Monday saw an eviction without court order in Dublin involving Garda and private security / builders at Villa Park, Dublin 7. The house had been left abandoned for at least two years according to neighbours before being brought back into use last October by people who needed a home. One of them told us that it was a “Beautiful house that was to be demolished in order to make a new route to warehouse / bakery behind it but neighbours objected and planning permission was refused. The person claiming ownership seemed to be very wealthy and is listed as a director of over 28 companies.”
Resisting the next wave of real estate speculation in Spain
A new speculative bubble may be taking shape as global investment firms buy devalued real estate in Spain. Will they beat a new path of dispossession?
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Spain was flying high. After extensive economic liberalization and adoption of the euro in the late 1990s, all indicators pointed up. Spain boasted the highest use of cement in the European Union, fifth worldwide, as close to a million houses were built in 2006 alone — more than France, Germany and Italy combined. Many were convinced that prosperity was here to stay.
But the boom was built on an asset bubble, where skyrocketing housing prices and unprecedented amounts of credit for developers and homeowners — and thus vast indebtedness — created the perfect storm. While more than six million new homes were built and house prices increased by over 200 percent from 1996 to 2007, in the years since then Spain has seen millions of vacant properties accumulate, housing production at a standstill, price declines of over 65 percent from their peak, and hundreds of thousands of home repossessions. [Read More]
Bologna: Police comes to evict the Ex-Telecom building, resistance ensues both inside and outside it!
Update 7.30 pm
The solidal picket beneath the Ex-Telecom building keeps growing in numbers, reaffirming that no one will leave without a satisfying solutions for all the occupiers.
Update 6.05 pm
After an assembly on the roof the occupiers deemed acceptable the proposal made by the social workers, that promise housing for everyone. They swore to debate as soon as they get down the roof in order to assess whether the proposal can be deemed satisfactory enough. Meanwhile the supporting picket that was called in front of the Ministry of Infrastructures in Porta Pia was charged. Water cannons were used in order to disperse the crowd. A youngster that fell ill was carried away in an ambulance, another one is at the hospital. The use of water cannons even destroyed some traffic lights. There were charges also against the supporting picket in Alessandria, in a day of struggle for housing rights that is getting recognized all over the country. [Read More]
London: Mamelon Tower squat evicted by riot cops after 6 hour showdown
Yesterday (Monday 5 October) TSG riot cops alongside bailiffs came in force to evict the Mamelon Tower squat in Kentish Town, North London, which had been occupied by “Squatters and Homeless Autonomy”. The Met’s finest meatheads met impressive barricades and concerted resistance and it took six hours for them to enter the building. Six people were arrested for “affray”. A noise demo took place yesterday evening outside the police station where they were being held. We will post further updates and calls for solidarity as we get more news. We repost below the statement by SHA on yesterday’s events, and also the statement they published when they first squatted the building. [Read More]
Finland: Repression & resistance in Hanhikivi Cape, Venetsia squat evicted in Helsinki
On Tuesday September 15 the cops and security guards from local security company Arlia and G4S started to evict the protesters on Fennovoima´s planned nuclear construction site on Hanhikivi Cape in Pyhäjoki. 4 arrests where made but people where released the day after. Updates from a treehouse tell us that by 11 o´clock Wednesday evening the cops have not yet succeeded to empty the area, but the destruction is in progress. [Read More]
Lecce: Binario68 evicted, ex post office occupied
Binario 68, an eclectic squat born in March 2014 in a huge disused tobacco factory in the suburbs of Lecce, was evicted by cops and Digos in the early hours of Wednesday 2nd September. After a year and a half of initiatives, meetings, talks, concerts, parties, exhibitions, tattoo circuses and other activities, the occupiers were thrown out of their home by the usual bastards in uniform, but not before resisting till the end.
A spontaneous demo through the centre of the town, a confrontation with the mayor of Lecce in the corridors of the town hall, a lot of noise and rubbish bins upturned on pavements following the intervention of the cops, as many people arrived in solidarity from all over the province. The day ended with the occupation of another abandoned building, just to show how the Binario 68 squatters, however varied a group they are, don’t like the city of Lecce, its luxury shops and restaurants, prudish citizens, political leaders, radical chic leftists, historic centre transformed into a disgusting shop window for rich shoppers, cops, cameras, fascists, and so on. [Read More]
Amsterdam: De Overval, protest against the eviction
Come out to De Overval, Prins Hendrikkade 138, Amsterdam, to give a big warm sloppy old fashioned welcome to mr. Deurwaarder (the bailiff)! Let’s say ‘hi’, and make sure we say ‘bye’ to them too.
There’s coffee and tea and a rain cover, and actually the rain isn’t real too. Solidarity and resistance are! See you on the street.
Update 12:24 The police came by this morning and left after a few minutes! They did not announce a new eviction date but we will keep you posted. Everybody is still welcome for a delayed breakfast, with freeshop and music on the street!!!
Kraken gaat door!
Update 24/09/2015 De overval got evicted yesterday. Nobody was arrested.
Den Haag: De Vloek evicted: Convict the repression! Freedom for the ‘Vloek 5’!
Five of the 10 activist who have been arrested last Wednesday for defending De Vloek against eviction will be held in custody until their court case on the 23th of September. Yesterday they have been spread over five different jails throughout the country.
The ‘Vloek 5’ are suspected of violating the anti-squatting law (art. 138a) and of public violence (art. 141). A sixth anonymous person eventually got identified and was brought before the ‘super-fast-court’ and got a 500 euro fine (of which 250 euro conditionally and 100 euro deduction because of its detention of 2 days) for breaking the anti-squatting law, and has now been released. The other people were released Thursday evening with a summons, just in time for them to join the noise demonstration which was held in front of the police station for those still in custody. [Read More]
Den Haag: De Vloek is being evicted. 10 people arrested
De Vloek is being evicted right now, some photos and a timeline here. Watch a live feed here: http://185.52.224.3/
06:45 Riotcops drive into the street
07:13 Water canon is throwing water on the roof, and almost hits the people.
07:15 More Riotcops are arriving
07:30 Riotcops are waiting to start the eviction. Riotcops are attacking the front wall with a bulldozer
07:40 Riotcops are starting to cut through the roof [Read More]
London: Lewisham and Southwark College occupied, evicted
On Sunday 19 July, in the middle of the night and after much planning, a group of around 15 members of the Southwark and Lewisham community including LESOCO (Lewisham and Southwark College) students, occupied the Camberwell campus of LESOCO to resist its closure. They locked the gates and barred the doors, claiming the space for the community and wrenching it from the claws of managers, bureaucrats and the market. The plan was to use the campus for community education and organising and to stop management from clearing the building out by the end of the month. They damaged nothing. They wanted the building kept for further education.
[Read More]
London: Elephant & Castle Social Centre evicted
The Elephant & Castle social centre was evicted at 4am today. High Court bailiffs and cops kicked out about 20 squatters (some “in just their underwear” according to the gutter press).
The pub was squatted a month ago and has now been made an asset of community value so any change of use will need to be granted planning permission.
Kaunas (Lithuania): Eviction of Green House
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On Saturday, June 27, the Green House (Žalias Namas) squat/social centre in Kaunas was evicted. It had operated during the past half year in one of the abandoned wooden houses (which happened to be green).
[Read More]
