James Delahunty
3 Apr 2008 0:42
Indonesia is requesting that Internet Service Providers (ISP) block access to YouTube in response to a video posted by a Dutch lawmaker. The video in question accuses the Koran of inciting violence. Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch "Freedom Party", made the film which sparked radical Muslims to call for his death during protests outside the Dutch embassy in Jakarta.
Indonesia's information minister, Muhammad Nuh, contacted YouTube asking it to remove the film, according to Cahyana Ahmadjayadi, the ministry's director general for information technology. "Our efforts include asking Internet service providers to block access to YouTube. They have started doing it now," Ahmadjayadi told Reuters.
If you have been following the news lately you will know that this latest episode has seen some scattered violence which we won't go into in this article. One interesting point however is that Mydin Mohamed Holdings, a supermarket chain in Malaysia which sells many electronic goods, has flagged "Dutch-origin" products in its stores across the country and is urging its own customers to boycott the goods in protest.
The video, which includes pictures from the September 11th, 2001 attacks in New York City, as well as several other Islamist bombings along with quotations from the Koran, is not the first to bring political pressure to YouTube. Just in February, Pakistan ordered its ISPs to block YouTube access due to videos deemed offensive to Islam.
A similar action was taken in Thailand last year after a video surfaced on YouTube that was deemed to be offensive to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.