In a move unprecedented in times of “democracy”, the Greek government raided and evicted today, 27 July in the early morning, three squats in the city of Thessaloniki, which were being used as shelter for refugees.
The message the left wing government wants to transmit is that there is no space for solidarity and self-managed responses to the ordeal of the refugees, only the state’s charity and the confinement, marginalisation and selective deportation carried out by a government that follows to the letter the criminal immigration policies of the EE.
The eviction comes only a couple of days after the end of the No Border Camp in Thessaloniki, which united thousands of activists from throughout the continent to protest these very policies.
One of the squats, Nikis, has been a long standing squat in Thessaloniki, which was opened up to refugee families with the onset of the refugee crisis. Another one, Orfanotrofeio, was (re)occupied last year with the express purpose of giving shelter to immigrant and refugees in a self-managed way. The third one was occupied only a few days ago in the very centre of the city for the same purpose.
Orfanotrofeio was evicted and immediately demolished. Under the rubble were buried tons of medicine, food, clothes and first necessity items that were destined for refugee families, as well as the occupants’ personal belongings. [Read More]
Thessaloniki: Squats raided and evicted
Athens: Responsibility claim for the execution of mafioso Habibi in June
We take the responsibility for the execution of mafioso Habibi, who for years now was in the forefront of violent incidents towards residents and regulars in the area of Exarhia, culminating in the murderous attack on three comrades of the occupied social centre VOX, last month. The paranoid character of this specific individual and the ruthless violence he inflicted at the slightest provocation, rendered him a potential serial killer, the fear and terror of the area. The bullying, the theft and stabbings that were included in the repertoire of his daily presence in Exarhia square, gave him the space to pretend to be the leader who (allegedly) no one could dispute. With the strength of a herd of cannibals that surrounded him, but also with the backup of the mafia and police, he acted undisturbed selling drugs and terrorizing the neighbourhood, which was defenceless and unable to deal with him, subjugated to his power and silenced. [Read More]
Utrecht: Squatters protest against gentrification – New house squatted on Kanaleneiland
Wednesday July 13, there is a court case in Utrecht about the squatted houses on Monnetlaan. The buildings were squated in April out of protest against the gentrification of Kanaleneiland. Everyone who has affinity with this story, or is interested in the courtcase, is welcome to witness the courtcase itself. The squatters and supporters will be in front of the courthouse from 8.30, the courtcase itself begins at 9 o’ clock.
Utrecht is finishing a large scale gentrification project that has wiped out 9500 social houses. Kanaleneiland Centrum is one of these projects, where 1100 sociale houses have been demolished. This project is now ending, the squatted have occupied the building which will be the last to be renovated. [Read More]
Oslo: Regarding the recent evictions
We in Vestbredden knows there have been questions and a need for an update from our international supporters, after the recent evictions in our street. A lot of supporters have been asking weither Vestbredden is evicted or not, it is important to keep the facts clear and as no international newspapers wishes to cover our struggle ; we must be our own media. There have also been lies about chemical weapons in the evicted spaces.
In the last two months, the entire Hauskvartalet as a whole has been squatted in protest against the sales prospect. The previously evicted Hausmannsgate 42 was re-squatted along with Brenneriveien 1 aka Hausmannsplatz.
[Read More]
Zaandam (NL): Old post office squatted
On Sunday 26 June a group of squatters and about 25 sympathisers
occupied the old post office on Mahoniehout street.
The building is owned by Merin B.V, which rents out a lot of office and company buildings in the Netherlands. This building, where PostNL was based, has stood empty since they left 2.5 years ago.
[Read More]
Amsterdam: Yet another empty office building SQUATTED!
A office building in Amsterdam Noord was squatted successfully this afternoon [3/7/16]. It is one of many empty commercial buildings in the area. The group wants to use the building as a living space and a place for creative activity in the neighborhood. The object is one of many similar empty buildings in the street, most of which have their darkest corners inhibited by anti kraak.
Many thanxxx to all supporters!
Hungary: Call for support from Occupy City Park Budapest
Hello! We in Hungary are in deep protest. The government decided to demolish part of our City Park (Városliget). We don’t like this. So on march 17th 2016, when they started to cut down trees, it was enough. Men and women jumped over the fence, broke the barrier and it was over. Since then, we occupy the area. It is a pretty big complex more than 5 buildings, several floors with its own garden and parking area in the middle of this huge park. There are over 20 people living here now. We build, create, imagine. We started actions outside of camp too, with more or less success. This created lot of attention from the public, so the power holders decided to take action. This is where everyone comes into picture. We need help. We need to grow rapidly, to transform. We need people from all over the globe with experience in nonviolent protest. We have food, place to sleep, love to share. Please please help us with your presence.
Statement from Ligetvédők, Occupy City Park Budapest
We the Ligetvédők (Occupy City Park Budapest) have been occupying this area for more than 100 days, for we think it is unjust and harmful to transform Városliget (City Park) into a museum district (Liget Budapest Project). We are locals, civilians and experts, among whom many have been protesting for years against this huge prestige-investment. [Read More]
Berlin: Rigaer 94 Action Day
Each day is Day X until we got Kadterschmiede back
…and until the existence of Kanal, Linie, Potse/Drugstore, M99 is no longer threatened.
The list of projects in Berlin facing eviction is long. The pressure on alternative living spaces and other places where me can meet up, exchange our ideas and develop alternatives is constantly increasing. So is our anger. We’re pissed off.
On June 22nd cops broke into R94 at 7:30am without prior notice. They were sent by a politician acting on the demands of a former Aparheit attourney. In the following process of eviction they destroyed most of Kadterschmiede, the yard and the ground floor and threw out everything that was left. Since then the rest of the house is under siege by securities and cops.
The people living in R94 have been assaulted verbally, physically and sexualized by the besiegers. They have lost any kind of privacy and are facing random controls when entering their home. People without papers who had been living in the house so they don’t have to face the dehumanizing situations in the Lager (=official refugee camps) before the attack had to rashly leave their homes and have been unable to return. [Read More]
Stockholm: A new squat cracked today!
Why we have occupied and established the New Neighborhood Auditorium in Hagsätra – a statement
Hagsätra, a predominantly low income suburb in southern Stockholm previously dominated by affordable public housing, has been sold off in its entirety to private landlords. Most of it now belongs to the Ikea-owned corporation Ikano, who already many years ago purchased the suburb’s center square and whose presence in the suburb is daunting. Upon arrival with the metro you are greeted by 15 massive flags that tower over the square. The flags of Ikano. Fairs and events arranged for locals are called Ikano—something. A youth center that was publicly funded and on the center square was suddenly closed some years ago and moved to the back side of a building facing the highway at the fringe of the suburb. This youth center is now run by Ikano and they have hired permanent security staff to surveil the few teenagers who go there. It is reasonable to assume that this is part of an effort to clear out unwanted elements from their central property. Just as the overall ambition with their whole turf is to raise property value, which effectively means clearing out current unwanted elements from the residential population. The method is simple: make it economically impossible to stay. [Read More]
Hungary: The plight of a Budapest city park
In the last few days the Hungarian media has been full of stories about clashes among three groups in Budapest’s famed park Városliget (City Grove): the so-called “grove defenders” (ligetvédők), members of a private security firm recruited from skinheads hanging around football stadiums to protect the demolition/construction crew, and the Hungarian police.
Városliget is one of the oldest city parks in the world, dating to around 1810, although work on it continued through most of the nineteenth century. By now Városliget definitely needs a face-lift to restore it to its former beauty. But what’s going on right now, in the opinion of the grove defenders, is the destruction of the park as a public space for recreation as well as a source of respite from all the stone and brick that makes up Budapest, especially its Pest half. It is being turned into a “museum quarters.”
Viktor Orbán, most likely at the suggestion of the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, László Baán, decided on the creation of a museum quarters. But the idea of clustering museums was in reality just attractive packaging of what amounted to an eviction notice. Several galleries currently housed in the former royal palace must move because Viktor Orbán wants to put the core of his government where in his opinion it belongs, the ancient seat of the Kingdom of Hungary. [Read More]
Berlin: Dispatches from occupied Rigaer94
It has now been over a week since our doors were first cut off, cops and security intruded into our housing project, installing themselves in our stairways and other previously collective spaces. From then, the speedy and aggressive eviction and destruction of the ground level of our home began. Our social space, the Kadterschmiede, along with our workshop, laundry, attic and garden were stripped of all recognition in clouds of dust and mortar, while rubbish skips were filled with our belongings and collective histories.
[Read More]
Exarchia, Athens: Statement by Kleous 96
On June 8th 2016, we occupied a building on 96 Themistokleous Street in Exarchia with the aim of building a community based political space. As a diverse group with a variety of backgrounds we were aware that although we had many common goals and the same political strategy, we disagreed on tactics and levels of risks we were willing to take. Our hope was that through working and learning together within our collective and our involvement within the wider community struggle we would overcome these differences.
However very soon we were faced with heavy police oppression, including a forceful eviction which resulted in three arrests. Instinctively we decided to resist this oppression by immediately re-squatting the building and asked for the support of the rest of the community to defend it. Some squats chose to support us and some didn’t.
We recognise that the lack of support was mainly a consequence of our lack of communication and political engagement with the existing assemblies and we are willing to accept that we made a mistake.
After a long discussion within the collective it became apparent that unfortunately the threat of repeated eviction and arrests divided us even more politically than before. So we decided to leave the house and concentrate our efforts on supporting other existing squats. [Read More]
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