In his latest attempt to crack down on the country's voices of dissent, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan has shut down Twitter, sparking general outrage.

Tonight, Prime Minister Erdoğan has taken the state repression of Turkey's citizens' freedom of speech to a whole new level. Around 11:30PM the news started to spread like wildfire: Twitter has been shut down! Only a few hours earlier, during a campaign rally for the upcoming municipal elections in the western city of Bursa, Erdoğan had declared ( http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=63884&NewsCatID=338 ) to a crowd of AKP-supporters that he was determined to shut down the social media platform. "We now have a court order. We'll eradicate Twitter. I don't care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic," he stated in his typical authoritarian fashion.

Twitter is not only used by the opposition, both within and outside of the political arena, but also by the country's leading duo, Gül and Erdoğan, who both have over four million followers. Despite their strong social media presence, the prime minister apparently felt threatened by what he himself termed a "robot lobby" ( http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-accuses-robot-lobby-of-conducting-plot-against-the-govt.aspx?pageID=238&nID=62928&NewsCatID=338) which he in late February accused of targeting the government through Twitter messages.

With this latest move Erdoğan seems to have finally and definitely lost it. Last week, only days after the funeral ( http://roarmag.org/2014/03/berkin-elvan-death-protests/ ) of young Berkin Elvan -- a 15-year old boy who died after having spent nine months in a coma because he was shot in the head with a tear gas canister by the police during the Gezi protests -- Erdoğan had accused ( http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26594922 ) the boy of being a member of a terrorist organization. These hate inciting and utterly ridiculous remarks were enough reason for the Turkish Doctor's Association, the TTB, to release a press statement ( http://www.ttb.org.tr/index.php/Haberler/basbakan-4447.html ) in which they collectively expressed their concern over the state of Erdoğan's mental health. "We are doctors. We know human beings and the status of their minds from the inside and outside. We are concerned with the mental state of PM Erdoğan. We are deeply concerned!", the statement read.

Ever since millions took to the streets in the context of the Gezi protests ( http://roarmag.org/2014/01/roar-symposium-gezi-uprising-turkey/ ) last summer, the spirit of dissent has never left the collective imagination. Tens of thousands of people in Turkey continue to publicly voice their anger with the current government on a monthly, if not weekly basis. Large protests have rocked the country: protests against the destruction of the forest at Ankara's ODTÜ-campus; against the building of Istanbul's third bridge; against the new internet law; against the country's corrupt ruling elites; in memory of young Berkin Elvan; and against the increasingly authoritarian rule of the AKP government in general.

The closure of Twitter is made possible by a new internet law that places extra-judicial powers with the Communications Technologies Institution (BTK) which now has the power to close down websites within a few hours within a court ruling. However, the people of Turkey have proven to be as defiant online as they are on the streets, and the reports of the closing down of Twitter were followed closely by links to VPN services and DNS servers that could be used to circumvent the ban.

No one shuts down the internet on our watch.

We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. To Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan. This is just the beginning. Expect us. To continue the fight.

TheAnonMessage; https://www.youtube.com/TheAnonMessenger

PRESS STATEMENT:

The Turkish government, Erdoğan specifically, has banned Twitter from the Internet of all Turkey.

Anonymous has been working on a package:

Ways to connect to Twitter in Turkey -

Google browser: http://bit.ly/1oBsiw7

Firefox: http://ow.ly/uNX65

Android users: http://bit.ly/PVvxCR

Apple users: http://bit.ly/1g6cjEj

TOR browser bundle in Turkish format: http://ow.ly/uO369

We are Anonymous. And no one shuts down the Internet on our Watch!

Other Links:

http://roarmag.org/2014/03/turkey-twitter-shut-down/

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/21/turkey-twitter-users-flout-ban-erdogan

Anonymous is for Freedom http://www.facebook.com/OffiziellAnonymousPage https://twitter.com/AnonymousPage11