While police evicted Caferağa Neighborhood House, an occupied house in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, in the early morning, activists started a passive resistance, calling for action outside the house tonight. Started in the early morning, the eviction was completed by 10:30am local time. After the eviction and retreat of police forces, activist went back to the street of the house, but decided not to enter the house again as they agreed to have a “passive resistance”. The number of activist is around 100 despite early morning. [Read More]
Amsterdam: Kerkstraat 104 squatted
Yesterday, Sunday December the 7th, the Kerkstraat 104 was squatted. The building is owned by a well known real estate speculator: Jorgen Bakker, owner of the company ‘Capital Investments’, and recently renamed ‘Cap Living’. The building has been empty for several months, and there are no permits requests for renovation.
Mister Bakker threatened to come back with a fiery swords (apparently it is a Dutch thing), and he wished us to be beaten to death by the riot cops… while we wait either for his hobbit army of doom to come over, or for the state pigs to take over, we are just going to enjoy the last hours of our life using this empty property as a home.
Hail our CEO and savior chupacabra. [Read More]
San Jose: Largest Homeless Camp In US Evicted And Destroyed To Make Way For Tech Billionaires
More than 350 homeless Americans lived in their makeshift village, ‘The Jungle’ in San Jose, California – that is, until police and social services raided the camp, evicting tenants and destroying their self-made homes on Thursday.
Evicted homeless people lined the sidewalk along Story Road, clutching shopping carts filled with their meager possessions as they watched city workers literally rip apart their community. Some wept uncontrollably, as they asked: Where will we go now?
[Read More]
Den Haag: Criminalization and silencing of De Vloek, judge also prohibits demonstration
The demonstration planned for this coming Saturday against the eviction and demolition of De Vloek has been banned by the Mayor of The Hague. Even the judge decided to support the city’s fallacies. We are calling on everybody to come this Saturday at 15:00 to the Kerkplein to NOT demonstrate together.
Protesting has been made impossible and we will also let this be known. We will assemble on the Kerkplein with tape on our mouths. Demonstrating has been prohibited, but coming together on the Kerkplein is not forbidden. To be able to demonstrate, one needs to have a right to free speech, and this has been taken away from us. We will symbolically illustrate this.
Because this demonstration would have involved many different people, including children and the elderly, we are canceling the demonstration. We have absolutely no faith in the empathy of The Hague police, and we don’t want children and elderly people to be beaten up by them. [Read More]
Kent: Coroner’s Inquest into the Death of Daniel Gauntlett
It was just under a year ago that the SQUASH Team got wind of the death of a homeless man in Kent, who had frozen to death sleeping outside a derelict residential property. After the arrest of Alex Haigh for squatting an empty housing association (L&Q) property, the death of Daniel Gauntlett (35) exemplified the injustice of the new law s144 LASPO, making squatting residential buildings a criminal offense. On further investigation, we found out that the police had spoken to Mr Gauntlett that day; SQUASH suspect that they told him not to try entering the empty bungalow on a freezing February night, or he would be arrested. SQUASH immediately put out a press release condemning the death: “Homeless Man Prevented From Squatting Dies” [SQUASH Campaign, 1 March 2013]
[Read More]
London: Four more s144 Defendants Walk Free!
This update is a few weeks old but still newsworthy. s144 refers to the clause which criminalised squatting in residential buildings in England and Wales.
Another four people have been found “Not Guilty” of the criminal offence introduced in September 2012. They were arrested at a building in Scrutton Street in March. After over six months on bail, their trial took place at Stratford in October.
[Read More]
Den Haag: Mayor prohibits demonstration route. Stop the criminalization of De Vloek!
This Saturday, De Vloek and its supporters will demonstrate against the planned eviciton and demolition of the social center in the Scheveningen harbor. The protesters want to march a route from the Kerkplein through the city along places such as the site of the now demolished squat the Blauwe Aanslag and the office of the Christian Democrats. Mayor of The Hague van Aartsen has banned the route of the demonstration, on the basis of fallacies and is criminalizing De Vloek.
About a month before the planned demonstration against the eviction and demolition of social center De Vloek, the city and the police were given a heads up. However, the city kept delaying its response and the official limits placed on the demonstration were not made known until Wednesday November 26. The demonstration will not be allowed to follow the planned route, and we will also not be allowed to assemble at the Kerkplein. The reason that they gave was that actions centered around De Vloek have an increased chance of disturbing the public order because people were arrested at earlier actions, such as the squatting action at the Pier. From these imposed limits, it is apparent that the mayor wants to put a definitive stop to all future demonstrations by De Vloek and their supporters. [Read More]
Russell Sq, London: (A)nti-Social Centre successfully resists eviction, then evicted following morning
Update 28/11, 8am: After an urgent call for support, bailiffs gained access and evicted the space.
Update 27/11: Thanks everyone for making today possible. It was a great success if not a bit of a spectacle 🙂 The new place is incredible and we want to have it up and running and filled with events as soon as possible. Watch this space!! Decent homes for all!!!
Callout 26/11: The Anti-Social Centre is re-occupied territory. A radical space that is home to community organizing, such as the Radical Housing Network counter-conference to MIPIM, Anti-Fascism, squat-network dinners, fundraisers for Zapatistas, No Borders, and more. [Read More]
Amsterdam: Living group and neighborhood center thrown out for some anti-squatter artists? Confuciusplein court case
On September the 13th we squatted the spaces on Confuciusplein 6-8 and 14 in Slotermeer, Amsterdam West. We transformed these dilapidated spaces into housing and a lively meeting spot for locals. Our Neighbourhood centre ‘Pluk van de Senecaflat‘ opened with a free shop, film screenings, food nights, story telling events and workshops for children. A large group of neighbours opened a teahouse.
Housing corporation Stadgenoot left the spaces empty for several years, but now they want to evict us. To do so, they found two artists to sign a dubious anti-squat contract. This is one of many examples of how housing corporations continue to behave more like speculators instead of fulfilling their obligations in social housing.
This Wednesday, December the 3rd at 15.00, we are going to court to claim our right to this city. People should have access to affordable housing in Amsterdam without waiting for 15 years. This city is not just a fancy party for yuppies, and housing corporations should get back to the task they were created for: Affordable housing. [Read More]
Utrecht (NL): Prinsesselaan threatened with eviction
In 2007 the former site of Wijkpost East, Prinsesselaan 20 in Utrecht was squatted. Since that time, there has been a unique live / work / care project for Utrecht, namely the Prinsesselaan. A living / residential care area where support, guidance and 24-hour care is given, along with a place where bicycles are recycled and workshops are given. We also have a neighbourhood garden.
[Read More]
Zaandam (NL): Cultural centre OVB evicted
This morning Botenmakerstraat 16 (OVB) in Zaandam was evicted by the special unit of the ME [riot police]. They took more than 2 hours to enter. Ultimately, there are three people arrested and at the station.
Warsaw: Police car set on fire in memory of Remi, killed by cops at Testet, by Queer Meinhof / FAI
From 325:
Last night (25/26 November), the first spark of fire that burns today in France, Greece and USA, illuminated the space under a car of the city-police, which was parked outside the police station in Mazowiecka street in Warsaw.
We’d chosen the target not by accident. [Read More]