Utrecht (The Netherlands): Illegal arrests at the Boelesteinlaan.

By: fawda - October 7th, 2013  Filed under: News

This morning the police were at the door of a squat in Zuilen. As always, they hadn’t heard of housepeace. Read on and shiver.

Half a year ago a house was squatted on the Boelesteinlaan in Utrecht.

One day the police came to search the house for a criminal (also called a “squatter”). They started asking people for their identity cards. Because you aren’t legally required to identify yourself in your own home this was rejected by the occupants. The police were friendly and accepting to this decision as always… They told the occupants that “we will see what we will do with your house”. Some days later the eviction letter arrived. [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): October 2013 at Joe’s Garage

By: Hlulome - October 7th, 2013  Filed under: News
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As a squatted social center, how do we communicate to the outside world? Where do you find us on-line and where do you NOT find us? We are not here to provide passive intelligence to state intelligence agencies, or to make their task easier. Making ourselves visible on a website hosted by a radical and political server is a first necessary step. Being able to reach other activists and squatters, not only the ones based in the Netherlands, is something we would not want to miss. In the will to be an open space for political initiatives, we want to reach further than the neighbourhood, further than a city and its squatting scene.

Being a squat and having a squat scene active and visible on decent platforms may have some importance in these times of repression. Reading about houses being squatted and evicted is one thing, being able to find each other, not only on-line, knowing which are our public events has its importance to strengthen us all. [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Plantage Middenlaan 64 squatted

By: fawda - September 11th, 2013  Filed under: Communique, News
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Sunday 8 of September, Plantage Middenlaan 64, connected to Plantage Badlaan 9, has been squatted.

This building, classified as a ¨second order¨construction, has been constructed in 1892 and in the beginning it hosted the Association for Helpless Blind.
In 1961 the association left the building and it became the entomology department of the University of Amsterdam until 2011.
According to the Kadaster, this place has been bought by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2011.
The project was to make a Moroccan Cultural Center but nothing happened because of the absence of subsidy. [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): September 2013 at Joe’s Garage

By: Hlulome - September 2nd, 2013  Filed under: News
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Time for some news, summer has been quite busy at Joe’s Garage and around. The one year squatted office building on the Arent Krijtsstraat 1 in Diemen is gone, back to the owner, with a fence around it but not much of a future. On June 30th, after seven years of emptiness, the Cruquiusweg 117 was squatted, making place for a new project, De Binderij, bringing some new life to this spooky Cruquiusgebied. Numerous anti-squatted buildings are rotting away in this desolate neighbourhood, symbolising more than ever the failure of local politicians in developing a neighbourhood or just keeping life going on. On July 2nd, the City of Amsterdam launched its second eviction wave of the year, unleashing its dogs to evict nine squats. Swammerdamstraat 12 was evicted for the fourth time. The greedy owner did not wait long to demolish it, infuriating still more neighbours. Thanks to the mayor, an extra sand yard has appeared! Squats on the Czaar Peterstraat, the Simon Stevinstraat 25 (Willem Beukels Alternatief), the Cornelis Drebbelstraat 35 (LaRage) and the Bessemerstraat 23 (El Taller social center) were also evicted. [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): June 2013 at Joe’s Garage

By: Hlulome - June 15th, 2013  Filed under: News
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Since 2010, the anti squat law is stating house owners would get fined if they leave their buildings empty for more than six months. Well, years later, not a single owner has been fined. That’s is no surprise knowing the City of Amsterdam. Parallel to that, 15% of office buildings in Amsterdam are officially empty. The reality would be the double.
Amsterdam is gearing up to evict squatters these coming days. The house on Swammerdamstraat 12 will be evicted for a fourth time in a few years. Let’s hope this ‘monument’ won’t make place to a sand yard for the coming years. Other squats in Amsterdam who received the eviction announcement are Bessemerstraat 23 (El Taller), Cornelis Drebbelstraat 35 (LaRage), Simon Stevinsstraat 25hs (Willem Beukels Alternatief).
On May 31st, activists and squatters were taking over the empty office building on the Jan Tooropstraat 29. The door magically opened and within minutes, the refugees from the Vluchtkerk moved in. Off course, Eberhard van der Laan the apathetic mayor was again forced to show a bit of concern. Lucky us, there weren’t any comment from the Dutch squatting expert Eric D. that day. [Read More]

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Utrecht (Netherlands): The Ubica-eviction, a report

By: fawda - May 28th, 2013  Filed under: News
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Suddenly, they came storming out. They were about ten or fifteen. Black clothes and balaclavas. They had a fire extinguisher, a ladder and some tires on them. And gasoline. The great final act of the sad drama of the fall of Ubica was unfolding.

Up to about eleven o’clock the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Nobody knew what was going to happen, except three nervous nail biters on the terrace of a café on the Ganzenmarkt, the square on which the Ubica is situated, the place that offered the best view of the spectacle that is the Ubica eviction, last Friday. It seemed like such an ordinary Friday night for the beer drinkers on the Ganzenmarkt. Another workweek gone by, another night consumed away. Nothing’s out of the ordinary, tomorrow is day like any other. But those three visitors knew better. They had heard that the squatters would not just give up their autonomous space after 21 years. “Not without a fight“, was announced on Indymedia. But of course no time was specified so it came down to nail biting and suspenseful waiting. One thing was certain: in a little while the town hall would receive a make-over. [Read More]

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Utrecht (Netherlands): Eviction Ubica

By: fawda - May 26th, 2013  Filed under: News
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Saturday May 25th at 3pm, the last squatter of the Ubica was removed from the building. Since Friday evening 11pm, police and riot police were busy evicting the building on the Ganzenmarkt in Utrecht.

After nine month procedures, the higher court decided on Friday that the squatters had to leave the building by Monday. The squatters, on their side, decided not to wait until Monday. “The authorities choose the confrontation. Vloet (owner of the buildings, red.), the judge and the City have chosen this path. If that’s what they want, well they can get it”, according to a statement made by the squatters.

By attacking the City Hall and setting on fire car tires on Friday night, the squatters gave no choice to the police but to react. Fireworks were lit and police officers and police vehicles were targeted with paint. Ten people barricaded themselves in the 13th century old house, some of them were chained in lock-ons. This ensured the eviction would take such a long time. [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): May 2013 Joe’s Garage Program

By: Hlulome - May 4th, 2013  Filed under: News
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Welcome to post gentrification. Forget about affordable housing, these words are gone from the vocabulary. In Amsterdam, the price per meter square is higher in social housing than on the market price. Tenants are waiting in temporary housing for a proper one. These anti-squatters, also called “guardians” to preserve their image, haven’t been given the rights of a normal tenant. They even pay to guard houses. Not only young people and students live in this precariat. Anti-squat companies have seen their benefits exploding in recent years, while former social housing corporations have been cashing big money and forgotten since long about their social purpose.
People who can’t afford to live in the city have to go. They are denied the right to live in the city, they are made feeling guilty and ashamed of being social tenants. Our policy makers want people to move around in this monetary driven housing market. Social dramas on individual scales are common, people can’t sell back their house, the money they make is used to pay back mortgages. In Germany, a group like Recht Auf Stadt put back these issues on the political agenda. Some political parties have now an opinion about that. In the Netherlands, the discourse is still the same, “there is no problem”. SNS nationalised, the Russian roulette game has reached money lender Rabobank. For how long? [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): April 2013 Joe’s Garage Program

By: Hlulome - April 4th, 2013  Filed under: News
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‘There are still squatted houses in Amsterdam…”, that is the shocking gossip recently reported in the Dutch media. Is the zealous mayor of Amsterdam such an incompetent politician in matters of housing policy and in cracking down on squatters? These last years, the city of Amsterdam did evict numerous squats but failed in eradicating our political structures, in making squatting history.
Not only squatters and activists, many individuals are daily becoming conscious and organized, building networks, taking action, sharing skills, bringing out solidarity here and there. The State could erase the (legalized) social centers from the map, call out extraordinary laws, reopen re-education camps (read – feed us more television). People would still have the will to throw down the State, disrupt the money making machine.
End of April, fiscal paradise the Netherlands will finally reach world news with a fresh new young king. The media and various intelligence services are already trying to decrypt early signs of a popular revolt, starving as they are for sensation. That makes it no surprise this racist local government has no intention to lift a finger for the migrants squatting a church these last months. Opportunist politicians feeling concerned about undocumented people only brings more anger against the apathy of the State. [Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): March 2013 Joe’s Garage program

By: Hlulome - March 6th, 2013  Filed under: News

A deepening crisis, a social housing policy crushed, a constant precarisation of life and work, what a promising future. The masses aren’t dreaming any more. The glitter that has been fed to us by the government and the media won’t last for long.
We are not done with protesting and taking action. Knowing your rights and responsibilities when you are arrested is crucial. Joke Kaviaar will be tackling these issues during an info night. Throughout March, local activists and the many volunteers will take over Joe’s Garage to support various initiatives, SVZV (Support Group Women Without Papers), Riseup.net and Anarchists Against the Wall. Other local projects, LaRage, Roomtuintje Oostbos and Soweto will provide you a deeper insight on the neighbourhood. People eating, talking together, exchanging ideas, making projects, forgetting about the role models society is imposing…, all this and more is happening at Joe’s. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Squatters Linux User Group opening up their hacklab project LAG in a new stable place

By: Rosa - March 3rd, 2013  Filed under: News

From : http://slug.squat.net

Ladies and gents,

After 6 months of renovation work we are proud to invite you all for the opening. The work is not over yet and a lot is only starting. Come by to hear what are our plans with the place,  have a drink, re-unite,  listen to some music and in general have fun. We start from 17:00.

[Read More]

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Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Spuistraat 199 squatted for 30 years, Snake Festival

By: fawda - February 24th, 2013  Filed under: News

Wednesday March 6th 2013, at 14:02, the Slangenpand (the “Snake House”) is precisely squatted for 30 years (March 6th 1983). During this time, a group of motivated and involved inhabitants has been building, living, creating, partying, protesting, breeding and much more.

March 6th 2013, it is also exactly one year that we opened the ground floor as “De Slang”. In one year, De Slang hosted (foto) exhibitions, theater, film screenings and concerts. We often hear “Amsterdam needs an open and accessible art space like De Slang”.

2013 is probably the year in which it will be clear whether the house is evicted and turned into free market living space, or if it can continue as a creative incubator. 2013 is the Year of the Snake, is it a good sign? In any case, we’ll make every effort to keep the Slangenpand. [Read More]

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