News of: Tuesday, May 31 2005,
This morning the police have vacated some houses that were occupied by squatters.
The houses are located at Rokin, in the centre of Amsterdam. In the early morning the police surrounded the buildings, and evicted the inhabitants.
Later on the day, the villa 'Amstelrust' will be vacated. This 18th century mansion, located along the river Amstel, is occupied by squatters too, at the moment.
Squatting houses is a 'tradition' in Amsterdam, that originated from a housing shortage after the war. In the 80's there were massive riots between the squatting movement and the police. Currently, the movement is not very influential any more, and the number of squatted properties is low.
