Zaragoza: Communiqué of the Kike Mur assembly

The first thing we want to do is to thank all the collectives and individuals who have shown us their support and commitment in defending the political and social project that is being carried out within the walls of the former Torrero Prison. We do not have words to thank you for the wave of solidarity that has been generated.

That the self-styled “governments of change” undertake an offensive against the liberated spaces is not something new, in Barcelona there are countless squatted spaces that have been evicted with the approval of the government of Ada Colau, in Madrid there are also liberated spaces pending evictions and the scourge of evictions continues to spread like wildfire, all under the government of Manuela Carmena. In A Coruña the “government of change” of Marea Atlántica ordered exactly a year ago the eviction of the CSO A Insumisa, in which there was an unprecedented repression with a large number of injuries and arrests, one of which was imprisoned for several days. [Read More]

Poznan: Call for support from Rozbrat

Does Rozbrat have problems? Rozbrat has friends! Rozbrat stays! [we need your help] Since Rozbrat’s land is about to be auctioned off we’ve started a support campaign which coincides with the 25th birthday of our squat coming later this year. In May the debt collector Bartosz Guzik estimated the value of Rozbrat at 6m zlotys (1,5m euro). The auction might be announced at any given moment. Poznan authorities haven’t made any statements although they would be able to take over the land which was nationalised after World War 2, then it was illegally appropriated during reprivatisation. But we know we’re not alone and many people can’t imagine Poznan without Rozbrat! We will regularly be posting pictures of our friends! What can you do? Write down “Rozbrat Zostaje!” or “Rozbrat Stays!” on a piece of paper or say why Rozbrat is important to you and why it should stay, take a picture or make a video, send it to us and post it on your page. We need your support! Rozbrat – we were here, we are here and we will be here! [Read More]

Bern (Switzerland): Brunnmattstrasse 46a squatted

Today, Saturday 8 June, Brunnmattstrasse 46a in Bern was squatted.

In one world

which is characterized by exploitation and oppression,
where everything is determined by money,
where people work their whole lives to make a living,
in the companies, through the oppression of employees create immense profits,
in which there is an indifference towards the exploitation and destruction that is taking place by these very companies all over the world,
in which socially constructed norms prevail,
in which it is difficult for people to escape the striving for social and financial success. [Read More]

Zürich (Switzerland): Kolibriweg 5 squatted

During the night of 7 june 2019 we occupied the house at Kolibriweg 5 in Zürich. There are too many empty houses in this city and at the same time rents can no longer be paid and many people have and find hardly or no roof over their heads. We have decided not to take these conditions any further and to become active.
Shortly after the occupation, the first cops appeared. We were asked to communicate and then threatened for a long time, lied and tried to put us under pressure.
We have not consistently responded to this game and have decided not to leave the house and defend the occupation. After long and tough negotiations, the cops had to leave again. Negotiations with the owner are sought. From now on we are looking forward to a solidarity visit. Further updates will follow. [Read More]

Poznan: One of the oldest European squats calls for solidarity in face of eviction threat

Rozbrat, an anarchist squatted space in Poland, has called for solidarity in face of eviction threat.

Rozbrat is located in the western Poland city of Poznan. The property was squatted in 1994 and since then it became an alternative politics and cultural centre. It also serves as a home for over 20 people, and is both temporary and permanent shelter for homeless people.

The principal idea behind the space is grassroots organising and self-governing. It is a home to the local Anarchist Federation branch and Food not Bombs among others. The activists involved in Rozbrat have been very much part of the local and beyond projects, including Anarchist Black Cross, the Free Caucasus Committee and Workers Initiative Trade Union. The squat has also been hosting many grassroots initiatives, such as the anarchist library and publishing house, the printing workshop, self-education initiatives, bicycle workshop, a sports club, and a rehearsal space for musicians. Over the years, thousands of events have been organised at Rozbrat, including concerts, exhibitions, theatre plays, lectures, seminars, meetings and workshops. [Read More]

Zurich: House occupied on Bachtobelstrasse

A house on the Bachtobelstrasse 102 in Zurich was occupied on 28 May. We ain’t moving and we would like to thank all those who came by or otherwise gave us solidarity.

The house is still under threat. The so-called owner wants to demolish it. We do not and will not accept this.

If you want to support us, please contact ambach [at] tutanota [dot] com or just pass by.

Wir bleiben alle!

Article on Barrikade, translated by PazTrez

Catalonia: Police persecution, so normal

The police station of the Mossos d’Esquadra of Banyoles demonstrate their commitment to the repression against the anarchists. At the moment they act under the pseudonym of traffic police but make it clear who they are trying to intimidate by their worst gunmen on duty… as it is not pure chance that they stop and threaten the same person 3 times in a week. This same comrade also suffers persecution by secret-police officers in Barcelona…so clumsy that it´s difficult not to recognize them, as for example last Tuesday, May 28th (15.40h; c/Nació; Clot).

One of the gunmen from Banyoles cops was already known to us as he once pointed his gun at our comrade, 7 years ago, with no reason in a traffic control (exit AP-7 Girona Nord) and then threatened to kill him! Logically he refused to give his badge number then but now threatens to fine the comrade between 600 and 30.000 Euro for not having a Spanish residence and driving a car registered in his country of origin in the EU… (anything is possible with the Gag Law!).
Also recently the cops appeared several times at his home (a house in the countryside) which gives the suspicion that he is being investigated “at ground” to fuck up his life again after evicting his squat one year ago (Kan Bici).

Being consistent with your ideas can be dangerous in this country already that even the “alternative” bars are full of secret-cops and police “out of service” to control what cooks and talks, what consume and who knows whom.

This is how free we can feel until the opposite is proved…
800 reasons to rebel against all domination and authority!

Health & Anarchy
A.C.A.B.
See you at Agro-Crust IX (11th to 14th July 2019)

Trespass [ES version]

Hannover (Germany): Squatting action at Klagesmarkt

On Wednesday evening a house at the Klagesmarkt was squatted. At one point 250 people took part in the occupation. The eviction by the police took place in the early morning hours of the following day.

In a world of rising rents and a lack of affordable housing, people have decided to squat a house that has been empty for at least four years. The shop space on the ground floor of the house was to be used for social and cultural activities to enrich the neighbourhood.

A varied programme with concerts and other cultural events was planned for the duration of the occupation. On Thursday, the neighbourhood was to be invited to develop joint plans for the use of the house with coffee and cake. Unfortunately, this idea could not be put into practice, as the owners preferred to file a criminal complaint and to have the house evicted by the police during the night. The squatters offered to talk about possible usage options but the owners rejected; apparently further vacancy is desired instead.
[Read More]

Bern (Switzerland): Paint for Fabrikool

The eviction of Fabrikool is far from forgotten. With this action, we show our solidarity with the Fabrikool, all evicted, existing and future free spaces.

Therefore we left a painting with the content: “FABRIKOOL BLIeBT KOOL” (Fabrikool stays cool) at Neubrückstrasse on the evening of 31 May 2019.

[Read More]

Freiburg (Germany): Squatted former police station evicted after 45 hours

Eviction of the F52 in broad daylight +++ 25 arbitrary controls +++ Masked policemen jog through child day-care centre +++ State government favours misappropriation and speculation with batons

“Attention, attention. This is the first, second and final announcement…” With these words, the head of police operations, Harry Hochuli, started the eviction of Fehrenbachallee 52. There was no willingness to negotiate, the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg had already filed a criminal complaint in the evening the occupation started. We criticize the ruthless actions of the Freiburg head of operations, also in the face of the fact that the adjacent kindergarten would have been empty an hour later. The children could easily have been spared the traumatizing appearance of a masked and helmeted riot squad. Now the spacious property was returned to its inglorious state of vacancy.

The demand for affordable living space and self-organised district centres continues to grow, and not only in the western part of the Stühlinger district. We still demand the construction of a large rest house for people with refugee experience and more than ever it is necessary to fight for anti-fascist district centres and social perspectives through direct action. [Read More]

Wassenaar: Living in a Haunted Palace

King of Slums

Early in July 2018, the rapidly decaying historical manor house and the surrounding wooded park Ívicke at Rust en Vreugdlaan 2 in Wassenaar were squatted. Built as a little paradise — degraded to a real estate speculator’s plaything. His name is Ronnie van de Putte: a man with an eye-catching reputation in the world of real estate, infamous for speculating with prime locations and deliberately letting cultural heritage rot away for decades. In the seventies and eighties he acquired the nickname the ‘King of Slums’ and ‘Van de Beerputte’ (‘beerput’ is Dutch for ‘cesspool’). Van de Putte made a fortune buying real estate and reselling it for profit, but he never built or developed anything. For decades, Bever Holding (the real estate fund held by Ronnie and his wife Ria) has left a trail of slums and urban voids throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. Among Van de Putte’s most noteworthy achievements are the total deterioration of a former monastery in Zeeland (abandoned for thirty years) and inviting the collapse of an old horse stable in Noordwijk, creating quite a stir in March 2018, after the place burnt for the third time and the owner still refused to clean up the mess. Also his “Void of Palace” (where the Palace Hotel was located) and the Vuurtorenplein are an ongoing subject of conflict between Van de Putte and the municipality of Noordwijk. In Leiden, a little further south, Ronnie played the same game with the ‘Void of Van de Putte’, right in front of the train station. In 2005, during the kick-off of the nationwide Woonstrijd! Action Tour (‘Woonstrijd’ means ‘Fight for Housing’), the void and the neighbouring office building were squatted and turned into Vrijplaats Multipleks († 2015). Due to clerical errors, the municipality failed to expropriate the building from Van de Putte, which, in 2010, resulted in councilman Van Woensel (VVD: the liberal party) acquiescing to the ‘King of Slums’ and rewarding him handsomely for twenty years of deceiving the municipality: to the tune of 17,9 million euros! [Read More]

Netherlands: JaKra! squatting yearbook 2018 released

JaKra! is initiated by KSU Den Haag (The Hague Squatting Info Centre). In this book project we would like to look back on a number of developments and events in the past year, together with squatters and housing activists in different places.
It turns out that squatting is still necessary and useful — as some of the stories in the first JaKra! issue (squatting yearbook 2018) demonstrate. Housing is a necessity. There needs to be space for autonomy. Protests against speculation, social degradation, and miserable urban regeneration are necessary. We must fight for an inclusive city with sufficient affordable housing and non-commercial places to go out and meet people.
By sharing some of our successes and setbacks on an annual basis, we hope to contribute to creating more intercity involvement and solidarity between squatters and housing activists in the Netherlands and beyond and to inspire more people to become active themselves, helping to build an effective movement for the housing struggle.
In the Netherlands JaKra! #1 will soon be available for 5 euros in the subversive bookshops Rosa (Groningen), the Opstand (Den Haag) and the Fort van Sjakoo (Amsterdam) and soon also available to download. The book is bilingual, Dutch-English. [Read More]