Ungdomshuset will not be stopped!

by . - . Thu Aug 31, 2006 16:28

www.ungdomshuset.dk

by dk Thu Aug 31, 2006 20:42

CONSULS IRELAND

Mr. John Richard Dundon
Consulate of Denmark
The Shipping Office
Dock Road
Limerick
Ireland
Tlf: 061 315315
Fax: 061 318164
E-mail: agency@mullock.iol.ie

Mr. Orm Kenny
Consulate of Denmark
Exel Technology and Global Freight Management
Clyde House,
The Quay,
Waterford
Ireland
Tlf: 051 853 874
Fax: 051 872274
E-mail: orm.kenny@exel.com

Mr. Freddie Pedersen
Consulate of Denmark
Combermere House
Glounthaune
Co. Cork
Ireland
Tlf: 021 435 3051
Fax: 021 435 4275
E-mail: pedersenf@pedersen-eng.ie
Language: English and Danish

The Embassy is on the 4th Floor of the Royal College of Surgeons Building. The Building is halfway along the west of St. Stephen's Green on the corner of York Street and St. Stephen's Green. It is a light grey building with blacked out windows. The entrance is 4 steps up to a revolving door. Ask at the security desk for the Embassy of Denmark.

Commercial Counsellor:
Mr. Per Lindholm - Direct e-mail
Direct phonenumber: 01 475 6538

Trade Executive:
Mr. Colin Horan: E-mail
Direct phonenumber: 01 475 6533

by pat c Thu Aug 31, 2006 20:49

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

by d'other Thu Aug 31, 2006 22:37

What with the Ungdomshuset now facing into a period of struggle for survivial, it seems there is a more general decline in the fortunes of spaces left as legacies from the original autonomist movements. Visiting Amsterdam recently, it was hard not to be struck by the general depoliticisation of the scene. The Weekly (the equivilent of Totally Dublin) was regularly peppered with reports of how the city used deals with art and cultural squats to move them into areas controlled by the Mafia. Transferring the problem of dealing with them to the underworld of crime. Most notably this was the case with the Silo in the mid-' which organised a festival called the Robodock which was attacked by the mob, who driving a truck into the crowd killed one attendee.

No significant underground literature seems to come from the movement, apart from a few awkward photocopied zines blending a punk aesthetic with hints of class anarchism. But there are plenty of underground events, yet I can find my gabber and hardcore gigs in any city, it tells me little about the resilence of struggle there. The Shark magazine used to advertise communal meals in the squats on a weekly basis, its collapse and its replacement by the Weekly freesheet has seen the end of these readily accessible points of contact with the movement. Do these ritualised networked gatherings holding the movement together even exist anymore?

While impossible to find any information in English, significant changes are being made in Dutch legislation threatening the squats. Yet the squats themselves do not seem to reflect this threat, they breeze along as ever. Language barriers make it difficult to guage the worth of what activism is on-going. But the walls of places like the Frankreich looked more like poster museums than sites engaged in the organisation of struggle or solidarity. The city was covered in banners protesting the moves, but these hung from legalised buildings such as the student accomodation block in the attached photo. These acts of public information seemed to come from a less radical end of the movement, one more at ease with the state and willing to negotiate for ownership. But one more matured and more political, less impetulent and prone to the aesthetic of 'revolution now please'.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of staying in the De Blauwe Aanslag in Den Haag. A former tax office it was a spiralling maze of buildings. Simultaneous to a punk gig in one bar, there was a massive rave in another. It ran not just an infoshop, but an infoshop and a bookshop, not just a bookshop, but a bookshop and a printing press. Over twenty years ago a cop was killed under the weight of a fridge dropped on his head in resisting an eviction. Three years ago the place was emptied with nothing but token masked demonstraters engaged in a performance of resistance on its roof top and around it.

The posters used to advertise its imminent closure consisted of autonomen marching in the early 80's. Where have these forces gone? On one hand, some like George Katsiaficas comment that the general demise of the left and the successive defeats of the class at the hands of capitalist restructuring since the 1970's led to the generations inheriting the original language of autonomia becoming more internalised. They simply retreated into the squats, developing their own communities and structures, styling themselves with crusty mullets and a cottage industry in patches and D-beat. Rarely if ever using them as the point of resistance they were originally intended for. If Naomi Klein saw the social centres of Northern Italy 'windows into a new world' the squats of the Benelux always struck me as staring into an old defeated movement.

In its beginning the autonomous movement wanted to assert the independence of labour as an antagonistic force inside capital. Capital needed us to survive, but we could be autonomous of it. Movements like our own seem to have little awareness of their own histories. Kicking the system until it breaks means a focus on the practicalities of prefigurative politics, avoiding hierarchies and swindling those in struggle for short term political capital. Equally struggle demands constant reappraisal. With the idea of a social centre holding such a romantic sway over many in the Dublin movement, what is there to learn from the experiences of social centres elsewhere? What conditions and poliitical tactics enabled such a flowering from the seventies on? What strangled the political area they represented and what the hell do you do once you recognise that space is closing?

Indy.nl coverage of the closure of the Blauwe Aanslag: http://indymedia.nl/en/2003/10/14250.shtml
The Subversion of Politics: http://www.eroseffect.com/books/subversion_download.htm

A Dutch Protest Banner: 'This was made possible in the beginning by squatting.'

by ronan Fri Sep 01, 2006 14:49

the author of the above comment has many good points, whether one can suggest a direct link between italian autonomia and the north european autonome i dont know, although it seems like something of a leap. as d'other writes, while the dublin movement opens a social centre it becomes necessary to ask what lessons we can learn from the social centre experience of other countries. the development of a distinct aesthetic encompassing haircuts, clothing, musical tastes and lifestyle choices is probably the most striking thing about the north european squat scene. however this doesnt seem to be an imminent possibility for dublin's social centre, since it wasnt established by a certain subculture (ie a group united by a distinct culture) but by an activist movement united by certain politicial ideas. a more accurate parallel i think, would be the social centres i visited in thessaloniki which were squatted by political groups because they felt that they needed a space for their political activities. with this in mind, i think we have every reason to be confident in our new social centre and what it can accomplish.

by an elephant Fri Sep 01, 2006 15:46

Surely thereis an inherent problem in activists busying themselves to create a space for their activism, the entire concept of activist space is flawed as im sure ronan knows being a regular libcom dogmatic. ;-)

by ronan Fri Sep 01, 2006 18:30

Future of Ungdomshuset still in doubt as Christian loonies sprun peaceful resolution
Since yesterday there have been several important developments in the case of Ungdomshuset, the historic social centre in Copenhagen.
Since yesterday there have been several important developments in the case of Ungdomshuset, the historic social centre in Copenhagen. As previously reported, representatives of Ungdomshuset yesterday met with politicians from the Copenhagen City Council to discuss a political solution to the conflict over the usage of Jagtvej 69. Following this meeting, a majority of the politicians on the city council issued an unprecedented statement in support of Ungdomshuset, stating that it was an invaluable part of the cultural life of Copenhagen, and that they favoured a solution allowing the current occupants to maintain usage. In all the nearly 24 years of Ungdomshuset's existence, there has never been such a message of support from politicians, although it has long enjoyed a wide spectrum of support from unions, politicians and the broader community.

Also at this meeting it emerged that an anonymous fund was prepared to buy Jagtvej 69 from Faderhuset, in order to allow the current users to continue using it. The politicians back this measure, and when it was put before an assembly at Ungdomshuset it was accepted. While this seemed like a mutually beneficial solution for all involved, Faderhuset, it emerges are not willing to play ball. Instead, their current headquarters in a suburb of Copenhagen has today been placed on sale, with the stated intention of relocating to Jagtvej 69.

This move by Faderhuset is extremely puzzling, since there has yet been no notice of eviction to Ungdomshuset, and it is likely to be a long process before one can take place. Even should an eviction happen the building of Ungdomshuset is in no fit state for the headquarters of a religious group, and would take a large investment to renovate. Additionally, siting the headquarters of an extremely right wing Christian sect in an area with a high immigrant population isn't exactly the smartest move in the planet, especially when you have to dispossess several hundred people to do it. From all this it seems that logic is not informing the actions of Faderhuset, who seem hell-bent on their own personal crusade to save the souls of Copenhagen.

Ungdomshuset lives, Faderhuset can burn in hell

by ronan Fri Sep 01, 2006 18:39

no there's not really a problem in having a space for political meetings, or a space where people who are interested in getting involved in politics can come to get involved in politics, rather than most young people having to go through the ever changing trotskyist road show for two years because that's the first thing they see. unless of course you're saying that political activism is inherently flawed, in which case we should all give up now and sit on our couches waiting for the material forces to determine the awakening of the proletariat.

by the same elephant Fri Sep 01, 2006 18:41

I was referring to activistism, activistoidism etc. as distinct from political activism.

by d'other Mon Sep 25, 2006 13:16

A protest against the closing of the Youth House with up to 800 youths participating turned violent Sunday

Police were met by fires and flying rocks and bottles at Nørrebro Sunday, as they attempted to curb unrest resulting from a mass protest against the closing of the Youth House on Jagtvej.

Some 800 youths participated, 263 of which were arrested, reported public service broadcaster DR. Five have been charged with assaulting police and another 40 are still being held in custody.

Report continues at http://www.cphpost.dk/get/98101.html

by ronan Mon Sep 25, 2006 16:13

according to the article linked to above, one irish person has already been charged in relation to Sunday's Reclaim the Streets action in Copenhagen

by d'other Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:45

The Global Indyn site has produced a pretty good feature on it. They link to revolt video piece on the latest action in Dublin. Or so it says, I haven't watched it so don't know if it is the latest Dublin solidarity action as there was nothing on Irish Indymedia about it.

http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/09/847158.shtml