Last year we squatted an old socialist "pioneer" shopping mall, and we organized there a cultural centrum for the autonomous movement. This was our first action as a group, and this was the first well organized squatting action in Budapest for years. We were evicted after two weeks. After it we've got a small basement from a rich friend of us, some of our friends run that place, called AK57 since that. Now we wanted to try our best again, and squat a new building.

We squatted a house last saturday (october 1st, 2005) in Budapest, Hungary. The building is the property of the local government of this district (Erzsébetváros, 7th district of Budapest). It wasn't used for three years now. In one day we moved in, cleaned the building, established an infoshop, a coffeshop, a freeshop, a huge dormitory, and a galery with four exhibitions and with one cinema.

We planned to make the opening party on sunday, so we invited our friends, comrades and the media (both the independent and the mainstream). Unfortunatelly the police arrived earlier, but they couldn't come in, since the door was locked; the funny point (that shows that we are much more organized than them) is that it was locked from outside. They were standing at the gates at least for one hour, we were watching them and arguing with them from the windows of the first flour; those who were invited (around one hundred people and the media) gathered on the street.

We wanted to discuss the situation with the local government, finally one member of it told us that he will come in to talk with us. So we let in him and one police officer as well. They told us that we have two choices:
a) we go out with our free will in this case the vicemayor is going to discuss with us
b) we reject the first solution and in this case the police is going to take us to the yard. In both situtations the police is going to write up our names.

We talked with them in our cinema: two of them and fourty of us. The policewoman seemed to be confused, but she tried to look like a tough one. The politician tried to be friendly and made promises - he had some personal contacts among us.

So we choosed choice a). We made a compromise that this time we go out, and try to talk with them. We made a strong promise: if they fuck us we will continue our struggle.

On Monday we went for the discussion with the politician. Of course he fooled us: he told us that it won't be an official discussion and the government won't cooperate with a group who makes illegal actions. Fine. We agreed than that one of those NGOs who signed our solidarity proclamation will give our portfolio to the goverment, and the politicians will make a decision until the end of october. If the NGO will not get an empty building from them (our will is to get Building A, which we squatted on saturday, it's in good condition, our things, the exhibitions are inside) until the end of this month, our group will continue his struggle. Until that time we'll put pressure on the government as we've learned it from the taktik of the EKH (actions on the street, both legal, illegal). In Hungary we will have elections next year too. We think we are the only well organized squatters in the capital of the country so we'll continue our struggle until we'll get a house.

We all know that we are the members of an international movement, that's why now we are asking for your solidarity. When the Ernst Kirchweger Haus in Wien, Austria was in danger, we organized ourselves, some of us hitchheiked to Wien and helped in those hard days, the others than organized a solidarity demonstration here in Budapest in front of the Austrian Embassy. Now we ask all of our comrades to put as much pressure on the leaders of our district as you can! We ask you, because this city really needs an autonomous cultural, social center! Try your best, make something creative, or simply do something similar (organize demos in front of the Hungarian embassies in your country!) to the solidarity demo which we made in this july to help our austrian comrades.

The struggle continues!

Long live the international squat movement!

Centrum Group

Erzsébetváros, Budapest, Hungary 3rd of october, 2005.

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Article about our first action from last year:
[1] http://indymedia.hu/cikk.shtml?x=19018

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The EKH solidarity action:

Solidarität Deklaration:
[2] http://www.gellenhaza.hu/peet/socialdisease/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1121506489&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Solidarity declaration and demonstration for the EKH:
[3] http://www.indymedia.hu/cikk.shtml?x=24289

Photogalery about the soli-demonstration:
[4] http://www.gellenhaza.hu/peet/socialdisease/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1121258335&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

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References

Visible links:
1. http://indymedia.hu/cikk.shtml?x=19018
2. http://www.gellenhaza.hu/peet/socialdisease/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1121506489&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
3. http://www.indymedia.hu/cikk.shtml?x=24289
4. http://www.gellenhaza.hu/peet/socialdisease/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1121258335&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Centrum Group

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