Thessaloniki: 34 years are not enough. Hands off our squat! Solidarity week with Biologica squat

Dear comrades

We are reaching out to fellow squats, collectives, autonomous groups and comrades, to inform and raise awareness about the current situation concerning the recent squat eviction wave in Greece, as well as the new “anti-education” laws that allow policing in public education institutions.

As you may already know the “occupied space at Biology school of Thessaloniki”, one of the oldest squats in Greece, is threatened with eviction. We take this threat seriously, as it is based on solid information, that has been published by the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance and is about to be completed within 16 months (from September 16th, 2021), starting with the demolition of walls within 4 months (until January 2022). As christmas holidays are around the corner, in combination with recent targeted statements, by the vice minister of education Mr Sirigos, we consider this period, dangerous for possible eviction and immediate demolition of the internal walls of the squat. In the past, we have witnessed evictions taking place during holidays, as it is a known government tactic to act, when many students and comrades are away from big cities, in order to avoid resistance. [Read More]

Berlin: Reflection of the occupation of the Greek consulate in December 2019

We entered the building at 11 a.m. with 17 people and calmly asked the staff to stop working for the day. The aim was to disturb the smooth running of the procedure, but without causing further damage. The consulate is located on the 4th floor of an apartment building in Möhrenstraße 17 in Berlin-Mitte. As soon as we entered the rooms, we covered the cameras, explained our reason of the occupation to the staff, hung a banner with the words “Solidarity with the Squats” out of the window and threw out flyers. We made no demands whatsoever, but took the room to spread our ideas and show our solidarity.

The supporters down the street distributed flyers and our statement to the pedestrians. As soon as the rooms were occupied, we sent our text to all ministries in Greece via fax and e-mail and also to some of the mass-media, because we discussed beforehand if we want to use the media to propagate our action and decided to send the text to some of them. [Read More]

Vienna: Still lovin´squatting! Action in solidarity with squats! Smash §92a!

In November 2018, activists occupied an empty building in Vienna. They called their new house “Nele”. The occupation has been evicted after three weeks. There was a massive presence of police, including a lifting ramp, an emergency air cushion from the fire department and helicopters.
16 of the evicted people refused the ID control by the police and have been arrested. Two have been identified nonetheless, one other was put into custody for several months.
One of the two identified persons, who stayed on the pitched roof got a letter demanding a payment of 3808 €. The claim is that the person put themselves in danger by climbing the roof; hence is responsible to pay for the overblown police operation.
When the “Sicherheitspaket” (safety package) became law on may 25, 2018, in Austria, the §92a was updated. Because of the new interpretation of §92a SPG, it’ s now possible that people who cause a police operation can be obliged to pay for its costs if they bring themselves in danger.
Especially that the authority to decide, whether a person is in danger or not lies within the police makes this new way of interpreting the law vulnerable for misuse against all kinds of social or environmental activism. Simply people blocking a street in protest, everything could be affected by this new interpretation of the law. [Read More]

Magdeburg (Germany): Four at a stroke, solidarity greetings to Exarchia

In the night of 4 september 2019, we squatted four houses in different city districts of Magdeburg. We want to express our anger on the brutal attacks in Exarchia where more than 140 people have been jailed in refugee camps or directly imprisoned. At the same time, we want to show our solidarity with the free and rebellious spirits of the district here and of all other resisting places.

Today, several people in Magdeburg came together to appropriate different houses temporarily – with that we are saying: We can take the rooms if we want. Exarchia lives on!
It has been pronounced long time ago, but now Kyriakos Mitsotakis, newly elected prime minister and his riot police MAT striked with full violence. His aim was and is the autonomous district Exarchia in downtown of Athens. In this district which is shaped by self-organisation and the spirit of resistance, Mitsotakis wants to “tidy up”, as it depicts a stain for the gentrification project in Athens. They want to impose a metro station in Exarchia so it subjects itself to mass tourism and real estate speculation. So far they tried to harass the inhabitants of that district through repression, controls and expulsion, now the methods have been intensified. [Read More]

Berlin (Germany): Attack against an office of the leftist party „Die Linke“ – Solidarity to Squats in Athens and Berlin

Late saturday evening, May 4, we commited an attack with stones against the store front of the office from Sebastian Schlüsselburg, member of the Committee on Justice and Secret Service, parliamentarian of „Die Linke“ in the district of Berlin-Lichtenberg. Most of its windows were smashed. [Read More]

Philadelphia (USA): May Day Anti-Gentrification Actions

For May Day we claim responsibility for the following actions:

-Deflating the tires and painting the windshield of a yuppie housing shuttle bus.
-Throwing paint at the facade of two OCF properties.
-Smashing glass and cutting all non-hydraulic cables of at least four construction machines at the site of a development project intending to manicure a once wild place. [Read More]

Prague: We must defend Klinika, to be evicted on January 10th!

Callout to those who are not indifferent to the fate of this space.

Despite the promising ongoing negotiations about the future of Klinika with SŽDC (the railway administration), the police has decided to evict. In the fall, when the new SŽDC management started to open negotiations, we welcomed this initiative and we came together in a specific way to preserve the social center and to resolve the future of the house to a mutual satisfaction. Nevertheless, the State decided to use violence to kick us out. Evicting Klinika does not make sense because of the ongoing negotiations, SŽDC doesn’t not even want to demolish the building. The eviction would just lead to another empty and decaying house.

We don’t exclude the possibility of further negotiations, but we don’t want to put up with the fact that the state is trying to resolve the situation with violence and a demonstration of force. Indeed, the court’s decision does not force SŽDC to perform an eviction. This decision is a political one, apparently taken under police pressure. The eviction will take place on January 10th 2019. Therefore, early morning that day, we are calling for a solidarity breakfast, a protest gathering at Klinika. We’ll defend Klinika from an eviction as many times before. Show your solidarity to Klinika. [Read More]

Utrecht: Callout for solidarity with the Swamp

This week the judge decided to make the eviction of the Swamp possible. This means that birds, rabbits, bats, rats, insects and people lose their living space and a young forest will be killed. All to make space for more asphalt, another distribution center and a bus parking that could be built somewhere else.
The judge ignored that the owner, Borghese Real Estate B.V., hasn’t even asked for permits to cut the trees on the part of the Swamp that is not destroyed yet.
We won’t let yet another one of the very few places of green in the city of Utrecht be killed. We won’t move from out self built community where we live together with nature, as self sufficient as possible, and free.
We call out to all people to defend nature here with us, or in your own way, everywhere. We expect the eviction of the Swamp soon after Wednesday the 31st of October, next week.

FUCK PROFIT, FUCK ASPHALT!
THE SWAMP STAYS!

The Swamp
Gelderlantlaan, Utrecht
Netherlands
https://squ.at/r/6b2z

Squats and squatting assistances in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL/type/squat
Groups (social centres, squats, collectives) in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL
Events in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/NL

Germany: We squatted Mannheim! Friedenstrasse 44 occupied

Two weeks ago humans were chased from their homes in Hambacher Forst. Whilst the main public focus was on the protests in the forest, already for years people have been forced out of the surrounding villages. And so also in Mannheim.
Rather than only concerning local inhabitants, coal mining in the Rhineland is also a global problem.
It doesn‘t matter if it‘s a question of the dormouse seeing their old oak being destroyed, local farmers seeing their fields dry out and settlements being torn down, humans having to leave the streets in which they first learnt to ride a bicycle, or Peruvian villages being threatened by melting glaciers. All living creatures suffer in common, from this problem from the behaviour of RWE and this destructive culture in general. Multinationals like RWE and politicians need to take responsibility for this issue. If they are not willing to change their methods of energy production, then we as ordinary people are obliged to act.
We are not willing to accept the destruction of these homes, so we‘re occupying them to prevent this. In doing so, we intend to open up a space for free and self-organised living, one that encourages creativity and quality of life and supports each one another in the struggles against RWE. We demand from RWE to give those people the houses back who want to return.
Living in rural areas became attractive to a lot of humans. Far away from an anonymous life in small, unpayable flats in the concrete jungles all over the world where people can help each other, live together and where living projects of different generations can be possible.
We want to make this possible together in unity. With people who live together in Mannheim since decades. With people who lived here and already left with their families. With people who came here to fight the structural destruction of nature. And with people who were forced to flee from their homes in other parts of the world, just to be chased away once again from here. [Read More]

Brescia: Fascist attack on the CSA Magazzino 47

Immediate mobilization, tomorrow city demonstration.
This night some rats entered the CSA Magazzino 47 social center after they broke a window. They have set a fire in the room of the bookshop and the wine shop. The broken window with obvious signs of forced entry and the intense smell of gasoline give no doubt about the suspect nature of the act, as immediately reported by the firefighters themselves.
The fast reaction of a comrade who was inside the social space meant that the firemen could intervene promptly and extinguishing the flames before they could provoke much worse damage. Several furniture and a large amount of books have been destroyed. Our brother, the only person present, fortunately is fine.
We can say with certainty that it was the umpteenth infamous attack of fascists and racists who try to sow a climate of racial hatred and intolerance in the city.
The same that in recent weeks have hit the “occupied houses” of via Gatti and the Sinti field in via Orzinuovi in Brescia city. They are the same ones that praise Luca Traini, author of the Macerata racist attack.
For this we will react accordingly. With anger, determination and pride.
We are already declaring a state of permanent anti-fascist mobilization in the city.
Tomorrow mass mobilisation at CSA Magazzino47, via Industriale 10, Brescia, Italy. [Read More]

Gent (Belgium): Kraaiennest, new squatted social center

On 15 february 2018, a few hundred people were demonstrating in Gent against the squatting ban. They ended up occupying a big empty building for people in need of housing. The banner on the squatted building is stating: “What is not allowed is still possible“. From 23 till 25 February, the action weekend against the squatting ban will take place in Gent. This new social center is called Kraaiennest. More events in Gent are to be found on Chiropractor.

Sociaal Centrum ‘T Kraaiennest
Brabantdam 33, 9000 Gent, Belgium
kraaiennest [at] riseup [dot] net
https://kraaiennest.noblogs.org/
https://squ.at/r/4bke

Belgium: Call to demonstrate against the anti squat law. International call out for solidarity

Call to demonstrate against the anti squat law, against the war of the poor – Thursday 15 February 2018 – 19:00 – BLANDIJNBERG – GENT

On 3rd November 2017, a squat on Stapelplein in Gent was attacked. A family with young kids was living in a house, not to have to sleep in the park as they did before. A group assaulted them with sticks and fireworks. This was an act of racially motivated hatred against Roma. This hatred is fueled by a media campaign, spreading a lie from the owner. The house was left empty, and later nobody was living there.

On 26th November, a racist demonstration walked through Gent. In their own words, the mob took the streets “against injustice”, “against politics”. Slogans anti Roma were screamed during hours. In the prostitution district, sex workers were insulted. Homeless people at the Baudelopark shelter were also intimidated. This orgy of racism, misogyny, hatred towards the poor went on without meeting any resistance. Het Laatste Nieuws only titled a “demonstration against injustice” on their website. [Read More]