Utrecht: Nov. 29th/30th, squatters gathering weekend

By: fawda - November 24th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

Coming 29 and 30th of November a squatters gathering will take place in Utrecht! This weekend will be filled with workshops and discussions, including a LOK (landelijk overleg kraken – a meeting and discussion on squatting between people from different cities). Due to the recent wave of evictions we have seen in Utrecht, but also in different cities in the Netherlands, we feel it is time to all meet up to exchange ideas and discuss the future of squatting.

Practical points:
– The LOK part of this gathering will start on Saturday at 12:30 and will take up most of the day.
– Workshops on Sunday will start at 11:30, breakfast will be available before.
– For people that do not know where to go, gather on Saturday at 11:30/Sunday at 11:00 sharp at ACU (Voorstraat 71, Utrecht). There will be people to help you on your way.
– If you plan to spend the night, be aware that there are a limited amount of mattresses and blankets available so bring your own! [Read More]

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Utrecht: new squat on Voorstraat 36

By: fawda - June 22nd, 2014  Filed under: Communique, Press release
2014-06-22_Voorstraat_36_Utrecht

Today we have independently taken use of the building located on the Voorstraat 36. Our motivations for this action are the declining opportunities for acquiring affordable housing (largely caused by the breakdown of social housing), the increasing repression of every from of self-determination and alternative social organization (as once again has been shown by the recent eviction of the Valreep in Amsterdam), as well as our dissent with the application and execution of the law ‘Kraken en Leegstand’1, (squatting and vacant buildings) that has been in put into use on the first of October 2010. Today its nearing four years after its implementation, and as expressed by article VIA of the law Kraken en Leegstand, it will soon be up for evaluation. Considering our opinion that the effectivity of this law in practice is extremely disputable and the effects do not approach its aimed goals whatsoever, we now want to raise our voices loud and clearly; against vacant buildings the municipality doesn’t do anything, but we do! [Read More]

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Utrecht: new squat in the city center

By: fawda - February 16th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
Van_Sijpesteijnkade_25_Utrecht

This morning a house on the Van Sijpesteijnkade 25 has been squatted. The police has passed by and is deciding if they are going to do something. The building is property of NS, who is buying a lot of buildings around the station for huge development plans. The whole street will be demolished on short terms, but because this building is a monument they integrated it into the new building plans and it wont be demolished. When these plans will take place is still unclear.
The neighborhood has protested the plans to demolish the street. The buildings are beautiful, there is a lot of history in these buildings and they are in good conditions to live in. The plans for the new buildings are dull, grey and not inspiring. The demolition of this street is a shame, but is made possible because the old residents have been replaced years ago for anti-squat. Anti-squatters can be kicked out on short notice. [Read More]

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Utrecht: Eviction of squatted apartments in Zuilen

By: fawda - January 15th, 2014  Filed under: News
Squatted apartments in Zuilen

Tomorrow the squatted apartments in Zuilen will be evicted by Mitros, with help of the police. The judge decided not to wait for the higher appeal, but just allow the eviction.

Perhaps you’ve read in the newspaper that the squatted apartments at the Boelesteinlaan will soon be evicted. These places were squatted about a year ago to highlight the fact that Mitros is not doing their job even according to their own statutes and to protest the lack of affordable housing in Utrecht.
In 2010 there was a fire in one of the apartments. Instead of cleaning the little bit of soot from the hallway Mitros evicted the remaining houses and shortly afterwards cut off the basic services to prevent anyone from living in the building. [Read More]

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

By: fawda - May 28th, 2013  Filed under: News
Ontruiming_Ubica_Utrecht_2

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
2013-05-24_Utrecht_eviction_Ubica

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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Netherlands: Squatting not dead yet

By: sisulscz - July 16th, 2012  Filed under: News

You might think that squatting in the Netherlands has died a death since criminalisation in 2010. But that’s simply not true!

All over the country unused buildings are still welcoming new inhabitants and things are still happening:

  • Whilst things have become tougher in Amsterdam with the new mayor who says a law is a law and must be enforced, squatting continues, with two new places successfully cracked this weekend in the east of the city. You can read the neighbourhood letter of one place, Ringdijk 8, here. It was squatted by a large group and welcomed by neighbours. Earlier in the day, fifty squatters helped to take another building, on Pieter Vlamingstraat 98, which has stood empty for years. [Read More]
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Utrecht (NL): A squat brutally demolished while the residents were still inside the building!

By: liberation - October 29th, 2010  Filed under: News

October 27th, 2010
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2010/10/70648.shtml
– english translation –

 

The squat on Gageldijk 71 in Maarssen (just outside of Utrecht, NL) has been brutally demolished while the residents were still inside the building. The residents only just managed to escape by jumping through a window from the first floor into the neighbour’s garden. At that moment the demolition workers, who knew there were people inside the building, were destroying the roof with heavy machinery sending wood, stones and glass flying around.

Just before the first blow from the excavator, one of the residents hung out of the window to inform what was going on. (S)he could barely manage to jump away in time not to be hit by the machine.

[Read More]

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Utrecht: More than thousand people gathered to protest against the law

By: liberation - October 28th, 2009  Filed under: News

A demonstration was held in Utrecht on 24th October 2009 to protest against the law which would make squatting illegal in Netherlands. The law has been voted for around a week ago in the Lower Chamber. It passed through and now, the Senate will give its decision.

[Read More]

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Utrecht (NL): A march against a bill to ban squatting

By: liberation - October 1st, 2008  Filed under: News

On Saturday 27 in the Netherlands, 500 people demonstrated for a better social housing policy and against the kraakverbod (a bill planned to ban squatting).

The march was organised by the Woonstrijd group and proceeded through Utrecht, passing by various projects, one example being the longterm squat Ubica. There were speeches and good weather!
Despite some mainstream press accompanying reports with pictures of stone-throwing squatters from other demos, the march passed off peacefully and in good humour.

A longer report in Dutch can be found here, photos included: http://indymedia.nl/nl/2008/09/54778.shtml

A bit older report about the bill on Indy UK: https://indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/08/407605.html

woonstrijd on Indy UK

 

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Council eviction threat The Flying Dog Utrecht [Nl]

By: liberation - November 21st, 2003  Filed under: News

Nederlandse versie

Unfortunately we have very very bad news…. the city council decided to force UPC (the owner) to get us out. They do this because they believe we are involved with criminal activities and other reasons like the wagens. Also they claim that this building was build for a company and therefore not suitable to live in…

UPC has to get rid of us before the 1st of december otherwise they will get fined for 15 000 euro’s. We are stunned with this decision because UPC told the council that they didn`t have so much problems with us being there. Nevertheless the council has decided. We choose to fight them in any legal way.

Therefor we are organising an evening with our laywer to gather as much objections possible to keep vlampijpstraat squated. This means we are inviting everyone that has any involvement with our squat ( neightbours, skaters, artists etc… ) We hope we can gather as much as possible support. We believe that we give Utrecht so much on a cultural level and that we are so important for many people but now they threaten to close us down.

[Read More]

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