bcbm
3rd June 2008, 11:45
This past week, May 27 to June 1, the Action Days for Autonomous Spaces occurred in Berlin. Originally planned as days in support of the Kopi squat, they became broadened to include all of the house projects and squats in the city after Kopi received a contract. They were preceded by another Interspace meeting in Kesselberg, building off the previous one in Dijon and focusing on European squatting issues in general and what those spaces represent and mean and how to proceed in the struggle to maintain them.
The first day began with a squatting action near the Kopi where a number of young people took over a disused union building and barricaded it up while several hundred supporters gathered outside. The situation lasted some hours before, around 5, the police decided to clear the area and begin the eviction, injuring and arresting many people. Those inside the house locked down to give the police a little more of a headache during the eviction.
Around 10 a spontaneous demonstration against the police brutality and eviction occurred nearby but was quickly corralled by the police and more individuals were arrested or beaten.
Over the next several days, in between workshops and planning meetings, a large number of decentralized actions and spontaneous demonstrations happened. Most of the spontaneous demos involved gathering near a target or targets, quickly attacking and then leaving. The targets included banks, landlords and estate agents, yuppie housing developments, a McDonalds and large electronic billboards for the new O2 Arena. Many of the actions involved attacks against advertising or gentrification, with over a dozen cars damaged and many more burned completely.
As these actions occurred, others involved themselves in legal work and gathering outside of the detention center to support those arrested. The police attempted to ban people from the area (and others!) with papers, but these were quickly ruled to be illegal.
The final night of the Action Days saw a spontaneous demonstration/riot outside of the Kopi when punks and party-goers gathered in the street to socialize, only to be violently broken up by the police. They responded by fighting back, burning bins, etc and were tear gassed several times (a rare occurrence in Berlin). Several individuals sustained severe injuries, including one who had to be taken to the hospital.
The following day there was a heavily monitored and controlled "Fuck Yuppies" parade through Prenzlauer Berg, which many yuppies unfortunately decided to take part in and the general message of the parade was lost. It ended with a large street party on a side street while the police recorded everyone.
All in all, the Action Days seem to have been successful. Media attention, however absurd, was still widespread and it has been made clear to the authorities that people will not react passively to attacks against houseprojects and squats. As it stands, there are at least a half-dozen such projects facing eviction threats, with Rigaer 94 being the most threatened. Already there have been posters appearing threatening chaos in Berlin if the police and landlords proceed with the evictions.
Complete daily reports can be found on the ticker:
http://ticker.so36.net/
Wir bleiben alle!
The first day began with a squatting action near the Kopi where a number of young people took over a disused union building and barricaded it up while several hundred supporters gathered outside. The situation lasted some hours before, around 5, the police decided to clear the area and begin the eviction, injuring and arresting many people. Those inside the house locked down to give the police a little more of a headache during the eviction.
Around 10 a spontaneous demonstration against the police brutality and eviction occurred nearby but was quickly corralled by the police and more individuals were arrested or beaten.
Over the next several days, in between workshops and planning meetings, a large number of decentralized actions and spontaneous demonstrations happened. Most of the spontaneous demos involved gathering near a target or targets, quickly attacking and then leaving. The targets included banks, landlords and estate agents, yuppie housing developments, a McDonalds and large electronic billboards for the new O2 Arena. Many of the actions involved attacks against advertising or gentrification, with over a dozen cars damaged and many more burned completely.
As these actions occurred, others involved themselves in legal work and gathering outside of the detention center to support those arrested. The police attempted to ban people from the area (and others!) with papers, but these were quickly ruled to be illegal.
The final night of the Action Days saw a spontaneous demonstration/riot outside of the Kopi when punks and party-goers gathered in the street to socialize, only to be violently broken up by the police. They responded by fighting back, burning bins, etc and were tear gassed several times (a rare occurrence in Berlin). Several individuals sustained severe injuries, including one who had to be taken to the hospital.
The following day there was a heavily monitored and controlled "Fuck Yuppies" parade through Prenzlauer Berg, which many yuppies unfortunately decided to take part in and the general message of the parade was lost. It ended with a large street party on a side street while the police recorded everyone.
All in all, the Action Days seem to have been successful. Media attention, however absurd, was still widespread and it has been made clear to the authorities that people will not react passively to attacks against houseprojects and squats. As it stands, there are at least a half-dozen such projects facing eviction threats, with Rigaer 94 being the most threatened. Already there have been posters appearing threatening chaos in Berlin if the police and landlords proceed with the evictions.
Complete daily reports can be found on the ticker:
http://ticker.so36.net/
Wir bleiben alle!