emma_goldman
1st September 2006, 21:40
Copenhagen hippie town Christiania under pressure
By Rasmus Nord Jorgensen
Reuters
Thursday, August 31, 2006; 8:21 AM
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -- "Do you want hash?" the young man
asks passers-by on Pusher Street, once a thriving open-air
drug market in the heart of Christiania and now an example
of how times are changing in this famous Danish "free town."
For decades, Christiania clung to the principles of its
hippie founders, who started the settlement as a squat in a
deserted barracks in Copenhagen in 1971. It grew into a
tourist hotspot, largely thanks to an easy trade in soft drugs.
The waterfront district feels like an oasis: rose bushes and
wild hedges twist between the haphazardly built homes,
workshops, cafes and workmen's huts.
People sip beer or smoke joints on benches, while dogs
sunbathe on the worn cobblestones.
The community, which does not recognize Danish law, governs
itself by consensus on everything from finances to disputes
between neighbors. Despite drugs being illegal, marijuana
was for decades sold openly at stalls lining Pusher Street.
That changed when police started a wave of raids two years
ago and now the stalls are gone.
"There is only a small group of dealers left, but it is the
toughest and most hard-bitten who remain," said long-time
Christiania resident and documentary film-maker Nils Vest.
More fundamental changes are in the works for the area of
prime real estate in one of the world's most expensive cities.
The center-right coalition government wants to construct new
buildings, remove houses from old ramparts, restore historic
buildings and introduce normal ownership rules in the area,
requiring residents to pay rent.
"Our goal . . . is to transform Christiania so it becomes
part of the Danish society and conforms to the rules and
regulations of the rest of the society," said Christian
Wedell-Neergaard, a Conservative party coalition member.
In the true spirit of the "free town," Christiania' s around
800 residents are discussing the plans with the government.
"There are still problematic and unconditional things which
we have to deal with but there are also positive things, and
we are optimistic," said lawyer Knud Folschack, chief
negotiator for Christiania' s residents.
NOT ALL ROSY
Built some 300 years ago to strengthen Copenhagen's defenses
during a period of constant war with nearby Sweden,
Christiania covers some 86 acres between a moat and sea inlet.
After a small group of hippies first occupied it in the
1970s, they were joined by hundreds more and pledged to
build a new society of tolerance, democracy and
environmental awareness. The Danish state, with a tradition
of tolerance and a distaste for confrontation, never
forcibly evicted them.
It's a "true anarchistic village democracy where every
resident can take part in the decision-making, " says Vest.
"There are no cars, except for the garbage truck. I know all
my neighbors. There is no vandalism and hardly any burglaries."
It hasn't always been so idyllic in the "free town" where
residents include middle class citizens, welfare recipients,
drugs users and criminals, according to a government report.
The community was invaded in the late 1970s by hard drug
dealers controlled by violent motorcycle gangs but in 1980
it fought back, throwing the dealers out and offering
junkies withdrawal treatment.
In 2004, the Danish parliament ordered an end to 30 years of
open marijuana trade. Scores of riot police entered
Christiania to enforce the ban.
Now, the force patrolling the area has been reduced to 13
officers. Police say the operation has been hugely successful.
"Dealers came from Sweden, Norway and Finland to buy
cannabis in large quantities, because it was cheaper here
and the chance of getting caught doing the deal was very
small," said narcotics police chief Steffen Steffensen.
Critics say the trade spilled into the rest of Denmark's
capital. Since Pusher Street was closed down, there has been
an increase in gang violence in Copenhagen.
"In Christiania there were certain unwritten rules. They
didn't sell to the very young, they didn't accept stolen
goods as payment, they didn't sell hard drugs like heroin,
and that has been exchanged for an unknown situation," said
drug researcher Michael Jourdan.
It is that spirit of uniqueness and self-sufficiency
residents want to preserve as they go head-to-head with the
government over its plans to change Christiania, where until
now residents only paid a kind of community tax for services
like electricity and water.
Lawyer Folschack says a foundation will be set up to
administer housing and business properties under the new
rules, but details still have to be worked out -- through
consensus of course.
"In my opinion, Christiania will remain as a social and
housing experiment," he said.
--------
Is it just me or is it funny that this place is called "Christiania"? :lol:
By Rasmus Nord Jorgensen
Reuters
Thursday, August 31, 2006; 8:21 AM
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -- "Do you want hash?" the young man
asks passers-by on Pusher Street, once a thriving open-air
drug market in the heart of Christiania and now an example
of how times are changing in this famous Danish "free town."
For decades, Christiania clung to the principles of its
hippie founders, who started the settlement as a squat in a
deserted barracks in Copenhagen in 1971. It grew into a
tourist hotspot, largely thanks to an easy trade in soft drugs.
The waterfront district feels like an oasis: rose bushes and
wild hedges twist between the haphazardly built homes,
workshops, cafes and workmen's huts.
People sip beer or smoke joints on benches, while dogs
sunbathe on the worn cobblestones.
The community, which does not recognize Danish law, governs
itself by consensus on everything from finances to disputes
between neighbors. Despite drugs being illegal, marijuana
was for decades sold openly at stalls lining Pusher Street.
That changed when police started a wave of raids two years
ago and now the stalls are gone.
"There is only a small group of dealers left, but it is the
toughest and most hard-bitten who remain," said long-time
Christiania resident and documentary film-maker Nils Vest.
More fundamental changes are in the works for the area of
prime real estate in one of the world's most expensive cities.
The center-right coalition government wants to construct new
buildings, remove houses from old ramparts, restore historic
buildings and introduce normal ownership rules in the area,
requiring residents to pay rent.
"Our goal . . . is to transform Christiania so it becomes
part of the Danish society and conforms to the rules and
regulations of the rest of the society," said Christian
Wedell-Neergaard, a Conservative party coalition member.
In the true spirit of the "free town," Christiania' s around
800 residents are discussing the plans with the government.
"There are still problematic and unconditional things which
we have to deal with but there are also positive things, and
we are optimistic," said lawyer Knud Folschack, chief
negotiator for Christiania' s residents.
NOT ALL ROSY
Built some 300 years ago to strengthen Copenhagen's defenses
during a period of constant war with nearby Sweden,
Christiania covers some 86 acres between a moat and sea inlet.
After a small group of hippies first occupied it in the
1970s, they were joined by hundreds more and pledged to
build a new society of tolerance, democracy and
environmental awareness. The Danish state, with a tradition
of tolerance and a distaste for confrontation, never
forcibly evicted them.
It's a "true anarchistic village democracy where every
resident can take part in the decision-making, " says Vest.
"There are no cars, except for the garbage truck. I know all
my neighbors. There is no vandalism and hardly any burglaries."
It hasn't always been so idyllic in the "free town" where
residents include middle class citizens, welfare recipients,
drugs users and criminals, according to a government report.
The community was invaded in the late 1970s by hard drug
dealers controlled by violent motorcycle gangs but in 1980
it fought back, throwing the dealers out and offering
junkies withdrawal treatment.
In 2004, the Danish parliament ordered an end to 30 years of
open marijuana trade. Scores of riot police entered
Christiania to enforce the ban.
Now, the force patrolling the area has been reduced to 13
officers. Police say the operation has been hugely successful.
"Dealers came from Sweden, Norway and Finland to buy
cannabis in large quantities, because it was cheaper here
and the chance of getting caught doing the deal was very
small," said narcotics police chief Steffen Steffensen.
Critics say the trade spilled into the rest of Denmark's
capital. Since Pusher Street was closed down, there has been
an increase in gang violence in Copenhagen.
"In Christiania there were certain unwritten rules. They
didn't sell to the very young, they didn't accept stolen
goods as payment, they didn't sell hard drugs like heroin,
and that has been exchanged for an unknown situation," said
drug researcher Michael Jourdan.
It is that spirit of uniqueness and self-sufficiency
residents want to preserve as they go head-to-head with the
government over its plans to change Christiania, where until
now residents only paid a kind of community tax for services
like electricity and water.
Lawyer Folschack says a foundation will be set up to
administer housing and business properties under the new
rules, but details still have to be worked out -- through
consensus of course.
"In my opinion, Christiania will remain as a social and
housing experiment," he said.
--------
Is it just me or is it funny that this place is called "Christiania"? :lol: