December 08, 2016•Update: December 11, 2016
ANKARA
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday praised Turkey’s recent development in information technology and cybersecurity.
Speaking at "the National Informatics Congress" in Ankara, Yildirim said: “Today, cybersecurity has become national security. We have already made progress. We are among the top 10 countries in the world on this issue. But still we need to gain ground, the legal background is ready.”
Recalling the role of information technology in the deadly coup attempt, he added that, “How did they use IT? They identified all locations, then ordered commanders."
Referring to social media networks' role in the protests, he stressed: "We saw how it could be used unconsciously during the Gezi protests in a way to provoke terror.”
The Gezi protests of June 2013 saw a relatively small environmental protest in Istanbul’s Gezi Park mushroom into a nationwide wave of protests against the government that left eight protesters and a police officer dead.
The government later labeled the demonstrations as an attempt to overthrow it by members of Gulen’s “parallel state” in the police and court system.
Yilidirim added: “That’s why you can use IT to destroy a country also. For this reason, we have to establish a structure based on responsible understanding.”
Having opened on Thursday under the theme “Information Technology and Democracy”, the congress runs through Friday.
Turkey accuses the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- led by U.S. based Fetullah Gulen, -- of organizing the defeated coup as well as a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
On July 15, a coup attempt in Turkey left 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Reporting by Mehmet Tosun; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akçay;
