Regarding the recent evictions in Oslo

We in Vestbredden knows there have been questions and a need for an update from our international supporters, after the recent evictions in our street. A lot of supporters have been asking weither Vestbredden is evicted or not, it is important to keep the facts clear and as no international newspapers wishes to cover our struggle ; we must be our own media. There have also been lies about chemical weapons in the evicted spaces.

In the last two months, the entire Hauskvartalet as a whole has been squatted in protest against the sales prospect. The previously evicted Hausmannsgate 42 was re-squatted along with Brenneriveien 1 aka Hausmannsplatz.

Tuesday 05.07.2016; we were informed in the morning by concerned supporters that the cops had scheduled evictions of the two support projects at 05:00 the morning after, 07.07.2016 . We were already informed about the eviction notices that had been delivered externally by dialoguepolice previously.

At 05:30 the police got access across the roof of H40 while another team was ready to climb ladders into Brenneriveien 1 from the lower section of the Hausmania roofs. In few minutes, police had surrounded the area. Newspapers would later write that there were around 50 officers inside. Short time after; supporters, performers and photographers were covering the rooftops surrounding the eviction zone.

At 05:45 the police had managed to break through parts of the external barricade of Hausmannsplatz. They had evicted/arrested 4 people from Hausmannsplatz while one was remaining passively underneath a car. Another team was trying to access the fortified entry of H42, but newspapers wrote they had problems opening the wooden gate and described it as a «spiked trapdoor». At this point there was also the team on the roof awaiting orders to enter.

At 06:15 the police had managed to wield through the gates of H42 and the residents and supporters inside had gather in one room to make passive resistance against the police. Few minutes after «clearing the area», police started carrying out the current residents of the house.

At 07:00 all the people who had remained at Hausmannsplatz had been moved away from the area. The police and hired towing companies were moving away the «living units» and vehicles from the area while other crews were tearing down our gardens.

At 08:00 the last cars had been moved out of the area and disgraceful cementbeads stuffed with flowers had been put up as barricades against new vehicles. It had also been installed a security box with two guards working in shifts 24:7. Out of the 13 people who had been evicted, 11 were arrested and were later given fines that added up to 40,000 NOK roughly.

The fact that Oslo Kommune is still attempting to scare people away with extreme fines and police violence is to us despicable, but no surprise…

Hausmannsgate 40 is still standing, but we are back in a unstable situation as the properties as far as we know are ready to be taken over already. The squatted properties changed the details in the contract between URBANIUM AS and Oslo Kommune because the contract states that only one of the properties in the sales prospect is inhabited; that information has been incorrect for the past two months until now. We are still excluded from the dialogue between the different parts in the prospect and representatives from MDG/The Green Party and AP have both refused to comment any further on the case.

We do not know the extents of a future eviction of H40, but we do know that Espen A Pay has told the media he is intending to demolish the 130 year old houses to fulfill his city-ecological Camdentown cultural masochist-fantasy.

The contract is still not signed, and each day is another victory for us.

We hope you/your collectives will be able to assist us in the future and hope this release has cleared some shit out for all of you.

A//E

Vestbredden Vel Vel, Hausmannsgate 40 0182 Oslo NORWAY

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