Turkey bans access to all Deutsche Welle websites, citing “lack of permission”. DW will go to court.
Turkish media regulator (RTUK) has decided to ban access to its websites Deutsche Welle, because, as he claims, the German public service broadcaster does not have a license. As of Thursday night, DW websites are no longer available in Turkey. The same prohibition applies to the Voice of America. It is recalled that today DW broadcasts in 32 languages, including Turkish.
Already last February, RTUK had asked DW and other international media to apply for a broadcasting license, as provided by a relevant law in Turkey, dating from 2019. Otherwise, RTUK warned, DW is threatened with a “ban programming “and access to its websites will be blocked by the authorities.
“No to censorship”
Deutsche Welle said in a statement that it would not comply with the instructions, as “the authorization would allow the Turkish government to censor the journalistic content”. The general manager of Deutsche Welle Peter Limburg “In an extensive correspondence, and even in a personal discussion with the President of the Turkish Regulatory Authority, we had set out in detail the reasons why DW could not apply for such a permit. For example, all Turkish-licensed media outlets are required to remove content from their websites that RTÜK deems inappropriate. That would be simply unacceptable to an independent broadcaster. “
The station’s general manager added that “DW will take legal action against the blockade”. DW is currently one of the few independent sources of information for citizens in Turkey. The same is true of other international media. In addition to DW, Voice of America and Euronews are also being asked to apply for a “license”. It is noted that DW has opened a “liaison office” in Turkey, as provided by this legislation in 2019, while it has also been “registered” in the relevant ministry since February 2020.
The 10-member RTÜK is dominated by President Recep Tayyip Erdo .an’s conservative AKP party and the ruling far-right MHP. In recent years, and especially after the failed coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016, Turkey has taken a series of actions to suppress independent and critical voices in the media, but also in academia.
DW – Giannis Papadimitriou
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