Berlin: Mass occupation action at Tempelhof ex-airport, 20 June 2009

from various sources, updated 15 June 2009:

VIDEO: Have you ever squatted an airport? Berlin, 20 June 2009

Come to Berlin in June 2009 for the action days, including the squatting of the Tempelhof airport in Berlin 20/06.09
http://actiondays.blogsport.de/
http:// http://tempelhof.blogsport.de/

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from email:

Action days in Berlin, June 2009

Come to Berlin for the action days to fight for free spaces. We're all staying. Against gentrification, for freedom!

This year there will be the „We all stay! Action Weeks” again. Since the decentralized DIY concept of protest was so successfull last year we will continue to rely on it this year.

A preparation group will provide an infrastructure with sleeping places, info points, website, radio, ticker etc. The rest of the program is in your hands. Think about how to organize your protest against the dominating city planning. Be creative and visible for the general public or organize yourself silently.

We want to give people an opportunity to make their frustration and rejection about announced evictions of autonomous spaces, rising rents, ever growing surveillance, about control of public spaces and of course about profit-oriented and therefore exclusionary politics from the Berlin government.

But its not all about Berlin. We want to offer a stage to all emancipatory projects, collectives and campaigns that wish to inform people about themselves, about their struggle, their problems and their success. Here again: DIY! Hold workshops, start direct action!

The highlight will be the announced mass occupation of the former airport Tempelhof. This area is a prime example of how the Berlin government only deals with monetary interests.

Fashion Shows and the German Army can use the area while noncommercial culture is excluded by a security fence and pivate security. All this fills us up with rage! This is our city!

We have a right to democratically decide how our enviroment – our city – develops and how it is used. Let’s show the authoritarian policy makers what we think of their decisions!

For all projects and autonomous spaces that are in danger of being evicted! Against high and rising rents! Against public surveillance and repression! Against Gentrification! For our right to the city!

We all stay! (Wir bleiben Alle!)

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An update on the situation faced by Berlin's Rigaer94, a squat in the Rigaerstr in Berlin's Friedrichshain district

Translation from here

Berlin's Police Chief and LKA 5 (Landeskriminalamt) give the following prognosis

“The theme of gentrification will also be meaningful in the year 2009. Previous actions with a high degree of mobilization highlight, that this theme and the retention and expansion of leftist open spaces (Freiräume) rank very highly in importance within the scene.

It is to be taken into account, that major actions by the police against individuals and infrastructure of the leftist scene will be “responded” to by crimes against the infrastructure of both local and federal police or institutions relating to the courts. Furthermore, it is to be taken into account that the manifold actions (for example unregistered and spontaneous demonstrations) that follow such measures can result in violent confrontations.”

Thank you very much for this realistic analysis. We couldn't have said it any better! Something is afoot in Berlin: People are taking more and more to the streets, refusing to peacefully surrender to the political fairy tale. This was demonstrated recently by the “Wir Bleiben Alle” [We're all staying] campaign, which organized a mass mobilization for self-organized open spaces on March 14th, 2009 under the motto, “united we stay” [originally in English].

5000 loud and determined people took to the streets and combatively showed their displeasure with the police. Even better: more and more actions are piling up, and demos are becoming uncontrollable for police! This was also seen in this year's May 1st.

The Rigaer94 (squatted in 1990, partially legalized, already partially evicted several times and squatted again) was likewise mentioned in the quoted police report. Now an update on the situation from our side:

In January 2008, eviction notices was served to the squatted part of the house. Of course, we are happy that eviction notice did not relate to the first floor or the “Kadterschmiede” free space. Indeed, what hasn't already happened , can occur any day now! It is always possible, to find a bailiff standing before the apartment and announce that the premises within two weeks are going to be given away clean and tidy.

And the contractually secured apartments are also subject to the greed of our “property owner” Suitbert Beulker. At the moment, it looks like were are going to have once again fight it out tooth and nail in court against him.

At the beginning, he left us scores of court orders regarding unpaid rent. In mid-May, further notices regarding building alterations in the building. For the “removal” he gave us until June 5. Should these orders not be carried out, all current contracts will be annulled. At the moment, we are checking over the legality of these measures and how to fight against them in court.

This procedure is not new. Beulker followed the same strategy for a fairly long time in the conflict with the House project Liebig 14, which is also in his ownership. All of the rental contracts there are now lost and now the the second round follows in June. We are under no illusions: not much will come from the courts. Therefore, we will stay true to our motto: “By all means, on every level.”

Hence, we are pleased to be able to announce that Beulker has once again changed his legal team. Not only he and his business:
(Hausverwaltung Oliver Rohr, Großbeerenstr. 2-10, 12107 Berlin, Tel: 030 / 29 03 49 66, Fax: 030 / 32 50-33 54),

but also his lawyers:

Dorn und Kollegen, Müggelheimer Damm 264, 12559 Berlin; Clausewitzstraße 5, 10629 Berlin

are now proper targets of both spontaneous and planned expressions of anger.

It can't be ruled out, that he will abandon his plans for a partial eviction and instead wait and see what results his strategy will bring. Despite all of this, it is not out of the question that this year we will be faced with an eviction.

That means: pay attention to announcements. In case of an imminent evacuation, we will of course bring it to your attention and hope for your active support. In addition, we want to hold on to the notion of decentralized chaos, and with that, an attack on our structures and spaces can not be better responded to.

Defend Rigaer 94 —On every level, by all means— throw Berlin into chaos!

We're all Staying!

Rigaer94
(trans)

[original article]

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