Brutal eviction of Ungdomshuset (pics+report)

international | anti-capitalism | news report

Friday March 02, 2007 01:01

by ungdomshuset information

- riots in Kopenhagen -

After a long political and legal battle the basis-democratic, alternative political and cultural centre 'Ungdomshuset' was forcefully evicted by riot police and airborne anti-terror squads this morning. Ensuing demonstrations have seen large-scale confrontations between protestors and heavy-handed police, here is the full story from Copenhagen.

VIDEO: police car crashes into protester
http://politiken.dk/poltv/?ExtID=1349

After serious social conflicts and uprisings by the autonomist and squatting movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the subsequent 'Ungdomshuset' was offered as part of a political compromise to the activists. The mainly young activists dubbed it ‘Ungdomshuset’ (‘The Youth House’), and started running various cultural and political activities out of there. It has for many years served as one of the only multicultural, basis-democratic collectives/community centres in Copenhagen, with the exception of the Freetown Christiania. Property rights remained in the hands of the local council, which in 1999 decided to disregard the previous political compromise and sell the house to the highest bidder.

In 2003 the fundamentalist Christian sect ‘Faderhuset’, which had bought the property in 2001 prompted the authorities to evict the ‘Ungdomshuset’ and its users. Despite many demonstrations in support of ‘Ungdomshuset’ Faderhuset won the ensuing courtcase and the politicians avoided serious involvement in the conflict, despite the political nature of the case. Many domestic demonstrations saw alleged police brutality and in December an ‘Ungdomshuset’ demonstration turned into a major confrontation between activists from all over Europe and the police. Subsequently the ‘Ungdomshuset’ was fortified in order to avoid an eviction and return the issue to the political arena.

This morning at 7:00 AM the anti-terror squad landed on the roof of the ‘Ungdomshuset’ via helicopters, while riot-police sealed off the street and attacked using teargas from below. As the whole area is closed off no documentation of the action and police-behaviour can take place. Some witnesses say that teargas and police violence was plentiful, although the eviction happened swiftly and according to police in a ‘relatively calm manner’.

Later in the day activists from all over Copenhagen rushed to protest the eviction of ‘Ungdomshuset’, they were met by aggressive policemen in riot gear blocking the street arresting suspected troublemakers with many resulting injuries. The demonstrators fought back and tried to reclaim the ‘Ungdomshuset’, but were repelled and activists took to the nearby streets and started building barricades, while engaging police in skirmishes.

The neighbourhoods has been entirely shut down by local residents and activists: actions and demonstrations have taken place all over Copenhagen with more planned for the following days and weeks. While sympathisers from all over Europe have been rushing in, although police are attempting to detain suspected activists at the borders. Furthermore solidarity demonstrations are under way in Germany, Norway and Sweden.

The house has functioned as a political and cultural centre, home to political demonstrations, political debates, concerts and many more cultural events since 1982. It has served as a basis-democratic remainder that ‘another world is possible’ until this morning… The actions of solidarity taking place all over Europe, as well as Russia and Australia are greatly appreciated. Please join in and support the struggle for autonomous commons and the resistance against the neoliberal repression. The homepage of ‘Ungdomshuset’ has been shot down but a mirror has been set up (in English) at: http://www.ungeren.dk/en.php3?id_rubrique=4
Furthermore updates can be found on http://indymedia.dk/article/885 and http://indymedia.dk/article/878
Also here is a short video-introduction produced before the eviction http://www.ungeren.dk/spip.php?article79

Ungdomshuset Information

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Comments (19 of 19)

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we have to keep figthing

by CopenhagenRiot

Wed Mar 07, 2007 02:00

Mød op på gader og stræder og hjælp i kampen mod danmarks fascistpoliti!!!!!

Ungomshuset is being demolished

by w.

Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:27

Demolition

solidarity action in galway

by rt

Sun Mar 04, 2007 23:26

tropicalisto85 at yahoo dot com dot br

since i saw information about solidarity action in dublin only, i suggest doing a peacefull march in galway as well, via shopping street in mid-day, with main aim to inform people what has happened there and draw attention of those who think of that brutality as a little of importance. next week, somewhen between tue-fri. i will post more information tommorow.

House is to be demolished

by transl8r

Sun Mar 04, 2007 16:59

Ungdomshuset is to be completely demolished over the next two days, asbestos is currently being removed from the walls, and then the building will be taken down. The Christian group taking over the building are giving a press conference tomorrow (Monday). Meanwhile the residents of Christiana are now afraid that the government are going to take action against them in the wake of the rioting over the last few days (many Christiana residents came out in support of Ungdomshuset), and the atmosphere in the area is tense.

updates

by Clare

Sun Mar 04, 2007 14:39

Thanks r. and all for the updates, keep them coming. Any solidarity stuff going on in Dublin/Ireland? Anything that can be done from here?

illegal activities of danish police

by r.

Sun Mar 04, 2007 13:37

the danish police have clearly decided to throw away the statute book now and worry about it later. illegal activities i've heard about so far are, arresting most activists of Danish Anarchist Black Cross, a legal support group, raiding the offices of Danish ABC and seizing all their files without a warrant, raiding legally rented accomodation including Bumzen collective and arresting everyone inside.
as well as this the police are acting to further provoke riots by such actions as placing a danish flag on the roof of ungdomshuset. they are holding people indefinitely without sufficient evidence to charge them. they are maltreating prisoners, some are being held for up to twenty hours without food, vegetarian and vegan prisoners are being served non vegetarian food. there has been reports of prisoners being held in centres for asylum seekers.

Irish people arrested

Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:00

RTE now reporting that Irish people are among the arrested in Copenhagen.

skyline of Copenhagen

by .

Sat Mar 03, 2007 21:38

6 videos of the riots on youtube :

by zorcan

Sat Mar 03, 2007 19:27

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=97565E62AFBFA97A

Copenhagen is burning

by jeff

Sat Mar 03, 2007 18:42

Al jazeera reports:

by s

Sat Mar 03, 2007 18:07

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1CA54EE7-9570-4B...5.htm

black outs due to riots - swedish police helps danish state

by sam

Sat Mar 03, 2007 17:49

due to the riots there have been several black outs in kopenhagen - activists seem to have cut eletricity cables. the danish state asked swedish police for help.

Demo

Sat Mar 03, 2007 15:07

At present (3pm GMT Saturday) there is a solidarity demo happening in the middle of Copenhagen with about 2000 people present. The police are maintaining a heavy but discreet presence some distance back from the demo. One trade union cancelled a conference today to come out in support of the protestors. Several Swedish people arrested over the past couple of nights were escorted back to Malmo today.

Some useful links if anyone's interested:

http://www.modkraft.dk (for regular updates)
http://www.politiken.dk (good for images)
http://www.translation-guide.com/free_online_translator...glish (to translate the reports, not always accurate - the less words you put in the better)

RTE Report.

by ('',)

Fri Mar 02, 2007 15:04

Danish police brace for further street riots

Police reinforcements have been called in from around Denmark to the capital, Copenhagen, where more than 200 people were arrested yesterday after clashes with activists over squatter evictions.

Thousands of youths attacked police after a dawn raid on a youth centre early yesterday to evict squatters from what has been a haven for rebels, punks and squatters since the 1982 when it was given to them by city authorities.

17 foreigners were arrested, including nine Germans and others from France, Norway, Poland, Lithuania, New Zealand and the United States. Three police officers and three demonstrators were injured during the clashes.

tActivists threw stones, bottles, pots of paint, firecrackers, Molotov cocktails, and set up barricades, lit fires and overturned vehicles to protest the eviction.

Danish media compared the scenes to a warzone, dubbing the incidents 'street wars'. Riot police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators, some of whom were masked.

Sympathy protests in Germany

A police spokesman said the force was 'surprised by the extent of the conflict and the demonstrators' wild violence'.

The majority of Danish politicians, with the exception of the extreme-left, have hailed the police action and denounced the activists' violence.

Meanwhile, 16 people have been arrested in Germany after sympathy protests in Hamburg and Hanover. The Danish foreign ministry says demonstrations supporting the activists were held in front of its diplomatic missions in Stockholm, Oslo, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Flensburg and Vienna.

The Ungdomshuset youth centre was recently sold to a fundamental Christian group which has demanded the eviction of the youths. An August 2006 court ruling ordered the occupants to be evicted from the centre, which they insist belongs to them.

The building has been a popular hangout for Copenhagen's alternative crowd, offering concerts, plays and debates. Big stars such as Icelandic pop artist Bjork have performed at the venue.

The Ungdomshuset website says the group is run along five simple guidelines: no sexism, no 'heterosexism' - prejudice in favour of heterosexuals - no racism, no hard drugs and no violence

new squ@ts in Copenhagen + social democrats headquarter occupied

by zora

Fri Mar 02, 2007 13:31

an old school as well as a backyard house have been occupied in Copenhagen tonight.

200 arrrested.

the headquarter of the danish social democrats in Copenhagen is occuopied.

solidarity rallys in more than 20 german cities

by me

Fri Mar 02, 2007 13:28

thousands were on the streets in germany, yesterday.

in Dresden another house was squ@tted.

+DEMONSTRATION FOR UNGDOMSHUSET+

by IFOU

Fri Mar 02, 2007 09:38

+DEMONSTRATION FOR UNGDOMSHUSET+
meeting at stephen's green(grafton st. entrance)
today at 1pm.

Fri Mar 02, 2007 01:13