Erdogan's 'Morality police' strikes - Student house in İstanbul raided by police following PM's remarks.

Erdogan's 'Morality police' strikes - Student house in İstanbul raided by police following PM's remarks.(TZ).

The first instance of a police raid of a student house took place in İstanbul's Tophane neighborhood one day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said dormitories and houses where students from opposite sexes live together will be inspected, according to a story in the Radikal daily on Friday.

Özge Altın, a student at İstanbul-based Şehir University, told Radikal that her house in Tophane, which she is sharing with another female friend from the university, was raided by police the day after Erdoğan made the statement on student housing.

She said since she and her friend were at school, a group of policemen asked neighbors questions about her and her friend, including personal questions such as how frequently they visit their families and whether they have any problems with the neighbors.
Altın also said the incident even frustrated her landlord, who is a strong supporter of Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

“How can they file complaints against you? We are neighbors. You have been living here for five years. We are like a sister and brother. … What kind of a mentality is this? How can police come here?” Altın quoted her landlord as saying.

In the meantime, according to a report in the Radikal daily on Friday, the problem of accommodations for students in the western province of Denizli is not related to male and female students living together; rather, it is the fact that due to insufficient available housing, students are often forced to live in the approximately 2,500 “unregistered” apartments in the province that are subject to no oversight.

The accommodation difficulties of students in Denizli came to public attention early this week when Prime Minister Erdoğan complained about the lack of dormitories for students and said there will be inspections of dormitories and houses where male and female students stay together, citing the accommodation problems of students in Denizli as an example.

Radikal obtained a copy of the report submitted to Erdoğan by the Denizli Police Department concerning the accommodation problems of the students in the province. Some of these apartments are rented daily and used for prostitution or by drug dealers, according to the report. The complaints made to police by the people living in the surroundings of these apartments have nothing to do with the students, according to the daily.

According to this report, there are around 2,500 “unregistered” apartments in the province. They are considered unregistered because their owners do not inform the police about who has rented them out nor do they pay any taxes on them. There are 45,000 university students in Denizli; the state-run dormitories in the province have the capacity to house only 5,000 students.Real estate agents in Denizli also have complaints about these apartments.

In the meantime, students from Boğaziçi University criticized the government plans to inspect dormitories and students' houses where female and male students stay together, according to a story in the Milliyet daily on Friday.

A.T., a male student who studies literature at the university, said the government's plan is completely polarizing and critical of female students.
“When the prime minister describes himself as a social-democrat, he needs to keep in mind that I may not be so. … This is an open violation of personal life,” he said.

A female student, B.I., who studies in the English language department, said that at a time when there are various problems for students such as insufficient accommodation, high tuition fees and a lack of equal opportunity access to education that await to be addressed, the prime minister's interference in dormitories is terrifying.
“The problem is not inside the houses or dormitories. What the government wants to do is to meddle in our lives,” she said.Hmmm.....The 'man' Obama consults for tips how to raise his two daughters.

Saudi 'Mutaween' religious police.