JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesia said Tuesday it would block access to YouTube unless the video-sharing Web site removes an anti-Muslim film by a Dutch lawmaker within 48 hours.
Communications and Information Minister Mohammad Nuh said the government sent a letter to the site informing it of its demand on Tuesday.
"The deadline is two days. If (the film) is not removed by that time, we will block YouTube under cooperation with the Internet service providers," Nuh told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.
Anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders posted the 15-minute film on LiveLeak.com on Friday. It has since been available on other blogs and file-sharing sites, including YouTube.
Last year, Thailand blocked YouTube for four months because of clips it deemed offensive to the king. The ban was lifted after YouTube's owner, Google Inc., agreed to not allow videos that break Thai laws or offend the Thai people.
In February, YouTube was inaccessible globally for several hours after the government of Pakistan blocked it, citing what it said were clips in which Wilders made denigrating remarks about Islam.
Wilders' film intersperses scenes of recent terror attacks with versus from the Quran, Islam's holy book, and speeches from Islamic extremists calling for attacks on non-Muslims. It has been condemned as racist and misleading by governments around the world.
Earlier Tuesday, about 50 people rallied outside the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta calling for Wilders to be put to death.
"Islam is a holy religion," Shodiq Ramadan told about 50 protesters who shouted in agreement. "Those who have insulted it deserve to be sentenced to death."
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but its government is secular and hard-line interpretations of the faith generally do not attract much support.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who relies on the support of several Islamic parties in parliament, has condemned the film and urged protesters in Indonesia — a former Dutch colony — to stay calm.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/01/asia/AS-GEN-Indonesia-Quran-Film.php