Police to move in after Amsterdam squatter chaos

The police have started evacuating squatters from the complex known as the Tabakspanden on Spuistraat in Amsterdam, NRC reports. The decision to start evacuating the squatters was made by Amsterdam's Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, the Dutch Public Prosecutor and the Amsterdam police chief after squatters built and set fire to barricades near the Slangenpand building Tuesday night. According to a press release by the police, they decided not to act then due to the size of the group and the poor visibility in the night. Squatters occupied the Slangenpand again around 22:00 Tuesday night, after they had vacated the buildings over the weekend. Squatters and artists had lived in the Tabakspanden on Spuistraat for decades, but housing corporation De Key, who bought the buildings in 2008, now wants to build a residential and commercial complex in the space. According to a spokesperson, the police have the impression that the building has been occupied by a new group of squatters, not the same people who left the building on Sunday. There is a mess on the street caused by the now extinguished barricades and a paint bomb that was thrown earlier in the night.

ontruiming #tabakspanden https://t.co/AHG5D4gH79 #slangenpand #spuistraat

— hansfoto (@hans_foto) March 25, 2015