'21st century book burning,' U.S. official blog slams Ankara

[Valin]

Hurriyet Daily News:

3/22/14

 

The official blog of U.S. Department of State has published a vitriolic post, slamming Turkey's blocking of Twitter as '21st century book burning.'

 

 

"Every day, governments around the world devote precious resources to Internet censorship. It is 21st Century book-burning -- and it doesn’t make anyone stronger. This brand of suppression affects all of us: In an era in which the Internet serves as the world’s community forum, censorship anywhere is a threat to freedom of speech everywhere," Douglas Frantz, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, has written on the the State Department's official blog, Dipnote, March 21.

 

 

"Sometimes even our friends make this mistake. A friend like Turkey has nothing to fear in the free-flow of ideas and even criticism represented by Twitter. Its attempt to block its citizens’ access to social media tools should be reversed," Frantz said.

 

(Snip)

 

Samantha Power @AmbassadorPower Follow

 

Deeply troubling that #Turkey blocked Twitter. Shutting down free access to info inconsistent w/democracy—support citizens' call to unblock.

 

4:40 PM - 21 Mar 2014