Deptford (South-East London): Communique from the Bank of No Money

Bank_of_no_money_Deptford_South_East_LondonWe are rats running rabid through the stinking guts of London …

Sick of the fractured ‘scene’ of squatters in London, sick of faux-punk venues and the fashionable veneer of rebellion, sick of the apathy and passivity, sick of housing where everyone is locked in their own rooms, their own lives, their existence atomised, stinking of fried chicken and choking on the bones of what once was, we came together to act …

We are a collective of those in active rebellion.

Warsaw. Barcelona. Roma. Thessaloniki. London. All over we meet in joint attack.

We organised on the beaches of London for the TRESPASS gig – selling propaganda to fashion punx and tourists about the trial of the Warsaw 3, dropping banners and smoke flares whilst the crowd rioted amongst itself, spitting in our faces and rejecting all politics.

We put on infonights, skyping with comrades from across Europe, and people came and listened, complained that there was nothing organised in London, that everything was too fluid, too temporary, that nothing ever happened, and we laughed to hide the tragedy of their blindness to their own domestication.

‘You can’t win’, they said, and we sneered, knowing our victory is in the struggle itself.

We meet in the streets outside squats under threat of eviction in Bethnal Green, Brixton, Aldwych, to jeer at bailiffs covered in paint, or see doors battered in, or taunt the cops and accuse them of murder by association. Though we called out for accomplices, few came, but enough remained to support each other and fight. [Read More]

Koper (Slovenia): Statement about the police attack on ARGO activists

Argo_IzolaC.P. Inde strongly condemns the violent police attack on comrades from Argo, which happened on Friday 28/10 2016. Recently we have witnessed repeated attacks on several autonomus communites in Slovenia (Rog, Sokolc, Metelkova). It is clear that with any start of collective creative and critical thinking, there also appears repression. Izola has for long years lacked autonomous cultural venues and has just recently got its own Autonomous Zone Argo. This kind of space is necessary for the development of an active society. Argo is a young collective that still hasn’t blossomed and come to life in full, because power structures immediately cut down the first germs of critical thought. Oppressive authority brutally stamped down on basic human rights of two activists who suffered serious injuries. Both had to seek medical help that the police even refused to provide. Sometimes the fight for a better world has such high price as head concussions and internal bleedings.
To Argo we express the broadest solidarity, because the attack on them is also an attack on every other autonomous community. Only solidarity and mutual aid can bring about a better tomorrow. At the same time we have to fight against the media, which grasped the corrupted story of policemen and demonized our comrades. It has become increasingly clear to whom they serve. Certainly not the people, but rather the capital and power. We must condemn the police violence that has crippled our comrades and we must not remain indifferent or turn the other side. We express our full solidarity with the Argo Collective and we send them a message that in this fight they are not alone. We also strongly condemn any violence against autonomous spaces and communities! They shall not pass! [Read More]

Izola (Slovenia): Slaba Bank and Izola police attack activists of Autonomous zone Argo

Autonomous_zone_ARGO_Izola_SloveniaThe events in Izola/Isola culminated today after several days of harassment in the form of unprovoked visits of the police and criminal police officers during which they verbally threatened the community of autonomous space Argo. Today 28th October 2016 two members of the collective went for an innocent walk to bring water and instead were subjected to violent harassment from the police officers – a real case of tyranny of power. It all happened at around 1pm when two people wanted to bring water supplies for the place that is the last fed days being frequented by more and more people, also in response to these pressures and threats with eviction.

But instead of water to clench our thirst we were served with an abundant dose of violence, name-calling and threats. Two members of the collective are seriously injured: one will have to spend the night in the hospital because of head injures, the other is at the moment of writing also still in the hospital and is under strict observation due to suspicion of internal bleeding. [Read More]

Greece: Upcoming eviction of No Border Social Center Lesvos and Call-Out for activists

nbk_lesvos_greeceNo Border Kitchen Lesvos needs your support! Callout for people in November and December.

We from No Border Kitchen Lesvos (NBK) are going to need people joining us on the island in October, November and December. After holiday season, with the start of the new semester for many people and with the approaching winter we will need helping hands from end of October.

Additionally we got an unpleasant visit from the cops tuesday. According to them our Social Center will be evicted in 5 days. This would make the 4th eviction this year that we have to face.

At the moment we (still) have two main projects. One is cooking for the people who refuse to stay in Moria camp and prefer to sleep rough in the forest instead. The other one is our social center . Everyday a lot of people visit us there to hang out, talk, eat and meet each other. Of course thats not all…we also stand with the people protesting on a weekly basis in Lesvos against the inhuman conditions in Moria camp and for freedom of movement. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Infonight Housing for All (Cologne) and KoZe (Hamburg)

20161029_Infonight_Housing_for_all_KoZeSaturday 29th of October 2016 – 7pm @ Joe’s Garage, Pretoriusstraat 43, Amsterdam.
Infonight and Food – Housing for all//Cologne + KoZe//Hamburg

At the end of October, two collectives from Cologne and Hamburg will be in Amsterdam in order to exchange ideas and experiences about the local struggles for housing and the establishment of solidary structures in our cities and beyond its limits.

Housing for All is a recent movement in Cologne that suggests practical ways of re-appropriating real estate properties in word and action. We are happy to visit our friends at Joe’s and meeting people from KoZe as well! Looking forward to it. https://karti14.noblogs.org/

Koze is the ‘Collective Center/Kollektives Zentrum’ in Hamburg, that was founded through a squatting action in 2014 and is currently under thread of eviction. http://koze.in/ [Read More]

The Hague: November 19th, Fight Repression! Stop repression against anti-fascists and anarchists!

20161119_Den_Haag_fight_repression_demo_flyerOn Saturday November 19th, there will be a demonstration in The Hague, The Netherlands, against the wave of repression that Hague anti-fascists and anarchists have been facing in the last year. One who attacks one of us, attacks all of us. Solidarity through struggle!

Within the last year, repression against anti-fascists and anarchists has greatly increased, with The Hague in the middle of it. An area ban for anarchists was issued for the Schilderswijk, in an attempt to break the struggle against the racist, violent, and murderous police. After that that, another area ban was issued, this time against anti-fascists who have been resisting against the extreme right wing Pegida demonstrations. Damage claims of 50,000 euro were demanded from several anarchists who resisted against the eviction of social center De Vloek, which had been squatted for 13 years. The mayor also tried to shutter the local Autonomous Center. Furthermore, subsequent demonstrations were forbidden, people were intimidated by the police at home and on the street, numerous preventative arrests were made, and attempts were made to recruit informants.

But these are not just attacks against individual anarchists and anti-fascists. This is an attack against all who fight against racism, this is an attack against all who stand for a world without exploitation and discrimination, this is an attack on all of us. And this attack cannot go unanswered! This is a call for solidarity, because solidarity is our weapon against the isolation being forced on us by the police and the mayor. We must defend our autonomous spaces and structures! [Read More]

Calais (France): Total jungle eviction may begin on 17 October

The French State has been spreading word that it will evict the whole of the Calais Jungle, meaning the homes of 10,000 people, by “the end of October”. The latest rumour is that the attack will begin on 17 October and will feature a new weapon: blinding laser cannons developed for use against Somali pirates, now to be used for the first time against Africans and other migrants on European soil.**

Other talk is that the eviction will take just “three days”, and that not only the self-built jungle but also the official Jules Ferry day centre and maybe even the state-built Container Camp will go. Comrades from the ZAD (occupied zone of resistance to the airport project in Notre Dame des Landes) also believe that their own planned eviction may be delayed so that the state can first throw all its forces at Calais.
[Read More]

Amsterdam: Eerste Oosteparkstraat becomes another chapter in the gentrification of the city

201610_Eerste_Oosterparkstraat_114_116_AmsterdamOn the 22nd of September, the residents of Eerste Oosterparkstraat 88-126 were evicted from their homes. Construction work has started to demolish the buildings. It will be replaced by a new block of houses and businesses. We have lived here for three years in a squatted house and we have decided to speak up about what is going on.

The first step to gentrifying the neighborhood begins by evicting and demolishing existing homes and building new, often ugly block houses. House rents will increase and the neighborhood will fill up with rich yuppies. The original inhabitants will be forced to leave their homes and move out of town. The plans to renovate the neighborhood for profit forces people out of Amsterdam. This is social cleansing designed to eliminate social and cultural diversity, and further impoverish the low-wage workers, the unemployed, the homeless.

Owner of these houses is Stadgenoot, a public housing corporation. This corporation owns 40.000 houses, office spaces, storage spaces and garages. It is known for contributing to the nationwide decimation of affordable housing and tenant rights. They bypass tenant rights by using all kinds of flexible temporary contracts, anti-squat, temporary leases and campus contracts thereby by circumventing rent control, while at the same time decreasing the number of houses that used to be social rent. [Read More]

London: Camelot HQ squatted

201609_London_Camelot_HQ_squattedA few days ago the former Camelot Europe HQ, in Westland Park London N1 was squatted in protest against guardian companies’ anti-social profiteering from empty properties and homelessness.

For those who don’t know, Camelot are the original “guardian” company, invented to counter the squatting movement in Holland by moving in people who act as security by living there. Guardians pay rent but have less protection than ordinary tenants, at least according to the wording of their contracts. Other guardian companies also exist, such as our least-favourite Dot Dot Dot ……

A couple of articles have appeared in the Guardian but with certain problems. Both of them seem to agree with Camelot that what the people acting as security guards by living in their properties are is merely licencees, when most legal advice shows that they clearly have tenancies. When challenged on this point most guardian companies back down and come to a deal, rather than allow the issue to go to court. [Read More]

Gouda (NL): Update on arrests

On Saturday September 17 Hotel Mirage, Westhaven 49 was squatted in Gouda and immediately evicted. (see press release in Dutch).

On Tuesday September 20, the five detainees still held (four anonymous) came before the magistrate. One was remanded, the other four (all still anonymous) were released.
[Read More]

Amsterdam: We Are Here squat two new places

Today, Sunday, September 18th, We Are Here (Wij Zijn Hier) squatted two buildings on Burgemeester Röellstraat 70 (for women) and Rijswijkstraat 2 (for men). We squatted these buildings cracked because the Vluchtgemeente squat, where many of us stay, will be evicted on Monday.
[Read More]

The Hague: Mayor wants to close Autonomous Center

Autonoom_Centrum_Den_Haag_2016Last week, the Autonomous Center (AC) in The Hague received a letter from the mayor demanding that we close the property at Harstenhoekweg 4, where a social center has been established since February. The warrant was served because a so-called ‘illegal cafe’ is being operated in the building. The AC was already in discussion with the municipality to find a solution for the so-called ‘illegal situation’ but the mayor doesn’t want to wait for this.
The mayor has given an order that the building can be closed from 12:00 on September 22. The AC collective is looking into its legal options to avoid closure of the social center. All activities have been temporarily suspended until the situation is more certain. It should be clear that we are not giving up and that we are, together with our lawyers, looking into the steps that we can take against the mayor’s decision
The order to shut down is the latest step that Hague mayor Jozias van Aartsen has taken in a series of repressive measures against anarchists and autonomous spaces. Several Hague anarchists wrote a text about these measures: ‘The area ban against anarchists in a broader context of repression in The Hague‘. It is clear that the current situation is not an isolated incident but part of a bigger picture. The mayor is trying yet again to close places where space is made for extra-parliamentary politics. Keep an eye on the Autonoom Centrum website for updates. [Read More]