Turin (Italy): Police attack Askatasuna social centre
A massive repressive operation took place on Friday 13 in Turin. 15 precautionary measures were notified at dawn, against university students, antieviction and notav struggles’ militants: 9 of them were put under house arrests. The social centre Askatasuna and the people’s space Neruda were raided, too. The operation is linked to Mayday 2017, when amongst the general bewilderment the police charged in order to prevent the social bloc from entering the demonstration’s conclusive square, out of fear of protests against confederal trade unions and the Democratic Party.
[Read More]
Dijon (France): Large refugee squat evicted
Yesterday (10/7/18) early morning French police, with assistance from border police evicted the XXL Squat in Dijon, where about hundred asylum seekers lived. During the eviction, twenty-four people were detained by the border police. The eviction was enforced despite of the ongoing negotiations with the property owner.
The building have been occupied since August 2016. Apart for providing home to many people, it also hosted a number of projects, including French language classes and legal assistance group, medical and social spaces.
[Read More]
Rotterdam (Netherlands): Squatting the Grey City
Squatting the Grey City is a book about the squatters movement in Rotterdam in the Netherlands from the 1970s to the present day.
Rotterdam has a rich and diverse history of squatting. As well as countless houses, many venues and other projects came from the movement. If you know where to look, the city is full of stories. This book will give you one version of this colourful past, from one squat researcher’s perspective. Read about everything from the Aktiekomittee Progastarbeiders to Zines, with loads of pictures and activist analysis in between.
Download pdf /epub.
London: Report back from TAA May
Temporary Autonomous Arts was in May determined to return to its roots as a squatted exhibition. A decrepit long term empty in Bow was transformed into a blank canvas by the TAA mob, who then were boosted after 24 hours notice after a rapid-response possession order requested them to attend High Court in Birmingham. Undeterred, a second building was snatched in North Woolwich and repurposed against the clock. The TAA opened as planned on the Wednesday to a splatter of spoken word,followed up by a blinding cabaret gig featuring public urination, wild drag anarchy from Jizmik Hunt and the body-positive monarchy-bashing of Glittasphxia.
Saturday things started turning sour, with a day of escalating violence and conflict between the squatters and locals over accusations of the graffing of a pie’n’mash shop and breakins by kids into thee building culminating with 20 roided-up cops turning up to face-off against the 60 or so mob holding the courtyard. The gigs were
cut short after the cops broke out the Criminal Justice Act and threatened to seize the sound system. Concerned for the safety of the artworks, equipment and liberty of the guests, the TAA crew elected to keep the music off and let the night deflate like a wet fart in a wet paper bag. Opinions are divided, with some people furious
that another building in London has been burnt for the sake of a “anarchohipster lollapallooza”, and others
arguing that the TAA crew made a tactical decision in a tight spot.
From Squatters of London Action Paper Issue 9 (pdf) – back issues here
Amsterdam: We Are Here at the Entrada 600 in Duivendrecht
7 july 2018, Amsterdam – Refugee collective We Are Here, who previously stayed in a squat in Amstelveen, took the unoccupied building on the Entrada 600 in Amsterdam-Duivendrecht.
The offices space was empty and unused. Unfortunately, we are forced to get shelter in this way, because otherwise we have to roam the streets. the BBB is overcrowded and has a waiting list and in the Havenstraat only people with a Dublin claim are welcome.
In addition, the Havenstraat is a former prison and that can be felt in the daily controls we must endure. Recently one of our members was arrested because he asked for food because of this diabetes and this was refused. We do not feel safe in such an environment and ask for 24/7 shelter.
There are municipal plans to realize this 24/7 for undocumented people, but that will certainly take until end of the year before it is realized. We would love work and rent a house ourselves.
We intend to live here quietly and build a good relationship with the neighborhood and offices around us. We would like to meet fellow residents who are always welcome to come and have a cup of coffee with us. [Read More]
Wassenaar: Huize Ivicke squatted
Wassenaar, july 5th 2018 – This week, the rapidly decaying mansion Huize Ivicke, at Rust en Vreugdlaan 2, was squatted. Built like a little palace – stripped by a real estate speculator.
His name is Ronnie van de Putte: a man with a remarkable reputation in the real estate world, notorious for speculating with A-locations and deliberately letting monuments rot away. Bever Holding, the real estate fund in which Ronnie van de Putte owns the majority of the shares, owns the mansion and lets it rot for years. It has therefore been given the appearance of a haunted house, which it is to some extent as a ‘letterbox’ for a range of Ronnie affiliates.
The sad fate of Huize Ivicke is a perfect example of speculation. Because the owner renounced his social responsibility for this special monument and the government seems incapable of changing this (1), we as a group of people looking for a house, squatted the mansion. With the help of friends and family we want to do some work around and on the house in the coming weeks and start a creative living-group here. By living in Huize Ivicke and taking the necessary care of it, we hope to save the monument from further decay. [Read More]
Catania (Italy): In solidarity with Studentato 95100
On Monday June 25, it was suddenly announced that the occupied student housing block in Catania (studentato 95100) would be evicted, on grounds of public order. People made barricades on the street and saw off the eviction threat.
The block was squatted in February 2018 after being empty for ten years. In the last six months the owner (Ursino Recupero) had made no attempt to contact the students, who have self-organised their accommodation since the university fails to provide it. As well as giving people a place to stay, the block has provided a study room, organised social events and hosted conferences on social movements, including the SqEK 2018 conference.
To respond to this unexpected threat, supporters of the student block have occupied a library which is also owned by Ursino Recupero at Monastero dei Bendettini.
Amsterdam: ADM starts courtcase against municipality
Today (June22), the residents of the cultural free-haven ADM summoned the Amsterdam municipality in ‘Kort Geding’ (=> interim proceedings). They are claiming that Amsterdam enforces the perpetual clause in the purchase contract and thus prevents the public- and social interests of Amsterdam from being damaged by hundreds of millions.
More background information:
The terrain was purchased by Chidda Real Estate LLC in 1997 with the proviso that the municipality of Amsterdam always has the first right of repurchase and that only an authentic shipyard can be established on the 42-hectare terrain.
[Read More]
Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): The Movement is Dead, Long Live… Reform!
This text was written during fall 2017 on the ZAD of Notre-Dame- des-Landes, France. Since then, the situation drastically changed when the government announced on January 17 th , 2018 that they are abandoning the airport project. It may seem obsolete to publish this after the “victory”. But, despite the importance this struggle has for me, I didn’t celebrate this victory. I am probably too suspicious and critical about what’s at stake and what’s hiding behind the decision.
In this difficult period for social struggles, the fight against the airport has become a kind of symbol against the capitalist onslaught, as the struggle to not lose in an ocean of defeats. So, trying a critical approach means often being confronted by a defensive reflex to protect an idealized vision. Oh well, here goes… [Read More]
Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): Intergalactic Week returns!
After the long awaited victory against the airport project, we are trying to lift ourselves out of the brutal spring, a season marked by two phases of evictions in which the government made sure to avenge the affront that the zad had represented for so many years. The massive police operations caused many injuries, the destruction of a part of the living spaces of the zad and a long military presence. But the state was forced to give up going any further and entirely eradicating our presence in this bocage. Resistance on the ground, solidarity elsewhere and the negotiation process resulted in a status quo that maintained of dozens of homes, common spaces and activities on most of the land held by the movement. Nevertheless, what we managed to preserve today could very quickly be attacked again, administratively, politically or militarily. Whilst the zad recovers from its wounds and recomposes itself, the work in the fields and the constructions resumes and we project ourselves towards the struggles of the next months. These however go beyond us and connect with others around the world. They concern the collective and respectful use of the land, the sharing of the commons, the questioning of nation-states and borders, the reappropriation of our habitats, the possibility of producing and exchanging free from the shackles of the market, forms of self-organization on territories in resistance and the right to live there freely …
[Read More]
Radar Online Agenda
London: Check out that A.S.S.
Squatters beware – there have been multiple cases in the last few weeks of people being arrested for burglary when squatting a place. With that in mind the Advisory Service for Squatters (A.S.S.) would like to remind people a few things to keep them safe if faced with arrest:
Good luck out there! Feed the pigeons!
From Squatters of London Action Paper Issue 9 (pdf) – back issues here
NFA Antifascists