Italy: Convictions over eviction of Free Republic of Maddalena; No TAV respond with blockades

via contra info:

The so-called ‘No TAV mega-trial’ has finished at first instance, in which 53 comrades are involved over the eviction resistance of the Free Republic of Maddalena on June 27th, 2011, and for the attack of the construction site of Chiomonte on July 3rd that followed. Charges of causing bodily-harm and aggravated violence, resistance against custodial staff of the public authority, defacement and covering faces (masking up) became sentences which varied between a few months and four and a half years in prison for 47 defendants. Heavy sentences, but less than the requests of the prosecutors Pedrotta and Quaglino—who, on October 7th, 2014, demanded 200 years of prison in total—except for a few comrades, against whom the judge decided to tighten the screw a bit more than what was proposed by the prosecution. On the other hand, six people were acquitted of charges.

When leaving the room, the No TAV supporters present at the trial invaded and blocked the route of Corso Regina Margherita for about twenty minutes in both directions, at the point of the bunker room [the special court of Torino, built into the Vallette jail, near the beginning of the motorway], to protest against the sentences given by the judges. [Read More]

London: Statement from Aylesbury Estate Occupation

Since the “March for Homes” demo on 31st January, we have re-opened and occupied a part of the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark, South London.

We are tenants, squatters, and other people who care about how our city is being grabbed by the rich, by developers and corrupt politicians, socially cleansed and sold off for profit.

The Aylesbury Estate is where Tony Blair made his first speech as Prime Minister in 1997, making empty promises about social housing. Since then, for the past 18 years, Southwark Council and their developer friends have come up with one scheme after another. All with the same aim: to dispossess the residents, demolish their homes, and sell the land.

In 2002 Aylesbury tenants fought and won a campaign against demolition and voted down the original scheme in a ballot. But now big areas of the estate are emptied and sealed up awaiting the bulldozers, while residents are “decanted” away from the area.

The same bullshit that we have seen on the nearby Heygate estate, and all across London. [Read More]

London: The March for Homes

Good Morning Comrades and friends all…

And what a morning song of delight do I sing…What a ‘turnout’ by Londoners yesterday, on what was after all a very cold and in every sense a real winters day, but it didn’t stop thousands of us taking to the streets to demand homes for all those in need 35 years after the Thatcher government made the push to turn the nation into a land full of homeowners and of course as we now know with disastrous consequences for (no exaggeration) millions.

Two legs one from the South and the other from East London merged on and over Tower Bridge creating the massive march, the biggest on housing ever seen in London for many a year.

I joined the south London leg with my comrades from the Love Activists (London) and the Bohemians the occupying crews at the 12 Bar in Soho and on our second day in defence and in defiance of the court IPO, we still hold the Bar and what a joy that is to behold, for the people and by the people, power to the people! [Read More]

London: Aylesbury Estate Occupied

Message from the occupiers: “We are occupying part of the aylesbury estate se1 resisting social cleansing. Join us. Neighbourhood Assembly 3 pm tomorrow sunday. Charteridge house off albany rd.”

Yesterday (Saturday 31 Jan) after the March for Homes demo, a 100-200 strong “squatters bloc” broke off from the main rally and headed South to occupy the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark, South London. Houses on the Charteridge House bloc have been opened and were occupied overnight.

The occupiers are holding an assembly this afternoon and ask for neighbours, squatters, and everyone who wants to, to join them. There are homes here for hundreds, lying empty because of the greed of developers and bribed politicians.

The Aylesbury Estate is one of the largest “social housing”complexes in Europe. It was built in the 1960s-70s with 2700 homes. Because it sits on prime inner London real estate, it is being socially cleansed of its working class inhabitants, in a saga that has gone on for over 15 years now. In 1997, genocidal scumbag Tony Blair came here to make his first speech as prime shitster, promising to invest millions to gentrify the area. But in 2001 tenants campaigned and voted against the first plan to sell the estate to a “charitable” private housing association. [Read More]