Eviction of renowned Danish squat sparks riots

A Mar. 1 operation to evict the squatters in Copenhagen's famous Youth House ended in several days of riots described by Danish media as a war zone. In all, 643 people have been arrested, including 140 people from Europe and the United States, since the clashes started. The raid was carried out by Danish anti- terror police who stormed the building from helicopters. At least 35 had locked themselves inside the building. Police in riot gear blocked the streets as the anti-terror squad dropped from helicopters onto the building's roof at dawn. The occupants gave up without a fight, but an hour later an internet and mobile phone campaign had summoned rioters onto the streets. Youths then gathered behind protest lines, yelling at police and throwing cobblestones and fire bombs. By the end of the day the violence had spread out of the Noerrebro neighborhood, where Youth House was located, to the nearby district of Christianshavn. Christianshavn is next to the so-called "free city" of Christiania, a squatted autonomous community that hundreds of residents set up more than 30 years ago. Thousands of protesters threw bricks and bottles at hundreds of riot police–who responded with tear gas. Barricades where erected in many areas and often set on fire to prevent police vehicles from moving about the city. Reportedly activists from Sweden, Norway and Germany had joined hundreds of Danish youth in the protests. "This is a display of anger and rage after more than seven years of struggle to keep what is ours," said Jan, a 22-year-old activist who has been coming to the building for the last 10 years. Police meanwhile said they were re-establishing border controls for the first time since joining the European Union prevent an influx of supporters from other countries, in particular southern neighbor Germany. "We are taking all eventualities into consideration and we will be plastering the whole city with police," Copenhagen police operations chief Per Larsen said. The Danish government borrowed vehicles from neighboring Sweden to help control the protests and several shops in the area where clashes took place had boarded their windows fearing more violence. A group of 18 demonstrators entered the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party on Mar. 2 around midday, unfurling a banner reading: "You stole the youths' building, now we're taking yours," but the situation remained calm, protestors said. By nighttime rioting had resumed. A school was vandalized and several buildings damaged by fire. Police arrested over 100 during the second night of riots. More scuffles were reported in various parts of the city on the night of Mar. 3. Dozens of police vans patrolled the streets and broke up gatherings of protesters to prevent larger mobs from forming. Police said several of those arrested had Molotov cocktails. Police moved in "as some demonstrators began grabbing stones and throwing Molotov cocktails," Flemming Munch, a police spokesman, said on Mar. 3. Police said 50 more people were arrested as scuffles broke out in various parts of the city. Several fires were set across the city, but the level of violence was far less than it had been over the previous two nights. The street violence was Denmark's worst in 14 years. Built in 1897, the "Youth House" or "Ungdomshuset" was a community theater for the labor movement and a culture and conference center; Vladimir Lenin was among its visitors. Anarchist squatters took over the building from the city in a 1982 agreement on its use: following the then vacant building's occupation. The building grew into a cultural hub. In recent years, it has hosted concerts with performers like Australian musician Nick Cave and Icelandic singer Bjork. But the building was sold by the city of Copenhagen to a fundamentalist Christian group called Faderhuset by the Danish government in 2000 but the occupants refused to leave. The squatters said the city had no right to sell the building, and they demanded another building for free as a replacement. Last December, a protest in Copenhagen against the eviction plans turned violent, and more than 300 people were arrested. The government was criticized by Berlingske Tidende, the country's oldest newspaper, for failing to head off the clashes. "Families have seen their cars burnt. The people of Copenhagen have had enough. The violence and rioting are forcing people to leave the city." Local residents urged politicians to quickly offer an alternative building. Protests over the eviction spread to neighboring countries. In the Norwegian capital Oslo, some 150 protesters threw snowballs and paint bombs at the Danish embassy, but there were no arrests, Norwegian media reported on Mar. 1. In Germany, there were spontaneous demonstrations that day to protest the eviction. In Hamburg, around 800 people demonstrated against police, and threw bottles and street signs. The youths also dragged construction material onto the road and set barricades alight. Police prevented around 100 people from demonstrating outside the Danish consulate in the city. In Hanover, around 140 demonstrators clashed with police in the city center. In Finland, dozens of protesters shouted support for the Danish squatters outside the Danish Embassy in the capital, Helsinki, in a peaceful demonstration. By Mar. 5, demolition had begun on the Youth House building. Demolition crews wore face masks and covered over company logos to hide their identity. Protesters standing behind police lines looked on in tears as crews worked to demolish the building. "The struggle will continue for a long time. As long as there is no Youth House in Copenhagen, there will be a fight to get one," he said.