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Brighton police make early morning raid against squat.

Squatters Association of Brighton | 16.10.2007 14:43 | Free Spaces | Repression | Social Struggles | South Coast

At 4am Brighton police demanded squatters leave a new squat on Franklin road. Despite resistance by 5am the squatters had been evicted by the police, who were acting unlawfully without a court order.

Good Morning Pie Face!
Good Morning Pie Face!


The police refused to acknowledge the 'Section 6' notice and said they were ignorant of the law, even though the group of squatters had been previously evicted by the some of the same police recently.

There was a dog unit, 4 squad cars, drugs unit, and 2 undercover/civil cars (whose registration plates were noted), as well as a senior officer who was overheard saying that he would personally not tolerate squatting in Brighton. Not really a surprise there.

3 coppers kicked the door in, whilst 8 squatters resisted their efforts. Whilst this was happening the pigs laughed and joked about going holiday outside.

When the squatters were hauled out of the building they were threatened with arrest for not paying electricity or water bills. When the cops saw that there was 8 people, they couldn't be bothered with the paper work and just took peoples names instead.

The squatters argued with the cops for half an hour until they were threatened with detention, as the squatters left the area with the few possessions they could manage to take from the disused building which had been empty for the last 3 years, they were followed and harrassed by undercover police for about an hour.

It comes as no surprise that the police don't follow the law, they are an armed gang protecting what they think is normal society, but it is clear that if they think kicking young homeless people out into the rain at 4am is normal, they got a lot to learn.

Right now we are not going to give up squatting, because we have no choice, but organising ourselves against the pigs, landlords and politicians is the best adventure going right now - and we sure as hell ain't going to work for a living!

We won't stop squatting until the pigs fly off a cliff !

Squatters Association of Brighton

Comments

Hide the following 16 comments

squatting here

16.10.2007 21:37


hello! i hear your call and i´m sorry to hear how you´ve been treated. can you name the coppers involved at all? it is always best to expose them when possible. also, please consider filing an official complaint. there are a surprisingly high number of complaints that do get heard in the end and it all helps to expose the cops´ disregard for the law.

also, what do you think the chances are of occupying a space suitable for a social centre down here?

best wishes,

sean in brighton


"and we sure as hell ain't going to work for a living! "

17.10.2007 01:15

"and we sure as hell ain't going to work for a living! " really, then fuck you. Fuck yourselves.

People work cos they have to, cos that is the only way we can survive, thats is the condition of our class. Parasitism and drop out bollocks solve nothing, probably not even for yourselves as your 4am eviction should have taught you.

I defend squatting a great tool for projects and as a great way to save money, but anyone who thinks it is somehow an alternative to work can jog on. Its just a legal peculiarity that alllows us to get free buildings every now and then.

Fucking muppets.

anarchist communist
- Homepage: http://oh guess


'Arbeit Macht Frei'

17.10.2007 07:51

Yes Sean - off course every activist should aspire to making the ruling class richer, and to use some of their low wages to fund imperial wars.

Keep the economy at full speed till the oil runs out, what?

Apparently we need loads of cops, traffic wardens, CSOs and recruitment in the forces isn't as good as it could be.

The squatters could always get themselves nice uniforms.

In time they might even learn to love Argos.........

Goo Balls


work?

17.10.2007 09:37

I think the 'anarchist communist' needs to drop the 'anarchist' part of his name.

Forward comrade workers! To the Gulag with them!

squatter


Cosy little abode......

17.10.2007 11:18

Suggestion for a building you could squat. It is littled used and occupies a considerable space in the centre of Brighton. This is the masonic lodge. Change the locks and you will then keep out the likes of plod who would otherwise be visiting on the odd evening. You might recognise some of the faces that evicted you illegally.

Don't get mad, get even.

Yours, off to buy some superglue, for my models of course.

Rosa Revenge


workers of all countries -

17.10.2007 12:27

- take a break!

Surely the abolition of work, not the glorification, should be the centrepice of any anarcho-communist practice!

rtw


what is work?

17.10.2007 15:32

think there's some confusion here over what people mean by "work" -
obviously working at a job in the capitalist system i.e. allowing yourself to be exploited for profit and pay taxes to support wars, while sometimes necessary (hard to surive otherwise), is something that anarchists should avoid whenever possible.
on the other hand there is an awful lot of real "work" that needs doing in society - growing and cooking food, building and repairing houses, cleaning the streets, rearing children - whether there is money to be made on it or not. Ideally I guess anarchists should organise ourselves to do those jobs that are really necessary without making profits or paying taxes. Do work, not jobs!

emigre


It is better to be hungry than to be fat and wear a chain

17.10.2007 19:42

We all love work ( as free agents ) we all hate it ( as wage slaves ). That's why we want Anarchy. The communists are happy to work like ants for the benefit of the 'Socialist' State. I cannot think of greater satisfaction than doing the work I think is important and necessary...and nothing more depressing and humiliating than doing what I'm told. On the other hand you got to eat and keep a bit of a roof over your head. I don't think living on benefits is a solution, you are still part of the system you hate. Taking benefits may be justified if you work full time at some social or political project, you are giving back what you are taking and maybe more, but in general I don't think we should allow ourselves to live off other people's taxes, besides the fact that it is depressing to live off govenrments' handouts. I much prefer to live off my work - though I would like to be able to live off the land as it is natural, and not depend on a totally crazy system.
Squatting could be part of the solution, as life without paying rent, council tax etc. is much easier, but we should reclaim it as a right, not keep our heads down and just wait for the next eviction. Many squatters in the past were fighting to became ' legal' tenants. Speaking for myself I'm going the opposite way, giving up renting because it was taking half my wages when I was working long hours, I thought I was wasting my life to feed the landlord, the council and other parasites and I was also feeling lonely, I thought I could die in my little flat and nobody would notice so I just remembered how much happier I was squatting despite the discomfort and I went back to it, skipping, buying nothing- which is great in itself, try doing it for more than a day! - working more occasionally at paid crap and not being obliged to go to work every fucking day, which is paradise. I don't know if this is a solution, no solution until the revolution, but in the meantime it makes my life a bit easier and I can look at the sysem from outside, not being intergrated which is something I dread, it modifies my perceptions, and I have much more time to do what I really want. I think we all should look at ways to become self-empoyed - declaring we are earnig jack shit so we don't pay taxes to finance imperialist wars etc, it is very boring to fill up the tax declaration but we live in an imperfect world. We should look at ways to orgainse in worker's co-operatives, I know we are always subjected to the market but at least we have a tiny bit of a choice on which way are we working and at what...and above all we should reclaim the land! (and our natural rights to dwell and make a living on Her. Where do you think the indigenous communities in Chiapas and Oaxaca draw their energy from?)

one amongst millions others


Squatt'in

18.10.2007 09:34

There perhaps isa problem with percived or real slackness and lazyness on the part of 'squatters'...anarchists, hippys whatever. Its a cleeshay of course - the lunched out scenes that we all know and love. But does that matter for a start? Maybe people at some stage of their lives need that chaos - like the mania at the old free festivals. It can be annoying I think if people are dealing drugs as in reality 99% of the non protest/political squatts of hippys tend to be. Dealing, what should be a shared sacrament, within the hippy type reality, creates a perverted reality, of ultimately, containment of consciousness with babylon vampire system paradigm - for the people, that is, not the clique of squatters/in crowd. In this respect the american rainbow tribe type vibe have it right - no dealing, sharing only, of 'consciousness' type drugs, LSD, Cannabis, E, Shrooms. And certainly no unconsciously self conscious aping of brew crew casualities :~ (unfortunatly however, the american rainbow tribe do all this within a paradigm of plastic shammanic imitation of native americans rather than a real inter-tribal circle).

The story is actually about incredible, mind blowing cosmicness, India style. Really like something from science fiction - (err, if thats ok Mr dealer sir, ducks, kowtows) Very very very very fluffy...in terms of pyscik/occult level especially)...so anyway, please stop taking the people for a bunch of punters there 'anarchist' squatters - especially hippy travellers, you guys really should know better. Come on, really hippys share!

Jah Bless.

Share and Enjoy


State benefits mean they control you.

18.10.2007 09:51

In Schnews a while back they had a piece which ran something like, " the contradiction in being an out and out smash the state anarchist while living on state benefits". This is something to think about.

Like the other contributor, the way to do it is to be self employed and in a cash trade. You are then in control and not controlled by the state.

Owain


addendum on work and benefits for numptys above

19.10.2007 03:58

how very nice of you to presume that the squatters claim benefits,cos I is one a dem and I certainly dont. As for work, I work at what I want to, when I want to- and not for any boss man who is creaming profit off my labour. And I only do that cos I has to in dis fukked up society. I dont fall for the ´must work and pay tax to be responsible anarchist´ ploy, I devote my energy to more positive ting innit? ie I live my life (but at least I have one)

chimp23
- Homepage: http://www.325collective.com


location?

20.10.2007 18:14

i'm writing an article on this and squatting in brighton in general. This is for The Badger (sussex uni newspaper). i was wondering if anyone knows where this specific squat is as the article needs a photo... if anyone has any extra information contact me at  ss373@sussex.ac.uk
no plagiarism, indymedia, i promise :)
-sol

Sol


cont...

20.10.2007 18:16

anyone who sees this please contact or reply by monday as the article must be done by tuesday, students should hear about this.

sol


more sqauts in b.ton then ??

02.11.2007 20:51

hi all

lets open more sqauts in the town ? i can help anyone if need be , email me  nov_oct@hotmail.com at any time


fox

fox
mail e-mail: nov_oct@hotmail.com


Seabored

09.11.2007 23:53

squatters - sort your gas and lecky out straight away! bton po-lice have hard-on for abstraction. and try not to trash the place too bad, that helps.

ps - that geezer earlier on this threat talk alotta hippy bollocks.

Shittish Gas


Has the incident been reported to the IPCC?

08.07.2010 14:12

Hi, has anyone involved made a complaint to the IPCC? If not I can represent you for free with doing this? Please could one of the guys/girls involved please Email me. Many thanks.

Ben Gareth
mail e-mail: roofcharity@googlemail.com
- Homepage: http://sites.google.com/site/roofhomeless