Social Media Apps Ban: The Turki government has temporarily stopped the reach of many big social media platforms. According to reports, YouTube, X (first Twitter), Instagram and WhatsApp were banned when there was a clash between police and opposition supporters in Istanbul. During this time, the speed of internet across the country was slow for 12 hours. The protests raged when a trustee appointed by the government tried to control the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The security forces used paper sprays to remove the protesters, after which the ban came into force. Many users were seen trying to avoid the ban by resorting to VPN. This incident is similar to the recent social media ban in Nepal, where the government had banned 26 platforms and the situation was so bad that the curfew had to be imposed.
Why was social media ban put in Turki?
According to the report of Euronews, the Istanbul headquarters of CHP were surrounded by party supporters for several days. His aim was to prevent Trustee Gursel Techin from taking control of the office. Techin was appointed by the government in place of Ozgur Cellic who was selected in September 2023.
Although the conversation between the two sides is going on, but the internet access remains unstable throughout the country. Turki’s information and communication technology authority (BTK) usually issues statements on the website or app block, but this time no such official announcement was made. There was no mention of any ban on BTK’s website either. Nevertheless, by 5 pm on Monday evening, YouTube, X, Instagram and WhatsApp had stopped working in Istanbul. In some other provinces, people informed about the running of services.
Increased pressure on opposition
Since March, the government has been targeting the opposition party CHP. Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and several other leaders were also detained after being sent to jail. Meanwhile, critics allege that the government again wants to hand over the command of the party to former president Kemal Kilchdaroglu while the current chief Ozgur Ozal was elected in late 2023.
The hearing in mid -September will decide whether Kilchdaroglu will return or not. However, experts say that if this happens, there may be more split in the party. Interestingly, even though he makes a comeback, Ozal still remains a strong contender in the extraordinary Congress to be held on 21 September.
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