YouTube shuts down YPG account, jihadists continue to upload propaganda

The American video-sharing website YouTube on Wednesday shut down the People’s Protection Units (YPG) account, citing “violation of guidelines.”

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The American video-sharing website YouTube on Wednesday shut down the People’s Protection Units (YPG) account, citing “violation of guidelines.”

The US-backed Kurdish group in northern Syria who have been spearheading a successful war against the Islamic State (IS) said the move was a violation of free speech.

YouTube did not specify what rules had been violated while the YPG described the decision as a direct attack on the fight against IS and an indirect assistance to the militant group.

“The action is an attack on free speech, but also the YPG and its struggle for democracy in Rojava-Northern Syria,” the YPG said in a statement on its website.

“It also deals a blow to the YPG’s battle against [IS] on the ground in Raqqa and on social media,” the statement continued.

The YPG added it had not uploaded any explicit footage or videos of war, instead focused on the rescue of civilians and the struggle of its fighters, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

YPG Press Office release. (Photo: YPG)
YPG Press Office release. (Photo: YPG)

The YPG Press Office said “the attack was a political decision” aimed at curbing “the success of the YPG against fascist, reactionary groups.”

“The continued erasure, silencing, and censorship of Kurdish voices is a deeply painful issue that relates to a long and ongoing history of stolen and lost languages, cultures, intellectual, political, and other forms of self-representation,” wrote activist Dr. Hawzheen Aziz, creator of Middle Eastern Feminist, on her Facebook account.

YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, was criticized for its double standard when it allowed hate preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril to be active on the website.

Jibril’s “anti-infidel” comments reportedly inspired the London Bridge ringleader which attacked an innocent crowd.

Youtube is not the only major website criticized for censorship. Last October, Facebook deleted the page of a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

“Facebook policy on censorship and the recognition of the Kurdish identity proved to be worse than that of Turkey,” the party said in a statement.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists described press freedoms in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule as “under siege.”

Demonstrators hold placards with some featuring a picture of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a protest against Internet censorship in Istanbul, May 15, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)
Demonstrators hold placards with some featuring a picture of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a protest against Internet censorship in Istanbul, May 15, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

The group sent a letter to Turkey’s Prime Minister, calling on him to guarantee Turkey met “its commitments under international law, including its commitments to free expression.”

Twitter reported that over 70 percent of its takedown requests in the first half of 2015 came from Turkish authorities.

In 2012, it was revealed that Turkey was the only nation to have specific censorship rules put in place: “Maps of Kurdistan” and “Burning Turkish flag(s)” were to be censored.

“The government’s assault on social media is part of its campaign to silence the Turkish population and allow no space for civil society or the media,” Jo Glanville, the director of English PEN, was quoted in the Guardian.

Last November, Turkey also blocked access to social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube while detaining pro-Kurdish party leaders and nine lawmakers over “counter-terrorism” investigations.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany