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Middle East Eye
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Middle East Eye
YouTube and Spotify accused of 'censorship' after blocking left-wing folk group in Turkey
YouTube and Spotify have been accused of "censorship" after the Turkish government blocked videos and songs by the left-wing folk band Grup Yorum. According to Turkish freedom of expression organisation IFOD, Turkish authorities blocked access to more than 450 videos by Grup Yorum on YouTube last week in the name of "protecting national security and public order". They said the 454 clips, shared since 2006 by dozens of YouTube accounts, had totalled more than 205 million views. IFOD said in a statement on Friday that at least one of the group's albums had also been blocked on Spotify and Apple Music. A similar request was put to streaming site Deezer, but they refused to comply. Legislation passed in 2022 handed the government's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) powers to compel social media companies to comply with requests to take down content and hand over user data or to be subject to reduction of their bandwidth. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Outlets such as X (formerly Twitter) have blocked scores of accounts in Turkey in recent months at the request of the government, mainly leftists and oppositions figures. 'Perception of complicity' Yaman Akdeniz, founder of IFOD, told Middle East Eye that social media platforms had been facing renewed pressure following the outcry over the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in March. "They all face substantial fines as well as threats of throttling of their services. So, at first sight, it may seem understandable that they all comply," he said. 'Their silence regarding the blocking of Grup Yorum's songs and albums suggests a reluctance to challenge or even acknowledge the censorship' - Yaman Akdeniz, IFOD "However, their silence regarding the geographical blocking of Grup Yorum's songs and albums suggests a reluctance to publicly challenge or even acknowledge the censorship. The lack of transparency and official announcements from these platforms exacerbates the perception of complicity." Middle East Eye contacted YouTube's owner Google and Spotify for comment, but neither had responded at time of publication. Since their founding in 1985, Grup Yorum's songs have touched on a wide range of progressive causes, including lauding socialist icons such Deniz Gezmis - a Marxist revolutionary hanged in 1968, criticising the killing of 15-year old Berkin Elvan by police in 2014, gentrification, imperialism, women's rights, the struggle for Kurdish rights, and covering famous leftist anthems such as Bella Ciao and the Internationale. In response to the blocking of their songs, Grup Yorum announced on Monday that they were giving away their entire discography for free, posting a link on their social media feed. Grup Yorum: Turkish folk band vows to continue struggle after pausing death fast Read More » On Tuesday, they called for a three-day boycott of the platforms. "We are not dependent on these monopolized platforms," they wrote on X. "They are trying to erase Grup Yorum, who have been singing the people's folk songs for 40 years, from everywhere. They will not succeed!" The group have long been accused by the government of association with the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), an armed Marxist-Leninist group responsible for carrying out numerous attacks on government officials and foreign officials in Turkey and abroad. The band's line-up changes regularly, with members frequently spending time in and out of prison or fleeing abroad. In 2020, singer and bassist Ibrahim Gokcek died after an almost year-long "death fast" protesting the ban on the band's concerts and the imprisonment of a number of band members.
Boston Globe
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘A celebration of freedom and love': Mayor Wu joins hundreds as LGBTQ+ Pride flag is raised over City Hall
Advertisement In his second term in office, President Donald Trump has issued a slew of 'With all the misinformation and all the hate that is out there in the world right now, we in Boston are recognizing that pride, at its core, is a celebration of freedom and love,' Wu said. At Monday's Pride Month kickoff, a range of generations came together to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights and publicly express their identities. Advertisement Paul Glass and Charles D. Evans traveled from Cape Cod to take part in the festivities. Both were at the Stonewall riots in 1969, and Evans said the couple has been 'fighting for equal rights and equality' since then. 'We're here to celebrate our heritage, our ancestry, and our delight to be connected with the LGBTQ+ community,' Glass said. Pride Month has been celebrated since June 1970, the one year anniversary of the Jack Madden, a student at Tufts University who identifies as gay, said it was important for him to be at the flag raising because of the attacks on LGBTQ+ people across the nation, specifically a Madden said he appreciated the intersectionality of the event; the JP Honk Band at one point played 'Bella Ciao,' an anti-fascist song. 'It's like a counterculture, in a sense, to what is being propagated by the majority,' he said. After the flag was raised to JP Honk Band playing 'This Little Light of Mine,' participants mingled and watched performances by LGBTQ+ identifying artists. Anne and Trisha Marquez traveled to Boston from Indiana for a friend's wedding. Once they heard about the flag raising, they decided to come out in support. Anne Marquez said the couple 'love the city of Boston and everything it does for the LGBTQ community.' 'There's a lot of hate and division in our country right now,' Anne Marquez said. 'If we just saw each other as human beings and just understood that we all have different paths, but in the end just want the same thing ... that's the important thing.' Advertisement Emily Spatz can be reached at
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Worth fighting for': Community members, fellow students rally to Harvard's cause
As Harvard University undergraduate seniors donned their robes and caps in the warm blue skies on Tuesday, many didn't go off to celebrate with their families. Instead, they joined a rally of over a hundred students, faculty and Massachusetts residents organizing against the Trump administration's attacks on Harvard and its international students. The rally was in response to the federal government revoking a key certification that allows Harvard to enroll international students. Harvard subsequently sued and asked for a temporary restraining order, which a federal judge allowed. 'The most recent move in President Trump's attempt to exercise full control over our university is an anti-American threat to our core values of free speech, academic freedom and education,' said Nuriel Vera-DeGraff, a Harvard student. 'We stand here today to affirm that international students are our peers, our classmates and our friends — and not our enemies,' he said. Read more: 'Devastating impact': Trump's attacks on Harvard could cost Mass. millions, Healey warns The rally began with Emil Massad, a graduating senior, playing Bella Ciao, a song of resistance, he said. Between almost every word of a speaker, the crowd shouted 'shame,' pointing to the actions they deem wrongful from the federal administration. Read more: Harvard foreign students feel like 'poker chips,' consider transfer after Trump attacks The rally occurred the same day that the Trump administration directed federal agencies to cut off existing contracts with Harvard or transfer them to other vendors. Also on Tuesday, Crimson Courage, a community of Harvard alumni whose mission is to stand up for academic freedom, organized an online discussion and press conference with speakers like Gov. Maura Healey in attendance. Throughout each event, Crimson Courage urged alumni to donate to the institution and to sign on to a legal document in support of Harvard's second lawsuit against the Trump administration focused on international students. The group is also aiming to have other higher education institutions create an alumni group similar to Crimson Courage. Harvard has been in a battle with the federal government since April. There has been a wave of federal research grant terminations at Harvard University, in addition to a $60 million in multi-year grants,$450 million cut and a $2.2 billion freeze. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has also told the institution that the federal government would be barring Harvard University from acquiring new federal grants while the university continues to refuse to comply with the administration's demands for change on its campus. Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon that they share the same 'common ground,' but the university 'will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear.' Garber pushed back on the administration through a lawsuit in April. The institution argues that its constitutional rights had been violated by the government's threats to pull billions of dollars in funding if the school didn't comply with demands for an the $450 million announced cuts, the university amended its lawsuit. 'No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' the suit reads. Due to the federal cuts, Harvard announced that it was committing $250 million of 'central funding' to support research impacted by suspended and canceled federal grants. Jacob Miller, a graduating senior who was the president of Harvard Hillel in 2023, spoke to his great-grandmother, who was expelled from the University of Vienna because she was a Jew. 'I stand here before you today at the top university in the world today, watching my peers face removal because of their nationality,' he said. 'If there is anything to learn from this Jewish history, it's that when we push people out of our schools because of their identity, it's a symptom of a morally bankrupt politics,' he said. While he said Harvard has issues with antisemitism, the federal administration's claims that it is going after Harvard due to that is 'absurd.' Harvard Government Professor Ryan Enos also spoke to the fight against Harvard being about something larger. He said the attack on Harvard is an attack on democracy and the rule of law. Enos called Trump's actions an 'authoritarian takeover.' 'Each and every one of you is worth fighting for. You each earned your place at Harvard, but we have to understand that this is not just a fight for international students and is not just a fight for Harvard, and it's certainly not a fight over politics. It's not a fight between Democrats and Republicans,' he said. 'This is a fight for democracy and for the rule of law. These are the principles that unite us. We are not here to protect our diplomas or to protect Harvard's endowment. We are here because of an idea in America represented by all of you. That is worth fighting for,' he said. Harvard first-year students Rachele Chung and Oprah Nkera said they showed up to the rally because their friends who are international didn't feel safe doing so. They said there has been a 'tension' on campus since they started due to the Trump administration's attacks on the institution and their friends are in a constant state of confusion and fear about whether to leave the U.S. or stay. The federal government has shown that there 'will be consequences' such as visa or student status revocation if anyone disagrees or goes against the Trump administration, Chung said. The rally wasn't just Harvard students and faculty. Community members of all ages, even those who couldn't stand throughout the entire rally, showed up in droves and even students from Northeastern University came to show their support. AB Boudreau, a second-year student at Northeastern, said they haven't ever been to a rally at Harvard but felt it was necessary to show up because classrooms are better with a diversity of perspectives. Boudreau, who uses they/them pronouns, said Northeastern has a large international population and they are looking for more ways to connect with other university organizers about the issue. Harvard alumni have also been organizing their support for the institution through Crimson Courage. During an online discussion on Tuesday evening following the rally, Cambridge City Councilor Patty Nolan said there has been a 'seismic shift' in support for Harvard. She said Harvard is the largest employer in Cambridge 'by far' and that not only alumni but residents and former critics are standing with the institution. 'Does it need improvements? Yes. We need to ask it to be better, not by taking it over, but by holding it to high standards and supporting its work to genuinely embrace inquiry, support all students from around the world. And affirm the primacy of the rule of law,' she said. 'The petty demands and capricious punishment from the federal administration is putting more than Harvard at risk. Our economy and values are at risk,' she said. Harvard professor John Quakenbush said during the online discussion that his research has lost nearly $1 million in funding at Harvard and early career scientists on his team are having to decide whether to leave academic science or pursue it out of the country. 'The Massachusetts economy is also going to feel the effects through lost research spending and the ripple effects on local businesses,' he said. 'If we truly want to make America healthy. If we want to make America great. I can tell you that this is the wrong path,' he said. During the rally, Clyve Lawrence, a Harvard student, said that organizing and demonstrating outrage as a community is integral for Harvard to continue taking steps that push against the federal government. 'History doesn't remember those who sat quietly while democracy was dismantled. They remembered us. The ones who organized the risk takers, the ones who stood up when it mattered most, we are those people. We are that moment and our power is just beginning,' Lawrence said. 'Devastating impact': Trump's attacks on Harvard could cost Mass. millions, Healey warns Celebrated Harvard professor accused of data fraud loses tenure — and her job Beyond students: Trump attacks on Harvard could affect thousands of workers How a college closing disaster led to new student protections in Mass. Here's everything Trump has stripped from Harvard so far — and what is threatened Read the original article on MassLive.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Serbia: Students run to Brussels, take protest to the EU
Serbian students concluded their ultra marathon from Novi Sad to Brussels (Image: AP) After 18 days, eight countries and 1,950 km (1,211 miles), students from Serbia completed their ultra marathon from Novi Sad to Brussels, arriving in the Belgian capital on Tuesday. Greeted by citizens at the entrance to key EU institutions, they arrived to the sound of the Italian partisan anthem "Bella Ciao." Among them was the family of Dunja Stanojkovic , a veterinary student from Pancevo. Her parents and older sister watched her arrival with a mixture of pride, concern and excitement. "We hope for a better life in Serbia, that our children won't have to leave the country and that we'll bring democracy back to Serbia," her mother Dragana told DW. Back home in Serbia, protests have been taking place for over six months now. Initially sparked by the collapse of the concrete canopy at the entrance to the train station in Novi Sad that killed 16 people, the demonstrations have evolved into a broader struggle for justice and accountability and against authoritarianism and corruption. MEPs welcome students: Brussels, the students say, is just another stop on their protest itinerary. They came here to inform European officials firsthand about the situation in Serbia. "We want to highlight the problems and make people in Serbia and around the world aware of what we're going through," student Uros Obradovis told DW. "From the European Union, we expect understanding and support for our continued fight." The first stop in their three-day visit to European institutions was the European Parliament. European lawmakers were on hand to greet them and congratulate them on their courage and activism. EU stance on Serbia: These lawmakers recently adopted the EU's latest Progress Report on Serbia, which directly references many of the issues being raised by the students. "The biggest obstacle to Serbia's progress is precisely the nature of its government, personified by Aleksandar Vucic," Tonino Picula, European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, told DW. "We simply cannot accept a wish list from Belgrade while its behaviour — like the Serbian president's recent appearance at Putin 's military parade in Moscow — sends the opposite message," he said. Harsh words from the European Parliament are nothing new. What is new, however, is that the center-right European People's Party (EPP), of which Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party is an associate member, has also joined in the criticism. That's particularly significant, explains Nemanja Todorovic Stiplija, editor-in-chief of European Western Balkans, a regional website that specializes in the European integration process, because the EPP is the most powerful political group in the European Parliament. "There was a diplomatic push when Donald Tusk and [Kyriakos] Mitsotakis visited Serbia to push Vucic a bit, but it didn't succeed," says Stiplija. "Now, for the first time, the EPP has issued a sharply worded statement saying that a member of the EPP should not be attending a parade in Moscow." 'Von der Leyen can't stay silent forever' During their three-day visit to Brussels, the students are also expected to meet with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Commissioner for Youth, Sport and Intergenerational Dialogue Glenn Micallef . During a recent visit to Serbia, Kos said the students' demands align with what the European Commission itself is asking of Serbia, and that the tragedy in Novi Sad would not have happened if the rule of law had been respected. "European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen won't be able to stay silent forever," Slovenian MEP Irena Joveva told DW. "I told her that ignorance kills — literally kills. Now the pressure is also on her, because this is a fight for the European values she is supposed to represent." Picula also expects a response because, as he notes, the EU's own credibility is on the line. "You can't have a credible enlargement policy that doesn't lead to real change in the countries knocking on Europe's door — especially Serbia, which, due to its size and importance, may be the most critical candidate country in the Western Balkans. That's why how we approach Serbia now matters for the future of enlargement," he said. Money as leverage: Words, it seems, have already turned into action: Due to Serbia's failure to meet the obligations outlined in the so-called Growth Plan, the EU has postponed the disbursement of €111 million ($124 million) in aid. In accordance with this plan, Serbia adopted a Reform Agenda that included specific goals that have to be met by 2027. These goals, which align with its EU accession commitments, included changes to media law, the selection of new members for the media regulator (REM) and a revision of the voter registry. "The European Commission is hoping the Reform Agenda will compel Serbian authorities to finally act on EU integration, since the process has been stalled for three years," Stiplija explained. He believes the pressure will intensify — not only from the Commission but also from EU member states and the EPP — because Serbia is the only Western Balkan country that has not fulfilled its obligations under the Reform Agenda and has not, therefore, received funding. Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia have all made considerably more progress. What will the students do next? "The student movement is at a crossroads," Tonino Picula told DW. "Now we need clearer answers to very concrete questions about what will happen next in Serbia." After months of debate, the students have openly declared that elections are the only viable way forward and have called for a date to be set by mid-May. They also plan to draw up their own electoral list, although details of what this will entail remain unclear. Sources who spoke to DW say that the EU has yet to adopt a clear position on elections and probably won't until Serbia implements recommendations to improve the electoral conditions outlined by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). "It's not our responsibility or right — nor will we try — to interfere in internal politics," said Irena Joveva. "But we do support them in a fight that is also the EU's fight. And I truly believe, expect and demand — as do many others — that electoral conditions are fair, because that is the foundation of democracy itself."
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Thousands of extreme-right Italian neo-fascists hold torch-lit rally in honour of youth wing member murdered by far-left militants 50 years ago
Thousands of neo-fascists rallied in Italy last night to honour the death of a member of the extreme right group from 50 years ago. 'Roman salutes' were performed alongside banners saying 'honour to the fallen comrades' as more than 2,000 people gathered to mark the anniversary of Sergio Ramelli's murder in Milan, local media reported. The 18-year-old member of the youth wing - Fronte della gioventù - was attacked outside his home with a wrench by members of the far-left group, Avanguardia Operaia, in 1975. He died 47 days later. Echoes of Bella Ciao could be heard through the procession in via Paladini as Milanese locals sang the anti-fascist resistance song from apartment windows. Crowds the gathered in front of the Italian flag and a wreath of red flowers was carried at the beginning of the march while police watched alongside. The Italian Social Movement (MSI) ended their procession with a 'Roman Salute' - also known as the 'Fascist salute - towards Ramelli's mural. The gesture involving an extended right arm with a downward-facing palm is said to have originated in ancient Rome but is now often associated with 20th century fascism. At 10pm sharp, Ramelli's name is chanted three times, with 'present' chanted back three times in response. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted a long message remembering the anniversary of Ramelli's death, explaining why her government decided to release stamp dedicated to the young activist. She said: 'A month and a half ago my government decided to dedicate a stamp to the memory of Sergio Ramelli, for us a gesture that is much more than symbolic: it means affirming that his story and his death are a piece of Italian history that everyone on the right and left must deal with. 'Today that memory is starting to be shared more, in an attempt to heal a deep wound that must unite all the innocent victims of hatred and political violence.' A plaque for Ramelli was also revealed last month at his old school in Milan, despite protests from left-wing students. Milan's Mayor, Giuseppe Sala, suggested that a street be named for every young victim of a terrorist attack and welcomed the approval of the Senate president, Ignazio La Russa. 'I think it would be a good thing to name a square or a street after the young people of Milan who were victims of the brutal terrorism of those years,' he was reported to have said in Sky TG24. He added that this 'is not the time to increase tensions, but to lower the tone and only remember that period'. La Russa, who attended the demonstration, said 'the individual stories are different, but if a square wants to bring together young people who lost their lives in a tragic moment in our history, I am in favour'. He continued to say that the most important thing 'is that there is no more violence. The intent is to offer all Italians a sign of harmony, peace and pacification and above all love. Today we say no to any type of violence'.
