Turkey's interior minister said illegal organizations and terrorist groups use gender relations to recruit new members in mixed student houses, adding a new twist to the student resident saga that shape the country's political and social discourse in recent days Today1s Zaman reported.
In what seeems an attempt to clarify Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks on the co-ed dormitories and student residences where male and female students live together, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said the government views the issue from the point of illegal organizations, adding a new dimension to the issue which has led to sharp division and bitter quarrels among political parties and the public.
Guler's statement came after Erdogan's additional comments on the issue in Finland on Wednesday, deepened confusion over the government's intention with regards to the mixed gender cohabitation rather than clarifying the prime minister's remarks on the case.
Erdogan hinted on the same day that authorities may take action against male and female students living in a single apartment, a move would likely stir new reaction against government's policy amid concerns of state's extending encroachment on people's private lives.
Guler said illegal organizations appeal to student houses to recruit new members, therefore a legal action is a must to prevent those residences from becoming fertile ground for illegal activities.
He signaled that a new legal action will be taken to pave way for police inspection of residences, which have been illegaly set to evade taxation, to harbor prostitution along with other factors such as recruitment of new members for terrorist groups through using gender relations.