[Squat!net]

A few days ago the former Camelot Europe HQ, in Westland Park London N1 was squatted in protest against guardian companies’ anti-social profiteering from empty properties and homelessness.

For those who don’t know, Camelot are the original “guardian” company, invented to counter the squatting movement in Holland by moving in people who act as security by living there. Guardians pay rent but have less protection than ordinary tenants, at least according to the wording of their contracts. Other guardian companies also exist, such as our least-favourite Dot Dot Dot ……

A couple of articles have appeared in the Guardian but with certain problems. Both of them seem to agree with Camelot that what the people acting as security guards by living in their properties are is merely licencees, when most legal advice shows that they clearly have tenancies. When challenged on this point most guardian companies back down and come to a deal, rather than allow the issue to go to court. [Read More]

On September 28, eight friends will have an appeal trial for charges related to the last squat attempted in Calais. Aquitted by a previous court ruling, largely due to police abuse and police not even following procedures. Now the state representatives have filed an appeal (to contest what?!).

If you think of the judicial system as a good measure of “right” and “wrong,” it is Natacha Bouchart (Calais’ mayor) and Philippe Mignonet (deputy mayor) who should be on trial. They have executed massive and numerous evictions in Calais – making thousands of people homeless, using force to traumatize people, damaging people for years. [Read More]

On Saturday September 17 Hotel Mirage, Westhaven 49 was squatted in Gouda and immediately evicted. (see press release in Dutch).

On Tuesday September 20, the five detainees still held (four anonymous) came before the magistrate. One was remanded, the other four (all still anonymous) were released.
[Read More]

From the wing 58 of this open air prison called Athens we send our warmest greetings to the U.$. prison rebels and all those taking action in solidarity with them around the globe. We understand your fight to end prison slavery as a call to end prison society as a whole. We understand mass imprisonment behind tones of concrete and iron as a reflection of the mass society that shackles us all and as an inevitable consequence of the techno-industrial kingdom that determines our lives daily in all possible ways.

We know that contexts might be different from place to place and that some times we get lost into the partiality of our small or big fights against this or that expression of domination and Power. Nevertheless, we believe this is a good opportunity to build up the so much needed intersectionality, to foment it with a borderless perception of the struggle for total self-determination and liberation from hierarchies and authorities that chain us all.

We salute all means of struggle deployed so far against the murderous apparatus of the U.$. prison-industrial complex, and we are happy to know that at least one jailer got what he deserved. While bars of steel and walls of stone may physically contain those in prison, the recent uprisings all over the U.$. have shown that they can never take away the fighting spirit from countless rebels. [Read More]

Evicting in neighborhood with 300 empty houses is useless.

Last weekend two new houses were occupied on the Monnetlaan in Kanaleneiland, Utrecht. Those homes were empty awaiting renovation in March. “It seems vacancy protector VPSitex considers metal plates a good way to protect vacancy, we think it’s not.” says one of the squatters.

The first eight houses, Monnetlaan 97-111 were occupied last April in protest agents racist policy of gentrification in this neighborhood. 1100 affordable houses would be demolished because renovation was impossible. Of the replacing new houses only 25% would be social rent. When the social housing corporation ‘foundation Mitros’ almost bankrupted itself and government took over financial responsibility, this megalomaniacal project was dropped. The local government nor the housing corporations knew what to doo with those 224 social houses where they already kicked out the renters. Ultimately they were sold for € 0,- to the Qatari- Swiss asset trust Aventicum. Interesting to note is that this company’s head of real estate is the west- Flemish prodigy Christophe Tanghe, yes the same one that run ING bank to the ground when he run real estate there. This asset trust will renovate the houses; well… they will replace the windows. After that you may buy a 70 square meter house for € 140.000,- with the obligation to finish the renovation within two years. Some of the houses may become open market tent, € 1.200,- a month. Non available for low income groups. [Read More]

Today, Sunday, September 18th, We Are Here (Wij Zijn Hier) squatted two buildings on Burgemeester Roelstraat 70 (for women) and Rijswijkstraat 2 (for men). We squatted these buildings cracked because the Vluchtgemeente squat, where many of us stay, will be evicted on Monday.
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Last week, the Autonomous Center (AC) in The Hague received a letter from the mayor demanding that we close the property at Harstenhoekweg 4, where a social center has been established since February. The warrant was served because a so-called ‘illegal cafe’ is being operated in the building. The AC was already in discussion with the municipality to find a solution for the so-called ‘illegal situation’ but the mayor doesn’t want to wait for this.
The mayor has given an order that the building can be closed from 12:00 on September 22. The AC collective is looking into its legal options to avoid closure of the social center. All activities have been temporarily suspended until the situation is more certain. It should be clear that we are not giving up and that we are, together with our lawyers, looking into the steps that we can take against the mayor’s decision
The order to shut down is the latest step that Hague mayor Jozias van Aartsen has taken in a series of repressive measures against anarchists and autonomous spaces. Several Hague anarchists wrote a text about these measures: ‘The area ban against anarchists in a broader context of repression in The Hague‘. It is clear that the current situation is not an isolated incident but part of a bigger picture. The mayor is trying yet again to close places where space is made for extra-parliamentary politics. Keep an eye on the Autonoom Centrum website for updates. [Read More]

Today, 14th September,  during a court sitting concerning the complaint for prolonging the arrest of the 3 anarchists, a decision was made to release them on bail. A fee of 20 thousand PLN (4600 euro) was set for each of them. If the money is transferred in a week’s time (7 days from today), the arrested will be released and kept under police surveillance instead. 
[Read More]

About the three anarchists arrested in Warsaw: 

On the night of May 23^rd, the police in Warsaw arrested three anarchists on charges of an alleged arson attempt of a police vehicle. The three were transferred to a remand prison where they are to be held in custody for three months, awaiting trial. They face up to 8 years in prison.

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[Agrinio, Western Greece] Apertus squat: Solidarity with the struggle against slavery in US prisons

The US prison operation relies heavily on the work of the prisoners themselves, while many prisons have now been privatized. Also, prison labor is being exploited by multinational companies (Honda, McDonald’s, Victoria’s Secret, Starbucks, etc.). Payment that prisoner-workers receive for their labor varies from minimal to nonexistent. Furthermore, surveillance, inhumane conditions of detention, discipline, various methods of torture, etc., are traditionally the first choices for the smooth operation of these prisons.

[Read More]

Squat Kumma is a squatted house in Malminkartano, Helsinki.

Week program: Wednesday 7.9: Coffee and hanging out at 17.00 and at 19.00 we are going to watch documentaries, also some squatting documentaries!
Thursday 8.9: House renovating and coffee. You can bring your surplus: furniture, dishes, kettles, chairs, bikes etc!
Contact info: Address: Piianpolku 7, the white house in Piianpuisto.
House phone: 046 954 6154
You can call if you are coming when there’s no scheduled stuff going on, if you want to organize something etc. (Please notice quiet hours 23-09)
There are safer space rules in the house – let’s respect everyone’s private space. Sexism, racism, transphobia, homophobia or othe discriminating behavior won’t be accepted.
Welcome!
Email: kumma [at] protonmail [dot] com
http://kumma.me/

While most of us turned our brains off and connected ourselves to solar charging, the second issue of the community Inde’s newspaper Počasnik was very quietly released into the world. It outed in mid-August, and you can grab your copy at the premises of The Creative Platform Inde, as well as around town … at different places – in libraries, at faculties and other educational houses, and if you ask nicely, maybe even your neighbour can lend it to you…

In it you can find a range of articles that were written by co-workers and colleagues of our newsroom. The topics discussed in Počasnik# 2 are among others: a presentation of the (Istrian) game pandolo, a biography of the life of the coastal skater community, reflection on the events from the time of the defence of the autonomous space Rog Factory, an interview with Mladen Jovičič from the Union of Crane Operators in Luka Koper, an illumination of what is hapenening with the Trieste’s polluting giant Ferriera, a presentation of the practice of urban gardening, a column, which is not that, and much more …

The media platform Inde is slowly getting its shape. Contractions before the birth of the second baby were at times jerky and painful, but we heard that this is always the case. Because things that are too easy, do not settle in the heart. We hope we have weighed well the weight of our words; when we haven’t, let’s not forget – we are all learning. [Read More]