Article by one of the people who squatted Saif Gaddafi’s London home.

As the nation was just about to start its lunch break, around 20 comrades were conspiring to make international news in a park minutes from Bishops Avenue (“millionaire’s row”), the most exclusive street in the UK. Tipped off by locals, the target that afternoon would be the 10m London home of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi – the ’sane face’ of the Libyan dictatorship. By 2pm chain texts had gone off to London’s radical left to come and support the occupation and a media scrum was developing in the forecourt with nothing to film except the backs of activists as they arrived though the window and three banners: one lined-out portrait of Gaddafi (senior) reading “out of Libya – out of London”, one reading “revolution” in English and Arabic, and one explicitly anarchist banner.

The first group were a collective of libertarian activists based in London with experience of occupations, soon joined by about five dissidents from the Libyan Solidarity Campaign who had been protesting at the Libyan embassy. At 4PM a spokesperson from the collective gave the only interview, a short statement declaring the house property of the Libyan people. As the house was part of the Gaddafi families assets frozen by the UK, the statement made it clear it could not be left up to a government that “only recently stopped actively helping to train the Libyan regime in crowd control techniques” who were also “guilty of providing the same weapons that are now being used by Gaddafi against the Libyan people”. This went out on ITN, BBC and several other channels.

Police intervention has been, so far, hands off. They have paid two visits, both times leaving without threatening to evict the group and declaring the occupation “a civil matter”. Several sketchier characters have been seen, though the occupier were not sure whether these were pro Gaddafi heavies or simply local security alerted by the alarm system.

By 7pm the crowd outside the house had swelled to about 50, a mixture of media hoping for further action or interviews, and supporters, many from two other London occupations, rAtstar and the ‘Free school’, and later marchers from the ‘Day X for the NHS’ event, hopeful of gaining entry to the event of the moment. The occupiers decided that roughly 30 people was enough by 8pm and started to discourage more arrivals and apologetically send the crowd away. The same meeting also attempted to thrash out a structure for the new arrivals, and an attempted crash course in ‘consensus decision making’ was vociferously opposed by others in favour of voting – all probably to the confusion of the Libyans.

As the meeting closed food and drink arrived and some began to make themselves comfortable in the many large beds to watch the news on the flatscreens whilst others preferred the faux-diamond studded suede lined cinema in the basement of the house. Concerns over cultural sensitivity in the face of Muslims melted as the Libyans shared the beer and produced bottles of wine.

Today the occupation has continued, with numbers swelling all the time – most being turned away. The occupiers have asked for no more volunteers until they call for them, saying the house is destined for the reimbursement of the Libyan people and cannot become “a party spot”. Half the occupiers departed for today’s Libya demonstration and there were mild fears that support may be needed if the pro-Gaddafi counter demo decided to attack the house.

Several inevitable criticisms have been made on by commentators on Indymedia and Youtube saying the occupation serves the British state agenda and that better or equal targets would be the US Embassy. It is never really clear what the international agenda of the leading capitalist states is in its entirety, not least because this will change with the political situation itself. Yes the West have gone from rehabilitating Gaddafi in aid of their oil links to wanting to depose Gaddafi – in aid of their oil links; this action was not carried out to oppose that agenda but in solidarity with the undeniable popular uprising against an despotic evil dictatorship. What happens next, like the house itself, is now in the hands of the Libyan people.

http://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/2011/03/10/exclusive-inside-gaddafis-squatted-home/