Turkey's Modernization... or Not?

So as many of you know I am relaxing in Istanbul (actually, teaching at Harvard Summer School, but same difference), one of the world's greatest cities and in many ways the place where east meets west. Excuse the cliche, but in the case of Istanbul it is literally true. Here you will find the foods, the sites, and the smells of the Middle East seamlessly integrated with giant shopping malls peddling Gucci, Armani, Lacoste, and other uber-luxuries of the West. It's an odd place in that sense, but it is still an absolute gem of a city. With the beautiful Bosphorus cutting the city into two pieces, and perfect weather on a daily basis, one could be excused for falling in love.

However one thing has bothered me about Turkey. I recently attempted to access Youtube to view, among other things: Norm MacDonald's recent appearance on Conan O'Brien; highlights from the Confederations Cup in South Africa; and a video of an adorable sneezing panda.

So I pressed 'Enter' and up came a message in Turkish: Ankara 1. Sulh Ceza Mahkemesi'nin, 05.05.2008 tarih ve 2008/402 nolu KORUMA TEDBİRİ kapsamında bu internet sitesi (youtube.com) hakkında verdiği karar Telekomünikasyon İletişim Başkanlığı'nca uygulanmaktadır.

Or, in English: (The decision no 2008/402 dated 05.05.2008, which is given about this web site (youtube.com) within the context of protection measure, of Ankara 1. Sulh Ceza Mahkemesi has been implemented by "Telekomünikasyon İletişim Başkanlığı".)

Or, in plain English: Youtube is banned. Your summer is ruined.

Why? According to the reputable Wikinews, "Several sources quote complaints against a video that insults Atatürk, founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, as the reason for the block... Some media sources say that [a] video compared Atatürk with a monkey. This led some YouTube users to suspect that a video entitled 'ataturk was a gay and a monkey turkey turkiye turks' led to the block. This video was added on November 7, 2007, and is a series of images with Atatürk's face on monkeys, homosexuals, obese individuals and several pictures of Borat."

OK, so a few things here. First of all: Borat? What?!?

Second, I know I am a typical Western liberal when I say this, but this type of ban strikes me as not only illogical but also backwards. First, the logic of it. What? You're going to ban Youtube because ONE idiot put up a video? I understand it has to do with pride, and the Turkish laws that ban the insulting of "Turkishness" or the "memory of Ataturk" certainly illustrate that pride is a serious issue for Turks. But this type of ban is a joke. The internet is full of people expressing their opinions - how can you you justify banning one site but not another than makes similar derogatory comments (I'm quite sure such sites exist)? You can't. Seems silly.

Furthermore, it's a joke because many Turks I've talked to here simply use DNS tunnels to access Youtube anyway (DNS tunnels route your internet request through a server outside the country, allowing you to bypass blocks in a given country/region. I also hear that they may allow you to access airport and other hotspots without paying, but I can't confirm that personally). What's the point of a law that can be - and is - so easily bypassed? Furthermore, it is worth noting that 'tunneling' actually slows down internet speeds considerably, making it harder to be productive on the net. So the law actually drives people in Turkey who wish to bypass the absurd ban to worsen the quality of their internet connection. So it's illogical AND inefficient.

There's more. The elephant in the room.

Can any modern society - especially one that has aspirations for European status - continue having strict laws criminalizing "insults" to individual leaders or to their own sense of identity? I don't think so. Sure, the US has laws against certain types of speech (like 'hate speech' or 'fighting words' or libel), but the two are not really comparable. The simple fact is that there are opinions you cannot express in this country. Speech is not free. And I don't know if I'm being overly liberal when I say this - I just don't think that a state can truly join the modern age with such laws on the books. It seems that free speech is a cornerstone of the modern age, and if that's the case, Turkey remains, Gucci and all, a backwards state.