Space Invaders

On April the 11th the Tekenschool (part of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam / Hobbemakade) was squatted by April 2008 Coordination Group. The rest of the program will take place at that location. It will also be the starting point of the Reclaim the Streets starting at 15:00 hrs on Saturday April the 12th. Reclaim the Streets

On the 11th, 12th, and 13th of april 2008 Amsterdam is joining the International Days of Actions for Autonomous Spaces.
There will be actions, demos, workshops, concerts, food, games and more.

We start the Action Days on Friday the 11th
at 11:00
with breakfast in the Vrankrijk (Spuistraat 216) .

Come all and join us in the struggle for autonomy!!!!

Program: (more…)

dazed and confused tourists, robotic workaholics on their way to the office and shopaholics maxing out their card in record time….
This is the way that we see on the streets of this city. Our movement while we are in public spaces is always controlled (by police, by security cameras…). being in a public space has to always be justified in some way, having to explain what your role in the flow of the capitalist machine is. Unless of course you belong to one of the marketed capitalist identities.

People are being taught to only imagine the streets and not to live the streets. This is because the idea that most people have of alternative street life is given by distorted and sensationalized mainstream media.
This fear is very fast resulting in the separation of people based on class, gender and skin colour. As an end result rich people have more right to walk the streets than homeless people. women are taught to fear walking the streets alone at night. Non whites are more suspected when they walk through certain neighbourhoods. These imposed separations are trying to give certain individuals more right of being on public spaces. this makes everyone else who is not useful to the capitalist flow feel uncomfortable and never truly belonging in a public space.

There is no escape in this maze from the constant sensory bombardment of capitalism, which tries to convince us to work, buy and shut up. On every street we only see the messages of consumer marketing and prepakaged culture. we dont have the right to even have any input on what the street can look like. If you dont have the money to buy space, your expression will be criminalized and oppressed.

have the streets become nothing but a space for easing the flow of the economy? This is not our vision of what a public space should be. The streets should be the place where spontaneous encounters and situations can appear and develop, where no one is threatned with having to justify why they are there, just because for their appearence or social status. With reclaim the streets we are taking back the right to be seen and heard in a public space as we confront the current situation of capitalist domination. The streets are to be used for cultural and political expression that goes beyond how any billboard tells us to live our lives. We claim our space and reject the control, surveillance and opression that is put upon us by authorities. we want to feel free on the streets doing what ever we want, without being given the identity of a criminal just because we are breaking their boring law and order or stepping out of the line.

FOR INFOS AND UPDATES CHECK INDYMEDIA OR CALL THE INFOLINE: 0619650959

On Saturday the 5th of April there will be a demonstration in Amsterdam as a kick-off for the squatting actiondays on the 11th and 12th of April which take place all over the world. The demonstration will march through the Amsterdam city centre to raise awareness about the importance of autonomy and free spaces.

Social centres form the logistic and social backbone of a political a-parliamentarian opposition; they also provide space for all kinds of anti-commercial and culturally alternative activities. The last years have shown a heavy attack against these structures by the capitalist establishment.

All over Europe,
 repressive agendas are being pushed by governments. For us the reason behind this is clear. The political elite tries to destroy the foundation of the non-conformist part of the population.

We are on the streets because we claim the autonomy over our lives. We want spaces free of oppression, hierarchy and authority; an environment that is actively fighting racism, sexism, classism, nationalism and fascism. We want spaces free from the domination of capital and the mechanisms of labour. Only the abolition of the logistics of the free market such as competition and wage-slavery will create an atmosphere where people can engage on a basis of infinity and solidarity allowing them to work collectively and voluntarily.

This is what we fight for and we are not willing to compromise our ideas nor will we settle for any less. Join us on the 5th of April 3pm Spui, Amsterdam.

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Persbericht Demonstratie 5 April

Op zaterdag 5 april gaat in Amsterdam een demontratie door als kick-off voor de actiedagen voor kraken die op 11 en 12 april over de hele wereld plaatsvinden. De mars trekt door het Amsterdamse stadscentrum om de aandacht te vestigen op het belang van autonomie en vrijplaatsen.

Sociale centra zijn de logistieke en sociale ruggegraat van een buiten parlementaire politieke oppositie, ze bieden ook ruimte aan allerlei anti-commerciële en cultureel alternatieve activiteiten. De laatste jaren komen deze structuren zwaar onder vuur te liggen van het capitalitische establishment.

Doorheen heel Europa voeren overheden repressieve agendas door. De redenen daarvoor zijn ons duidelijk. De politieke elite probeert de fundamenten van het non-conformitische deel van de bevolking te vernietigen.

Wij komen op straat omdat we de autonomie over on leven opeisen. Wij willen ruimtes die vrij zijn van onderdrukking, hiërarchie en autoriteit; een ongeving die actief vecht tegen sexime, klassenongelijkheid, nationalisme en fascisme. Wij willen ruimte die vrij is van de dominantie van het kapitaal en de mechanismes van arbeid. Alleen de afschaffing van de logistiek van de vrije markt, zoals concurrentie en loonslavernij, kan een omgeving creëren waarin mensen op basis van oneindigheid en solidariteit kunnen engageren om collectief en vrijwillig samen te werken en te leven.

Dit is waar we voor vechten zonder onze ideeën te compromiteren, met minder zullen we geen genoegen nemen. Vervoeg ons op 5 april, om 15.00u op het Spui in Amsterdam.