Before eviction miksaliste&noborder hostel bg
- Podrobnosti
- Napisal Komunal.org
- Kategorija: Prostori
- Objavljeno 28 April 2016
Napad na podporne strukture za migrante v Beogradu
Politično upravljanje z migracijami na “Balkanski ruti” je stopilo v novo fazo. Vse odkar je ob koncu marca v veljavo stopil sporazum med EU in Turčijo, je bil eden od njegovih temeljnih izrazov represija nad ljudmi, ki potujejo skozi Balkan in nad tistimi, ki so del podpornih in solidarnostnih struktur. Na številnih točkah na poti je prišlo in še prihaja do uporabe neizmerne stopnje nasilja: od grških otokov do Makedonije in Bolgarije. Po drugi strani je bila Srbija vse do nedeljskih volitev edina država na balkanski ruti, kjer so se ljudje lahko bolj ali manj svobodno gibali in so bili deležni relativno majhne stopnje državne represije. Toda zaskrbljujoči dogodki v zadnjih dneh kažejo na to, da se tudi v Srbiji situacija hitro spreminja na slabše.
Več kot dva tedna je skvot No Border Hostel v Beogradu nudil zatočišče pred težkimi vremenskimi razmerami do 80 osebam na dan. Ljudje, ki bi bili sicer primorani v prenočevanje v mestnih parkih so tako našli vsaj nekaj zasebnosti in možnosti za počitek. Danes 25. aprila 2016 ob 10. uri zjutraj so v prostore skvota prišli uniformirani policisti in kriminalisti ter vsem prisotnim ukazali, da se nemudoma preselijo v center za tujce Krnjača na obrobju Beograda. Pri tem so se sklicevali na člene novega zakona, ki za osebe, ki še niso bile registrirane pri srbksih oblasteh, predvideva obvezno napotitev v centre za tujce. Zahvaljujoč lokalni in mednarodni pravni podpori na kraju samem je bil ta argument kmalu zavrnjen, saj se je izkazalo, da je omenjeni zakon sicer res bil sprejet, vendar v veljavo stopa šele 28. maja 2016. Zavajujočega ravnanja policije pa s tem še ni bilo konec in kasneje se je pokazalo, da gre zgolj za začetek serije zelo problematičnih in morda celo ilegalnih dejanj policije na ta dan.
Medtem ko je policija sedem ljudi odvedla iz NoBorderHostel skvota na policijsko postajo, kjer naj bi jih registrirala, je med aktivisti naraščal strah, da skvotu grozi uničenje po hitrem postopku. Policija je zastraševala mednarodne podpornike, saj je med postopki identifikacije nanje kričala in se do njih drugače grozeče obnašala. Na prizorišču je bilo prisotnih tudi nekaj gradbenih delavcev, s katerimi je policija tudi komunicirala. V tem momentu smo izvedeli za situacijo v Miksalištu, začasnem prostoru v upravljanju večih nevladnih organizacij, ki se nahaja v neposredni bližini skvota in v katerem je že potekala izselitev. Od začetka decembra je Miksalište zagotavljal sanitarne prostore, medicinsko oskrbo, hrano, čas za počitek, možnost tuširanja in varstvo otrok. Postalo je jasno, da na udaru ni zgolj NoBorderHostel, temveč celotna infrastruktura, ki je namenjena podpori migrantov. Miksalište je namreč že prejšnji večer prejelo odločbo o evikciji, po kateri so morali prostor izprazniti v 48ih urah, v primeru nepokorščine pa bi jim grozil odvzem dovoljenja za opravljanje solidarnostnih aktivnosti.
Če postavimo to zgodbo v širšo perspektivo nedavnih srbskih volitev in splošnega odnosa do ljudi na poti v Evropo, se represija v Beogradu lepo umešča v dobro uveljavljeno agendo, ki na eni strani ljudi potiska v ilegalo in izven vidnega polja na rob družbe, na drugi strani pa kriminalizira podporne strukture. Osem tednov po uradnem zaprtju Balkanske rute z blokado meje med Makedonijo in Grčijo, se represija in zanemarjanje osnovnih človeških pravic pomika vse bolj proti severu, s tem ko tudi Srbija prevzema linijo EU. Namera branjenja evropskega bogastva v primeru Miksališta in NoBorderHostla postane zelo očitna, saj se oba prostora nahajata na področju gradnje projekta Beograd na vodi. Jasno je, da investitorji iz Združenih Emiratov in Srbije nimajo nikakršnega interesa, da bi tolerirali neprofitna prizorišča v njihovih interesni coni.
Razkrit zlovešč nasmeh gentrifikacije
S spontanim protestom ob 18h sta bili tudi v javnem prostoru izraženi zgroženost in jeza zaradi ilegalne evikcije. Več kot deset sveže narejenih transparentov je napolnilo dva parka ob železniški postaji, ki sta tudi sicer vse od lanskega poletja glavni prizorišči migrantskega gibanja. Takoj, ko je zadonelo glasno vzklikanje sloganov, je na prizorišče prispela policija, ki je po koncu protesta med pospravljanjem transparentov identificirala prisotne in nekaj aktivistom izdala plačilni nalog, češ da so “smetili park”. Še en primer, ko solidarnost postane tarča arbitrarne policijske represije.
Politično simptomatično je, da je do nenadnega obrata srbske vlade prišlo takoj potem, ko je na nedeljskih volitvah (24.4.2016) vladajoča stranka mojstra političnega spektakla Aleskandra Vučića utrdila svojo oblast. Medtem ko so se vsi ukvarjali s seciranjem volilnih rezultratov, se je stara-nova oblast, ki je ciljala na absolutno večino in jo tudi dosegla, odločila izkoristiti priložnost in redefinirati svojo politiko do migrantov. Ta zasuk je potrebno razumeti v kontekstu očitno represivnega režima, ki ga je EU uspela v zadnjih tednih implementirati vzdolž celotne balkanske rute. V kontekstu deportacij migrantov, uničevanja solidarnostnih struktur na grških otokih, močno militariziranih in ekstremno agresivnih operacij na mejah med Grčijo in Makedonijo ter intenzivne uporabe nasilja proti ljudem na poti v Bulgariji in Makedoniji, lahko ukrepe srbske vlade razumemo kot nadaljevanje uveljavljanja istega vse-Balkanskega režima totalnega zaprtja rute. Na obrežju beograjskih voda raste nova politična ograja in z njo nov del trdnjave Evrope. Jasno je, da se medijsko spretna srbska vlada ni želela izpostavljati med volilno kampanjo, toda tovrstna previdnost pri implementaciji načrta EU sedaj ni več potrebna.
Za ljudi, ki so vpleteni v podporne in solidarnostne dejavnosti v Beogradu in širom Balkana, gre zgolj za še enega od incidentov v seriji napadov na svobodo vseh nas. Navkljub kriminalizaciji gest solidarnosti in čedalje večjem potiskanju ljudi v roke kriminalnih združb, ostajamo odločno na strani boja zoper Trdnjavo Evropo. Nadaljevali bomo z odpiranjem NoBorder skvotov, kuhanjem v NoBorder kuhinjah in na druge praktične načine podpirali ljudi, s katerimi želimo skupaj graditi novo in boljšo Evropo. Pri tem nas navdihujejo pogum in neskočno število dejanj upora naših sopotnikov in sopotnic z drugih delov sveta ter njihova kreativnost. Njihova dejanja so bila tista, ki so vsaj začasno odpravila mejni režim Trdnjave Evrope in zaradi njih imejo naši solidarnostni napori sploh smisel. Gibanja se ne da izseliti.
Kolektiv NoBorders Hostel
26. april 2016
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Call from NoBorders Hostel collective
Comrades, read, share, resist!
URGENT: Support structures for migrants in Belgrade under attack
The political management of migrations on the Balkan Route has entered into yet another phase. Ever since the EU-Turkey Deal came into force at the end of March, one of its main parts was the repression targeting both the people traveling through the Balkans and the people involved with support and solidarity structures. Enormous amounts of violence was and still is being deployed at many points along the route: from the Greek islands up to Macedonia and Bulgaria. On the other hand Serbia was up until last Sunday’s parliamentary elections the only country along the Balkan Route in which people could move more or less freely and were faced with relatively little state repression. But the worrying developments of today mean that also the situation in Serbia is changing fast and to the worse.
For more than two weeks there has been a No Border Squat in Belgrade, sheltering up to 80 people against the harsh weather and giving some privacy and resting space to people who otherwise had to sleep in the parks in town. Today at 10am a group of uniformed and civil clothed police officers entered the premises and ordered everyone in the house to move to the asylum camp Krnjaca outside of Belgrade. As the reason for this intrusion they cited the provisions of a new law that obliged people who had not been registered with the authorities yet, to move to the camp immediately. Thanks to the local and international legal support on the spot this argument of the police officers was soon discredited as it turned out that the law in question had indeed been passed but will not come into force before 28th of May 2016. But the deceiving behaviour of the police officers did not end there, rather it was just a first of many highly problematic and possibly even illegal acts that followed in the course of the day.
As seven people that stayed in NoBorderHostel were taken to the police station in order to register them there (see picture), the fear arose that the authorities will tear down the squat quickly. International supporters were intimidated as police conducted harsh ID checks that involved screaming and other threatening behaviour. The police officers talked to some construction workers who were also present at the scene. It was at that point that the news reached us that ‘Miksaliste’, a container park that is situated right next to the NoBorderHostel is being emptied. Since early December ‘Miksaliste’ has hosted many different NGOs and other basic support structures for migrants providing toilets, clothing, food, tea, showers, medical treatment and child care. Thus it became clear that it is not only the NoBorderHostel that is being targeted but that the whole support structure for migrants in Belgrade is about to be erased. It turned out that yesterday evening Miksaliste got an eviction notice from the police in which they were told to vacate the container camp within 48 hours. In case of their non-compliance the NGOs were threatened to loose their permission to continue with solidarity and support activities.
Putting these incidents into the big picture of the recent Serbian elections and the general climate towards people on the move in Europe, the repression in Belgrade clearly fits in the well established framework of pushing people into illegalization and further out of sight into the shadows of remote areas on the one hand and criminalizing support structures on the other. Eight weeks after the official closure of the Balkan Route between Macedonia and Greece, the repression and neglect of basic human rights moves further north as Serbia too steps in the EU’s line. The intention of defending Europe’s wealth becomes extraordinarily obvious in this case as both Miksaliste and NoBorderHostel are located in the area of the Belgrade Waterfront Project. Investors from Serbia and the United Emirates clearly have no interest in tolerating non-profitable venues in their interest zone.
Gentrification uncovers its ugly smile
Outrage and anger about this illegal evictions was taken into the public scene in form of a spontaneous protest at 6pm. A dozen of freshly painted banners was unrolled in the two parks around the train station that are the main stage of the migrants movement since last summer. The police showed up as soon as they heard slogans echoing from the walls. When the protest was over and the banners were collected they asked for IDs and charged four activists with a hilarious made up fine multiplied by the number of banners – for ‘littering’. Again another sign of solidarity that became target of arbitrary police repression.
What is politically symptomatic is that the sudden 180° turn of the Serbian government came immediately after the ruling party of the master of political spectacle Aleksandar Vucic consolidated its grip on power at the Sunday’s elections. His party aimed at and ultimately gained an absolute majority and while everyone was busy dissecting the electoral results, the old and new government decided to use the opportunity and redefine its policy towards the migrants. The move of the Serbian authorities should be understood in the context of decidedly repressive regime that the EU has managed to implement along the whole Balkan Route over the last weeks. Deportations of migrants as well as destruction of solidarity structures on the Greek islands, heavily militarized and extremely violent operations on the border between Greece and Macedonia and the excessive use of violence against people on the move in Bulgaria and Macedonia are the context in which the latest move of the Serbian government can seen as an implementation of the same Balkan-wide regime of total closure of the route. Another political fence along the walls of Fortress Europe is being built on the Belgrade Waterfront. Clearly, media-savy government of Serbia did not want to expose itself during the election campaign but now this caution is no longer necessary and the implementation of EU plan in Serbia can happen.
For the people involved in support and solidarity work in Belgrade and across the Balkans this is just the latest in a series of attacks on the freedom of all of us. But even as gestures of solidarity get criminalized and people are pushed into the hands of criminal associations, our resolve and determination to fight Fortress Europe does not vain. We will continue to open NoBorder squats, to cook in NoBorder kitchens and to support the people with whom we want to build a new and better Europe together in other practical ways. We are inspired by the infinite acts of resistance and courage from our co-travelers from other parts of the world. It is because of them that the border regime broke down in the first place and it is because of them that our solidarity efforts make sense. You cannot evict a movement.
NoBorders Hostel collective
#BelgradeRefugeeFront
26th April 2016
https://openborder.noblogs.org/…/urgent-support-structures…/