Occupy protesters challenge repossession rights in court
November 28, 2011 (London) - Occupy London protesters
will appear in court today to challenge the validity of the court order, facing
the possibility to be evicted, after claiming ‘public repossession’ rights of a
vacant office block.
Legal representatives of
Occupy London will question the ex parte injunction on the grounds of paperwork
that the court order was made without their presence.
“Our
lawyers have suggested that this has constituted a breach of civil procedural
rules,” a press officer from the Occupy London said. “We
also place doubts on the legality of the documents.”[1]
The legal documents raised
doubts by the occupiers, were issued by the Swiss investment bank UBS on Saturday,
regarding the issue of ‘public repossession’ of the vacant building. A
spokesperson from Occupy London said these documents are ‘unstamped and
unsigned’ possession order legal papers.[2]
The four-storey building, located
in financial center of Finsbury Circus, is owned by the Sun Street Properties
Ltd, a subsidiary of UBS bank. The building has been left vacant since 1990s,
and ironically, the opposite of the empty building is the current UBS branch
office tower in use.
A
group of occupiers took over the abandoned office building on Thursday morning,
transforming the empty office space into an
area for political discussions and debates.
A
protester, who remains anonymous, said: “Once the court has issued possession
order, we will need to move out from the building.”[3]
A
spokesperson from UBS released a statement saying: “We are aware of the
situation and are taking appropriate action.”[4]
Labeled
as ‘Bank of Ideas’ by the protesters, the building is the third occupation venue in addition to
St. Paul’s and Finsbury Square.
“As banks repossess families’
homes, empty bank property needs to be repossessed by the public,” a supporter
of Occupy London, Jack Holboun told Reuters. “We hope this is the first in a
wave of ‘public repossessions’ of property belonging to companies that crashed
the global economy.”[5]
Public repossession, or
‘squatting’, refers to an act of occupying an empty building for residential or
other purposes, without the owner’s permission. Under English property law, squatting
is considered as a civil matter, instead of criminal, which means occupiers will
not receive criminal offence, and remedies are pursued in civil courts.
Gytis, a squatting activist
originally from Lithuania, said: “Squatting has been part of my life for three
years. The rent is soaring but our salary remains low. Instead of leaving the
property empty, why not leave the doors open for the homeless and the jobless?”[6]
Meanwhile occupiers at St.
Paul’s, near London Stock Exchange, are also facing legal bids to be evicted. The
landlord, City of London Corporation, is suing the occupiers on the ground of
trespass. The full hearing will take place in the High Court of Justice on December
19.
Regardless of facing legal
evictions from the corporations, protesters remain positive about the global
‘occupy’ movement. Pedro Lima, a Portuguese protester, was disappointed about
the eviction of occupy protesters at Zuccotti Park in New York. Lima said, “The legal or police action can remove people
physically, but they cannot stop people from generating new ideas through
social media or the Internet.”[7]
Occupy movement in Hong
Kong started on the same day, October 15, as Occupy London, in response to the
global economic crisis. In comparison, Hong Kong occupiers have remained low-key;
around 20 tents are pitched at the HSBC headquarters in Central. Forbes
magazine reported the site “has been characterized by an almost Zen-like
calm”.[8]
[1] Phone enquiry with Press Officer of Occupy London
[3] Onsite Interview at the Bank of Ideas
[4] Email correspondence with Press Officer of UBS
[5] Quoted from Reuters, “Occupy London protesters ‘repossess’ UBS site”, published on
November 18 2011.
[6] Onsite interview at the Bank of Ideas
[7] Onsite interview at the Bank of Ideas
[8] Quoted from Forbes magazine, “Occupy Hong Kong: Lost in Translation?”, published on November 22
2011.
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Saudi Women Granted Voting Rights by 2015
A Step Towards Gender Equality
September 30, 2011 - Women in Saudi Arabia are granted the right to vote and participate
for the first time in municipal elections in 2015. The announcement made by
King Abdullah surprised the female population of the nation.
Saudi King Abdullah made the decree last week, “we refuse to
marginalise the role of women in Saudi society and in every aspect, within the
rules of Sharia.” This marks a significant step to reform and modernise the
oil-rich nation since he ascended the throne in 2005.
The king, in his own remarks, also announced that women would
be appointed to the consultative Shura council, a currently all-male body
established in 1993, offering advice on social and economic development
policies.
Praise and joy is all around the nation. A Saudi woman said,
“It was a big breakthrough when the king announced that women could vote.”
However, women must wait four more years to exercise their
newly acquired right to vote. “Why not tomorrow?” asked Saudi feminist Wajeha
al-Hawaidar. “I am asking for basic women’s rights.”
Another Saudi activist Maha al-Qahtani said, “We demanded to
be treated as equal citizens and lift the male guardianship over us.”
In Saudi Arabia, women are restricted from conducting a
variety of public activities, including driving, travelling, working or
participating in politics.
Women must be accompanied by male guardians in public, gender
segregation is in practice. The male guardian system still takes place, even
though the Saudi government promised the UN Human Rights Council in 2009 that
it would abolish the system.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the king’s
announcement, believing this forms ‘an important step in realization by women
in Saudi Arabia of their fundamental civil and political rights’.
Several countries and international organisatons commended
King Abdullah for granting voting rights to Saudi women, including the European
Union, the United States, Bahrain and the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary
Union.
In January, a group of female activists launched a campaign
on social networking website to pressure the government allowing women to vote
and run in the municipal elections. It is believed to help impel King Abdullah
to make this decision.
Sources: The Guardian, The Washington Post, Voice of America, Herald Sun, Fox News, The Saudi Gazette
