Pertuis: No shovels at the ZAP!

By: fawda - December 10th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Pertuis (France) – This Wednesday 8 December, one of the houses next to the ZAP (Zone à patates) was destroyed. The company commissioned for the work was accompanied by the municipal police and the gendarmerie. This same company tried to demolish the gate of the common house. They threatened several times to come back and announced in particular that “all the other houses would be destroyed in the week”.

We wish to inform Mr. Pellenc, who does not seem to be aware of this, that the four houses still standing are occupied by four different groups of inhabitants for whom this is the only habitat, and that these occupations have already been reported. They are not evictable in their current state, and any attempt to force their eviction or demolition would therefore be perfectly illegal. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Municipality wants to evict LVV residents, court grants this in brutal verdict

By: fawda - December 2nd, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Tuesday 30 November, were the first judgments in a series of summary proceedings brought by the municipality of Amsterdam. The lawsuits were aimed at legitimizing the eviction of the residents of the National Provision for Foreign Nationals (Landelijke Vreemdelingen Voorziening, LVV). Judgments have now been rendered in two cases; in both judgments the court has granted the eviction claim. This means that the municipality can proceed with eviction as of this weekend, leaving the LVV residents in question on the street. This while the party responsible for the LVV, Groenlinks, again states in its party program 2022 that no one sleeps on the streets in Amsterdam. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Hotel Mokum is dead, long live Hotel Mokum

By: fawda - November 30th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Dear Friends,

Let’s start with thank you. The support and solidarity we have received over the past six weeks, but especially this weekend, has been overwhelming. On Saturday, we were harshly evicted, with police brutality and a demonstration of power. More on this later, but for now: so much love for everyone who stood there with us. And especially so much love for the people who voluntarily exposed themselves to state violence, prosecution and very literal physical violence by the police. Many thanks to Extinction Rebellion and Comrade Twingo without whom the eviction would have been a lot easier for the police. Thanks to everyone who helped us ensure that Hotel Mokum could not be quietly swept away. But also thank you to everyone who supported us in any other way, this weekend and for the past six weeks. You are all so amazing and so fucking brave and we couldn’t have done this without you. [Read More]

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Wageningen: Students squat demolition building

By: fawda - November 29th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Wageningen (Netherlands) – A group of students announced today that they have squatted a building in the city center. During the housing crisis, they not only want to live there, but also create a cultural place where people can meet.

The building belongs to Zideris, a health organization that has had it empty for 5 years. In times of growing housing shortage and rising house prices, the students find it incomprehensible that usable living space remains unused for so long. Especially in Wageningen, where the university continues to expand and attract companies, insufficient solutions are offered for all those seeking housing. “Squatting can really be a solution to the housing crisis,” says one of the students. “It’s weird that a lot of buildings sit empty for years while a lot of people can’t find a house.” [Read More]

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Yverdon: Waiting for its verdict, the Quartier Libre proves that it exists!

By: fawda - November 22nd, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

On Tuesday, November 16th, one month after having occupied the wasteland and two vacant houses in the Yverdon district of Clendy-Dessous, we appeared before the “Justice”, that is to say on this occasion the Tribunal d’Arrondissement de la Broye et du Nord Vaudois, presided over by Véronique Pittet.

Or rather we did not appear. Because although we had received a non-nominative summons with almost 3 weeks of delay between the date of the summons and the postmark – administrative slowness is a good thing – the “Justice” informed us the same morning by e-mail that one of us had to be present so that our lawyer could represent us. The Judge then refused to let the designated person appear, because this one was reluctant – for obvious reasons – to give his identity. [Read More]

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Utrecht: Squat on Croeselaan revealed during the Woonprotest demo

By: fawda - November 21st, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

On Friday 19 November, an empty house on the Croeselaan was squatted. The squatters announced this during the Utrecht Housing Protest on Sunday 21 November. The squatting of the house is part of the national housing protest that speaks out against the current housing crisis. The squatters demand immediate action and do not want to wait for the empty promises of political parties and housing corporations.

During the demonstration, the squatters invited the demonstrators on the Jaarbeursplein to come and have coffee and tea at the new squat. The property on the Croeselaan had been vacant for a long time, while the blocks of social housing next to it are scheduled for demolition.

The squatters find it appalling that local political parties advocate the demolition of social housing, while further down the street, properties are unnecessarily empty. At the same time, there is an unprecedented housing crisis, which means that people in need of a house are on waiting lists, miss out on a house because investors outbid them and, if they do manage to get a house, have to work their asses off to pay the rent. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Ringdijk 8 resquatted

By: fawda - November 13th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Since some days now we, the Anarcha Feminist Group Amsterdam, have been residing at Ringdijk 8. We have decided to expropriate this building because we think it is disgusting that houses are being kept empty for years while we are in a housing crisis, many people are living in precarity and homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years.

In previous actions we have targeted big speculators such as Blackstone, squatted buildings in solidarity with sexworkers being pushed out of our city and against the greenwashing and promition colonialsers and gentrification done by NV Zeedijk in the red light district.

Today we take an autonomous action as part of the ongoing housing demonstrations. Just marching and hoping the government will listen to us is not enough, actually the government listened to the demands made by the housing movement and their answer has been loud and clear: no measure taken to solve the problem, but instead they sent cops to silent us, mutilating our bodies, making blacklists and arresting us.

We need to confront injustices directly whenever and wherever we see them. Today we target the housing cooperation Eigen Haard. This building, owned by Eigen Haard, has been squatted before and has now been empty and left to rot again for a long time. [Read More]

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Lausanne: an update by the Porno Diesel inhabitants

By: fawda - November 3rd, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

If the commercial gardening project “Espace Blécherette” in the Châtelard area seems to leave a lot of uncertainty as to its realization and painfully reminds us of previous urban planning setbacks in Lausanne, there is still a shadowy area: the displacement of about 20 people.

It’s been almost 7 years that we have been living in the farm of Châtelard 103. It is the house just before the entrance to the Blécherette highway with paintings on the facade. There are trailers and shacks too. Recently, the City of Lausanne, owner of the place, decided not to renew our current contract of loan for use and to put an end to our occupation of the place. It puts forward the will to replace us by an organic agricultural project. We are opposed to the latter, but we will be receptive to projects compatible with our habitats. [Read More]

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Rubí (Spain): Eviction of the Mirlo squatted orchard and retaliation

By: xxx - October 24th, 2021  Filed under: News

On Thursday, October 14th, the community orchard el Miro, a squatted plot of land in Rubí city centre [20km away from Barcelona], was evicted. It was the second attempt, after the cops desisted to evict it in july, when some 60 people stood up to defend the place. It had been squatted for five years; the land was farmed, concerts, talks & other events were often held there. The owners, DomoMarina SL -a company owned by Elena Massot- wants to build luxury flats on the former orchard, with the Ana María Martínez’s complicity. Martínez is Rubí’s mayor, of the PSC (catalan socialist party). [Read More]

Ghent: statement from ‘t Pand! Demonstration 25 October

By: fawda - October 18th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

More than 1800 citizens want us to intervene at the city council, but we were gagged. The city does not call itself responsible for the housing crisis. We received the mandate from these 1800 citizens to ask the city council to speak out against the privatization of ‘t Pand.

We do not intend to remain silent. If participation and democracy are not empty concepts, we must make our voices heard now. Come with us to the City Council. Together we will take the floor and ask:
– Address the housing crisis: no privatization of the property and commons in general
– Through co-creation and participation, provide a public interpretation for ‘t Pand
– Investigate other financing options for commons than the sale of public heritage.

We will gather at ‘t Pand, Lange Steenstraat 16, at 18:00 and then head for our board, the city council. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Take back Mokum! Hotel Marnix squatted during ADEV

By: fawda - October 16th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

During the ADEV (Amsterdam Danst Ergens Voor) demonstration on 16 October 2021, former Hotel Marnix was squatted on Marnixstraat 382. Statement from Pak Mokum Terug! action group :

Amsterdam is in crisis. Housing is unaffordable. People with low and middle incomes are being chased out of the city. There is no room for young people. The commercialization of the center has attracted masses of tourists who make the city unlivable, while property owners, investors and large companies enrich themselves endlessly. There is no room for alternative culture. Amsterdam is losing its soul.

We, the collective Pak Mokum Terug! (Get Mokum Back!) are young Amsterdammers who have had enough. We no longer want to accept the trend that our city can only be inhabited by the rich. That economic and commercial interests are all-important. That we cannot shape our city, its culture, the way we live, ourselves. Therefore we claim the city, we claim the space for the people of Amsterdam, we take back Mokum. [Read More]

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Ghent: PANDPaRaDe, demonstration on 12 October

By: fawda - October 8th, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

Judges, the city and the province want the property owners to get rid of the property (‘t Pand) in order to sell it to rich investors.
This is done without any consultation from the former residents and without listening to the citizens of Ghent themselves. The right to property is again more important than the right to a decent and affordable roof over one’s head.
The judge has given us 8 days to vacate the premises. They may be able to sabotage the occupation but that does not end the fight.
More than 1800 citizens want us to intervene at the city council and here too we were silenced. The city does not hold itself responsible for the housing crisis. Therefore, we call on everyone to come out onto the streets with your pots and pans, and together we will make our point:
– tackle the housing crisis: no privatisation of the property and commons in general
– no eviction of the inhabitants
– citizens’ participation in our commons, including on the city council

We gather on Tuesday 12 October at 6 pm at Lange Steenstraat 16 ! [Read More]

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