YouTube Temporarily Suspends Kurdish YPG Militia for ‘Violating Community Guidelines’

YouTube temporarily suspended the account of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, better known as the YPG, on Wednesday. The account was reactivated Thursday morning after the YPG objected to what they thought was the permanent termination of their account.

The suspension occurred because YouTube said the YPG violated their community guidelines, although YPG officials said they were not given any details of their alleged offense.

A statement from the militia quoted by the Kurdish Rudaw news service insisted no “explicit footage or videos of war” that might have violated YouTube standards against explicit violence were posted on their page. Instead, the group said it uses YouTube primarily to chronicle “the rescue of civilians” and “the heroic struggle of its fighters.” However, some observers note that the People’s Protection Units’ channel does post videos with violent scenes, including efforts to document the violence of its adversaries, and this might have prompted action from YouTube after a complaint was filed.

The YPG also complained that users linked to the Islamic State are still able to “upload propaganda on their accounts” and that “atrocities committed by the Turkish army and its affiliates” can be found on YouTube. The YPG believed its account suspension was a “political decision” and an “attack on free speech” that would interfere with its ability to fight the Islamic State on social media.

“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,” said activist Hawzheen Aziz, as quoted by Kurdistan24.

Both the Rudaw and Kurdistan24 articles devote considerable space to complaining about Turkish censorship against the Kurds, giving the clear impression that the YPG believes Ankara is the source of its difficulties with YouTube. There is also some criticism of Facebook and other social media services for playing along with Turkish censorship demands in the piece.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Turkish officials complained about the YPG – which they see as a branch or affiliate of the violent Kurdish PKK separatists in Turkey – to U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis during his visit to Ankara on Wednesday. Mattis reportedly offered reassurances that American equipment provided to the YPG for its fight against the Islamic State would not find its way into PKK hands.