Johannesburg (South Africa): Victory for Wynberg residents

Direct action at the Johannesburg High Court forces judge to issue a decision: No case for an eviction order. But the judge bowed to the developers by allowing the proceedings to move to oral testimony from witnesses.

Dozens of children from Wynberg took a day off from school today [Friday April 29, 2005] so that they could join their parents at the Johannesburg High Court. Having rejected the developers’ patronizing attempt to buy them off with R500,000 ($85/person), the residents arrived at court early this morning expecting the judge to announce whether or not he had decided to evict the Wynberg residents from their homes. They were let down when the judge phoned their attorney and told him that there would be no decision today. [Read More]

Athens, Greece: LK37 squat attacked by fascists

On the 19th of April, before the beginning of a film show in Lelas Karayanni squat that was celebrating its 17th anniversary with a 2-days festival, a gang of fascists, armed with knives, attacked and tried to invade, throwing petrol bombs to cause fire to the building.

The attack was repelled. During the scuffles outside the squat, two comrades were stabbed by the fascist thugs of the state. Minutes after, the area was surrounded by riot and civil police.

This attack to an open political event is a provocative escalation in a series of fascist assaults that have taken place the last months, against political and social spaces, antiauthoritarian comrades and immigrants. They’re nothing else but assaults by the state itself. They’re part of a wider repressive project with the purpose to terrorize the people engaged in the social-class struggle and destroy the self-organized spaces. Where the state can’t let its mechanisms act directly, the fascist gangs are called to take action, free of any restriction that the official authorities have. In any case, the fascist thugs and their bosses, the state, will always find us ready to confront them. With solidarity as our weapon, we will defend massively, collectively and with every means not only our space, but every space of social and class resistance as well. We will always be in the streets, together with all the people who fight against the state and capitalist brutality, against nationalism and racism, sending the fascists vampires back into their holes from where the state has dug them out.

BACK OFF VAMPIRES. GO ON COMRADES !
for freedom, anarchy and communism

SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION, LELAS KARAYANNI 37, TUESDAY APRIL 26, 17:30

Go to the L.K.37 squat website.

comrades from the occupied territory of L.K.37, Athens, Greece

Grenoble, France: Demonstration against the eviction of “Les 400 couverts” squatted street, on april 30th

30 TH OF APRIL 2005 / DEMONSTRACTION AGAINST THE EVICTION OF LES « 400 COUVERTS » SQUATTED STREET IN GRENOBLE

This is an invitation for a gigamega support demonstration for the threatened squatted street, the « 400 couverts » in grenoble.

30TH OF APRIL – MANIFESTA – MEETING POINT 1.30 PM IN THE 400 COUVERTS STREET.

Since a few months, the squatted street « les 400 couverts » have launched a campaign of resistance against their eviction.

The « 400 couverts » is a little street located in Grenoble city centre, squatted for over 3 years, the 400 Couverts houses 20 people permanently, a public space dedicated to free activities (debates, gigs, projections, meeting space used by various groups), including a free library, a garden, a home-made outdoor baking-oven, as well as more or less successful experiments (garden roof, vegetable plot, compost, organic pharmacy, free hardware base). All these spaces and activities were set up independently and autonomously, without any institutional incentives and hardly any money. The « 400 couverts » is one of the active basis of grenoble’s squatting, anti-capitalist,anti-authoritarian orfeminist initiatives and actions.

The owner of the buildings, the Socialist Party city council of grenoble is threatening to evict them since a year.

[Read More]

France: Account of coordinated inter-squat direct actions supporting the “400 couverts” in Grenoble

COORDINATED INTER-SQUAT DIRECT ACTIONS
IN FRANCE SUPPORTING LES 400 COUVERTS

FEBRUARY 25TH 2005

GRENOBLE, DIJON, SAINT-ETIENNE, THONON-LES-BAINS, BESANÇON, PARIS, TOULOUSE, LYON, REIMS, MONTPELLIER, NANTES, ALES, STRASBOURG, LA ROCHELLE, RENNES, GENÈVE, NEULLY SUR MARNE AND OTHER CITIES …

OCCUPATIONS, BANNER-RELEASES, WALLINGS, RUBBLE DROPPING, DEMONSTRATIONS, OPENINGS, CONFRONTATIONS OF REPRESENTATIVES?

ACCOUNT OF THE COORDINATED ACTIONS PROTESTING AGAINST SQUAT EVICTIONS IN FRANCE AND SUPPORTING THE 400 COUVERTS ALLEY IN GRENOBLE.

************************************************************************
contact in Grenoble : hommage_olivier_noblecourt [at] no-log [dot] org

1) INTRODUCTION TO THE FRENCH SQUAT MOVEMENT ; PRESENTATION OF THE 400 COUVERTS SQUAT AND THE GRENOBLE BACKGROUND

2) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE VARIOUS ACTIONS AND LINKS FOR PICTURES

3) HOW TO SEND PROTEST LETTERS AND FAXES TO SUPPORT THE 400 COUVERTS AGAINST THE EVICTION…

————-

[Read More]

Goiania (Brazil): Violent eviction on february 16th

VIOLENT EVICTION IN GOIANIA, BRAZIL

A large military policy operation with 2,500 men has started this morning (February 16, 2005) for the eviction of the land occupation Sonho Real (Real Dream) in the city of Goiânia, Brazil. Two people got killed, over 800 people got arrested and several people are wounded (five were very seriously wounded). Among the arrested, two Indymedia volunteers, one from Goiânia and one from Indymedia New York.

The occupation started in may 2004 in an area which has been abandoned for years and quickly gathered 3,000 families. In January, Justice ordered the eviction of the families and since then police have been terrifying the families with death threats and sudden attacks. In February 11, police showed up suddenly and shot gas and concussion bombs and fired rubber bullets against the people. One child got hit by a concussion bomb. On February 15, in another attack, police shot bombs and fired with guns. Two people got hurt. After pressure from social movements and human rights groups, state of Goiás Governor Marconi Perillo committed himself not to send police to evict people in a violent way (you can hear his commitment in this recorded audio < http://www.midiaindependente.org/pt/blue/2005/02/307719.shtml>). Today’s attack and the so far confirmed death of two people showed he did not stick to his words.

[Read More]

Portugal: New squat in Setubal

the comrades write to squat [at] squat [dot] net:‘A new house has been squatted in Setubal. It is a huge old house, wich has been abbandoned for enough time to be squatted, but not enough to fuck it! There are currently two “assumed” squats on the city beeing that the first already has 4 years of existence. Yet there are dozens more of other houses squated, mainly by imigrants.

…there are pleanty more, and when they least expect, we show up!’

send your greetings to zaragata [at] portugalmail [dot] pt

[squat!net]

Portugal: New squat in Lisbon

the squatter write:

‘A new house has been squatted in Lisbon. two years after the evicition of the casa encantada da praça de espanha and after inumerous failed attempts a new squat has been opened by a number of collectives working together. The building is a an ancient high school that was owned by a charity insitution and is now in the hands of a private that is waiting for the city hall approval his project to then sell the house for luxury apartmentes. among the activities already planned are Physical exercise and Kung Fu classes, cinemas and restaurant, a cabaret, etc… as well as providing working and meeting space for numerous collectives acting on different subjects. The Adress of the squat is Rua do Passadiço nº 26 Lisboa, tube station avenida, and everyone is invited’

send your greetz to: rbannihil [at] hotmail [dot] com

[squat!net]

 

Grenoble, France: A Minatec’s crane has been occupied on monday december 13th

Since 8 o’clock this morning [monday decembrer 13th, 2004], a group is occupying a Minatec’s building site’s crane, in order to interrupt the construction for a day. The occupiers, supported by demonstrators on the ground, have unrolled a banner against nanotechnologies (« here the industry of totalitarianism ») and distributed some tracts to the passers-by, calling them to join them fast.

Over with Minatec (before it starts)
…or why we’re climbing up Minatec’s cranes while they’re building it.

Minatec will be, provided nothing unexpected happens, Europe’s most important research, teaching and implementation center on nanotechnologies. It seems that most people are bound to ignore to some extent how much social and urban harms due to the existing Grenoble’s technopolis are bound to get worse: creation of an Isère Silicon Valley, fast increase of rents and trafic jams, soaring prices, mass arrivals of executives drawing away the poors to the suburbs… However, local authorities keep putting forward the fact that « this future european innovation center, designed by people involved in research and teaching, as well as local authorities, is already internationally famous1. » But, politically, socially, what does this Minatec project imply?

[Read More]

New squat in Belgrade!

The comrades write:

Hi !

After we got kicked by junkies from the last squat in Dobracina street, we squatted a new building in Kralja milutina 18. The website is http://www.kudruc.co.sr/

The new squat is better then the old one, and we have electricity, water, and some program. Although most ppl come to drink and get high. So i think its a gathering place of a new activism here in Serbia. We are next to caffe called Dzkc, in the centre of the city, and next to us live some roma pple they squatted the building next to us too. So if u wish to come to sleep,to do the workshop or eat for free you are welcome, just send an email before u come, that would be nice at :
kudruc [at] yahoogroups [dot] com [Read More]

Dead end of the Klizma squat

The last plans for the squat Klizma was to accommodate all guests at the anarchist festival “Black Petrograd-04”. This turned out to be too complicated. During the week before the festival the house was daily raided by local cops. Some people staid there, but only at night time, and it was not possible to leave anything at the squat.

Beside the local cops, the squat was already widely known amongst petersburg nazis. While the squat existed nazis often got beaten by antifascists, specially near Narvskaja metro station (the nearest metro to the squat). A few days before the anarchist festival the squatters were treatened by an attack from nazis, but most of them believed that it was just the usual rumors.

7th November 2004 10 drunk nazis attaced the squat, but couldn’t enter. The squatters fought them at the entrance. The nazis where burned by Molotov coctails and boiling water. One squatter got injured to his face by a broken bottle.

[Read More]

New Squat in Budapest

On Friday, 30th October squatters occupied Centrum, formerly the Uttoro Aruhaz (?pioneer shopping mall?), a vast former supermarket in the centre of Budapest. Teams of people connected water and power, built kitchens and loungerooms, and redecorated walls that were covered in 1980s porn with art, posters, and slogans in Hungarian, English, Spanish and Italian. An exhibition of found objects from the space includes transparencies of communist propaganda and ancient safety messages. Days of cleaning were followed by evenings of intense discussion. Within a week the space was converted into an infoshop, cafe, cinema, gallery, freeshop, library and residence. The building has been here since the end of the 19th century and was a supermarket from that time until 2001, since then it has been empty. Budapest squatters are, in part, campaigning for their right to housing. There are many abandoned buildings in Budapest and 30,000 people are homeless; with winter approaching the lack of housing is life-threatening. In addition the squatters are working to create a social and cultural space and a place to organise established projects such as food not bombs, indymedia, and other cultural and political collectives. Centrum squat opened its doors to the public on Sunday, 7 November with a cafe, music performance, and screening of films about squatting and the history of Budapest as well as exhibitions about the building and other vacant properties. With a warm reception from neighbours and the community the occupiers had high hopes of staying in the space. Many representatives of mainstream and independent media were invited to the opening and the squatters made the nightly news and front-page news in both major Budapest newspapers with very positive stories about the opening of a much needed cultural centre.

[Read More]

Squatted tent city in Tokyo, Japan

ENOA-RU is a barter caf in Yoyogi park, Tokyo, that prefer to get some stuff,food,clothes,rather than pay money,and there are many pictures on display are painted at the painting workshop( take place every Tuesdays).

Yoyogi park is one of the biggest parks in Tokyo. About 300 people live there,and put up blue huts and tents for their own lives. Japanese society often calls us “Homeless people”, thought I think we are like squatters. I mean some Yoyogi park people live here by choice.

Yoyogi park people create their own life and their own work. Japanese society conspires against Homeless people and actively seeks to displace. Squatting is illegal in Japan and squatters are treated as “problem people”. In any event, the police can remove them.

I think Yoyogi life and work is a worthwhile and fascinating facet of contemporary culture. That is to say, capitalist society created the need for the Yoyogi park community. So we should conserve Yoyogi park people.

Misako Ichimura

tabitabitocotom [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] jp

Misako Ichimura

 

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