News - Yemen:  The Ministry of Culture and the Yemeni Media Union condemned the closure of 18 national channels by YouTube, considering it a criminal precedent not based on a moral vision aimed at striking freedom of opinion and expression.

The statement of the Ministry of Culture stated that this precedent embodies the size of the unjustified perseverance in continuing to violate rights and thwart the wills of the struggling peoples, including Yemeni People, who are opposed to the US-Zionist project.

The statement indicated that the management of the YouTube company took, by surprise, without regard for the set of professional media values, and without respect for the rights of tens of millions of Yemeni People and the Arab and Islamic nations, the decision to close 18 channels.

"These actions confirm that YouTube is still an obedient tool of the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression against the Yemeni homeland," the statement said.

For its turn, the Media Union stressed that this intransigence comes within the framework of silencing mouths and silencing free national media platforms against the forces of global arrogance and the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression.

It praised the role of those channels on the YouTube platform, which document in their videos the victories of the Yemeni Army and monitor the giant epics in which the world witnesses the greatness and steadfastness of the Yemeni fighter.  

The Media Union called on all colleagues, media and human rights organizations and institutions concerned with freedom of opinion and expression, rights and freedoms, to show solidarity and denounce the hatred shown by YouTube, which reflects intentions to obscure the cause and grievance of an entire people.

It also called on the national audio-visual and print media, and all media professionals and activists on the communication sites, to move together, in order to reach international public opinion for the grievance of the Yemeni People.

YouTube, an American online video-sharing and social media platform, has “arbitrarily” blocked access to more than a dozen channels without giving any prior notice.

The Monday attack targeted 18 channels of the media bureau of Yemen’s Operations Command Center as well as Ansarullah's art and documentary production unit.

This is not the first time that YouTube and other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have deleted Yemeni accounts or pages without any prior notice or justification.

The latest move constitutes a violation of freedom of speech and expression since many of the deleted channels actually used to post content related to arts and music, and had nothing to do with the promotion of hatred or incitement to violence.

In June 2021, the US Justice Department seized the website domain of the Yemeni Arabic-language al-Masirah television channel along with nearly three dozen other regional websites.

The move comes amid an 8-year Saudi-led war and economic blockade against Yemen, which has turned the country into what the UN calls the "worst humanitarian crisis" on earth.