Amsterdam: ADM, an update on the actual situation

By: fawda - September 4th, 2018  Filed under: Communique, News

Upcoming fall, the largest cultural free-haven in The Netherlands, ADM, will be 21 years old. Since its beginning in 1997 ADM has been under constant pressure to a greater or lesser extent.

Especially in recent years we are involved in multiple legal procedures and we’ve put constant strain on the municipality of Amsterdam to purchase the site to prevent a financial loss of hundreds of millions euros. Unfortunately the fate of ADM depends primarily on the outcome of these legal- and political processes and not on the grand cultural heritage which ADM is giving to the city and the world.

After vigorous appeal three major legal cases have been lost by ADM in the last weeks. Mainly because in these lawsuits only a limited part of the entire case is dealt with, without giving proper attention to the overall perspective. This means that on legal grounds ADM can be evicted straight after the December 24th. [Read More]

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Berlin: We will #occupy again

By: sisulscz - September 1st, 2018  Filed under: Communique

We will #occupy again.

On the 20th May 2018, 10 houses were occupied in Berlin and the bordering city Potsdam. Despite positive feedback by neighbours and the public (aka media), all houses were violently evicted the same day. Despite promises concerning housing, the „left“ government had the police evict houses and beat up people. The protection of private property was yet again more valuable than the right to housing or the right to physical integrity. Nonetheless, the occupations were not just right but necessary. More than half of Berlin‘s population finds occupations legitimate. The need for space to housing and living however, remains.

Normalising #occupations

That is why we take space!
[Read More]

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Dublin: 34 Frederick street occupied

By: sisulscz - August 30th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

After an injunction was obtained against the occupiers of the evicted house on Summerhill they vacated it only to march to another vacant house at 34 Fredrick street and occupy that. At the time of writing an injunction has again been granted but this time the occupiers have said if there is sufficient support they intend to remain in occupation. Since lunchtime today when the injunction came into effect dozens of people have been on the pavement outside the occupation.

As the occupation of 34 North Frederick St. passed the week mark, those occupying on Saturday 25th August were made up exclusively of women and children. This was a deliberate action in response to the visit of Pope Francis to Dublin.
[Read More]

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Germany: Hambacher Forest Solidarity

By: sisulscz - August 30th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

In the course of militarized assault on the meadow on August 28, an activist from the forest was taken down off the kitchen roof after updating the outside on the situation in the meadow and arrested He was taken to the police HQ in Aachen, where he was identified. It was found that there is still an outstanding fines for previous acusations resulting out of actions in the Hambacher Forst. The police therefore threatened with a sentence of 150 days jail. The daily rates were advanced by a solidary private person who is no financial standing to cover the costs long term. As fines are an attempt to drain financial resources of the movement please help us gather funds to at least repa this sum. We ask you to carry together this penalty of 1500 € (10 € x 150 days) ! Please participate in this donation call. No JUStice – no peace!
[Read More]

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Dublin: Leo’s Early Risers

By: sisulscz - August 13th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

Yesterday [9/8/18] the housing activist occupation at 35 Summerhill Parade entered its third day. Approximately 100 people attended the ‘Leo’s Early Risers’* event yesterday evening to show solidarity and support to the local community and all those involved in the occupation.

Speeches came from housing activists and residents in the local area to demand adequate and affordable homes for all and stress the need for direct action to take back housing from slum landlords – such as multi millionaire Pat O’Donnell who evicted over 120 people from five houses on Summerhill Parade in May – and all those who profit from the current housing crisis.
[Read More]

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Turin (Italy): Police attack Askatasuna social centre

By: sisulscz - July 15th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

A massive repressive operation took place on Friday 13 in Turin. 15 precautionary measures were notified at dawn, against university students, antieviction and notav struggles’ militants: 9 of them were put under house arrests. The social centre Askatasuna and the people’s space Neruda were raided, too. The operation is linked to Mayday 2017, when amongst the general bewilderment the police charged in order to prevent the social bloc from entering the demonstration’s conclusive square, out of fear of protests against confederal trade unions and the Democratic Party.
[Read More]

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Amsterdam: We Are Here at the Entrada 600 in Duivendrecht

By: fawda - July 8th, 2018  Filed under: Communique, News

7 july 2018, Amsterdam – Refugee collective We Are Here, who previously stayed in a squat in Amstelveen, took the unoccupied building on the Entrada 600 in Amsterdam-Duivendrecht.

The offices space was empty and unused. Unfortunately, we are forced to get shelter in this way, because otherwise we have to roam the streets. the BBB is overcrowded and has a waiting list and in the Havenstraat only people with a Dublin claim are welcome.
In addition, the Havenstraat is a former prison and that can be felt in the daily controls we must endure. Recently one of our members was arrested because he asked for food because of this diabetes and this was refused. We do not feel safe in such an environment and ask for 24/7 shelter.
There are municipal plans to realize this 24/7 for undocumented people, but that will certainly take until end of the year before it is realized. We would love work and rent a house ourselves.
We intend to live here quietly and build a good relationship with the neighborhood and offices around us. We would like to meet fellow residents who are always welcome to come and have a cup of coffee with us. [Read More]

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Wassenaar: Huize Ivicke squatted

By: fawda - July 5th, 2018  Filed under: Communique, News

Wassenaar, july 5th 2018 – This week, the rapidly decaying mansion Huize Ivicke, at Rust en Vreugdlaan 2, was squatted. Built like a little palace – stripped by a real estate speculator.

His name is Ronnie van de Putte: a man with a remarkable reputation in the real estate world, notorious for speculating with A-locations and deliberately letting monuments rot away. Bever Holding, the real estate fund in which Ronnie van de Putte owns the majority of the shares, owns the mansion and lets it rot for years. It has therefore been given the appearance of a haunted house, which it is to some extent as a ‘letterbox’ for a range of Ronnie affiliates.

The sad fate of Huize Ivicke is a perfect example of speculation. Because the owner renounced his social responsibility for this special monument and the government seems incapable of changing this (1), we as a group of people looking for a house, squatted the mansion. With the help of friends and family we want to do some work around and on the house in the coming weeks and start a creative living-group here. By living in Huize Ivicke and taking the necessary care of it, we hope to save the monument from further decay. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: ADM starts courtcase against municipality

By: sisulscz - June 26th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

Today (June22), the residents of the cultural free-haven ADM summoned the Amsterdam municipality in ‘Kort Geding’ (=> interim proceedings). They are claiming that Amsterdam enforces the perpetual clause in the purchase contract and thus prevents the public- and social interests of Amsterdam from being damaged by hundreds of millions.

More background information:

The terrain was purchased by Chidda Real Estate LLC in 1997 with the proviso that the municipality of Amsterdam always has the first right of repurchase and that only an authentic shipyard can be established on the 42-hectare terrain.
[Read More]

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Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): Intergalactic Week returns!

By: sisulscz - June 25th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

After the long awaited victory against the airport project, we are trying to lift ourselves out of the brutal spring, a season marked by two phases of evictions in which the government made sure to avenge the affront that the zad had represented for so many years. The massive police operations caused many injuries, the destruction of a part of the living spaces of the zad and a long military presence. But the state was forced to give up going any further and entirely eradicating our presence in this bocage. Resistance on the ground, solidarity elsewhere and the negotiation process resulted in a status quo that maintained of dozens of homes, common spaces and activities on most of the land held by the movement. Nevertheless, what we managed to preserve today could very quickly be attacked again, administratively, politically or militarily. Whilst the zad recovers from its wounds and recomposes itself, the work in the fields and the constructions resumes and we project ourselves towards the struggles of the next months. These however go beyond us and connect with others around the world. They concern the collective and respectful use of the land, the sharing of the commons, the questioning of nation-states and borders, the reappropriation of our habitats, the possibility of producing and exchanging free from the shackles of the market, forms of self-organization on territories in resistance and the right to live there freely …
[Read More]

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South Africa: AbM win in court!

By: sisulscz - June 25th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

On Friday (June15), beginning at around 10 am, the notorious Security Management
Unit illegally, brutally and violently evicted more than 40 families in the
Barcelona 2 ‘transit camp’. The eviction was carried out until 1 am in the
morning on Saturday. A number of people were wounded during the attack.

This morning (June18) Abahlali baseMjondolo went to court in defence of our members.
We defeated the eThekwini Municipality in court. The movement has obtained
a spoilation order to reinstate our members who have been illegally evicted
by the Municipality. The court ordered that those who were illegally
evicted in Barcelona 2 must be reinstated, and that the municipality does
not carry out any further evictions in the area.

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London: Kurdistan Place

By: sisulscz - May 29th, 2018  Filed under: Communique

Kurdish youth and supporters, some linked to Plan C, have occupied a vacant building near Edgware Road.

Kurdistan Place was occupied by friends of Anna Campbell last week in solidarity with the Kurdish Freedom Movement. In a statement, the occupiers said:

We want this space to enable learning about Kurdish culture and Kurdish liberation’s emancipatory politics. We also want this space to enable solidarity and anti-capitalist organising. Anna was involved with a similar project in 2012 called Palestine Place, an occupation of a building in Chancery Lane, which was set up to highlight the need for solidarity, support and knowledge about the occupation of Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the ongoing siege of Gaza by Israel and Egypt. We want to use this space as a means to promote radical social change and revolution.

[Read More]

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