Chania (Crete): Anarcho-syndicalist Initiative Rosinante: “Hands off the occupation Rosa Nera – Solidarity with the social spaces of struggle”

rosa_nera_creta_On the occasion of reports that talk about transforming the building where occupation Rosa Nera is in a hotel, the Anarchosindicalists Initiative “Rosinante” has published the following announcement:

In the last week, in newspapers (Eleftheros Press, Kathimerini) and racist web sites belonging to the “New Democracy” appears the Rectorate of the Polytechnic of Crete to offer informal “in secret” auctions buildings of the city to tourism bosses. Among these buildings is the building of the Rosa Nera Occupation. This move is part of the wider attack on social and labor movements – and with the backs of the current government.

The occupation of Rosa Nera, for 13 years, is a working machine of support and organization for important aspects of social and labor movements in Chania. Through a libertarian and anarchist culture that supports the organization on the ground, the political work of occupation offers both a hospitable “home” for social struggles and a critical human potential for most social, labor, environmental and rightful claims in Chania. [Read More]

Wuppertal: For a District Social- and Refugee Welcome Center at Marienstrasse 41

201704_Wuppertal_Marienstrasse_41Solidarity with City Plaza in Athens and all other squats on the planet! Friedel 54 in Berlin will stay! Take the streets for an autonomous May Day!

Today, the 30th of April we did a small action in front of the building at Marien street 41 to create awareness of the many empty buildings at the Ölberg district and the repression against self-organised housing projects. It was an action in front of the building. Still.

In August and September 2014 the Marien Street 41 was squatted twice and immediately evicted again. The protected monument was barricaded with aluminium plates by the former owner to make it more difficult to occupy the building. Until today the city of Wuppertal did nothing against this clear violation of the regulations for protected monuments.

After years of vaccantness the former squatters wanted to create, apart from affordable living-space, a district social- and refugees welcome center in the building. But the police evicted the building only hours after it was squatted. Several people were detained and some people were injured because of police violence at the Ölberg district. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Two houses re-squatted on the Minckelersstraat

Two houses were today re-squatted in Jeruzalem (Amsterdam) after being left empty by Rochdale since the eviction of the previous squatters in January.

Today two houses were re-squatted in the neighbourhood of Jeruzalem (Amsterdam). These houses on Minckelersstraat have been left empty by the housing corporation Rochdale since the eviction of the previous squatters at the end of January 2017.

The neighbourhood contains a mix of social and free sector housing, and the entire area is being renovated or demolished and redeveloped. The previous squatters were presented with court documents by Rochdale detailing their plans for the houses which today were re-squatted – they were to be used as modelwoning, to demonstrate to residents what to expect from their renovations. However, this purported use of the properties never materialised, instead they were boarded up and left vacant.

According to Rochdale’s concept plan for the renovations (dated March 2017), modelwoning exist elsewhere in the neighbourhood. Residents of the block concerned had the opportunity to view these in March. In other words, the previous squatters were evicted for no reason other than to leave these houses empty. [Read More]

Vienna: Squat in Kienmayergasse 15 evicted. And now?

201704_Kienmayergasse_15_ViennaThe occupation of the house in Kienmayergasse 15 is over, but the struggle goes on!
Noone left the house voluntarily! Noone fulfilled the demands of the owner and noone left voluntarily! At the time of the eviction there was noone home, but that doesn’t mean that the occupiers didn’t prefer to stay! That the police evicted the building based on an action for eviction of the owner „Vestwerk“, shows clearly who the law and the its executioners are protecting: property, profit, power,… Those who don’t these things loose, get displaced, become the affected ones of a capitalist logic of exploitation, which they didn’t choose.
To live a self determined life noone needs neither a law nor executioners, noone who decides over our homes to make profit out of it. What we’d rather need is solidarity within the neighborhood, a net of mutual support and an atmoshpere in which the police and the owner know, that they can’t play with our lifes and do what they want with us.

This was stated in the public announcment of the occupation „In these days it’s not about raising awareness of empty houses or demand something from the city. But it’s about raising awareness of the conditions and starting something, getting aware of the own strength, not letting ’em take anything from us, not letting ’em displace us, celebrating the neighborhood and supporting ourselfs mutually.“
And if this occupation succeded in anything, than it was this!
It’s a pity, that the house is empty again now and that the owner put a private security company in front of it. But what they cannot take from us is, that people got to know each other, started connecting, expressed mutual solidarity,… [Read More]

The Hague: Spui 275A and 277 squatted

201704_Den-Haag_Spui_275_277_gekraaktToday 24th April, we squatted Spui 275A and 277, two buildings empty for many years.

We decided to squat the buildings because we find it unacceptable that in times of housing shortages in the Hague many buildings are empty to produce profits with speculation by the owner. A city is there for its citizens and not for gaining profits by capitalist elements. One of the squatters said: “That squatting is being criminalized since 2010 means nothing to us.” He continued by saying: “Squatting might be illegal but for us its a legitimate method of action which produces a direct result, it contests vacantness and provides living space.”

The latest plans that are known for the buildings at Spui 275A/277 are that they will be demolished for the construction of a new hotel instead of renovating it for affordable living space in a city with more and more gentrification. Its another sign that the owners are only interested in making profits and interests of society are losing ground. While the average citizen of the Hague is on a waiting list for years to get an apartment which he or she can afford, speculating owners can do what they want to gain their profits. [Read More]

Athens: Open Letter To Ms. Aliki Papachela, owner of the City Plaza Hotel

City_Plaza_AthensOPEN LETTER
To Ms. Aliki Papachela, owner of the City Plaza hotel

Dear Madam,

Sympathizing with your agony for the 81.500 euro bill sent to you by EYDAP (the Greek water company), we feel the need to clarify the following: on the day that we entered the hotel (22 April 2016), EYDAP technicians visited the hotel in order to read the water meter so that, given that the building was now under occupation, the owner, you, that is, would no longer have to bear the burden of the costs, which you too had also requested through an out of course dispute resolution document to EYDAP. In the immediately following period, we requested a regular connection from EYDAP, yet this was refused on the grounds that the owner of the building had to agree to it as well. The strange thing is that the EYDAP bill was calculated using household pricing, when it should in fact be calculated using professional (if not humanitarian) pricing, as was the case when the hotel was in operation, which resulted in a bill that is much higher than it would otherwise be. Therefore, while this bill poses no threat to you, EYDAP gave a «gift of propaganda» to you by issuing an extortionately high bill, which you do not have to pay (you admit as much yourself), but which you use for propaganda purposes. We imagine that, even within your value system, public health is above public order, so we hope you understand our «illegal» act, given that you are not even required to pay for it. [Read More]

Brighton: Land occupation evicted, so activists squat £100m development

A homeless camp set up in Brighton on April 5th to protest against a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which has been imposed on the city’s parks and seafront was evicted on Wednesday — and activists have responded by taking over a building linked to a £100m development project.
The Circus Street DIY Squatted Social Centre has been set up at the city’s old university building and are planning to hold it as a radical space and rebuke against the council, which they say is socially cleansing Brighton of its homeless by denying them a place to stay and sleep.

In a statement, the occupiers, who are involved in campaigns including Raised, Fist Collective, Screw the System, SolFed, Alt SU, Brighton Anti-Fascists and the camp itself, said:
[Read More]

Germany: Friedel54 Action Week!

Cop-green & Pinehill-grey in the disposer! We want more Friedel-green at every corner! Quite often one question is brought to us, “what do we want”?

We don’t want to be evicted. We want to stay.
We want to keep our non-commercial space and go on with the work we’ve been doing in the district since 13 years.
Is it utopist? Maybe… but we’ll continue to fight for it relentlessly.
We don’t want to let the Pinehill S.a.r.l. make profit in Neukölln or elsewhere without any resistance – even less with the ground floor of the Friedelstrasse 54. We don’t want their flawless image to cover up what they really are: displacers, existences destroyers, spoilsports.
[Read More]

Vienna: Kienmayergasse 15 squatted

201704_besetzung_Kienmayergasse_15_ViennaUpdate: The house is still squatted. There’s a program for this evening from 5pm on:
– at 5pm there’s a lecture from the book “the net knows everything”
– after we are going to cook and eat together
– and a plenary will also take place
Come by! Take your sleeping bags and camping mats with you and stay over night!
We are happy about your solidarity!
Attention: There’s quite a lot of civil police in the streets around! And cop cars are passing the house over and over again!
Take care of each other!


Call for a squat action

Soon we are going to squat a house, to create a room of struggle and to reclaim a piece of our lifes. From this publication in advance we expect, that everyone who recognizes her*himself in the ideas as they are formulated here, develops her*his own initiatives, plan her*his own activities and actions and intensifies the struggles. [Read More]

Montevideo: About the raids and arrests linked to La Solidaria Social Center

la_solidaria_montevideoOn Tuesday April 04, members of Police Intelligence and the regular police carried out two coordinated raids linked to the La Solidaria Social Center. The raids ended with 5 comrades detained, one of whom was charged and bailed, accused of criminal damage. This accusation could be upgraded to to robbery charges and is a result of investigations by the repressive organs of the State that have been carried out since the eviction of the social center and the protests that followed.
The state has promised more arrests in the coming days. Presumably then, there will be more detainees. Private property was put into question and self-organization was made the culprit. The clash between the State standards that defend the existing order based on profit and exploitation and the ability of the self-organized to struggle for radical social transformation was inevitable.
The ability to transform spaces and give them a real life, placing them at the service of the autonomous social struggle and the ability to disrespect the world of dominion will never be forgiven by the defenders of capital…
At the moment, clarity in ideas is very important and the ability to remain strong is crucial.
Defend our social centers, defend the struggle for freedom.
For self-organization and direct action. [Read More]

Thessaloniki: About the eviction of the squatted house Albatross

albatross_evictionIn the morning of Wednesday the 5th of April, the police, led by an OPKE unit, evicted a house in Ano Poli, Thessaloniki. Under the threat of fire-weapons, 13 people were arrested and brought to the police station in Monastiriou. The cops refused to let the arrested use their right to contact a lawyer and get translators for 5 hours. 9 people that came to in solidarity were also brought to the “megaron” and kept 3 hours for identity control. One of them now faces the charge of resistance after the pigs beat him up.

During the day, 2 people had to be transferred to the hospital : one with a severe head-wound after the treatment he received in the police station (the physical and psychological violence of the cops following him even in the walls of the hospital) ; the other because of his health, the pigs refusing for hours to take in consideration his signed appointment with a doctor for this precise day, and for hours refusing giving their prescribed medication to him and another person.

After 32 hours, only 12 people were set free before the trial, one being kept imprisoned for having no paper. He may stay in up to six month for this only, and is also accused, like the others, of both squatting and damaging private property. The asylum process in Greece is still so insufficient that thousands of people are not able to obtain a “legal status” and have therefore no possibilities to get access to accommodation or other forms of support. Living in a squat is often the only option they have. [Read More]

Italy: A few contributions on the latest wave of repression against anarchist in Florence

psfpsryuosSummary by act for freedom – A suspicious parcel was spotted by a Digos patrol outside the premises of a fascist Casapound bookshop on New Year’s Eve. A bomb disposal expert called to the scene in order to detonate the device was seriously injured by its explosion. Shortly afterwards several anarchists’ homes were raided by the police in Florence and other areas in Tuscany. Prosecutors started an investigation for attempted murder.
Another operation, ‘operation Panico’, unrelated to the action against Casapound, was carried out by the cops on 31st January against 35 anarchists of whom 3 were put under house arrest and 7 were inflicted various restrictive measures. Villa Panico squat was also raided and closed down. The charge pressed with operation Panico is criminal association and refers to a number of episodes that took place in the city in 2016. [Read More]