[Press release] Amstelveen (Netherlands) – Today, we, the group of people living at the Villa Aardappeleters (Potato Eaters), have left the house. After a legal battle of 6 years, we have chosen to respect the verdict of the Amsterdam court and to leave our home without a physical fight.
Villa Aardappeleters at the JC van Hattumweg 3 in Amstelveen would have been squatted for 19 years next month. In its 19 years of existence, the group had almost 30 inhabitants. Some of them lived here for more than 10 years, others for only a few months. Where one inhabitant consciously chose for the freedom and space that this special place offered, for others it was pure necessity, as, for example, for some undocumented persons who have lived here.
Although Villa Aardappeleters was a rather unknown squat, it has an infamous past. After the building was squatted in March 2003, the squatters found several weapons and explosives hidden in the attic during a party. [Read More]
