Haarlem (Netherlands): Antillenweg squatted and evicted

By: fawda - May 14th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
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HAARLEM – On the 11th of May Kraapgroep Haarlem occupied multiple buildings on the c in Schalkwijk. It involves nine consecutive appartments on the Belcanto site.

Squatting
On the 11th of May Kraapgroep Haarlem occupied multiple buildings on the Antillenweg in Schalkwijk. It involves nine consecutive appartments on the Belcanto site. All homes are empty for some time awaiting demolition and redevelopment. The Belcanto project has been shut down indefinitely by the housing associations Elan, Pre living and Ymere in April 2013 because they do not have sufficient liquidity to fund the project. Due to the crisis [Read More]

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Brazil: People’s World Cup Occupation Manifesto (SP)

By: fawda - May 8th, 2014  Filed under: Communique
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On may 2nd, hundreds of families from Homeless Workers Social Movement from Brasil have occupied a land that was abandoned for years, in Itaquera, neighbourhood where World Cup will start in Brasil next month.

During the last days, the occupation has received about two thousand families, which were in awful home conditions around the area. They are workers from Jardim Helian, Gleba do Pessego e Jardim Cibele (parts to Itaquera). But not only, we have received people from all the east zone of São Paulo.

Their stories are pretty much the same: poor people who couldn’t afford the abusive rent values that has drastically grown, specially in Itaquera, due to World Cup. The value of the square meter has increased 165% in the last six years.

Despite the imobiliary speculation has not only reasons concerned to the sport event, it has certainly decisive responsibility in a tendency that already existed. Studies from the “The human right to adequate housing” from UNESCO demonstrated that the events like Olympics and World Cup are directly linked to the raise of house’s prices. [Read More]

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Nijmegen (Netherlands): solidarity action

By: fawda - April 29th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

Solidarity action with all the arrested during the eviction of the squatted house on Tweede Walstraat 3 in Nijmegen on 27th of April!

There is always someone, somewhere, having a feeling that screaming out loud the words of solidarity sometimes just isn’t enough. This time, this feeling of unrest was present in Nijmegen. Embraced by the dark of the night, in the very first hours of 29th of April, we entered a police parking lot. As a result of this trespassing 5 cop cars and vans got their tires slashed. As long as the police continues abusing their power… Well actually, as long as the police exists, we will see it as suiting to try and destroy everything that makes their activities possible. [Read More]

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Vienna: Cops go crazy. Three people brutally arrested. District under siege.

By: dolph-l - April 28th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

Yesterday, friday the 25th of april, two cops were lurking through the Mühlfeldgasse in the 2nd district of Vienna at around 20hr. Shortly afterwards a group of people was attacked by the cops in front of the Pizzeria Anarchia squat. Like almost everyday, the viennese cops terrorizing our district were carrying out a racist control.

A bunch of people, who were attending a public workshop, decided to start an intervention in solidarity. This intervention was limited to asking for the reason for the control (it was a normal control), asking for the identification number of the cops (30967) and taking photos for documentation. The police was taking the controlled person with them. We tried to enforce that a solidary person can accompany the police car or at least to find out to which the person was supposed to be taken to. [Read More]

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Calais: Defend the Squats, Defend Ourselves, Defend the 62

By: midnight - March 23rd, 2014  Filed under: Communique

On April 13 the groups “Jeunesse Identitaire” and “Sauvons Calais” (Save Calais- who were responsible for multiple attacks on a squat in Calais including throwing molotovs in an attempt to burn down the house), as well as local fascists and known Neo Nazis from further afield are holding a demonstration at 14:30 on la Place d’Armes, a central square in Calais, against “mass immigration, insecurity, pro-migrant people and corrupt journalists”. In Calais, we know that these demonstrations are often a thinly veiled disguise for fascist elements to come together and launch attacks against squats, encampments, and individuals,as proven by Sauvons Calais’s ‘demonstrations’ at the squatted farm house which resulted in frequent and persistent stone attacks on the building and on many individuals, and the eventual burning of one out building. Small affinity groups and large mobs were able to act with impunity and without repercussion from state forces. Cops stood and laughed at the farm whilst fascists fired fireworks at the building. [Read More]

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Brighton: 3 days stand-off at a squatted church

By: fawda - March 16th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
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Just over a week ago, an interim possession order was served on a squatted church in Brighton. Deciding to resist the IPO, the squatters barricaded the building, and took to the roof in protest and a large group of people gathered outside.

A Banner was hung from the roof stating “The meek shall squat the earth” in reference to some religious nonsense found within the church, and a black flag was flown whilst the squatters maintained a presence on the roof for 3 consecutive days.

Out of the numerous police patrols that passed, one cocky sergeant decided to parade around the church and threatened that the police would return at 5am in the morning to evict the squatters. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: New info about Vechtstraat and Amstelkade squats

By: fawda - March 15th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
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Since the 1st of March and after more than two years of being empty, Vechtstraat 1 (except attic and penthouse), 5H and 7 were squatted.
The whole parcel (Amstelkade 23 t/m 27 and Vechtstraat 1 t/m 7) was bought by Alex Meijer B.V in 1987, some years later Ovast Ontwinkeling B.V (owned by Wim Oostveen) bought this company and all the real estates. This company and around 25 more are registered at the same address in Utrecht and the natural person related to them is Wim Oostveen; he is not only a speculator businessman, he also belongs to the nasty game of politics in Utrecht (Stadspartij Utrecht).
After the research we found out that this man is very good at avoiding the responsibilities attached to his enterprises, as is the case in the Vechtstraat buildings, where the city council of Amsterdam on the 23th of October 2013 ordered him to renovate all the appartements that have tenants. [Read More]

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Illegal Eviction of Occupied House in Calais

By: midnight - March 1st, 2014  Filed under: Communique
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The mayor of Calais ranks amongst the most extreme Right in France!

Today (28/02), an occupied house belonging to the Municipality, located at 3 Impasse Leclercq, was illegally evicted in the early afternoon despite conclusive and legally sound evidence of it having been occupied for at least three days (meaning it should be entitled to a court case and notice under french law)! The media had been informed several hours before the eviction and two leading newspapers in the area had published proof of occupation. “La Voix de Nord” published an article showing a picture of this proof, sealed registered letters with the sent date, Wednesday, February 26, 2014 in which there were testimonies and timestamped photos showing that the occupation of the building had been for longer than 48 hours. [Read More]

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Calais: Come on! Come on! Communiqué regarding the occupation of a number of buildings

By: midnight - February 28th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

We are a group of people from different countries and different political backgrounds who are fighting for the right to housing for everyone, whatever their origin. We announce that we have been occupying (now for more than 48 hours), empty and abandoned public buildings in different parts of the town of Calais, and intend to continue these occupations and maintain them as “legal squats” for as long as possible:

Why here and why now? There are more than 4,000 buildings empty in Calais, which represents 9 % of homes (500 of these are the property of a single, large, housing association- the major ‘social’ landlord in the city), and yet against this backdrop more than 500 people are on the streets, out of sight of any dignified solution and used only as sound bites by politicians who proport to offer assistance and in reality offering nothing. To address this situation they (the town hall/authorities) have turned Calais into a ghost town . [Read More]

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Calais: Fascists mobilise against squatters. International call-out for support and solidarity

By: midnight - February 20th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
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Tomorrow, Friday 21st Feb, fascists have called a day and evening demonstration outside a new squat in Coulogne. This is the accumulation of five days of heavy fascist activity in the Calais area.

In the last few months a racist anti-migrant group, ‘Sauvons Calais’ have mobilised in Calais to ‘defend Calais from migrants’. Last week people squatted a farm house in Coulogne and since Sunday evening groups of up to 50 fascists and angry neighbours have had almost a constant presence outside the building.

The fascist’s actions this week have ranged from shouting insults at the people inside, throwing rocks, fireworks and standing there for hours on end. At 7am on Tuesday morning three fascists, who had been out drinking all night tried to break into the squat with a sledge hammer. Two of them were arrested. Members of the demonstration have also been recorded making death threats against migrants. [Read More]

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Hamburg: Come to the Squatting Days!

By: sisulscz - February 19th, 2014  Filed under: Communique

From August, 27th till 31st we will make Squatting a topic again. Let’s exchange experiences together, lets discuss, roam the streets and start some action.

Reasons for squatting are numerous and various: To protest against unaffordable and rising rent, to prevent a building from being teared down, out of the need of new, self-organised and uncomercial spaces, for living, as ateliers, workshops, cultural centres and many many more.
[Read More]

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Prague: Neklanove Squat Evicted

By: dolph-l - February 19th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News, Press release

On Friday, the 7th February in the early evening, police evicted the “silent squat” in Neklanova street in Prague 2, used exclusively for housing. The house owned by an Italian company who have cleared the house besides one tenant who welcomed the ‘squatters’. During the intervention, which was without unjustified violence by the security forces, sixteen people were arrested, including several onlookers who came to support the squatters.

[Read More]

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