London: Paddington Green Police Station occupation in anticipation of our week of action

On the night of February 7th, a group of activists from the Green Anti-Capitalist Front, alongside squatters and other activists, occupied the abandoned High security police station at Paddington Green. The intention is to hold the space and turn it into a community centre, the activities of which will culminate in a week of action against capitalism.
This is motivated by the belief that capitalism by its very nature will continue to destroy our planet and ultimately our civilisation. We chose this building because the police have time and again shown that they will gladly break their own laws to suppress any challenge to the entrenched, unjust, systems our society is based on.
Only by moving beyond the inherent oppression of capitalism to a system based on co-operation and communality, can we hope to survive in any meaningful way to the end of this century.
During the week of action the space will host workshops, skill shares, socials, planning sessions and a wide variety of other informative and entertaining events while also acting as a base from which to launch actions to reclaim our public space from corporations and government, and strike at the very heart of capital. We will show the mega rich and powerful that we will not stand for their greed and corruption.


Green Anticapitalist week of action
24 February – 2 March

The British government has been elected and, with the Tories in power, it looks bleaker for the future of our planet than ever before.

Now is the time to fight back.

To show resistance to the ecocide being committed by the capitalist class and supported by many in Parliament, we call you to join us for a Week of Action! Every day for a week in February (24/02–02/03) we will be organising events and protests to let the leaders and the people of this country know that we are here to fight for the survival of our planet by facing capitalism head on.

From reclaiming unoccupied buildings for our communities, organising workshops and social events to raise awareness and encourage self-reliance, to reclaiming public space for nature by guerilla gardening, and being loud and clear about our rage against profit-making by stockbrokers and their like at the expense of our planet and fellow humans – join our Week of Action, whether by organising yourselves locally or joining our actions, to let them know that even under Tory rule we’ll keep fighting capitalism for our planet!

Email greenanticapitalistfront [at] riseup [dot] net to get involved with organising.


Activists occupy Paddington Green police station

On the night of February 7th a group of activists from the Green Anti-Capitalist Front (GAF), alongside squatters and other activists, occupied the abandoned high security police station at Paddington Green in London. If all goes well, the activists plan to spend the third night in the building today.

The police station was best known as a high security detention place where people suspected of terrorism were held and questioned. It was closed and decommissioned in 2018.

According to GAF’s press release, “the intention is to hold the space and turn it into a community centre, the activities of which will culminate in a week of action against capitalism. This is motivated by the belief that capitalism by its very nature will continue to destroy our planet and ultimately our civilisation. Only by ending capitalism and finding a new system, immediately, can we hope to survive in any meaningful way to the end of this century. During the week of action the space will host workshops, skill shares, socials, planning sessions and a wide variety of other informative and entertaining events while also acting as a base from which to launch actions to reclaim our public space from corporations and government, and strike at the very heart of capital. We will show the mega rich and powerful that we will not stand for their greed and corruption.”

Yesterday, the police attempted to illegaly evict the space, claiming that it is a residential building (and therefore illegal to squat) and, reportedly, that not allowing the cops to come in and use the toilet is a breach of human rights. This eviction attempt was succesfuly stopped by the activists.

Currently, the police station is being turned into a community space: Green Radical Anticapitalist Social Squat aka GRASS: a move GAF London described as “the first time since it’s construction that this police station has been put to good use!”

Paddington Green Police Station occupation happened at the same day when the group of activists known as BP or not BP took over the British Museum to protest BP’s sponsorship of a Troy exhibition. The British Museum occupation ended after more than 50 hours.


Green Anticapitalist Front
greenanticapitalistfront [at] riseup [dot] net
https://squ.at/r/7on9
https://greenanticapitalist.org/

Groups in London: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/city/london
Events in London: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/city/London

Groups in UK: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/GB
Events in UK: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/GB


sources:
Green Anticapitalist Front https://greenanticapitalist.org/paddington-green-police-station-occupation-in-anticipation-of-our-week-of-action/
Radar https://radar.squat.net/en/event/green-anticapitalist-front/2020-02-24/green-anticapitalist-week-action
Freedom News https://freedomnews.org.uk/london-activists-occupy-paddington-green-police-station/