Tuesday morning the police evicted the 16 squatted apartment on the Vechtstraat and Amstelkade (including the social centre De Strijd). 8 people were arrested and released tonight (july 23rd). This evening, during the noise demo in solidarity with the arrested, 3 people were arrested and are still detained.
– Background
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Wednesday night (July 9th), after the eviction of the VluchtMarkt, of the VluchtHaven, and the short tent-camp in the Oosterpark, the ‘We Are Here’ group opened a new building on the Linnaeushof 4, Amsterdam: the VluchtOpvang.
The building is owned by the speculator W.M. Honselaar Onroerend Goed BV. The same company facilitated the eviction of the social space of the VluchtMarkt (Ten Katestraat 49) by signing a contract agreement with the owner, ‘Peters and Van der Vloodt’, to develop an hotel. [Read More]
Half of Amsterdam’s 200 + rejected asylum seekers, will likely be evicted from two buildings this week. In their 2 year long political struggle they exposed Dutch deportation polices as the worst of northern Europe, and stopped even worse policies, generating support from many unexpected corners. But with crucial parliamentarians silenced by social democratic leaders, soon they will sleep rough again, in fear for deportation.
Untill now, unified under the banner We Are Here, they occupy three buildings:
First a former prison, end 2013 turned into a temporary mayer’s-shelter for undeportables, evicted from a squat. During spring the mayor started to arm twist the undeportables into ‘voluntary deportation’. But then the facts about their undeportability started to shine in his face: Deportation destinations were indeed much more dangerous then thought, foreighn embassies obstructed deportation routes, new wars broke out, and many refugees could prove that crucial parts of their rejected stories were indeed true. [Read More]
Van der Laan have announced that the eviction will take place on Thursday, July 10. He also said that anyone who will be found still inside will be arrested by the ‘foreign police’.
Lawyer Pim Fischer appealed (urgent appeal) against the verdict of the court on the eviction about the Vluchthaven. The verdict and the next steps were discussed on Friday together with the group of refugees living in the building. The lawyer also asked for suspension of the sentence (and thus delaying the eviction) until the appeal will take place. [Read More]
The Vluchtmarkt (Ten Katestraat 61-63) has lost the court case against the state, and it will be evicted next Tuesday, July 8.
The verdict of the Vluchtmarkt court case is negative. The judge argued that although the people who live in the squatted buildings are undocumented migrants who have no right to work, to welfare and to a roof, this is a social problem that does not have to fall on the backs of private owners.
The judge evaluated the ‘proportionality’ of interests between the squatters and the owner, and ruled that the owner has the right to access its properties at any time. [Read More]
An interview with Rogier from the Eastern KSU and Maks from the Student KSU, in Amsterdam (Wertheim park, July 28th, 2013). The interviewers are Y & Z, two Frenchies involved in the squatting movement in Paris. You also can find a French translation of the interview on the French pages of Squat!net.
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In the court case of the State (Openbaar Ministerie) against the VluchtMarkt, lawyer Uppal argued that although since 2010 squatting is a crime, the decision of evictions must be evaluated as proportionate to the interests of the squatters and the ones of the owners. Apart from a few technical exceptions, so far no judge has ruled in favour of the interests of the squatters. [Read More]
Tomorrow, Thursday 19th, at 10.30 AM court case for defending the VluchtMarkt
The squatted buildings on Ten Katestraat 61 and 63, owned by Rochdale, are under threat. The officer of justice Otto van der Bijl has sent the 8 weeks notice, which means that not the owner, but the state itself is taking initiative against the refugees. It is the first time that a ‘We Are Here‘ squat is treated with the criminal law. According to local politicians, Rochdale still seems to have no plans and no permits to renovate the properties, while the people occupying them have spend many weeks re-building the spaces (including toilets, showers, electricity, floors and ceilings) and made them safe and liveable. [Read More]
Live ticker (in Dutch)
SUMMARY:
The Valreep never got the chance to present our plans to the city council and the project developer OCP, even though we have an investor and valid business plan. The Valreep could have survived without subsidy but apparantly has to be replaced for yet another yuppie cafe.
The riot cops needed thirteen hours today to evict social centre Op de Valreep. The bustling, independent neighbourhood initiative has existed for almost three years without any subsidy and with volunteers only. At least 17 people have been arrested. People were locked on top of and in the building in lockons, big barrels filled up with concrete. Update: 12 people have been released!
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For three years Op De Valreep has created valuable infrastructure for people living in Amsterdam East and has provided opportunities to build community. Despite campaigns to legalize the space, the city of Amsterdam and the developer OCP are moving to evict the squatted community center.
Supporters of “Op de Valreep” have constructed massive barricades to block the city government and the police from carrying out the eviction.
The eviction is expected to occur on Tuesday, June 17th, 2014
Dear friends of the Valreep,
The court’s decision 13/6/14 was negative: The Valreep will be evicted. We’re entering this weekend the very very last stage of the Valreep.
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