Hisaronu this week saw the first of the forced closures of businesses for ‘hassling’. Apparently a member of the Kaymakam’s office visited the village recently and made a list of more than 40 businesses which were hassling in his opinion. These have been listed and a leaked copy of this list has been circulating the area.

Wednesday afternoon saw the first of these premises receive visits from Jandarma and Zabita who put a seal on the entrance to the business. This closure order is for 3 - 4 days. The only warning given officially is a notification of closure given to the proprietor the day before.

The first group of businesses were closed this week, but others will follow, again only receiving notification the day before. If the hassling continues the closure will be for 10 days, and then if it still continues, the licence to trade will be revoked.

On the surface of things this will seem to be a victory for tourists and their peaceful promenading, while choosing a restaurant, bar, jeweller, barber, or excursion provider etc. However there is another side to the argument as one trader has pointed out.

“This operation has come without warning, and has taken a very broad swipe at what undoubtedly is a problem. Unfortunately shops which just have someone standing outside and only talking if a customer shows interest in their product are being targeted as well as those who employ more persistent approaches to getting customer.

There is a very real feeling of unfairness among some the listed businesses.”

What do you think? Are there degrees of hassling that are acceptable or should business just leave us alone?