At 10:00 this morning (July 8) the land owner plus 5/6 bailiffs arrived to evict the residents of Grow Heathrow, threatening to break entry. Residents locked themselves to structures and climbed to higher ground. The police arrived, explaining to the bailiffs they were woefully unequipped to enforce an eviction. Indeed they were. Moreover, Inspector David George from the Heathrow Villages Area Police confirmed to us that as no official documentation regarding a warrant for the eviction was presented to Grow Heathrow or the police, the attempt to evict the site was unlawful.
[Read More]
London: Grow Heathrow successfully resists bailiffs
Berlin: Signs against the gentrification, the Rigaer street party
Dear groups, individuals and collectives „Es ist besser unsere Jugend besetzt leere Häuser als fremde Länder“ (In our youth it is better to squat empty houses than foreign countries“).
Under this motto some young people started squatting houses in Rigaestrasse and in the rest of Friedrichshain in the early 90’s, creating places where they could collectively live, organize and resist.
Particularly in the following years many of the squatted houses were evicted or pressed to sign contracts as a result of the so called „Berliner Line“ (Berliner Linie) which aimed to push people into a capitalistic (consumptive) lifestyle. Even the contracts didn’t prevent houses getting evicted in many cases. Nevertheless a few of the originally squatted houses persist as active spaces.
Discounting these projects that have remained, with somewhat affordable rent – the rest of our Kiez has undergone drastic changes in rent costs and real estate prices that are obvious to see / hard to ignore, with formidable and unfordable prices for flats. [Read More]
Toulouse, France: Summary of repression from recent ZAD demos & solidarity with IAATA.info
About the arrestees, convictions and those locked-up from the November and February ZAD demonstrations in Toulouse. A call for solidarity.
Whilst there is currently a campaign of international solidarity and also against the conviction of a single demonstrator from November, it seems important to us to sum up the verdicts and bring forward our modest point of view about the situation. And call widely for solidarity from all.
To recall, the November demonstrations started with the death of a young man [Rémi Fraisse, October 25th 2014]. On the ZAD of Testet there were people saying that one day or another the wild, legal and determined action from the state forces will finish badly. For many the emotion was strong, as we could have been in his place. The identification with him was not the same, when some days earlier, in the centre of Toulouse, a BAC cop [anti-crime brigade] killed a youth during a robbery. [Read More]
Amsterdam: Paint & Beer cancelled
Dear Friekfriends. We are very sorry but we have decided to cancel Paint&Beer coming Saturday. We didn’t get the permit and if we let it happen anyway, the city council will enforce the law and stop all negotiations considering new places. The graffiti jam will happen behind closed doors. PLEASE don’t show up coz you think there will be something anyway, it will put us in great trouble. We will try to document, film, register the whole “making of”, and we hope there will be a moment we can still show the results to you all for real, we’re working on it. Please spread this message as much as you can to help us. Luv Villa Friekens
Amsterdam: New squat Amstelkade 43h
Today [14/6/15], we are putting Amstelkade 43h back in use!
The building has stood empty for over a year. The owner is the famous notorious Libra BV. For more information about Libra check out www.speculanten.nl
The property was purchased for 18 million euros. This is for the whole house .
Law or no law squatting continues!
Residents Amstelkade 43h
Translated from Dutch Indymedia
Runnymede Ecovillage (UK): Callout for eviction resistance
Runnymede Eco Village lost the appeal in court yesterday, so now we’re waiting for papers to tell us our eviction date. This site of 24 acres (approx) has been squatted for 3 years [2012 update] and is home to around 40 permanent residents, including families with young children and vulnerable people.
We need your ideas for eviction resistance! We are in a forest, so lots of trees. There is a fence around the site with only three points of entry for us, so expect these to be blocked as soon as we’re off. (security can, sadly, still access the site at the top by the old buildings, and it would be impossible to fence them out).
[Read More]
Stockholm: Högdalens Folketshus evicted
Ongoing eviction of the squat Högdalens Folketshus in Stockholm. Police has surrounded the building (9000 sqm) and the decision is going against civil rights of the people residing in the building (legal right to reside after 2 weeks).
Brighton: Radical Bank communique2
So today [open day june 15] was a roaring success!
We hosted various workshops throughout the day from first-aid to digital security. We curated various film exhibitions from local artists and activists. We were able to provide free vegan food all day, and all manner of artwork was created to adorn the space. All in all we received overwhelming support for our ongoing project and with much respect and gratitude we would like to thank everybody for the time and energy devoted, it was truly beautiful to see so many people interacting with the space we have worked so hard to make safe, available and free for everybody to enjoy!
[Read More]
Emmen (NL): 10 years Huize Spoorloos
It all started 10 years ago.
The first building was squatted in 2005 by ‘squatgroup Emmen’; an industrial building at the railway platform.
Various initiatives arose spontaneously, amongst others the giveaway store, and an open jam-session on Saturday evenings.
After 1.5 years we had to move away from the railway tracks and ‘moved around’ until in 2007 we came to the ING bank building where we still are now. [Read More]
Brighton: Radical Bank
I am writing on behalf of The Radical Bank of Brighton & Hove. We are a diverse group of people who have come together partly in response to the deprivations of the austerity measures enacted by European governments. We refuse to accept their claims that austerity is necessary, indeed, we understand that it has done nothing to improve economic health. Instead, we recognise that this current economic regime has only resulted in impoverishment and misery; it is a means of weakening the public infrastructures relied on by so many, for the purposes of privatization and profit. We refuse to watch as our future is sold to the highest bidder. In response, we have recently reclaimed an abandoned building on 1 Preston Road, in Brighton, previously used as a bank.
[Read More]
Poznań (Poland): Attack on Squot Od:Zysk and anarchist bookshop
Yesterday we were once again witnesses to how being “antisystem” works in the case of the far right. Nationalists, who have been infiltrating community of football fans for years, are trying to use the popularity of football. After yesterday’s match, the “opponents” of power didn’t take the opportunity to attack the building that is represented by Platforma Obywatelska (the ruling party) – the Voivodship Office
Their “antisystem” approach is represented by smashing windows of an anarchist bookshop/cafe “Zemsta”. 40 people broke windows and destroyed the gate of the building. However, banks, including those responsible for harassment of tenants and brutal evictions, remained untouched.
[Read More]
Den Haag: City takes De Vloek to court. The fight goes on!
Last Friday (5-6-2014), the city of The Hague summoned social center De Vloek to court to expedite the eviction of De Vloek. On July 9th, we have to appear in court for summary proceedings. In this way, the city is also blocking its hollow offer for a replacement location.
On May 27th, the city of The Hague demanded in a letter that we agree to voluntarily depart from De Vloek before July 1st 2015. However, it is in no way apparent that the construction plans are ready for the Top Sailing Center which they want to build in the same location as De Vloek. Our lawyer has made several requests to the city to discuss documents which show that the preparations for the sailing center are in order. The city has repeatedly refused, and our question has also been rejected. Our lawyer has asked for 5 days deferment for the unrealistic response time, but this was also rejected. Thus, we haven’t been able to gain any insight into the actual progress of the plans. The city is purposely trying to build up toward a lawsuit. [Read More]