On December 31st 09, the Brugge court gave a verdict concerning the 3 previous occupiers who signed a contract with the owner, GDF Suez, and also concerning the eviction notice for the present occupiers of the Lappersfort.
According to the judge, Suez can not hold the 3 previous occupiers responsible for the new occupation, and therefore their claim against them has been dismissed.
However, the judge has declared that the eviction notice issued in 2002, during the first occupation of the Lappersfort, is still valid and may be used to evict the current occupiers. This, despite the fact that the first eviction notice was issued to 13 people identified by the court, and who were threatened after the first eviction with a €50,000 fine if they re-entered the forest or were involved in any other actions against Fabricom / Suez. None of these 13 people have anything to do with the current occupation and therefore an eviction notice based on a verdict passed against them should not be able to be used against us, the present occupiers. Suez had, before this trial, apparently already approached a bailiff with the eviction notice from 2002, but the bailiff refused to enforce it, as it was doubtful whether they could still legally use it. The judge’s verdict on the 31st has given them blatant right to enforce this notice, claiming that the right to private property is one of the pillars of our society and therefore must be upheld by the law enforcers blablabla.
As it stands, Suez now have a notice allowing them to evict the Lappersfort, which they will have to present to a bailiff who will then have to activate the remote-control pig circus. We are on eviction alert every day, and are well prepared, after 16 months of occupation. We’re not sure how long the process will take from here, and we now need more humans inside the forest, aswell as others supporting from the outside. If Suez wants to destroy the Lappersfort, now is the time to come together to make their job as difficult as possible.
Love respect and solidarity to our friends in Titnore Woods (england), Desdelsboscs (spain), Mainshill (scotland), Tasmania (australia), also under eviction threat; to the people of the Brazilian Amazon fighting against the GDF Suez Jirau dam project, and to all other humans defending wilderness and nature across the planet….
lappersfort
– e-mail: lappersfort@riseup.net