A veteran group of squatters has occupied an empty £15m central London property purchased by a Russian oligarch in 2014 and opened it as a homeless shelter.
The extensive, five-storey Grade ll-listed Eaton Square property was bought by Andrey Goncharenko, a little-known oligarch who has bought a number of luxury properties in London in recent years.
The squatters – Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians, known as ANAL – said they entered the building through an open window on 23 January and have accommodated about 25 homeless people so far, many of whom had been sleeping rough around Victoria station.
Tom Fox, 23, one of the squatters, said: “It is criminal that there are so many homeless people and at the same time so many empty buildings. Our occupation is highlighting this injustice.”
[...]
“We have squatted many other high-profile buildings in central London in the past,” said Fox. “Admiralty Arch, Mayfair and Pall Mall. There are so many empty buildings like this one in central London.”
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A banner above the front door reads ‘USA ANTI-GOVERNMENT IN EXILE’, and a black flag displays the words ‘Antifaschistische Aktion’, a European anti-fascist network.
14 comments
"The squatters Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians, known as ANAL"
And we're supposed to take this seriously?
Eh, I've got mixed feelings about this one. While a program to reclaim and repurpose buildings that are abandoned or go undeveloped for long periods of time does sound appealing letting a group go about taking what they want with no regard for the law sends the wrong message and can potentially spark an international incident. Not only is it seizing private property without recompense or notice but two years doesn't seem like much time to consider a building abandoned considering the length of planning some projects take. An initiative by the government could set out clear conditions and a timetable to buyers, send legal notice before reclaiming property to give them a chance to develop it themselves as whatever venture they originally planned may prove more beneficial in the long-term. They could also coordinate existing services more efficiently than a random private citizens group.
It's also worth noting this particular group sounds like the UK equivalent of Sovereign Citizens, bearing no loyalty to the country and respecting no established law. While expressing concern for the homeless would suggest they are not psychotic social Darwinist Randroids incapable of seeing contradiction in their desire for absolute freedom contrasted with a willingness to buy, sell, or kidnap human beings including their own children who they would happily abandon to die because they don't feel like taking on the expense like the ones in the US I'd still be a little leery of them on principle.
"The squatters Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians, known as ANAL"
So...who wants to go live in the anal house?
Name aside, i think it is pretty criminal to have homeless and unused buildings at the same time, that stuff is getting out of hand in my city/country.
Im amazed that a 5 storey building in Eaton square can be bought for as little as 15 million pounds.
This is nothing new a lot of this went on in the 1970s with high end central London properties being taken over by squatters as a form of protest. Eventually they were chased out through legal action,as will happen here.
I dont see anything particularly fundie here,just good old-fashioned protest, and at least it draws attention to the plight of the many homeless in London
Speaking as someone who has squatted buildings in central London before, good on these people. It's fucking disgusting that perfectly habitable buildings are empty and unused while people freeze on the streets.
People are important than property.
Okay, talk about weird. I'm no fan of Anarchists or Libertarians, yet I can completely understand this group. Helps that they stand with Antifa. I may not be a fan of their positions on politics but I stand in solidarity with their ideals for the disenfranchised.
Bash the fash indeed.
I have a hard time taking an activist group with a name like "ANAL" seriously.
I commend their motives and their protest but on the other hand, they're those weird ultra-militant types who take things way too far into crazytown.
I agree with the sentiment, though. Unused abandoned buildings that are bought by rich jerk and stay abandoned is stupid.
There's no sense in buying an abandoned building if you don't intend to use it. It makes no sense! All I can think of is that the buyer is being a scumbag and preventing sad space to be converted into something that helps and/or serves society.
Perhaps the Rich Russkie is the REAL slime in this story.
I'm fine with Antifa as long as they aren't like the jerks who caused that brawl at that rock concert in that other FSTDT entry. A lot of folks say they're "Antifa", "BLM" or whatever, but they'll behave badly and make the Movements look bad.
I'm all for Civil Disobedience and "Not Playing Nice" but it shouldn't be antisocial.
Rock concert riots and blocking traffic so that it impedes even Ambulances is not good protest.
Blocking traffic only makes the citizens hate you. You want to appeal to them....The more allies, the more success you have.
I don't believe for a moment that their name was a funny coincidence.
I admire the apparent intent but if the owner gives them the boot then I'll have to side with the owner. That said, the owner could gain considerable good press by acknowledging them and giving them the go-ahead to continue. They're apparently not using the place anyway. Just got to get these people to sign the appropriate waivers so the owner isn't on the legal hook for anyone who gets hurt on the property and it becomes a win-win. Homeless get a safe, warm place to sleep and the owner gets to look good for their foreign charity.
At any rate, I see nothing particularly fundie in this. Technically criminal, sure, but not fundie. Now the group might indeed be rather fundie--I don't know because this is the first I've heard of them--but aside from some minor implications in their name I'm not seeing it here.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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