,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #djc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march    
#bg1 #bjad ,mr4 ,murphy 7for himself and
 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,wisconsin7 submitted 
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,relations  ,,resolution  ,condemning   
the actions of the ,government of       
,turkey in restricting free expression  
and ,internet freedom on social media4  
,whereas an independent1 unfettered     
media and freedom of expression1        
including on the ,internet and social   
media sites1 are essential elements of  
democratic1 open societies2 ,whereas    
infringement of press freedom in ,turkey
 is a serious concern1 with more        
journalists currently imprisoned in     
,turkey than in any other country2      
,whereas millions of people in ,turkey1 
including senior members of the         
,government of ,turkey1 use ,twitter and
 other social media sites to communicate
 on a daily basis2 ,whereas the         

,government of ,turkey imposed a        
countrywide ban on access to ,twitter on
 ,march #bj1 #bjad1 blocking the use of 
the communications platform to engage in
 political speech2 ,whereas respected   
nongovernmental organizations such as   
,amnesty ,international1 ,reporters     
,without ,borders1 and ,freedom ,house  
have condemned the decision to block    
,twitter as an attack on ,internet      
freedom and freedom of expression in    
,turkey2 ,whereas the ,president of     
,turkey1 ,abdullah ,gul1 defied the ban 
to send out a series of tweets          
questioning the government's actions2   
,whereas the ,turkish ,bar ,association 
argued that the ban is unconstitutional 
and in violation of ,turkish and        
,european human rights laws2 and        
,whereas1 on ,march #bf1 #bjad1 the     
district court in ,ankara1 ,turkey1     
blocked implementation of the ban       
because it may restrict the freedoms of 
expression and communication1 which are 
protected by the ,turkish ,constitution 

and the ,european ,convention of ,human 
,rights3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that  
the ,senate-- 7#a7 condemns the         
,government of ,turkey's restrictions on
 freedom of the press1 freedom of       
expression1 and ,internet freedom2  7#b7
 recognizes the critical role that      
technology and social media sites play  
in helping independent journalists and  
the general public to communicate and   
access information2  7#c7 reaffirms the 
centrality of ,internet freedom to      
efforts by the ,united ,states          
,government to support democracy and    
promote good governance around the      
world2 and  7#d7 calls on the           
,government of ,turkey to immediately   
end its restrictions on media freedom1  
including social media1 and restore     
access to ,twitter4