183 lines
8.6 KiB
Plaintext
183 lines
8.6 KiB
Plaintext
SQUATTING.
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Since October 1991's government talk of impending
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new laws to tackle squatting, the squatting
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community has been up and down and around the
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block trying to mobilize against the changes and
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waiting for something concrete to be announced.
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At the Conservative party conference last summer
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the home secretary momentarily united a
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disunited party with a set of 27 proposals to
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rectify the state of the UK. Leaving aside
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topics such as rising poverty, homelessness, cuts
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in social spending and increased taxation on the
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poorest section of the populace, he spelled out
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the dangers facing UK citizens. The blight of
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Britain's shining society was of course,
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squatters, travellers, hunt saboteurs, single
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mothers, terrorists, pornographers, ticket touts
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and child criminals. Henceforth, he promised
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more prison building, tougher sentencing and new
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offences for possession of items intended for
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terrorist purposes (like clocks?) and possession
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of information likely to be of use to terrorists
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for planning acts of violence (like who's who
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book ?). He also ended the right to silence when
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arrested whereby you need not say anything during
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questioning by the cops. Now it will be
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mentioned to the courts that you refused to
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speak in the interrogation. You can imagine it.
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Cop-'he refused to speak, your honour', judge-'he
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said nothing at all, eh?' cop - 'well, except
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when he told me to fuck off you filthy
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bastard!'.
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The Queen's speech on 18th November, where the
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old queen reads a list of intended legislation,
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did not specifically mention squatting, but
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included it as a part of the new Criminal
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Justice Bill (which will include the above
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mentioned new gems too).
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Landlords will still need a possession order from
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the civil courts to get an eviction BUT the
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court case will be heard Ex Parte, this means
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that the squatters will not be given notice of
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the hearing or be allowed to attend. As a
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squatter, the first you'll hear about it will be
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the knock on your door from the landlord or the
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cops telling you that a possession order has
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been granted and that you have 24 hours to leave
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or face arrest and a fine of 5000 or 6 months in
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prison. The government has justified the new laws
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saying that squatters will be able to get a
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hearing after their eviction. We suspect that
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squatters will not jump for joy at this. Also,
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any Landlord desiring a speedy eviction of
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unwanted tenants can simply claim that the
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occupiers are squatters as there will be no-one
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in the court to dispute this.
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At the time of writing (Jan 94) none of these
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proposals have been made law so SQUATTING IS
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STILL LEGAL despite unscrupulous cops, landlords
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and councils who have been trying to convince
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squatters otherwise. Squatters Action For Secure
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Homes (SQUASH), the group set up to fight against
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new laws, say that it is unlikely that this crap
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will receive the royal assent (when the Queen
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'approves' the law) before May or June 1994.
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SQUASH have been lobbying MPs to nominal effect
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but have secured sympathetic words fomr the main
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liberal housing charities. They have also done
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media work like giving interviews on TV and
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radio. The networking group (in SQUASH) have
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been working on getting out info to Tenants
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Associations about how the law could affect
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their rights. They have also tried to encourage
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groups to set up in areas where there is, at
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present, no real squatting group.
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Across London, various well established squat
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groups have been busy too. In Hackney, an
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informational leaflet was done to inform tenants
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and licensees on local estates of the proposed
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changes. Tottenham are monitoring empty
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porperties and prodduced a leaflet. They also
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called a public meeting, leafleting 2000 homes
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and flyering for the event too. New groups may
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be starting in Hammersmith and Tower Hamlets
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after initial meetings.
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RUTLAND PARK - future shock?
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The eviction of the massive squatted Rutland Park
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Mansions in Brent in West London in December
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could be the shape of things to come after any
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changes in the laws on squatting.
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Rutland Park Mansions have been occupied for over
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ten years after two thirds of the council-owned
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building had been left for years to decay.
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Declared as 'surplus to it's housing
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requirements', the council agreed to sell the
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site to Paddington Churches Housing Association
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(PCHA) as the latter wanted to link development
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to an existing PCHA block in Rutland Park. The
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development proposals failed to take into
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account the integrity of the Victorian buildings
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so the campaign to save the block made a
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proposal for a scheme whereby the existing
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buildings would stay intact. Much work was being
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done to secure refurbishment guarantees as
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opposed to demolition but various court
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appearances could not stop the eviction. Brent
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Council at one point were paying 100 a day to a
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security frimr for guards to live in the only
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empty flat in the block to prevent it being
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squatted.
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Despite a great and hearty local campaign, on the
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Sunday morning at dawn, 300 riot cops guarded
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baillifs who, ignoring friendly offers of tea,
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sledgehammered their way through the flats and
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set about destrying fittings and breaking
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windows.
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The police kept journalists out of the area near
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the squat saying that they feared for their
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safety and that they expected trouble from the
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squatters, talking of MOlotovs and booby-traps
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too. All this was just a blatant lie with the
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sole purpose of justifying the eviction by 300
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cops out of sight of th epress. No barricades
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were set and no arrests were made. It was
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well-known that the Rutland Park squatters were
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not out for a violent confrontation. Alongside
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the vicious eviction and demolition of Chestnut
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tree in Wanstead, less than a week earlier, this
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eviction was a sure sign of a new reality for
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those who squat to live or occupy to resist.
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Talking of which....
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Another European capital big squat is gone. The
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Wohlgroth in Zurich city centre has been
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evicted. Say hello to EC harmonisation.
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Home to 120 people, with a bar and cafe and
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numerous other totally together activities and
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spaces, the Wohlgroth was faced in November with
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an offer of an alternative building from the
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owners Burhle (an international arms company) and
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the local council. An empty factory (also owned
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by Burhle) in the Zurich suburbs was offered to
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the squatters if they left Wohlgroth without
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resistance.
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Wohlgroth people took the keys from Burhle and in
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front of the media (who's coverage has been
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good), handed the keys to 2 theatre groups, and
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declined the offer because the place had no
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living space and because they don't want the big
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office development to go ahead at the Wohlgroth
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site. The media coverage becomes more hostile,
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now that the 'reasonable' offer had been
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refused.
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On 20th November, 2000 people demonstrated for
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Wohlgroth with the motto "Wohlgroth stays where
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it is"; however, 2 days later, 300 cops with
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helicopters, anti-terrorist units and firemen
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standing by, turned up and the squatters had to
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leave the place. The crowd around the building
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were pushed by the cops and by water cannon
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whilst the cops inside trashed the place.
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On 24th November, Taro, a former homeless shelter
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closed by the city 2 years before, was squatted
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and on the 24th, a quick demo is held against
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the eviction resulting in 39 arrestws and an old
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man is struck by a stone thrown against the
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cops, resulting in massively hostile press
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against the Wohlgroth. On the Monday, cops raid
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the Taro looking for the stone thrower. Three
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more housses are squatted nearby and on
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Saturday, 800 people march against the eviction
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behind the banner - "What's all this bullshit
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about?". As we write, the cops are everywhere in
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the area and private cops (protectas) are
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protecting Wohlgroth whilst it is destroyed.
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Nobody know what will happen to the new squats.
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Source: Kasama FAX - 0041-02719012
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