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