The new phase of evictions has started. Not, as expected, with the announced eviction of the Kiezkneipe (neighbourhood bar) Syndikat, but with an attack from the cops.
An attack that was masked as a raid, with the plan for it to turn into an eviction of parts of our house. It was coordinated with some disgusting figures representing the so-called owner, in order to gain control of a space that is a thorn in the eye of a pacified european metropolis. On the 9th of July and the days that followed, we defended ourselves and reduced their filthy plans to ashes – taking back the evicted flat, pushing out the cops and bureaucrats and regaining control of our house.
This would not have been possible without the common fight and solidarity that goes far beyond our little rebellious neighborhood. Numerous people participated in the spontaneous gatherings in front of the house and nightly demonstrations in the richer neighborhoods of Berlin. While some people were cooking for everyone, others took part in the 24/7 shifts around the house. Many things destroyed by the cops were reconstructed almost immediately and different groups claimed actions in solidarity with Rigaer94. Showing once again, that solidarity in all its forms is our strongest weapon against the coordinated attacks from the state on the movement and its upcoming attempts to evict our spaces in Berlin.
We do not perceive the most recent attack as an isolated incident. But, as a piece of the mosaic that is the dogma of “law and order”, applied by the German state against anything that resists in a self-organized and anti-hierarchical way. Anything that opposes the states dominance radically, that collectivizes the resistance and directly challenges the states monopoly of violence. Even though the state and its police hid behind their lie of only protecting the self-proclaimed ownership of the house, we should not think of them as needing any pretext for attacks on us – not hesitating to go beyond the limits of their own laws whenever they see fit. Therefore we do not beg for any justice that is imposed on us by the bourgeois, but call for active self defense in a determined fight for freedom and equality.
Always serving the interests of capital, the state does whatever it takes to impose their goal of a city as a marketable “product”, where spaces that do not fulfill their desires are suppressed and evicted. The metropolitan field becomes an ongoing process of confrontation between marginalized populations on the one hand, and real estate entrepreneurs, investors, start-ups, the tourism industry, security companies, and cops in an increasingly surveilled urban environment on the other – with the aim of gentrifying and fully converting everything into a profitable business. A process in which the radical projects cannot be sucked into, but have to stand as actual examples of self-organization and the fulfillment of our needs from below.
It’s for these reasons that the state and the cops, with their court orders, cold evictions and repressive operations, have carried out dozens of evictions and are planning on many more. “Sabot Garden”, “G17a”, “GHS”, “Teppichfabrik”, and “Dragi” are only a few examples of places that have already been evicted. Others like the bar collectives “Meute” and “Syndikat”, the youthclub “Potse” and the anarcha-queer-feminist project “L34” are facing their upcoming evictions.
We find ourselves in a reality where racist violence and fascist tendencies are on the rise, where omnipresent police murder and invade all public places, where the state conducts dozens of raids in Leipzig, Baden-Würtemberg, Bremen, and Frankfurt targeting left-radical structures. A reality in which the courts comply with the states will of vengeance – like in the case of Loic and the three from the “Parkbench”. Therefore, we have to get out of the defensive and actively make clear that we will always stand against state and capital.
As we go through a period where our structures and spaces are facing an extensive attack, our place is in the streets, together with those who resist the reality that those in power want to impose on us. Wherever in the world, an attack on the structures of the struggle and on the ideas of freedom, self-determination, solidarity and revolt deserves an answer that will be turned into the permanent attack on this murderous system.
So we call for the demonstration on 1st of August at Herrfurthplatz in Berlin to show our solidarity with all the threatened projects – giving a small taste of what follows any possible eviction. Lets make this demonstration a dynamic response to the agenda of state and capital. An offensive statement serving as a barricade and a threat to their repressive plans.
Against the state and the bosses, against anyone who has an interest in maintaining inequality and injustice.
Solidarity with L34, Potse, Syndikat, Meute
Solidarity with all those attained by repression – Freedom for Everybody
In order for us to stand, they have to fall!
Rigaer94
Rigaerstrasse 94, Berlin
https://squ.at/r/49pd
https://squ.at/r/5fm
https://rigaer94.squat.net/
Groups in Berlin https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/city/berlin
Events in Berlin https://radar.squat.net/en/events/city/Berlin
Stressfaktor https://radar.squat.net/de/stressfaktor
Groups in Germany https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/DE
Events in Germany https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/DE
Source: Rigaer94 https://rigaer94.squat.net/2020/07/27/they-have-to-fall/
