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Berlin: Yorckstr.59 evicted (06 Jun 2005, GMT, Indymedia int.)

(parts taken from http://www.indymedia.org/en/2005/06/116575.shtml)

The collective living space 'Yorckstrasse 59' that has existed in Berlin since 1989 was evicted by police in the early morning of June 6th (pictures 1 | 2 | 3 ). A number of people were arrested, some hurt badly, when riot police cleared several hundred people off the street who blocked the entrance of the building (video) and 150 from inside the building. Several actions took place during the day: a local radio frequency was hijacked for 4 minutes to announce the eviction., a house was squatted and a demonstration of 3000 people took place in the evening. All day people gathered in different places and blocked traffic, smashed storefronts or started small demonstrations (timeline). There were also demonstrations in other German cities: Göttingen, Köln, Hamburg, Pforzheim. Video


60 people, amongst them 10 children, were living in the warehouse. The building also housed several political initiatives, including the 'Antiracist Initiative', 'Poonal' - a news service on Latin America, a large space used for many parties/conferences/gatherings, the družbaR - a bi-weekly bar. The building's owner, Marc Walter, had bought the house in December 2003 and subsequently had started to harass the inhabitants (audio [de]). Posters were taken down, the use of the yard was forbidden, rooms were walled up and major reconstruction works, including much higher rents, were announced. The inhabitants refused to pay. Since the problems with the new owner began, there have been many actions in support of Yorckstr. 59, some of them as far away as Warsaw, Vienna, Malta or Uruguay.

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MORE here: http://www.indymedia.org/en/2005/06/116575.shtml

By newyorck at 2008-05-30 14:54 |