The police have taken Ungdomshuset

Yesterday morning (Thursday, 1st of March) at 7 am the police started to attack the Ungdomshuset Youth Center in Copenhagen. The residents of the neighborhood were warned via radio and television because of expected fights in the streets, to keep their distance from the neighborhood of Nørrebro, where the house is located. The media was already talking about violent actions, even before the eviction started.

(EN) ENGLISH NEWS AND UPDATES: Indymedia UK | new-imc denmark | modkraft.dk | Photos
(DE) GERMAN BLOG: ungeren.wordpress.com
(DK) DANISH: ungdomshuset.dk | danish newspaper (pictures): politiken.dk | Feature Article on New-IMC Denmark
(PL) POLISH: na żywo: cia.bzzz.net | imc pl: eksmisja Ungdomshuset

See also:
Previous IMC Feature | Analysis and History

At 7:00 on Thursday, March 1st, the neighborhood of Nørrebro was awoken by the Police and military, who had come to bulldoze Ungdomshuset. It was after not all so easy as they had calculated: the police and paramilitary forces had to deal with a lot of barricades around and by the house. The police were themselves affected by the tear gas that they had injected in through a window. There was street fighting throughout the day and the police lines moved back and forth several times.

Indymedia Denmark writes, "Yesterday a total of 219 arrests were made. The rioting continued sporadically throughout the night at various places in Copenhagen. The police succeeded in detaining a number of activists citing 'the public perception of justice' (that people who commit crimes should be punished) and fear that the activists might continue rioting as reasons in court. Today (friday) the police are planning to have reinforcements from all over the country and there's a feeling that this is not over yet. Most likely foreign activists will come to support the danish activists over the weekend and there have been put up infopoints for foreign activists looking for food, a place to stay and ... legal aid."

When the eviction began, demonstrations were quickly called in 6 cities in Germany, and there were demonstrations from Blågårds Site at 5:00 p.m. (17h) on Thursday, March 1st, and a Reclaim Demo from Israel at 2:00 p.m. (14h) Denmark's borders are also being monitored, with the government keeping the option open to close off the borders later on. The bridge from Sweden now has a police checkpoint on it.

Info-telephone: 26907507 or 26907508.

For more information, see news.tv2.dk

The Ungdomshuset Solidarity report circulated Thursday morning stated that there were already some (including internationals) in the hospital. There is a call from local people to make it a day of action (in different cities). On Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m., there will be a central demonstration in the city.

For supporters in Copenhagen, there are several places to gather:

• Infoshop 'Demos' at a square called 'Sct. Hans Torv' in Nørrebro
• Infocafé in Christiania (ask for 'Loppen', right-hand at the old entrance of Cristiania)
• soupkitchen in Christiania, in 'Klubben' after 8pm
• Infocafé 'Kafax', Korsgade 19, pub, Nørrebro

For pictures, see: Indymedia Germany and UK.

School was out for the day, and the free school around the corner made a solidarity action in the streets of the neighborhood (50 young people walking with a box, symbolizing the killing of the project) in christiania burning containers are in the streets. The police officially anounced that residents should "keep away from the quarter". In the city, traffic as disrupted as some solidarity blockades also took place in other parts of the city.

add a comment on this article