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Dutch protesters march against anti-squatting law
More than 1,000 squatters and sympathizers joined a national protest in the central city of Utrecht against new legislation to outlaw squatting. The Lower House voted in favor of the bill last week.
Speakers addressed a rally, and the demonstration was accompanied by performances and music. The squatters' message was that they intend to go on occupying buildings despite the ban. They claim that thousands of people will otherwise be made homeless. The demonstration was largely peaceful, though at one point protesters clashed with police, who used batons to disperse the crowd.
Present Dutch law permits squatting provided the building has been unoccupied for more than a year. Although it is illegal to break into a building in order to squat it, in practice prosecution is only possible if the culprits are caught in the act. Under the new legislation, however, squatters risk a prison sentence of up to a year.