Bure (France) – Forest Occupation Eviction

Tuesday 22th, since 6:15 am, 15 gendarmes’ vans have entered the Bois Lejuc, near to Bure, and are proceeding to its expelling. Many arrests are still ongoing.
Call for gathering at 6:00 pm (18h) in front of prefectures, and a call to converge in Bure for those who can!

See for ticker: http://en.vmc.camp/

[Read More]

Meet the new solidarity structure – International Anarchist Defence Fund

Worldwide the forces of repression are cracking down on anarchists. In the summer of 2017 a few activists discussed the idea of creating an International Anarchist Defense Fund (A-Fund) and today it’s finally in action.

Our collective support structure provides support to anarchists around the world who are persecuted or find themselves in a difficult life situation because of their political ideas or activities.

We are very much different from other solidarity structures in the way that we offer direct involvement into distribution of funds instead of usual charity-style solidarity. The Anarchist Defence Fund incorporates the model of solidarity introduced by the International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund.
[Read More]

Gent (Belgium): Kraaiennest, new squatted social center

On 15 february 2018, a few hundred people were demonstrating in Gent against the squatting ban. They ended up occupying a big empty building for people in need of housing. The banner on the squatted building is stating: “What is not allowed is still possible“. From 23 till 25 February, the action weekend against the squatting ban will take place in Gent. This new social center is called Kraaiennest. More events in Gent are to be found on Chiropractor.

Sociaal Centrum ‘T Kraaiennest
Brabantdam 33, 9000 Gent, Belgium
kraaiennest [at] riseup [dot] net
https://kraaiennest.noblogs.org/
https://squ.at/r/4bke

Belgium: Call to demonstrate against the anti squat law. International call out for solidarity

Call to demonstrate against the anti squat law, against the war of the poor – Thursday 15 February 2018 – 19:00 – BLANDIJNBERG – GENT

On 3rd November 2017, a squat on Stapelplein in Gent was attacked. A family with young kids was living in a house, not to have to sleep in the park as they did before. A group assaulted them with sticks and fireworks. This was an act of racially motivated hatred against Roma. This hatred is fueled by a media campaign, spreading a lie from the owner. The house was left empty, and later nobody was living there.

On 26th November, a racist demonstration walked through Gent. In their own words, the mob took the streets “against injustice”, “against politics”. Slogans anti Roma were screamed during hours. In the prostitution district, sex workers were insulted. Homeless people at the Baudelopark shelter were also intimidated. This orgy of racism, misogyny, hatred towards the poor went on without meeting any resistance. Het Laatste Nieuws only titled a “demonstration against injustice” on their website. [Read More]

Spanish state: temporary end of the anarchist terrorism myth

After a total of 33 arrests, three years of investigation during which hundreds of documents were analysed, house searches across the country, hours of phone conversations recorded, bank accounts frozen, and, worst of all, after subjecting some of the accused to months of imprisonment, Spain’s Audiencia Nacional tribunal has closed the legal proceedings and state persecution of anarchists known as Operación Piñata. The reason: lack of sufficient evidence to put anyone on trial. The decision follows the request by defense lawyers to dismiss the investigation.

The police Operation Piñata joins Operations Pandora and Pandora II as criminal cases against the so-called ‘anarcho terrorism’, as the Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez, called it during the morning when the arrests took place in March 2015.

Five of the twelve defendants under Operación Piñata were placed in custody for months. The arrest warrants made reference to acts of sabotage, possession of explosives and even possible criminal offenses related to trafficking of narcotics or psychotropic substances’: none of which was supported by evidence. [Read More]

Amsterdam: ADM wins court procedure

Another court-case took place on January 24th, ADM asking for an interim measure in the appeal court-case of Chidda versus The Municipality of Amsterdam, about evicting the ADM.

Today February 7th 2018, we did get the interim measure so this means that we can await the verdict in our appeal case that is expected to take place in the summer of 2018. ADM stays!!!! You can read the verdict in the interim measure court-case here: https://www.raadvanstate.nl/uitspraken/zoeken-in-uitspraken/tekst-uitspraak.html?id=93981&summary_only=&q= [Read More]

Netherlands: Squatting Office Hour The Hague

Gentrification and the sale of council houses are causing renting to become more and more expensive, while the private housing market remains out of reach for many people. Despite the critical shortage of affordable housing, many houses in The Hague and its surrounding needlessly remain empty for a long period of time. Against this background, anti-squat (property guardian) companies portray themselves as the solution, but by housing people in precarious situations they only further dismantle tenant rights.
Government and private companies won’t solve the housing crisis. As long as there has been housing shortage, there are people who claim their right of residence in vacant spaces. This worldwide phenomenon is called squatting: the act of taking into use abandoned buildings or sites — without permission of the owner. Up until today squatting offers solutions; from providing housing to the creation of spaces for social initiatives.
KSU The Hague is such an initiative. We want to be an information point for people with questions about housing rights in general and the theory and practice of squatting in particular. Please don’t hesitate to drop by or send us an email!

Every Wednesday from 19:00 till 21:00
Spui 277, 2511BR, Den Haag
ksu-denhaag [at] riseup [dot] net
https://kraakspreekuurdenhaag.noblogs.org/
https://radar.squat.net/nl/den-haag/kraakspreekuur-den-haag

Rebuild Libertatia

On January 21, 2018, a series of fascist attacks on emancipatory structures of the left-wing radical movement took place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. Tens of thousands of fascists, nationalists, patriots and clericals had gathered to give new impetus to the long dispute over the name of Macedonia and the legacy of Alexander the Great. Nationalists in Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) claim the name Macedonia in equal measure. Both states provoke themselves again and again for years, i.e. by naming historical places or airports after Alexander the Great. Since 2014, there have been no negotiations between the two countries.

Nevertheless, an agreement emerged lately.
At least on the Greek side, however, the nationalist movement wanted to stifle such an agreement, and therefore mobilized since weeks to the first nationalistic mass demonstration since 1992 in Thessaloniki, the capital of the northern Greek region of Macedonia. [Read More]

The Hague: 1st february, support De Vloek 10! Come to the Court of Appeal!

On the 1st of February the appeal of the 10 people who resisted against the eviction of De Vloek. The city of The Hague (Netherlands) tries to impose a fine of 50,000 Euro against the 10, earlier the 10 were convicted to pay 33,000 Euro. The court case will start at 09:30am at the court in The Hague.
On the February the 9th, 2015 the free space De Vloek was evicted. De Vloek was squatted for 13 years and offered people a place to live, a vegan and organic eat café, a space for concerts, several working spaces and the development of extra parliamentary politics. After a one and a half year campaign to save De Vloek the free space was evicted for a sailing center.
During the eviction 10 people were arrested. All arrestees were prosecuted, five of them were imprisoned for 2 weeks. The city of The Hague now also demands 50,000 Euro “damages” from the 10 in a civil court case. The claim for damages by city authorities is a repressive way to punish the 10 people double who resisted against the eviction. This absurd claim must be off the table!

Come to the court case and support De Vloek 10!
Date: 01/02/2018 Time: 9am
Location: Paleis van Justitie, Prins Clauslaan 60 , The hague, Netherlands
[Read More]

Montreuil/Paris (France): Occupy houses, destroy prisons! Demo next February 16th

Demonstration, Friday February 16th, 2018, at 7pm.
Meeting point at the entrance of the pedestrian street, metro Croix-de-Chavaux, in Montreuil.

Housing problems in Montreuil?

Obviously yeah! Here it’s a pain to find a place to stay when you don’t have the good papers, the good guarantors, the good payslip or problems with the CAF (French social welfare). A pain for those who don’t want to, or can’t, bend themselves to all the conditions asked by the owner, wait for years for social housing, bite the bullet at each financial aid for housing reform. [Read More]

Thessaloniki: Libertatia occupied centre burned by fascists

Members of a mass nationalist rally in Thessaloniki attacked and burned a squatted social centre Libertatia in the city today, though fortunately no injuries have been reported. The building was however completely destroyed in the fire, despite of residents from a neighbouring block of flats and the fire brigade trying to extinguish it.
The two-storey building was squatted in 2008, originally as an immigrant social centre. Later it evolved to a general social centre used by a number or groups. Towards the end of its existence it was used mainly as a housing squat.
“It is a historical building: one of the few that survived the nazis but unfortunately was destroyed by their grandchildren” commented one Greek anarchist, who prefers not to be named.
Initially antifa campaigners had thought they were getting the best of the day, as all fascist propaganda had been removed from walls in the city ahead of the protest, however the “Macedonia for Macedonia” gathering eventually swelled to, by police counts, around 100,000 people including a large number of fascist thugs.
Starting under a statue of Alexander the Great, a violent wing of the rally first headed towards social centre The School, but were repelled by anarchist fighters defending the space. They then moved on to the Libertatia, which was relatively undefended, and set fire to it. The listed building has been totally destroyed. [Read More]

Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): Letter to the local committees, the supporters of this movement, and to all those who recognize themselves in the movement against the airport and its world

We are witnessing these last weeks a stream of media statements about the zad in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, France, and its future – airport or not, evictions or not, new Larzac or not, blah blah. Suffice to say that we do not necessarily find ourselves in these statements, or not at all, or our ideas are on the contrary. Some feedback lead us to believe that it is not always very clear, for the members of the local committees, the supports and the sympathizers, especially those who are far away, geographically, from the zone. This letter is addressed to you, because we want to explain what we understand about the situation, and also to carry a different voice than those most heard in the media. [Read More]