Solidarity: Urgent Press Statement on the Right to the City Campaign – 1 Day to go

Urgent Press Statement

The Right to the City Campaign

Count Down

10 June 2010

Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape, 21 days ago launched it’s campaign ‘the right to the city campaign’ today the world and South Africans are counting few days before the kick off of the 2010 FiFa World cup, also Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape is counting few hours before kick starting it’s campaign.

Part of the aim of the campaign is to build shacks outside Green Point soccer stadium at Cape Town, occupying governmental offices, invading open public spaces within the city and occupying unused hotels, flats and schools within the City.

Tomorrow, the 11^th June 2010 is the first day of our campaign, about 100 members of Abahlali baseMjondolo will meet at Cape Town next to Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) at Keizerngracht Street at 10:00 from there we will proceed to where our protest is going to take place.

AbM: “A Quiet Coup” reviews attacks on AbM

A Quiet Coup
South Africa’s largest social movement under attack

By Toussaint Losier
Originally published in Spanish at Desinformémonos
An earlier version of this article appeared in Left Turn Magazine

At roughly 11:30pm on September 26th, a group of 30 to 40 men – survivors are still unsure about the actual numbers –surrounded the community hall in Kennedy Road shack settlement in Durban, South Africa. Brandishing sticks, machetes, and automatic weapons and echoing the language of the state-sponsored internecine political conflict that tore through South Africa during the last years of apartheid, the mob launched an attack on a meeting of the Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) Youth League taking place inside the hall. In the melee that followed, over a dozen people were injured, with four people left dead and the attackers left in control of the hall.

Mzonke Poni writes on ‘Public Violence’ before his trial (set to start on Tuesday 29 September 2009)

Mzonke Poni, Chairperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape, is scheduled to stand trial on the charge of public violence on Tuesday 29 September 2009. The charge, which carries jail time if there is a conviction, relates to a protest organised in opposition to state criminality against the Macassar Village Land Occupation. Mzonke has written this essay on ‘public violence’ in response to the charges levelled against him. Messages of support can be emailed to abmwesterncape@abahlali.org.

Public Violence

by Mzonke Poni, Chairperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape

What exactly is public violence? Who really counts as the public? What really counts as violence? These are important questions that require clear arguments.

Khayelitsha residents will protest ‘until Jesus comes’

July 21, 2009 Edition 1
ANÉL LEWIS – Cape Times

DISGRUNTLED residents of 15 informal settlements in Khayelitsha say they will protest “until Jesus comes” if the City of Cape Town does not respond to their demands to be relocated to sites with better living conditions.

And they have threatened to continue with service delivery protests.

Mthobeli Qona of informal housing lobby group Abahlali baseMjondolo said protesters would “make Khayelitsha and the city ungovernable” until the city council responded.

AbM-WC march on the Mayor’s office

Click here for additional photos of the march on the IOL website

(higher resolution photos available by contacting abmwesterncape@abahlali.org)

Media: Khayelitsha residents list their demands

20 July 2009, 15:00 – SAPA

About 100 residents of 15 informal settlements within Khayelitsha marched under the banner of Abahlali baseMjondolo to Cape Town mayor Dan Plato’s office on Monday to protest poor service delivery.

A memorandum from each community with its own list of demands was handed to a representative of Plato’s office.

The protesters said in a memorandum they were concerned with the people’s living conditions and the city’s lack of proper intervention.

“We therefore demand that the city look at conditions of each area and come up with relevant planning for each an every area.

“And to come up with city-wide housing planning for all people who are living in informal settlements and backyards.

“Furthermore, we would like the city of Cape Town and its anti-land invasion unit to adopt a different attitude… when it comes to the public land which is unused.

ABM-WC march on 20th July 2009

15 Informal Settlement within Khayelitsha today will be joining Abahlali baseMjondolo for the Western Cape to the march that goes to the Mayor (Dan Plato) of the City of Cape Town. Each community will submit it’s own list of demands.

for community demands and contact people please visit www.khayelitshastruggles.com

details of the March:

date: Today 20th July 2009

time: 11:00
place: Kaizergracht street

for comment please call Mzonke Poni 073 256 2036

AbM-WC Protest

Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape Press Release

Wednesday 15 July, 2009

Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape will be Marching to the offices of the City of Cape Town on the 20th July 2009 in support of Macassar Village Land Occupation.

It will be joined by 15 informal settlement throughout Khayelitsha that are the part of the Movement, all the areas that will participate at the march will submit their own list of demands in a view to make their voice heard by the new Mayor of City of Cape Town.

Homeless fight Cape Town city

04 June 2009 Anna Majavu – The Sowetan TAKING A STAND: Khayelitsha residents marched to the Cape Town mayor’s offices last week protesting against being forcibly removed from vacant land in Macassar near Khayelitsha . PHOTO: ANNA MAJAVU It is raining and cold there … babies are sitting in the rain MORE than 200 back-yard residents are caught up in a legal battle with the city of Cape Town for occupying land in Macassar, near Khayelitsha. The group, organised by Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape, said they were tired of paying R500 to rent rooms in back yards so they have built shacks on the vacant land. Abahlali baseMjondolo scored an early victory against the city when they won a Cape high court interdict preventing the city from demolishing their shacks. But the city’s anti-land invasions unit destroyed the shacks anyway. Vusi Matikinca, the group’s attorney, told Sowetan yesterday: “It is raining and cold there. There are babies sitting in the rain. “The city acted unlawfully because they did not abide by the Prevention of Illegal Evictions Act. They said the land belonged to us and you have no right to come here.

Media: Leader held on violence charge

June 02, 2009 Edition 1
NOMANGESI MBIZA

Source: Cape Argus

A community leader has been arrested and charged with public violence after a clash between police and a group of people who have been sleeping on an open field in Macassar Village.

Their informal dwellings were dismantled by the city’s anti-land invasion unit last month.