MONTREAL, October 4, 2001 -- Dozens of riot police violently evicted at least 40 individuals who have been squatting for two months at a former youth center in the Rosemont neighborhood of east end Montreal. There are unconfirmed reports that a SWAT team also participated in the operation.

POLICE VIOLENTLY EVICT MONTREAL SQUATTERS

MONTREAL, October 4, 2001 -- Dozens of riot police violently evicted at least 40 individuals who have been squatting for two months at a former youth center in the Rosemont neighborhood of east end Montreal. There are unconfirmed reports that a SWAT team also participated in the operation.

The police arrived without notice after 8am yesterday, forcibly entering the building, and violently compelling the residents to leave. Many squatters were not even able to obtain their belongings, including their shoes and clothes. Arthur Sandborn --the President of the CSN union in the Montreal region and a squat supporter -- reported that he personally witnessed at least one woman who was removed naked by riot police, with just a blanket for cover.

According to squatters and their spokespersons, many people inside the building were beaten with batons and police fists. One young man was shot with a taser (electric) gun at least twice and lost consciousness. According to eyewitnesses, he was trying to grab his backpack. Other people reportedly suffered concussions as a result of police blows, and there are at least two reported hospitalizations.

At least six people, five men and one woman, were arrested in the eviction, and detained at the East Detention Center (at Jean Talon and Langelier streets) on charges of "resisting police" and "obstruction". Other reports put the number of arrests at ten.

The squatters and many supporters, who quickly mobilized to the site, were forced away from the squat at the corner of Prefontaine and Rachel streets by a squad of helmeted and baton-wielding riot police. Meanwhile, a large number of curious onlookers, who in the past two months have congregated to the squat site, watched the police action.

The squatters and supporters took temporary refuge at the Maisonneuve CEGEP (college) on Sherbrooke Street. Many squatters will be temporarily staying at a community center in the Centre Sud neighborhood while they plan their next move.

There is a support demo planned for this afternoon at 3pm, with a rendez-vous at Berri Square in downtown Montreal. There are also media reports that the squatters will attempt to occupy another site during the demo. There is certainly no lack of abandoned or unused buildings in Montreal. Francois Saillant of the housing group FRAPRU estimates at least 130 buildings that can be immediately occupied in Montreal.

At the evicted squat site, workers have boarded up the building, and about 20 private security guards have replaced the police and are maintaining a constant presence. According to Radio-Canada, the security guards are being paid $22 per hour.

The police justified their actions today by saying that they were asked to intervene by the fire department. Members of the fire department, who had visited the squat site the evening before yesterday's eviction, claim that squatters have re-occupied the fourth floor of the building that the fire department had recently boarded up. The presence of people on the fourth floor of the people was suddenly deemed a "security threat".

For the last two months, at least 50 squatters and their supporters have been making the Prefontaine Center their home, as well as a meeting space for street youth and local activists. The Prefontaine Center -- a City-owned building that has been empty for years -- was won after a five-day occupation of a downtown heritage building. The gain of the large four-story building was widely hailed as a victory for squatter's rights in Montreal, Quebec and Canada.

The original Overdale Squat was abandoned for at least 13 years until it was brought back to life by a large-scale public squatting action that involved 400 people. The squat action of July 27 -- organized by the Comite des sans-emplois anti-poverty group -- gained widespread public awareness and sympathy to the issue of homelessness and inadequate housing in Montreal.

The Prefontaine Center quickly became a laboratory for communal living, as well as a launching pad for alternative projects such as a community garden and compost, free school, communal kitchen and proposed printing press. It was also a convergence point for many street youth in Montreal, and a strategizing center on the issue of homelessness and social housing. In addition to youth, the squat also was home to a few families, including several small children.

Originally, Mayor Pierre Bourque's office had promised, in writing, to allow the new squat to be run by the squatters, without police interference. Heat, water and rent were to be free-of-cost, and the site was to be self-managed. However, the Mayor's attitude changed a month ago, and for at least the last three weeks, the City has been looking for ways to evict the squatters. Until yesterday morning, the City had not been able to find a legal pretext for eviction. And, in the case of building problems, the building's landlord -- the City of Montreal -- was ultimately responsible for improvements.

Squatters viewed the fire department's pretext for eviction today with suspicion. Meanwhile, the Mayor continued to dismiss the actual issues that the squatters have presented for over two months, all while trying to claim that the forced police eviction today was undertaken "peacefully". Ultimately, the Mayor rejected any sort of compromise with the squatters, and wanted to put this affair behind as he prepares for the municipal elections in early November.

In the dismissive words of the Mayor yesterday, "[The squatters'] aim was anti-globalization and they were against our system . . . and capitalism."

by Jaggi Singh
for Indymedia Montreal, CMAQ, A-Infos and act-mtl
[This story is based on corporate news reports, as well as direct
testimonies by squatters and supporters.]