Solidarity with Abahlali basePizzeria Anarchia in Vienna, Austria

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press statement

Solidarity with Abahlali basePizzeria Anarchia in Vienna, Austria

Injustice in Vienna, Austria is an injustice in Durban, South Africa and is an injustice everywhere in the world.

Abahlali friends and comrades in living in Pizzeria Anarchia in Vienna, Austria have been subjected to a violent police attack by at least 1700 riot police, a helicopter, a tank, and a water cannon. The Vienna municipality has evicted at least 11 Abahlali there and 4 are still remained in building. So far 9 of the Abahlali there have been arrested. According to reports in Vienna the City has paid up to 500,000 Euros to evict people from the building which is industrial to advance their gentrification plan. This eviction has become a joke to people of Vienna that one person is evicted by at least 100 cops. This is shocking brutality that we condemn.

Abahlali baseMjondolo is part of a global community of resistance. We cannot remain in silence while our comrades are made homeless in Vienna. The very same brutality used by Vienna municipality is similar to what James Nxumalo uses in Durban's Cato Crest and which is used everywhere to protect capitalist accumulation even by the so called 'Communist Mayor' of Durban.

We call upon the Vienna municipality and its police to stop evicting these residents of their city and to respect their right to the city and their right to housing. We call upon the Austrian state to drop all charges against the Pizzeria Anarchia 9.We call upon the state to put the social value of the building before its commercial value. We call upon the Austrian state to investigate why so much of brutality by the heavily armed riot police is used to evict only 15 people.

Our comrades in Pizzeria Anarchia supported us when we were facing repression. They have also supported the Marikana struggle. Now that they are facing repression we offer them our own solidarity.

The principle that ‘An injury to one is an injury to all’ is central to building a movement in one city. It is also central to building a global movement to ensure that land, cities, wealth and power are shared fairly and managed democratically.

There will be a picket at the Austrian embassy in Durban, Ridge Road, tomorrow at 11.

Please contact

Ndabo Mzimela Abahlali Secretary +27 79 3556758

Zandile Nsibande Abahlali Women League +27 74 7675706

TJ Ngongoma Abahlali Spokesperson +27 84 6139772

S'bu Zikode Abahlali President +27 83 5470474