Protest at Local Council - Recall the Board!

Neighbourhood residents from Praga north interrupted the session of the local council today, demanding to get rid of the Board. The Board (mayor and vice-mayor) were notoriously appointed by the President of the City, instead of elected and receive fat bonuses for implementing the plan. Tenants are especially furious at the vice mayor, who came from the housing department and whose policies and actions in gentrifying the neighbourhood are infamous.

People brought a wheelbarrow into the council to transport her away. (Of course she probably prefers her car that the taxpayers foot the bill for.) The atmosphere was quite tense, with speeches made over the megaphone, drowning out the chairwoman. Surprisingly, there was support from the floor and a motion was made to put a recall on the agenda. The chairwoman broke the meeting and most politicians ran out to consult with each other and their parties about what to do. Although the majority of those voting supported this motion (and in fact, support a recall), there were a lot of abstentions and an absolute majority was needed, not a voting majority. Not that we expected her to be recalled this way. Not deterred, we continued to make noise, until a group of police came to get rid of us. People were angry and promised to come back with a bigger crowd and tougher action soon.

Below are more photos.

Authorities Hate Euro Reality Tours, Fet to Work on Potemkin Village

The Tenants' Defense Committee plans to take tourists on a walking tour of the slums and the area around the National Stadium which is disappearing due to gentrification and capital's war against the poor. The tours will be held in different languages and will take place during the Euro 2012 tournament.

(More information on the tours can be found in the English section of the Committee's page: www.lokatorzy.info.pl )

Picket in Support of Tenant to be Evicted

In April, people successfully blocked the eviction of Iwona from her home in the center of Warsaw. Her flat was privatized and the company which now owns the building wants the tenants out so they can speculate on the real estate. (A video of the blockade is here: http://lokatorzy.info.pl/udana-blokada-eksmisji-na-ul-hozej)

Iwona has been struggling with the city to get social housing. She was offered a small, one room flat (16 meters) but as he is an invalid and has a teenage son, she is demanding the two rooms that she is legally entitled to, or a room large enough that it can be divided. (She even offered to pay for that herself.)

On May 28, about 50-60 people supported her with a demonstration at the local council. However, on May 31, members of the Tenants' Defense Committee were called by Iwona to go back to the council. The city has decided to reject her request.

Demonstration in Memory of Maxwell Itoya

On May 27, a demonstration was held at the place that Maxwell Itoya was killed two years ago. Itoya, an immigrant citizen of Nigerian descent, was at the former Stadium market place when police arrested a man who was selling socks. He was thrown to the ground and handcuffed, screaming for help. When Max intervened, he was shot by a cop and bled to death. This happened on May 23, 2010.

Then, the ZSP held an emergency demonstration onto the police station. Other immigrants had been arrested during the incident. The widow of Itoya (a Polish woman, left with 3 children) and others demanded an investigation into the incident and punishment for the cop. The Prosecutor for Praga, Renata Mazur, just recently dropped the case, claiming their was a lack of clear evidence.

(See: http://zspwawa.blogspot.com/2010/05/police-murder-riots-and-protest-against.html 
and http://zspwawa.blogspot.com/2010/05/demonstration-against-racism-and-police.html)

Activists in Court, Fighting for Tenants' Rights to Tell their Point of View

Members of the Tenants' Defense Committee were back in court on May 16, fighting a lawsuit filed for "violating the good name" of a landlady who was the subject of a video which was put on its web page. The video, entitled "Bozena B. destroys families in Wawer" includes interviews with tenants, a film of the lady in action and also some recordings of how the police reacted to the situation. We won't print the woman's name again, since it will be used against us in court. The landlady was of course not happy to be outed. According to the extremely restrictive Polish laws limiting free speech, statements like that somebody "destroys families" can be considered slander.