Turkey detains students protesting against homelessness

Turkish police on Sunday detained at least 35 students attempting to demonstrate in Ankara over the shortage and shortage of housing and dormitory places, a movement formed this summer under the slogan "Homeless Students".

The demonstration was scheduled for midday today in a central Ankara square, but the city governor's office announced on Friday that it would not be allowed, and police dispersed students attempting to gather with banners and made several arrests.

In addition, officers set up checkpoints on the outskirts of the Turkish capital, stopped several buses chartered by students travelling from cities such as Istanbul and Izmir, and prevented them from continuing their journey, reports the Turkish daily BirGün.

In some cases there were altercations between police and students, some people were injured and at least 13 protesters on a bus from Izmir were arrested, the student organisation claims on its official Twitter account.

The "Homeless Students" movement, formed last September, complains that the drastic rise in housing prices makes it impossible to find a flat within a reasonable distance of universities, often located in the city centre, and that there is a shortage of places in public halls of residence.

Rents, say activists, are impossible to pay, even if several people share a flat and even if students, as is common, have some part-time work while pursuing their degree and receive official support.

In September, activists resorted to original public protests, sleeping with their books in public parks in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, but the response they got from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was that they were "exaggerating".