St. Petersburg (Russia): Black Hole squat evicted

“Black hole” was a living squat, five rooms in a big 4 store building. It was squatted in April and evicted in end of November [2009]. 6-7 anarchists were living in the squat together with Kostya, a migrant worker from Belarus who originally lived there on his own but then together with anarchists.

There were constant problems with electricity, which was taken from neighbours but constantly cut off. Eventually most of the people had to leave squat in November because of this. Eventually police came with city workers in end of November, they broked door to the street and blocked it with bricks. There was only one person in the squat, who had to escape in order not to get arrested. Cops and workers stole some of the property.

[Read More]

Keratsini (Greece): March for Resalto

More than a thousand march in Keratsini in solidarity to the 21 comrades arrested during the police raid on Resalto, the anarchist social centre of the proletarian suburb of Peiraeus.

More than a thousand protesters marched on Saturday afternoon [December 19th, 2009] in the industrial proletarian suburb of Peiraeus, Keratsini, against state terror and the police invasion of Resalto, the local anarchist social centre two weeks ago which resulted in the arrest of 21 people who are being accused of preparing explosives for… some empty beer bottles and a few litters of heating kerosene found in the remises. Initially the state accused the arrested for terrorism but the state interrogator subsequently dropped the charges. The invasion of the 4th of december had resulted to a sponteneous local attack against the police forces guarding the centre a few hours later and to the occupation of the Keratsini city hall which was too invaded by the police with 42 people arrested despite the opposition of the mayor, the local council and the lawyer association of the town who have subsequently published official decisions condemning the repression.

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Netherlands: Kraakverbod, the new anti-squatting law

Kraakverbod the new law forbidding squatting in the Netherlands.

In 2008 three political parties (CDA, ChristenUnie and VVD) began working on the new law “Kraken en Leegstand Wet”. It aims to completely criminalizing any and every form of squatting in the whole country. On the 15th of October 2009 the Dutch parliament (Tweede Kamer) voted in favour of the new law. The parties that supported this squatting ban were VVD, ChristenUnie, SGP, CDA, PVV and the independent member of the parliament Rita Verdonk.

For the new law to be passed the senate (Eerste Kamer) still has to vote on it. This voting is going to take place on the 1st of December this year. After that the new law only needs the Queen’s signature to become reality. This would most likely happen before the 1st of January 2010.

What exactly does this law say?

In general you can split it into two parts.

[Read More]

London (UK): Rampart has moved to the Lift n’ Hoist in Walworth

Following the eviction of Rampart, the collective has now moved to the Lift n’ Hoist at 1 Queens Row in Walworth SE17

Our website is now at http://liftnhoist.ucrony.net

Priests and Chainsaws Revisited

At 5am on Thursday, 15th October, 2009, the rampART Creative Centre and Social Space was evicted by 45 police with chainsaws and, remarkably, a Church of England vicar. Three people and a dog were inside.

The eviction marks the end of nearly five and a half years of occupation, during which rampART has served as a landmark for the social centres movement in London and a venue for a diverse range of events including political meetings, workshops, info cafes, fundraising parties and the London Freeschool.

The eviction, significantly, happened on the same day that Non Commercial House, a freeshop operating out of a building in nearby Commercial Street, lost their case against eviction and a week after the collective occupying 2a Belgrade Road in Stoke Newington successfully defended the space from eviction by council bailiffs.

[Read More]

Torino (Italy): Evictions = Riots

Evictions means riots: Update on recent events in Turin.
Translated from http://www.informa-azione.org/

Thursday 10 december 2009 – today’s events: The forces of repression (the same police, carabinieri, and civvies as always) evicted Ca’neira at 6:25am; at 6:45am these forces of disorder had arrived at L’ostile too. The “ostiles” got up on the roof and a rally (around 100 people) took to the streets in solidarity, and blocked Corso Vercelli, stopping the cherry-pickers from getting in, and leading to the first police charge. Out shopping, a woman from the neighbourhood went to buy cigarettes and got beaten across the back and legs for her trouble. (People from the solidarity demonstration took her to hospital).

19.00 A new Ca’neira is born and evicted again before 20:00 with excessive force, following resistance on the roof by some of the squatters and others chaining themselves to the windows; four people are taken to the police station in Via Grattoni and released around 23:00.

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Missing friend since October 2009

Hello!

My good friend Emil is lost since october 2009… hitchiking from Warzava to Berlin.

Maybe it is possible to post the link to the blog created to help us find him. There is some info and some contacts in some languages: English, Polish, German, Spanish and so on… [Read More]

Berlin (Germany): Call for Action! Whether Erfurt, Hamburg, Vienna, Magdeburg, Münster, Wilhelmshaven, Oldenburg, Prague, Lodz, Berlin or Dresden – it is the same shit, the same repression everywhere…

December 2009! Our Utopias versus your Profits! Action month for autonomous free spaces and against repression! Time has come for an uncontrollable movement…

This is an appeal/invocation to all of you who have been affected by repression and foreclosure(exclusion) or who feel solidarity for those who have, to all small groups and left communities/, artists and activists. It goes out now because the last weeks have been very tumoultously, so many things were happening, not just in Berlin, but also in many other cities and countries. It’s almost the same procedure over and over again: The minute people allow themselves room for a free space to work collectively on new ways of living and fighting together, State is fighting back with Its repression organs. Evictions, arrests and law cases turn up on the pale. No matter if it’s Erfurt, Magdeburg, Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden or Oldenburg: in the capitalist reclamation logic there is no space for free space. We have had enough of it – so now it’s time to fight back together!

The situation in Berlin…
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Poznan (Poland): Solidarity demonstration with Dutch squatters facing the Squat-ban

soli-demo-Poznan

On 27.11.09 at 1 p.m. around fifteen people, including members of Anarchist Federation and Rozbrat squat collective, gathered under Honorary Consulate of the Netherlands in Poznan to protest against anti-squatters bill according to which from 1st of January 2010 squatting in Holland would be a crime. Consul accepted our statement, the content of which is published below.

The aim of the picket was to show international solidarity to Dutch squatters, that soon may be defined by law as a criminals. Similar action is to be held in Gdansk and in many other European cities.

SOLIDARITY IS A CRIME THAT WE WILL NEVER STOP COMMITING!

STATEMENT

We, squatters and anarchists of Poznan, are deeply concerned with the anti-squatters bill. Squatters movement in The Netherlands is wide-known and accepted by the society. It has several decades of tradition and expanded its own infrastructure and counterculture, which provides shelter and enables tens of thousands people to freely develop themselves. Authorities want to introduce anti-squatters bill virtually without any public debate, what make us even more outrageous. We notice that the proposed act is a part of wide, European plan of making society dependant of big-business. Privatization of higher education, health service and other public services so in this case, attempts to limit the choice of residence by forcing the expensive rent. Almost every week we are noticed with information from all-over Europe about evicting squats, often lasting for several decades and gathering hundreds of people around them. In every state the governments want the same- pacification of grassroots movements that refuse their “freedom” and “democracy”.

If the Dutch government adopts this bill, from 1.01.2009 the act of squatting a house will lead to imprisonment. Is it rational to regard satisfying one of the basic human needs that is a shelter as a crime? We consider, that Dutch politicians has only one aim- identify libertarians with criminals, thus justifying imprisonment of people who loudly talk about infirmities of capitalism. The authorities want to steal places in which the critical and independent thought is created, places that allow to prepare actions against social injustice, racism, propaganda of consumption and all other forms of domination.

The anti-squatters bill will hit not only the squatters movement itself, but also the poorest class, workers, immigrants, and everyone who is forced to squat due to lack of money for high rent. In the name of the media model of law-abiding citizen who works eight hours to pay half of his salary to a landlord or a bank that gave him a loan they will be pushed to the role of criminals and idlers that steal someones house.

We do not agree with the proposed reform, as we are threatened with eviction ourselves, although we have run our social and cultural centre for over fifteen years without taking a buck from the authorities. We know what thousands of people would feel when after new year bailiffs and cops will start to knock on their doors. We know that as we fight for our squat, Dutch squatters will fight for their houses. We are sure that if only Dutch authorities will strike squatters, hearts and streets will ignite just like two years Copenhagen has flared!

ROZBRAT SQUAT COLLECTIVE, ANARCHIST FEDERATION POZNAN

http://www.rozbrat.org/news-in-english/600-solidarity-with-squatters-from-holland

Source Indy NL

Minsk (Belarus): Solidarity from belarussian squatters

Struggle comes from our hearts!

Here is a group of anarcho-punks, and squatters from Minsk city in Belarus. We are watching the situation in Netherlands and are excited of all this time – because for us a right for the living, autonomous spaces and creation independent culture is very important. We had a squat also like social centre in 2008 year, now we are making house-project to try to keep collective and less alienate way of living, also a space for some activities. From some political cases all places like these here are closed to wide public, but we develop inside the movement and make public events somewhere else.

Also for solidarity to Netherlands squatting movement we choose to make something, which is coming directly from our hearts as we don’t have any embassy of Netherlands or another official institution – we put our feelings in picture on the wall of one’s house on 28th november 2009. We want to support you in this way, and though it is not public protests, for us it’s message to all squatters in Netherlands, for all people who resist this antikraak law over the world. We are with you! Keep on fighting!

 

Source Indy NL