Turkey bans YouTube after Syria security talk leaked

The Turkish government blocked access to YouTube on Thursday, after an audio recording was uploaded to the platform in which the foreign minister and senior military and intelligence officials could be heard discussing the security situation in Syria.

The move came hours after the release of an audio file on YouTube, purporting to be of a security meeting in which top government, military and spy officials discuss a possible scenario for military action inside Syria.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan on Thursday slammed political opponents he said had leaked the audio tape.

“They have leaked something on YouTube today,” he told a campaign rally ahead of crucial local elections Sunday, following the latest in a series of damaging social media leaks.

“It was a meeting on our national security … It is a vile, cowardly, immoral act. We will go into their caves. Who are you serving by eavesdropping?”

The move against YouTube came a day after a court ordered a suspension of the Twitter ban.

The foreign ministry described the latest leak as “espionage” against the country’s national security.

It added that it was a “natural practice” by the state to discuss how to protect Turkish property from “terrorist elements” but added that some part of the conversation had been “distorted”.

Erdogan, whose party faces key local elections on Sunday, has been dogged by a string of leaks, including apparent wire taps suggesting a major corruption scandal, which have gone viral on Twitter and other social media platforms.

The telecoms authority (TIB) said it had taken an “administrative measure” against the site but another report suggests that talks are under way.

In its statement, the TIB said: “After technical analysis and legal consideration…. an administrative measure has been taken for this website.”

On Wednesday, a court in the capital, Ankara, ordered the TIB to lift its ban on Twitter, but it could be weeks before the order takes effect.

Twitter itself has filed a challenge to the access ban. It said it was concerned about a court order to suspend an account which had accused a former minister of corruption.

Source: THE TIMES OF EARTH and agencies