Danish Social Centre Under Threat
international |
housing |
news report
Monday August 28, 2006 14:32
by w. - wsm
it's all over except the barricades
Copenhagen’s autonomous anti-capitalist social centre, Ungdomshuset (meaning "Youth House"), is to be evicted a Danish Jury decided today.
Youth House
The house has been involved in a long dispute and several court battles since 2001 and today’s verdict comes as a massive blow to the ungdomshuset community and the Northern European autonomist movement which has lost many important social centres lately.
Ungdomshuset was a gift to the squatter movement of the early 1980’s in Denmark and has been used as a youth orientated cultural space ever since. The Copenhagen city council sold the house in 2001 to the right-wing christian group “Faderhuset” under what are described as “dubious circumstances”. This is the fourth time they have appeared in court to defend their house.
The ownership dispute came about following a fire which gutted part of the building in the mid-90’s. The city claimed repairs would cost millions but the squatters repaired the damage themselves. A lawyer for the city council allegedly sold the building through his private company to the Faderhuset group. Ungdomshuset activists say this situation is City halls fault as the house was given to over them 22 years ago and are calling on politicians to rectify the situation outside of the courts.
Birgit, a Danish activist now living in Dublin is campaigning against the eviction. She says the house is used for gigs, printing workshops, a vegan cafe and meetings amongst many other things and that if evicted it would be a huge cultural loss for Copenhagen. ‘Irish Friends of Ungdomshuset’ held a demo last November in solidarity with their Danish comrades and it is hoped that many will travel over should the eviction begin.
Danish activists are preparing for a long campaign which they say they will involve negotiation, a press offensive and should the police attempt an eviction, political struggle on the streets. The building has been threatened with eviction by physical force twice in the past by both police and the Faderhuset sect. Both attempts were met with violent resistance from the youth of Copenhagen.
Ungdomshuset Stays, Evict City Hall.
Related Links,
Ungdomshuset on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungdomshuset
Ungdomshuset's site
http://www.ungdomshuset.dk/
The Youth
Irish friends of Ungdomshuset
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Comments (9 of 9)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9If they evict Ungdomshuset then Christiania will be next. Stop the gentrification, stop the cultural homogenisation.
Just got a text, ungdomshuset lost their trial this morning.
They should know by tonight when the eviction will take place.
Yesterday the Danish national court backed the decision to sell the youth house to a group of far right Christian fundamentalists. However as we have always said, the only authority over Jagtvej 69 is the assembly of the people who use Ungdomshuset. The struggle for Ungdomshuset will not be stopped by any politicians or judges. As we prepare ourselves to withstand an eviction attempt we are asking for people everywhere to show their support for Ungdomshuset.
This September between the 22nd and the 24th in Copenhagen there will be a series of activities in support of Ungdomshuset. We are requesting anyone interested in protecting this free space to come and show their solidarity. Even if people can't make it, actions in support of Ungdomshuset in other countries are much appreciated, and are recognised by the Danish media. Yesterday's occupation of the Danish embassy in Oslo by our comrades in Blitz was a top story. If people are interested in doing solidarity actions, they are especially appreciated if accompanied by a video clip which can be easily used by the media.
Monday
We had call for an extraordinary assembly in the house after the court released its decision. Copenhagen was crawling with cops since noon. But the cops had forgotten that this fight is bigger than Nørrebro. Different groups in other cities carried out solidarity-actions and in Norway the Danish embassy in Oslo was occupied by friends of Ungdomshuset
Most of the evening was spend debating our next moves. The big concert hall was full of people eager to act.
We decided right away that in the case of an eviction attempt we would not set any limitations to how people should express their rage. We also decided to get as many actions as possible going to show how many we are who are ready to defend the house.
Tuesday
Under the cover of night the kids of Copenhagen had expressed their feelings about the courts decision. In spite of a massive police presence in the area most banks on Nørrebro had been attacked and new graffiti sprung up everywhere. The cops were extremely pissed that they did not catch anyone.
Before noon an old military island fort was occupied and the police had to use boats to stop the action and get the Ungdomshus-pirates. In the afternoon people started dropping by with materials for barricading and from the website support messages kept running in
Before it was dark the politicians decided to meet for negotiations Thursday. We welcome this initiative. In the meantime the barricading of the house continued.
At around 9 pm a party started on the bridge to the inner city. It was of course harassed by the police. People had to fight their way through heavy rain and aggressive police to escape mass arrests.
Late Tuesday Nørrebro was still crawling with anxious cops…
Give the Danish Ambassador hell about this.
Henrik Rée Iversen - Ambassador
Embassy of Denmark
121-122 St. Stephen's Green
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel: 00 353 (1) 475 6404
Fax: 00 353 (1) 478 4536
E-mail:dubamb@um.dk
http://www.ambdublin.um.dk/en
Call to Action from friends of Ungdomshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Monday the 28th of August the national court decided to second the decision of Copenhagen City Court from 2003. This means that we have lost the right to use the house.
After the verdict we had a huge meeting with several hundred people where we discussed what to do.
We have of course decided not to follow the decision of the court. We have not spent the last 24 years developing a unique culture centre used by thousands of kids and youngsters from the whole city, - and the rest of the world just to throw it all away on the whim of a corrupt legal system.
Throughout this whole process we have tried to get the politicians to take responsibility for their mistakes and join the efforts to find a solution. They have not showed any interest in this.
Therefore we must underline that if a political solution is made impossible then confrontations will be inevitable.
What will happen now is uncertain but we will prepare ourselves for an eviction attempt from the police in the coming weeks and months. At the same time we are encouraging everybody everywhere to do actions in support of Ungdomshuset – and send their pictures and statements to info@ungeren.dk
For inspirational purpose you can find a list of danish embassies, consulates and other representations around the world: http://www.ambassade.dk/countries.php3
You can also sign a petition for the preservation of Ungdomshuset: http://www.ungdomshuset.dk/support_uk.php
Show up in September!!!
We would also like to invite everybody for the weekend 22nd thtough 24th of September. There will be a lot of things going on. A large demonstration on the 23rd and a Reclaim the Streets action on the 24th amongst huge parties, exhibitions, debates and more. There'll be arranged accomodation for all travelling friends. It is going be a blast – don’t miss it.
Love
Friends of Ungdomshuset
So, you went to court when it served Your Purposes, yet when you lost, suddenly the court is corrupt?
lovely to see solidarity from some Irish friends
Here in Toronto we've also held a solidarity demo for Ungdomshuset (albeit a small one) inside and outside of the Danish Consulate (2 Bloor West). For photographs and a copy of the letter we delivered to the Danish Consul check the link below. It may well be too little too late, but it's still important to be showing Copenhagen Council that Ungdomshuset has international support.