After a whole day of the threat of an eviction, solidarity demonstration and support, the police finally showed up at the recently opened squat in the center of Reykjavík. At 08:00 in the morning between 40 and 50 policemen, including many members of the special force, came towards the house, attacked and arrested three people who were standing outside, sweeping the ground around the house. The squatters inside were told to leave the building and if not, they would get arrested. Of course, they refused to leave.

The police authorities might have believed that by coming early in the morning, the eviction would not get any attention and support. But they were wrong. Very soon, the neighborhood was crowded with people who came to follow what was happening and to show solidarity with the squatters. Many of the neighbors had already announced their support with the squat and denounced the plans to build shopping and office spaces on the spot.

The police closed the nearby streets and started attacking the house but the squatters had built proper barricades on all floors. When the police tried to enter the house from the back, they were met with expired dairy products that were thrown at them. After a bit of a struggle they finally got on to the first floor were nobody was. The squatters had barricaded the second floor extensively, so well that it took the special force two hours to get through, by using chain saws. All of the police’s attempts to get through were met with resistance; more things and liquids were thrown at them and sticks were used to push them down the stairs of the building.

During the police’s entry attempt the squatters held speeches through the windows. Statements against capitalists and authority were read out and the public was encouraged to take direct action against these violent forces of corruption.

“In this society, the most easy thing is to be silent; to stay behind the yellow police line and stand still; to stay at home and obey to authorities’ orders. That behavior leads to personal comfort. And isolated and personal comfort seems to be the main goals of many people’s lives.

The financial crisis are not the problem. The period of prosperity is the problem! It spoiled and silenced the public; it killed every sign of resistance.

We squatted this house as an act of resistance. Do the same – again and again and again. That’s how we change this society.”

The police’s struggle became harder and harder, since the resistance was to heavy for them. Every time the chainsaw became visible to the squatters, it was immediately attacked; every time it looked more like the police was getting on to the second floor, the heavier did the barricade become.

After almost three hours of struggling the police finally managed to enter the second floor. The squatters resisted but were attacked with peeper spray and violent behavior by the police. They were all handcuffed and put on the floor, while the police broke every second window of the house without any noticeable reason. The squatters were carried out and thrown into police vans, which were supposed to drive them to the police station. But supporters from the outside sat down and blockaded the street, with the purpose to stop the cars from getting their way, but were removed quickly.

A photographer was pulled out of the crowd by the police, dragged on the ground and half undressed. When he asked the police for the reason of his arrest he was told that it was because he had spat on a policeman in a protest by the parliament in January. Witnesses say it was obvious that the photographer was arrested because of how closely he photographed the police actions and how loudly he protested against it.

The squatters were driven to the police station were they were interviewed and kept there for up to 5 hours. Many of the arrested had breathing problems because of the pepper spray and one of them had been brutally attacked by a policemen. When being carried out of the squat, one of the policemen who was holding the squatter by her throat, kicked her head heavily to the door. In the police station the squatter was refused medical treatment if she would not give out her security number. Well, this is not a surprise; in the capitalistic democracy one does not deserve medical treatment except fitting to the regulations of this system of surveillance.

At the same time people had gathered by the police station to protest against the arrests and to show solidarity with the squatters. A black flag was pulled up on a flag pole in front of the police station and music played from a ghetto blaster. After several hours the arrested started to appear out of the station and were welcomed by the crowd, interviewed by the the media and fed by its supporters.

One of the squatters had a photo camera inside during the eviction, which was taken from her when she was arrested. She was refused to get it back when she was released but finally got it the day after. Then, the police had deleted all the photos from the camera. But the policemen are more stupid then they look like… and the photos are back. Many of them decorate this article.

The squat and all the public attention around it has brought up the necessary discussion about the conflict between property rights and the right to use. In the current atmosphere in Iceland, after the collapse of the economy, this discussion is way more positive than one could have believed. The banks own most of the empty houses and the banks are for sure not the most popular right now. The squat got heavy support from all directions, likely and unlikely, and showed that this is the time to start a squatting movement. The squatters of Vatnsstígur are far away from retiring.

A statement from the squatters will be published soon.