Wassenaar: Huize Ivicke, Restoration Through Expropriation

By: fawda - May 13th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Instead of unconditionally gifting half a million euros of public money to Van de Putte’s property portfolio, Ivicke must be expropriated before it can be restored. Only then is its future secure.

The province of South-Holland pledged to pay 500,000 euros for Huize Ivicke’s restoration if the municipality of Wassenaar is unable to recover the costs from the owner, Ronnie van de Putte.

This amounts to yet another handout of public money to a parasitic financial firm.

The move comes after the municipality of Wassenaar placed an administrative order on van de Putte last November which supposedly compels him to complete Ivicke’s restoration by July, 2020. Van de Putte contested this order in court, but lost.

In the event that van de Putte does not comply with the administrative order, the municipality of Wassenaar said they will arrange for Ivicke’s restoration and send him the bill. A spokesperson for the municipality of Wassenaar described this scenario as “unlikely,” but past experience tells us otherwise. Ask Amsterdam, Sluis, Noordwijk, or Leiden. [Read More]

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The Hague: Short Stay? No Way! First week occupation summary

By: fawda - May 13th, 2020  Filed under: News

Here is a little recap of what happened in the first week of our campaign and occupation of the Waldeck Pyrmontkade 872 in The Hague. The aim is to create an overview of what we’ve done and why, and list our victories as well as the things we want to work on in the future.

Friday 1st of May
The first steps are made in the squatting of the building. There couldn’t be a better day!

Monday 4th of May
Before we could start our struggle against the building of Short Stay apartments it was necessary for us to occupy and keep the building on the Waldeck Pyrmontkade successfully. Preparations were made to prevent an immediate eviction by the police, as is often the case in The Hague, and a possible reaction on part of the owner.
At 9a.m. some sympathizers, with whom we had discussed the strategy beforehand, called the neighbourhood cop in our name, to inform them of our occupation. Faced with the impossibility to reach the neighbourhood cop we decided to postpone the announcement to the next day. [Read More]

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Hamburg: Alltuna squatted and evicted

By: fawda - May 10th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Alltuna (Alle tun Alles) on Blücherstraße 7-9 in Hamburg Altona has been squatted and evicted on May 9th. Three people have been arrested. Statement made during the occupation:

Welcome back to the map of the squatters! Besetzenhaha
Another world is possible!

By this we do not primarily mean a world without covid-19, but a world where people deal with it differently. In which our lives, our community as people, our health is at the center and not the profit of the richest.

We opened the Alltuna because we think another world is necessary and we just wanted to start with it. Because another world is just around the corner.

We start and no longer ask: Squatting rocks! Open the doors! We don’t ask if we are allowed to create space, because we really haven’t got anywhere with that in the last years. Except into exploitative tenancies, which are now afflicting the entire cultural life in the city! Everything that has been put together through decades of painstaking, unpaid work by various actors is at stake: Because of the rents. Be it the SKF, the Centro Social, the Gängeviertel, concert halls, small theaters, Infoladen or our own living space. If we had just asked the question of ownership earlier. [Read More]

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Berlin: On the closure of Kadterschmiede and our handling of open spaces

By: fawda - May 8th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Wednesday, March 25th

Our lawyer told us that he should pass on a telephone threat from the police to us. The content of the threat was that the cops would enter Rigaer94 if Kadterschmiede would not close officially. After a due to timepressure admittedly short discussion, we then announced on twitter and our website that we would not open that day.

Already at 8 p.m. there were about ten team cars of a cop unit in the next vicinity and at the Wedekindwache (cop station in the south of Friedrichshain) the technical unit provided heavy equipment. For a large part of the evening the area of Rigaer Strasse, between Zellestrasse and Dorfplatz, was occupied or sealed off by police. In front of our door the new BP-unit (Brennpunkt- und Präsenzeinheit /“Criminal Hotspot and Presence-Units“ [1]) was stationed again. The usual yellow press and massmedia had been informed and was present on the street from early on.

A few days earlier we had published and postered a text with the title “Self-organization in a state of emergency – Why we still consider open social spaces important”[2]. Though we still politically think it‘s the right thing to do, we took a shot in the dark in two aspects. Neither had we considered the reaction of our enemy in the form of the state, nor had we removed all the uncertainties among ourselves regarding hygiene issues. So, because of our lack of a wider discussion and analysis around the topic of opening our own space we also seemed unprepared for the repression on that Wednesday. We had fallen right into the trap we set ourselves, as we would not have been able to defend any decision we could have made collectively. [Read More]

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The Hague: Crush economic powers! Against the sale of the city!

By: fawda - May 7th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Short Stay, No Way!

Recently we occupied the building at Waldeck Pyrmontkade 872 in Den Haag-Zeeheldenkwartier. The ongoing corona crisis has not only exposed but also exacerbated the housing shortage and financial scarcity. The consequences of the crisis are certainly felt by us young adults.
The only things that are available to us are flex-contracts and temporary rents, which cause uncertainty and stress and offer no security.

At this time in particular, it is important for everyone to have a secure home. Especially women and LHBT+ young people, who are a target of patriarchal oppression and as a result often have lower incomes and precarious jobs, should have access to a safe and stable living situation. Even young people who have no choice but to enter into zero-hour contracts are now slaving in supermarkets and delivery services while their living situation is as precarious as their income. That is why we have taken action.

The property has been used for years by support organisations against domestic violence and for youth support. These organizations have moved because of the high rent. Now the property has been purchased by the Amsterdam investment fund RE:BORN real-estate. RE:BORN wants to transform this former office building into 30 luxury apartments, with a “short stay” construction. Short stay apartments are homes, where a tenant may stay for a maximum of six months. These apartments are therefore fully aimed at expats who are staying in The Hague for a short period of time. They often work in our city’s established multinationals and international organizations such as Shell, KLM, Total, Siemens, ICC, Europol and the numerous embassies. [Read More]

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Leipzig: Statement on the May 1st mock occupations

By: fawda - May 3rd, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

The occupations on May 1st in Ludwigstraße and in Großzschocher were mock occupations. Due to the Corona crisis, police repression and bans on larger solidarity demonstrations were to be expected. Therefore, the activists decided to choose this symbolic form of action to draw attention to the start of their campaign and to release corresponding forces and energies. One thing is clear: symbolic forms of action will not remain, the goal of the campaign is the actual creation of self-managed, non-commercial spaces through occupation.

Occupation is necessary because people are so far excluded from urban co-determination that their needs are not heard in urban politics. Just as radically as the real estate industry is taking over the city, people will take back their lives in the city. In every occupation, the city’s decision-makers and police are open to take the interests of the people into account or to evict them directly, thus making themselves the executive organ of a city policy of repression. [Read More]

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London: Squatters are people. Don’t evict them from safety

By: fawda - May 3rd, 2020  Filed under: News

In the wake of the global Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic everyone needs protection especially because it is critical to saving lives. The continued eviction of squatters and in some incidents renters puts everyone at risk.

But this is where we are. Abandoned and empty buildings matter more than the shared responsibility of keeping everyone safe. While the media is swirled with stories of rough sleepers being put up in hotels and hostels, the invisible homeless, the squatters are finding themselves on the streets due to evictions. During this dangerous pandemic, the police are teaming up with landlords to illegally evict squatters onto the street. During this dangerous pandemic when other evictions have been halted, the courts are still entertaining putting squatters onto the street. The state has taken the route of abandoning the well being of those under its protection including its own citizens. [Read More]

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UK: Evictions make us sick!

By: fawda - May 2nd, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Squat solidarity! This MayDay squatters from across the U.K. have come together to co-ordinate decentralised actions across the country to highlight our plight and address our needs. Both residential and commercial buildings have been occupied to provide housing for ourselves and the others left high and dry during this time of crisis, and banners have been dropped in support by squats not yet facing imminent eviction. Land has been taken to repurpose for clean open space and food, and food distribution is taking place to aid all who are struggling.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, emergency legislation was introduced and put a stay to all evictions for 90 days. However, it took just three weeks for the judges to surrender to the pressure from bailiffs, landlords and banks, and amend the law. Squatting cases will continue to be heard via phone, and bailiffs are now again smashing through our doors the way they always have – but this time we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and it’s scarier than ever before. [Read More]

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Call for Mayday actions

By: sisulscz - April 30th, 2020  Filed under: Communique

May 1st is well known as international workers day across the globe, but this year we want it to be known as a day where anyone who is sick and tired of capitalists and the state threatening their life can step up and fight back by any means necessary.

The Green Anti-capitalist Front (GAF) is calling for May 1st to be a day of action, where we can all be apart physically but united as one cause against the rich and the state.

These actions should be done to maximise the amount of damage inflicted upon the ruling class while staying safe and observing social distancing. Each action should be done safely and in small crews or alone. Use the hash tag #MayDayRevolt to show what you find on the day.
[Read More]

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London: Police officers assist business owner to carry out eviction in Hackney Wick

By: fawda - April 30th, 2020  Filed under: News

Occupants removed from the building despite ongoing pandemic.

Police officers assisted a business owner to carry out in eviction on Hackney Wick on 29 April, removing the building’s occupants despite government advice to “stay at home” due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The incident at 5 Prince Edward Road on 29 April is the latest in a string of evictions carried out since the UK’s lockdown measures were introduced on 23 March.

Evictions have carried on, despite the government committing to a “complete ban on evictions” on 18 March. [Read More]

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Basel: One year Elsi!

By: fawda - April 29th, 2020  Filed under: News

Since 11 April 2019, the houses at Elsässerstrasse 128-131 have been occupied. A lot has happened this year, a lot has been built, painted, talked, celebrated, quarrelled, loved and above all lived. We were able to experience great encounters, conversations but also important criticism. We hope that the Elsi will be able to welcome you again soon, until then we will bring you a small update!

Update about the squat
All good things come in four – that is our motto. Because it worked. In the end, the fourth squatting action was successful. The buildings have now been blusting for a year, with living space and an autonomous centre. At the moment, the monument protection authorities and the government council are clarifying whether the houses should be put under protection. We very much hope for a positive decision, because it would not only preserve one of the oldest rows of houses in St. Johann, but also a community and an exchange platform. [Read More]

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Zürich: Hands off Juch! It won’t be evicted for the time being!

By: fawda - April 26th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Thanks to political pressure and solidarity from various sides, we have succeeded in preventing the plans of the property management to evict the Juch area, which are hardly to be surpassed in their lack of transparency and arbitrariness, for the time being. We are pleased about this and thank you for all your support. However, this is only a one-month postponement until May 22, 2020. The reasons for the initial secrecy on the part of the city regarding the plans for the area may have become obvious now.

In a press release issued by the Social Department of the City of Zurich on 24.4.2020, it is stated: “Due to the cramped conditions on the building site, the general contractor (HRS Real Estate) commissioned by ZSC is interested in renting the neighbouring site (Juch site) from the city for around 2.5 years until the end of construction for building site installations.

Two and a half years of building site installations instead of living and cultural space is the worst joke we have heard in a long time. [Read More]

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