Ghent: The Pandemisten occupy ‘t Vredeshuis!

By: fawda - January 20th, 2023  Filed under: Communique, News

Peace, love and a little revolution.
Since January 2023 we occupy ‘t Vredeshuis!
The government tries to sell our public places without us noticing.
But the Pandemisten are back from never gone! We take direct action and fight against the privatization of our city!
‘t Vredeshuis was a place for international solidarity with a lot of organisations involved. We continue with this mission from bottom up and work together with organisations like Rojava Congres Gent, Woman life freedom, …
The biggest changes in the world came out of small initiatives from big dreamers. We take back ‘t Vredeshuis and welcome everyone to fight
together for what is ours: THE CITY!
Come join this new social-cultural centre! there’s a lot of space for a lot of projects!

Friday 20 january, reception, grand opening: https://squ.at/r/96ld [Read More]

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Atlanta (USA): In solidarity with the movement to Stop Cop City and Defend Weelaunee Forest

By: xxx - January 20th, 2023  Filed under: News

We call on all people of good conscience to stand in solidarity with the movement to stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta.

On January 18, in the course of their latest militarized raid on the forest, police in Atlanta shot and killed a person. This is only the most recent of a series of violent police retaliations against the movement. The official narrative is that Cop City is necessary to make Atlanta “safe,” but this brutal killing reveals what they mean when they use that word.

Forests are the lungs of planet Earth. The destruction of forests affects all of us. So do the gentrification and police violence that the bulldozing of Weelaunee Forest would facilitate. What is happening in Atlanta is not a local issue.

[Read More]

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Amsterdam: first squat action of the year, Spui 11

By: fawda - January 6th, 2023  Filed under: News

Yesterday, a new building was announced as squatted, a small manifestation was held on the Spui and flyers were distributed to the public. Police have been on site and said they were not planning to evict. The building housed the music store Hampe and Berkel for 179 years, last year they closed due to the corona crisis. The property will house people who would otherwise be homeless.

Some squats in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL/squated/squat
Groups (social center, collective, squat) in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL
Events in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/NL

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Montreuil: No Border weekend of discussions

By: fawda - December 1st, 2022  Filed under: News

Montreuil (France) – Every day, many people who do not have Western papers try to cross French borders, to enter or leave the national territory. By foot, by truck, by train, by boat, by bus, by car, they cross the lines drawn by the Western states to better establish their domination.

On the roads, a whole repressive arsenal is put in place to try to block or slow down people : the PAF (Air and Border Police), the gendarmerie, the military … many agents of the State in charge of harassing and chasing people trying to cross these borders. Posted on roads, paths, beaches, in the mountains and in train stations, they pursue, arrest, teargas, beat up and intimidate.

On the roads, we see the violence of the French administration, the incomprehensible and endless procedures which lead nowhere, the hours of waiting, the inquisitorial interviews, the refusals and push backs.

On the road, we see the CRAs (administrative detention centers), the violence of imprisonment, the hasty and unfair judgments, the forced expulsion from french territory. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Court case Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302, demonstration

By: fawda - November 30th, 2022  Filed under: News

Thursday 1st December 2022, demonstration, 18:00, Het Monument, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302.

Right now, we are housing four people. If we are evicted, they are without a home, and the Monument would be left empty yet again. Once again, Slumlord Hagedoorn would get get his eviction, while he leaves property empty all over the country. The past has shown that the authorities tend to side with property against the right to housing. Nevertheless, we’re ready to fight. We demand housing justice and an end to vacancy for financial speculation! Thursday, after our court case, we’re organising a MEGA demo. If we win, we celebrate the Monument. If we don’t, we’ll show that we’re not leaving quietly. Join our demo!!!!! [Read More]

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Athens: about the repressive operation and the defense of Prosfygika

By: fawda - November 27th, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

We are still here … The Community remains strong and united … Prosfygika will win!!!!

On 22/11/2022, at 5.45 am, all kinds of police forces, riot police MAT, state security, Delta, OPKE and EKAM, invaded the squated neighbourhood of Prosfygika on Alexandra Avenue and more specifically the 7th block, on Tikhonidos Street (behind the Elpis Hospital). They broke through the outer door of the building, breaking it. Then they went up to the second floor where two community companions, the arrested companion and another refugee from Iran live. They kidnapped both of them and proceeded to carry out a thorough search of the building. At the same time, the entire neighborhood was surrounded by the repression forces, not only at the site of the search but in total, attempting to occupy it.

The operation was spotted by the community’s daily morning patrol who began to inform the neighborhood. Comrades and compañeras took to the rooftops to wake up the rest of us. Not knowing exactly what was happening, we recognized that the operation was limited to a specific building, but we also realized the serious possibility of a general attack. In retrospect, we judge that the invasion that took place was premeditated from the morning. All the time that elapsed until the moment of the invasion was the result of preparation, judgment on costs and gains, as well as a measurement of our determination, by the officials of the GADA and the ministry. [Read More]

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Germany: Defend Lützerath

By: sisulscz - November 27th, 2022  Filed under: News

From January it gets serious: The coal company RWE and the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia want to clear and demolish the village of Lützerath [previously on S!N]. Under the village there are huge amounts of brown coal. In total, RWE wants to extract 280 million tons of coal from the opencast mine, which is six times more than our last chance of 1.5° climate heating allows. Now only we ourselves can prevent the coal from being burned under Lützerath.

Locally, a diverse resistance has developed: there is a protest camp, numerous squatted houses, weekly village walks and much more. We do not know when the eviction attempt itself will be. But we are ready.

Feel free to write us comments and ideas to presse [at] alle-doerfer-bleiben [dot] de.

Infocall Defend Lützerath

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Amsterdam: update Vossiusstraat 16 squat

By: fawda - November 23rd, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

Last Wednesday we heard the verdict of our court case. As many of you may have heard already, WE WON! This is not just great for all the people living in the Vossiusstraat squat and organising political events in it, but for the entire squatting movement and for everyone who likes watching (Russian) billionaires get their property taken away.

Volozh’s lawyer tried to claim that Volozh’s family plans to move into the building. In that case, why did they split the building into three different addresses? Why are there SIX bathtubs? Why does every floor have its own locks?

The renovations of the building were ruled to be unlawful. If we had not squatted the building, they would have continued their works undisturbed — as per their own admittance. This makes clear that at this moment, the sanctions are not actually being upheld by the Dutch government. [Read More]

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London: autonomous bookshop & cafe to open on Westminster Bridge Road

By: fawda - November 9th, 2022  Filed under: News

[update: court case Autonomous Cafe & Bookshop on november 25th]

Winter is coming, and that means the autonomous shelter season is upon us once again. Last year a St. Mungo’s hostel in Gray’s Inn Road was occupied from December to April, before exploding into a small network of interlinked shelters across Central and East London. The Autonomous Shelters Network is already back in action in solidarity with the houseless community at an undisclosed number of locations across the city.

This Wednesday will see the opening of the Autonomous Cafe & Bookshop in a former ‘necropolis station’ at 121 Westminster Bridge Road as part of the Autonomous Winter Shelter Network. It will be serving liberated coffee for pay-what-you-can from 2pm, with an open mike from 6 till 8pm. All money raised will be profitshared amongst people working in the cafe, or donated to helping finance the project. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: come to the court case for Vossiusstraat 16

By: fawda - November 8th, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

CALL TO ACTION: Come to our civil court case and support the squat on the Vossiusstraat 16!
This Wednesday 9th of November 10:30 at Parnassusweg 280, 1076 AV Amsterdam. Let’s show the judge, the owner Arkadiy Volozj (who is a sanctioned Russian billionaire) and Wolfs Advocaten that there is broad support for the squatting of Vossiusstraat 16. Volozj’s involvement in the war will not go unnoticed. We will not be intimidated by the law or the rich!

The court case is publicly accessible. You can be present for the entire hearing, or a part thereof, to show support for the action. To attend the hearing you need to show your identification at the entrance of the courthouse, but your name will not be shared with anyone besides the personel of the courthouse. It is therefore not anonymous, we encourage those who do not feel comfortable identifying themselves to the court to show up anyway but stay outside in front of the courthouse as a solidarity protest. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: building from russian oligarch squatted

By: fawda - October 31st, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

Today we are announcing our new home at Vossiusstraat 16. The police just arrived! Come and support.

We purposefully decided to squat this building, owned by Russian billionaire Arkadiy Volozj. As everyone knows, the Russian army invaded Ukraine this year. This is just the latest in a list of Putin’s crimes, against Ukraine, against LGBT people, in Syria, and many more. With this year’s invasion, the Russian state is finally widely denounced as criminal, genocidal, and as an authoritarian state. Volozj, who founded Russian propaganda site Yandex, has been placed on the sanctions list of the European Union since the invasion, as the EU determined he “is supporting, materially or financially, the Government of the Russian Federation and is responsible for supporting actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”.

Yet this house was not frozen until a few weeks ago, because it’s owned through a company on the Virgin Islands. The billionaire’s lawyers contacted the government to inform them of his property here, but the government didn’t send it on to the department responsible for sanctions. Clearly, the Dutch state doesn’t see it as a priority to curb billionaires and oligarchs. National sanctions coordinator Stef Blok claimed that the Dutch housing market just isn’t interesting to Russian oligarchs. That’s obviously bullshit.
About 9000 properties in the Netherlands were bought through companies in tax havens. 6000 houses are owned by companies that through shady constructions are untraceable. In total, they own 10.5 billion euros worth of properties. It’s clear: There is no housing shortage, there is an excess of rich people. [Read More]

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Rotterdam: a house in the Pompenburg flat has been squatted

By: fawda - October 26th, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

There are new squatters in town! A house in the Pompenburg flat has been squatted by the anarchist collective RATS. It’s squatted in solidarity with the inhabitants of the Pompenburg Flat who are fighting against the demolition of the building.

The building which is home to hundreds of residents in 226 social housing homes was announced to be demolished in 2019 (and residents only found out by the newspaper!) for a 250 meter high tower developed by RED Company in collaboration with social housing corporation Havensteder and gemeente Rotterdam. The building, which was originally not in the redevelopment plans for the Pompenburg area, was campaigned to be demolished by the municipality themselves despite over 80% of the residents against demolition. These plans also call for the eviction and destruction of communal gardens in Park Pompenburg and the various community projects based in Schieblock whom are dear friends of ours, for high rise towers of mostly luxury apartments.

We stand in solidarity with the residents organizing and fighting for the last three years against backroom deals to demolish their homes. Sloop ons niet! [Read More]

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