the very core of democracy that has been sorely lacking in Turkey today.鈥�
