Amsterdam: ADM court cases update

Verdicts in 2 most important court cases postponed till July 4th 2017.

The verdicts in the appeal of the ‘in depth’ court case (Chidda’s versus ADM) and the verdict in the ‘short’ court case (Chidda’s versus Municipality of Amsterdam) are both postponed till (at least) July 4th. 2017
In the appeal of the ‘in depth’ court case we have tried last minute to bring in evidence (deriving from the recent appeal court case (Chidda’s versus ADM) about the permit issuing for our XIX birthday festival. In this case, which we won, the court ruled that we should be regarded as the holders of the ADM terrain, since we act as if we ‘re the owners and because of the fact that children are born and raised here, that we build our own roads and that we generate our own electricity, through our 200 solar panels, but on June 9th. the court told us that they won’t take this evidence into account. For now it’s unknown when the court is giving their verdict, somehow it seems logical if this date will be July 4th. 2017…

The verdict in the ‘short’ court case is now due to be given on July 4th.
In both court cases the Chidda’s (heirs of Bertus Lüske) are trying to get us evicted. [Read More]

Vitoria-Gasteiz (Euskadi): Let’s Defend Errekaleor!

On the 18th of May, employees of the electricity company Iberdrola came to cut of electricity to the squatted Errekaleor neighbourhood in Gasteiz (In Spanish; Vitoria), Euskadi. The employees were accompanied by dozens of riot cops. This could well be the start of a campaign to evict the squats in Errekaleor. After the action a wave of solidarity started. On the third of June there will be a demo in Gasteiz.

Yesterday the City Council of Vitoria assured that it will implement the “recommendation” of the General Secretariat of the Plenary to establish public lighting in the ‘squatter’ district of Errekaleor again, but has also stated that it will also take into account the “safety” motives that motivated the cut of the electricity. The city council ordered to cut off electricity in the first place and city authorities declared once again that they have every intention to evict the squats in Errekaleor. [Read More]

Squatting: the urban space as a common good

London_squatters_outside_the_Mayfair“Housing is a need, not a privilege”, “Housing for people, not for profit”. Banners with slogans like these hang from windows in any number of European cities. Across Europe, increasing social inequality is making some urban spaces inaccessible to those who used to inhabit them. Gentrification, corporatization and so-called “urban regeneration” projects are leading to the demolition of social and accessible housing, replaced by unaffordable apartments. This leads to the increased eviction and displacement of tenants from their homes and their relocation to the suburbs and peripheries.

Houses, once owned by councils or their occupants, have become investment opportunities for large corporations. With up to 200,000 living spaces intentionally kept vacant in the UK, houses are being stripped of their social value and becoming objects to secure the elites’ wealth. Workers in precarious positions, families, low wage households and students are being displaced or made homeless, while surrounded by vacant properties. [Read More]

Berlin: Second night of anti-state violence in Friedrichshain

20170528_Friedrichshain_BerlinThis Saturday night, May 28, after a film screening, activists started digging a ditch across Liebig Street in Friedrichshain. The goal was to stop police cars and other undesirable traffic on this road, which builds the Dorfplatz at the crossing with Rigaer Street.

The ditch was the pretext for two Riot Police vans to take position on the spot. After a while, they suddenly attacked some neighbours, sitting in front of a house. In the same moment, more two units rushed in the street and tried an assault on houseprojekt Rigaer94. Crazy pigs started beating everybody they could grab. But very fast, neighbours and chaoten began throwing stones against officers.

Three more Riot Police vans arrived with high speed, but they could not handle on the small road. Stones were coming from everywhere, some pigs were neither able to leave their car nor were others to find a safe space on the street. This lead to a panic of this unit, their commanding van was damaged and escaped. Some vans tried to flee without their crew, others tried to carry away the arrested five people. In the end the helicopter arrived again and 65 cops had to leave the scene. [Read More]

Berlin: Rigaer Street sends aggressive solidarity to GARE & everybody resisting state oppression

Rigaerstrasse_soli_banner_Gare_squatWhen some people learned about the recent trouble to Gare Squat in Exarchia (Athens), they decided on Friday evening 26/05, to hang a banner in Rigaer Street, Friedrichshain (Berlin). After some minutes, Riot Police and Undercover Agents arrived at the scene and stole the banner. Meanwhile more people had gathered in nearby streets and ambushed a cruising Police vehicle with a rain of stones.
Soon more police was alerted to Rigaer Street, which is named a Dangerzone in official announcements. But also more people came to protect the area and started throwing stones on cops.
More Anti Riot Units and a helicopter emerged and took a threatening position in front of the squat Rigaer 94. They did not find anyone because rioters left quickly.
Now the mainstream media and the scumbags from political parties will scream their never ending story about the dramatic anarchist violence in this area. But we know, the war has already begun and, infected by the virus of freedom, we are going to build lawless areas in their cities of surveillance.
Let us kick out police and their friends. [Read More]

Athens: Announcement from Gare squat. Call for vigilance against the mafia branch of repression

Gare_squat_Kallidromiou_74_AthensYesterday, Wednesday, May 24th, Gare squat was the target of organized thugs. At midday, during clashes with MAT forces around Exarchia Square, there was a confrontation of protesters with a shopkeeper who tried to prevent a barricade-defense being set up against cops. This particular shopkeeper is known in the neighborhood of Exarchia as being connected with circles of protection rackets, prostitution and drugs, and with state security. A group from an adjacent movement space rushed to defend him. The incident with a portion of those present athte barricade, with this group has been the reason for GARE to attribute responsibility for these events as a whole.

This particular group has been denounced in open movement processes in the recent past by a multitude of collectives, for authoritarian attempts and military-style enforcement against self-organized efforts. The group supposedly acts on behalf of movement spaces and forms. But these, although they have been called upon to denounce the actions of this group, are silent instead.

Immediately after the incident, this specific group along with another bunch of thugs gathered menacingly outside the GARE squat. This larger collection included members of gangs who sell protection to the area’s shops, and who have been involved in attacks and injuries against radicals in the past. After they all had gone, later some of the original problematic group came to our assembly and said they would turn against our squat if we do not identify and deliver to them within 24 hours the people who confronted them at the events earlier in the square. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Refugee collective We Are Here wins court case and can stay in the Vluchtlumumba till 3 july

20170409_Amsterdam_Wij_Zijn_Hier_Vlucht_LumumbaYesterday, the Somali group of We Are Here won the court case against the State of the Netherlands with regard to their stay at Florijn 8-11 in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. The authorities ordered the immediate eviction of the ‘Vluchtlumumba’, which they started to inhabit on 9 April 2017. However, their request to stay until the end of the Ramadan has been granted by the Court of Amsterdam.

The group consists of 20 men who have been in the Netherlands for a long time. Some of them have been here for up to 20 years, without the possibility to go back, or to lead a normal life in The Netherlands. After being evicted from a previous building last year, they were on the street for four months. As many of them have various health problems and as they needed more time to find another place, the group decided not to leave the building as ordered, but demanded to be allowed to stay until 3 July. [Read More]

Setúbal (Portugal): Stop Eviction of COSA Squat

Bulletin from C.O.S.A. in struggle. Gathering at May 27 in Setúbal, Portugal.


[Read More]

Thessaloniki: Call for Solidarity

20170523_skg_ThessalonikiLast summer the Squat Orfanotrofio in Thessaloniki was evicted and demolished by the Greek government. One commerade faces repressions now for the squating alone, standing at court for all of us, on the trial on the 31.05.2017. We call for solidarity.

The story begins with the squatting of the Orfanotrofeio in December 2015. Thousands of migrants have been declared illegal overnight and are stuck on Greek territory. Within a months they were also displaced from Idomeni, an massive self-made and to a great extent self-managed settlement near the border with the Rep of Macedonia. They were moved to isolated camps throughout the country, under the surveillance of the army and the NGOs.

Those of us who had been visiting Idomeni frequently during the summer of 2015 had seen a wall being built in front of our eyes, people practically living in the mud, being beaten up by the police, giving birth in offhand tents, burning anything they could find from the ruble for some heat in the freezing cold, being moved around from town to town and from camp to camp, in buses that would just show up and then disappear, being constantly stopped for pointless checks in the middle of nowhere on their way to the border. If when they made it to the border, they were often pushed back to Athens, where many of them fell into the hands of smugglers and even organ harvesting mafias. [Read More]

Bochum: Cops threaten to evict squat on Herner Str. 131

squatbodemo_TagX_BochumIn Bochum, Germany there is a growing solidarity with the people who squatted an empty building in the Herner Str 131. Police authorities are not so amused. They threaten to evict the building. Activists ask people to be ready for eviction alerts. A demo is planned and decentral solidarity actions are appreciated.

On the 19th of May a group of people squatted an empty building at the Herner Str 131 in Bochum, Germany. The cops came to the house but did not interfere. Over the weekend there was a lot of contact with neighbours and supporters. The activists organised a barbeque party in their garden and lots of people came to discuss the occupation. Apart from places to live, the squatters want to establish a social center in the building.

The tenanst association in Bochum published a support message, saying that more than 7000 apartments are still empty in the German city. They continued their message by saying that people with low wages have more and more problems to find an affordable place to live and that half of the refugees are still living in refugee shelters (lager). The tenants association concluded their message by saying that they wish the owner and the police will not evict the squatters and instead should talk with the squatters. [Read More]

Bochum: New building squatted

20170519_Hernerstraße_131_BochumParallel to the “reclaim the city!” night dance demo an empty building on the Herner street 131 (Herner Straße) in Bochum, Germany was squatted tonight.

In a statement at Linksunten Indymedia the squatters wrote that they want to establish a social center and living space in the building. The first floor of Herner Street 131 will be used for the social center and the floors above will be used by people to live.

Like many buildings in Bochum, the building was empty for years. At the same time the rents in the city go up and there is almost no space for noncommercial cultural and political projects. With this occupation the squatters resist aginst the capitalist exploitation logic, which only allows buildings to be used when its profitable. Instead of this logic we want to use the building self-organized and orientated to the needs of the people.

Although the cops were at the back of the house, the squatters tweeted at 10:40pm tonight that they don’t think that the cops will evict them tonight. There is a great atmosphere there right now. If people want to support they are welcome to come to Bochum. [Read More]

Denmark: Wave of raids and arrests in Copenhagen

arna17mAt 6 am yesterday morning cops raided 10 addresses in Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the buildings that was raided was Bumzen in Baldersgade. 25 persons were arrested and 9 of them are at risk of being placed in pre-trail custody. A report and a statement by the Autonomous Revolutionary Nordic Alliance (ARNA).

With law after law, power and its police are shrinking the boundaries for the types of resistance that is possible. By constantly pressuring those who resist, they limit the possibilities of action, and even the ability to imagine a world without authorities and submission.

The unbreakable bond between thought and action is what characterizes the anti-authoritarian revolutionists. We don’t believe that by submitting to law and power today, a society without power can be achieved tomorrow. That is why our ideas are in continuous interaction with our actions. With the ‘respect-package’ (respektpakken), the politicians are attacking this bond when they claim that one person can be held accountable for the actions of other people because of the ideas, which these people express, and the politicians acknowledge this too. The fact of the matter is that they are right: every anti-authoritarian rebel shares the ideological responsibility for actions of rebellion, and we’re even proud of it! That is why we are in a state of solidarity with those affected by the repression. For us, it is not important whether they are guilty or not. Those which we show solidarity with are the actions of rebellion of which they stand accused. [Read More]