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Brussels: Patatists and the community of Haren need solidarity in their struggle against new maxi-prison.

Brussels: In the district of Haren people are occupying a terrain at the Keelbeek-site where the Belgian government is hoping to construct the biggest prison building ever built in Belgium. They call the terrain ZAD (zone a defendre/ zone to defend) Keelbeek and call themselves Patatists, since they want to fight the prison project by planting potatoes. On february the 19th, a private enterprise started to close off 9 hectares of cultivable green land with fences. Fencing of this land might mean that all the living creatures on this land will die soon. But this will happen without the will of the people occupying the terrain; their friends and people living in the communtity of Haren. They want to bring more live to the community and are therefore against the construction of the maxi-prison. The Keelbeek site is threathened by a nearby construction of the new prison, designed to host 1200 prisoners. The procedure is avancing pretty fast, people will be informed about the construction and given the chance to utter their opinion next spring, the construction work is planned to start in may.

The activists of the Keelbeek site are angry that one half of the terrain is already fenced of, rending it inaccesable and this without even obtaining a construction permission. They believe that there are big contraints regarding the democratic partitipation and that there is a big lac of transparancy regarding financements. They also believe that building a new prison is causing new problems, it doesn’t solve any problem. Covering a big terrain with a lot of cultivating potential with concrete: they say no to this kind of future and urgently invite other people to occupy the terrain.

The location is easy to reach, it takes about 10 minutes with the train from Brussels Nord. Since winter is over, alot of help is expected to help preparing the seedlings, and to take care of the goats and the chickens. There are places to sleep, be sure to bring a sleeping bag.

Other ways of helping the ZAD Keelbeek:

-Pass trough the information
-Bring burning wood and construction material
-Participate to the opinion assembly of the construction (enquete publique)
-Buy “Zadinneke”, a blond belgian beer to support the Patatists in their struggle
-Sending financial contributions to: collectif vrije Keelbeek libre ! Compte Argenta BE21 9731 2423 4503

During the weekend of april the 17 till april the 19th a festive agricultural summit will take place at the Keelbeek site, as a participation to the international action days for agricultural struggles.

More information: haren.luttespaysannes.be – keelbeek(at)sdu.collectifs.net