Amsterdam: Hotel Mokum is dead, long live Hotel Mokum

By: fawda - November 30th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Dear Friends,

Let’s start with thank you. The support and solidarity we have received over the past six weeks, but especially this weekend, has been overwhelming. On Saturday, we were harshly evicted, with police brutality and a demonstration of power. More on this later, but for now: so much love for everyone who stood there with us. And especially so much love for the people who voluntarily exposed themselves to state violence, prosecution and very literal physical violence by the police. Many thanks to Extinction Rebellion and Comrade Twingo without whom the eviction would have been a lot easier for the police. Thanks to everyone who helped us ensure that Hotel Mokum could not be quietly swept away. But also thank you to everyone who supported us in any other way, this weekend and for the past six weeks. You are all so amazing and so fucking brave and we couldn’t have done this without you. [Read More]

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Pertuis (France): Opening of the ZAP

By: sisulscz - November 30th, 2021  Filed under: Communique

[Quick translation with the help of DeepL from fr.squat.net]: The extension of the commercial activity zone of Pertuis (84) threatens the neighbouring agricultural land, as well as the local inhabitants who risk expropriation. In order to prevent this harmful project, we decided to live in one of the houses destined to be destroyed, thus launching the Pertuis ZAP (Zone à patates).
[Read More]

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Wageningen: Students squat demolition building

By: fawda - November 29th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Wageningen (Netherlands) – A group of students announced today that they have squatted a building in the city center. During the housing crisis, they not only want to live there, but also create a cultural place where people can meet.

The building belongs to Zideris, a health organization that has had it empty for 5 years. In times of growing housing shortage and rising house prices, the students find it incomprehensible that usable living space remains unused for so long. Especially in Wageningen, where the university continues to expand and attract companies, insufficient solutions are offered for all those seeking housing. “Squatting can really be a solution to the housing crisis,” says one of the students. “It’s weird that a lot of buildings sit empty for years while a lot of people can’t find a house.” [Read More]

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Yverdon: Waiting for its verdict, the Quartier Libre proves that it exists!

By: fawda - November 22nd, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

On Tuesday, November 16th, one month after having occupied the wasteland and two vacant houses in the Yverdon district of Clendy-Dessous, we appeared before the “Justice”, that is to say on this occasion the Tribunal d’Arrondissement de la Broye et du Nord Vaudois, presided over by Véronique Pittet.

Or rather we did not appear. Because although we had received a non-nominative summons with almost 3 weeks of delay between the date of the summons and the postmark – administrative slowness is a good thing – the “Justice” informed us the same morning by e-mail that one of us had to be present so that our lawyer could represent us. The Judge then refused to let the designated person appear, because this one was reluctant – for obvious reasons – to give his identity. [Read More]

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Utrecht: Squat on Croeselaan revealed during the Woonprotest demo

By: fawda - November 21st, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

On Friday 19 November, an empty house on the Croeselaan was squatted. The squatters announced this during the Utrecht Housing Protest on Sunday 21 November. The squatting of the house is part of the national housing protest that speaks out against the current housing crisis. The squatters demand immediate action and do not want to wait for the empty promises of political parties and housing corporations.

During the demonstration, the squatters invited the demonstrators on the Jaarbeursplein to come and have coffee and tea at the new squat. The property on the Croeselaan had been vacant for a long time, while the blocks of social housing next to it are scheduled for demolition.

The squatters find it appalling that local political parties advocate the demolition of social housing, while further down the street, properties are unnecessarily empty. At the same time, there is an unprecedented housing crisis, which means that people in need of a house are on waiting lists, miss out on a house because investors outbid them and, if they do manage to get a house, have to work their asses off to pay the rent. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Ringdijk 8 resquatted

By: fawda - November 13th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Since some days now we, the Anarcha Feminist Group Amsterdam, have been residing at Ringdijk 8. We have decided to expropriate this building because we think it is disgusting that houses are being kept empty for years while we are in a housing crisis, many people are living in precarity and homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years.

In previous actions we have targeted big speculators such as Blackstone, squatted buildings in solidarity with sexworkers being pushed out of our city and against the greenwashing and promition colonialsers and gentrification done by NV Zeedijk in the red light district.

Today we take an autonomous action as part of the ongoing housing demonstrations. Just marching and hoping the government will listen to us is not enough, actually the government listened to the demands made by the housing movement and their answer has been loud and clear: no measure taken to solve the problem, but instead they sent cops to silent us, mutilating our bodies, making blacklists and arresting us.

We need to confront injustices directly whenever and wherever we see them. Today we target the housing cooperation Eigen Haard. This building, owned by Eigen Haard, has been squatted before and has now been empty and left to rot again for a long time. [Read More]

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Glasgow: Former homeless services unit reopened to house climate justice campaigners

By: sisulscz - November 6th, 2021  Filed under: Communique

Baile Hoose is the occupation of part of the former Hamish Allan Centre and asylum seeker’s night shelter, a Glasgow City Council property in Tradeston.

We’re a former homeless services unit in central Glasgow that’s been reopened to house climate justice campaigners visiting the city for the COP29 summit.
[Read More]

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London: Report back from School of Trespass

By: sisulscz - November 6th, 2021  Filed under: Communique

Thank you to everyone who joined us on the 16th and 17th October, for joyful Weekend of Resistance!

A squatted building was used to host talks, workshops, foodshares and art. By inviting people to trespass with us, we wanted to show the creative power of trespass. Because one of the features of the PCSC bill is the further criminalisation of trespass. The explicit target of the government is GRT communities who ready face prejudice and oppression. And who can tell how else this anti-trespass legislation will be applied and interpreted? Squatting, rough sleeping, hiking outside of the beaten track, living in a van or a boat, organising free parties, all these practices will be made more difficult. Any form of protest will be repressed with equal brutality and intolerance, another target of the Bill.
[Read More]

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Wendover (UK): Anti HS2 campaigners hold out underground

By: sisulscz - November 6th, 2021  Filed under: Communique

The eviction of the Wendover Active Resistance camp has now entered its third week. All aboveground defences were obliterated in the first week, but a team of hardy tunnellers still hangs on, and in fact they’re aiming to be there until Christmas at least. One Freedom reporter visited the site recently and said “It looked like the climactic sequence of Fantastic Mr Fox, dozens of men in hi-viz with machines and floodlights digging after a stubborn adversary”.

The site is fenced off, but surface-dwelling activists are determined to show solidarity to their comrades in the underground. A small camp has been set up opposite (directions here) to let people visit and show their support. The main camp was called W.A.R (Wendover Active Resistance), so this new offshoot has been christened P.E.A.C.E, (Piss Easily Allover Capitalism)*, and despite the offputting title will be supplying tea and coffee.
[Read More]

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Lausanne: an update by the Porno Diesel inhabitants

By: fawda - November 3rd, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

If the commercial gardening project “Espace Blécherette” in the Châtelard area seems to leave a lot of uncertainty as to its realization and painfully reminds us of previous urban planning setbacks in Lausanne, there is still a shadowy area: the displacement of about 20 people.

It’s been almost 7 years that we have been living in the farm of Châtelard 103. It is the house just before the entrance to the Blécherette highway with paintings on the facade. There are trailers and shacks too. Recently, the City of Lausanne, owner of the place, decided not to renew our current contract of loan for use and to put an end to our occupation of the place. It puts forward the will to replace us by an organic agricultural project. We are opposed to the latter, but we will be receptive to projects compatible with our habitats. [Read More]

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Ghent: statement from ‘t Pand! Demonstration 25 October

By: fawda - October 18th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

More than 1800 citizens want us to intervene at the city council, but we were gagged. The city does not call itself responsible for the housing crisis. We received the mandate from these 1800 citizens to ask the city council to speak out against the privatization of ‘t Pand.

We do not intend to remain silent. If participation and democracy are not empty concepts, we must make our voices heard now. Come with us to the City Council. Together we will take the floor and ask:
– Address the housing crisis: no privatization of the property and commons in general
– Through co-creation and participation, provide a public interpretation for ‘t Pand
– Investigate other financing options for commons than the sale of public heritage.

We will gather at ‘t Pand, Lange Steenstraat 16, at 18:00 and then head for our board, the city council. [Read More]

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Wendover (UK): Come join the resistance

By: sisulscz - October 17th, 2021  Filed under: Communique

Wendover Active Resistance camp, part of the ongoing direct action campaign against white elephant and eco-atrocity HS2, was surrounded by around a hundred bailiffs, HS2 security and specialist eviction teams in the early hours of Sunday morning (10th October). The defenders are well dug in but would really appreciate ground support outside the perimeter. The eviction is expected to take at least a fortnight. The site on the A413 ( just outside the village postcode HP22 6PN) was first squatted two years ago. In that time activists have constructed a network of tunnels, treehouses and lock ons. Local opinion is firmly against the HS2, which smashes through this scenic part of the true blue Chilterns, ploughing through local beauty spots and wrecking aquifers.

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