The Hague: IND raids squat in Schilderswijk

By: fawda - March 29th, 2018  Filed under: Communique, News

This morning at 07:10 the police and the IND raided a squat in the Schilderswijk to arrest our friend Ali.

In the early morning the dogs of the police and IND raided the house of our friend Ali because he supposedly does not possess the correct paperwork to remain in the country. About ten cops were ready with battering rams to break open the door, this was not necessary because Ali opened the door himself. He has been brought to the main police station.
According to his lawyer people are being deported back to Iraq since a short time. At this moment it is not clear if the deportation services (Dienst Terugkeer en Vertrek) have planned his deportation. His lawyer is checking on this. An update will be placed when more information is available. It is important to warn people you know from Iraq who do not have a permit to stay in the country about the situation.
We are angry that our friend Ali has been arrested. We are angry at the migrant hunters of the IND and the police. No attack will be left unanswered! [Read More]

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Den Haag: About the mass arrests at the Fight Repression Demonstration

By: fawda - November 22nd, 2016  Filed under: Communique, News, video

20161119_Den_Haag_Fight_Repression_demoYesterday (19th of November) at 16:00, 250 people gathered at the Kerkplein to march in a demonstration against the repression that anarchists and antifascists in The Hague and elsewhere have been facing during the last few years. Repression such as constantly prohibiting demonstrations, and mapping the activities of anarchists and antifascists in order to implement repressive measures. This demonstration was also crushed with repression and violence from the police, per order of Hague mayor van Aartsen.

The demonstration was surrounded from the outset by the Riot Cops and was filmed by the police on all sides. Afterwards, the police ordered that everyone remove their face coverings because, “that was the agreement”. One thing is certain, there was no agreement made about this and this was also not in the notice that the police drafted listing the conditions.

It was immediately clear that the riot cops were just looking for an excuse to engage in a mass arrest, which also happened. The police kettled the demonstration and attacked the group. While the police were attacking the demonstration, they called on people to be calm; a prime example of the way The Hague police try to deescalate. During this mass-arrest, people were hit in their faces, an arm was dislocated, and several people had leg injuries. The police used chokeholds several times and the few people who left the demonstration after being ordered to do so were subsequently beaten. Eventually between 166-184 people were arrested. [Read More]

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Den Haag: Update in Fight Repression demo

By: fawda - November 16th, 2016  Filed under: Communique, News

20161119_Den_Haag_fight_repression_demo_flyerThis coming Saturday the Fight Repression demonstration will take place in The Hague. The demonstration will assemble at 16:00 on the Kerkplein. The constant attacks on antifascists and anarchists from the state, on the national and international level cannot go unanswered!

Mayor criminalizes demonstration

The mayor of The Hague has been trying to prohibit the demonstration from the outset. We received a letter stating that the demonstration would not be allowed to march, and would already need to begin at 12:00. Kerkplein would also not be allowed to serve as a starting point for the demonstration and the demonstration would need to take place outside of the city center. Pages and pages were devoted to criminalizing the demonstration take in advance, and AFA’s participation in the demonstration was given as a reason for prohibiting it.

We see no reason to move the location and work within the repressive parameters placed on a demonstration that is supposed to be against repression. We stood firm, and the mayor has since given in and we will be allowed to assemble at 16:00 on the Kerkplein and walk a route. The route has now been reduced by half, which will leave us with a very short demonstration. It is typical for the mayor and police to limit the freedom of movement for a demonstration against repression. Even more of a reason to come to the demonstration on Saturday and stand strong together against repression. [Read More]

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The Hague: November 19th, Fight Repression! Stop repression against anti-fascists and anarchists!

By: fawda - October 16th, 2016  Filed under: Communique, News, video

20161119_Den_Haag_fight_repression_demo_flyerOn Saturday November 19th, there will be a demonstration in The Hague, The Netherlands, against the wave of repression that Hague anti-fascists and anarchists have been facing in the last year. One who attacks one of us, attacks all of us. Solidarity through struggle!

Within the last year, repression against anti-fascists and anarchists has greatly increased, with The Hague in the middle of it. An area ban for anarchists was issued for the Schilderswijk, in an attempt to break the struggle against the racist, violent, and murderous police. After that that, another area ban was issued, this time against anti-fascists who have been resisting against the extreme right wing Pegida demonstrations. Damage claims of 50,000 euro were demanded from several anarchists who resisted against the eviction of social center De Vloek, which had been squatted for 13 years. The mayor also tried to shutter the local Autonomous Center. Furthermore, subsequent demonstrations were forbidden, people were intimidated by the police at home and on the street, numerous preventative arrests were made, and attempts were made to recruit informants.

But these are not just attacks against individual anarchists and anti-fascists. This is an attack against all who fight against racism, this is an attack against all who stand for a world without exploitation and discrimination, this is an attack on all of us. And this attack cannot go unanswered! This is a call for solidarity, because solidarity is our weapon against the isolation being forced on us by the police and the mayor. We must defend our autonomous spaces and structures! [Read More]

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The Netherlands: The area ban against anarchists in a broader context of repression in The Hague

By: fawda - August 17th, 2016  Filed under: Communique

2015_zestien_aanhoudingen_bij_rellen_schilderswijkOn August 3, several anarchists in The Hague, the Netherlands, and one from outside the city received a letter from Mayor Van Aartsen with the intention of imposing a two month area ban for the Schilderswijk, a working class and immigrant neighborhood in the center of the city. The mayor wants to use the so-called “Football Law,” which is now being used against political activists for the first time. In recent times, anarchists in The Hague have dealt with much repression, much of it directly from the mayor’s office.

50,000 euro damage claim for De Vloek eviction
On September 9, 2015, during the eviction of social center De Vloek which had been squatted for 13 years, ten people were arrested. Five of them remained in prison for two weeks after being accused of committing violence against the police. Several months after their release, the ten people who had been arrested received a letter from the mayor of The Hague with a 50,000 euro damage claim. [Read More]

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Den Haag: Vloek 5 court case report

By: fawda - September 23rd, 2015  Filed under: Communique, News

Today was the courtcase against the Vloek 5. The judge ordered the release of all the prisoners, and will read a verdict in two weeks. During his ‘last word’ Kwinted Keesmaat read a great text we’re publishing below.

Dear attendants

Today we are standing here before the judge because we are being suspected of using violence. According to the Public Prosecution during the eviction of free-space De Vloek cops and buses of the riot police have been smeared with paint and the police has been violated so much by this that we are being imprisoned spread over prisons in The Netherlands for already 15 days.
I have nothing to say about the accusations of squatting and violence and leave that to my lawyer. [Read More]

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Den Haag: Criminalization and silencing of De Vloek, judge also prohibits demonstration

By: fawda - December 4th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

The demonstration planned for this coming Saturday against the eviction and demolition of De Vloek has been banned by the Mayor of The Hague. Even the judge decided to support the city’s fallacies. We are calling on everybody to come this Saturday at 15:00 to the Kerkplein to NOT demonstrate together.

Protesting has been made impossible and we will also let this be known. We will assemble on the Kerkplein with tape on our mouths. Demonstrating has been prohibited, but coming together on the Kerkplein is not forbidden. To be able to demonstrate, one needs to have a right to free speech, and this has been taken away from us. We will symbolically illustrate this.

Because this demonstration would have involved many different people, including children and the elderly, we are canceling the demonstration. We have absolutely no faith in the empathy of The Hague police, and we don’t want children and elderly people to be beaten up by them. [Read More]

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