French Squatters: Solidarity statement & call to action in support of Ungdomshuset

We want to express our full solidarity with occupants of Ungdomshuset in Copenhaguen, and with everyone who demonstrated on Saturday 16th, without distinction. We also send our warm greetings to all those struggling using various means to defend autonomous spaces and protect such exceptions within our contemporary societies, tainted by security ideologies and abidance to repressive agendas. Our strongest thoughts go to those who remain detained after the demonstration, whom we wish to see liberated immediately, free of charge, just as we demand all charges to be dropped against all those arrested! Solidarity statement & call to action in support of Ungdomshuset
December 19, 2006
by some french squatters - Espace autog(c)r(c) des Tanneries

Some people from the autonomous space "Les Tanneries" in Dijon [1], France, have been writing a support communique and call to action in support of Ungdomshuset [2]. While the original text [3] is in french, here are some relevant excerpts.

[...]

We want to express our full solidarity with occupants of Ungdomshuset in Copenhaguen, and with everyone who demonstrated on Saturday 16th, without distinction.

We also send our warm greetings to all those struggling using various means to defend autonomous spaces and protect such exceptions within our contemporary societies, tainted by security ideologies and abidance to repressive agendas.

Our strongest thoughts go to those who remain detained after the demonstration, whom we wish to see liberated immediately, free of charge, just as we demand all charges to be dropped against all those arrested!

We feel particularly supportive of Ungdomshuset..

..because Ungdomshuset is emblematic of the "do it yourself" tradition which combines artistic creativity, radical social critique and offensive against structures of domination. From this very counter-culture did our autonomous space emerge from, and so did an innumerable amount of spaces, collectives, initiatives and actions throughout the past 10 years.

..because Ungdomshuset, like all these places standing against the world surrounding them, is unique in its kind, and bound to the history of so many. It sprang out of the dreams, collusions and affinities, encounters and combativity of hundreds of people. Carved within Ungeren's walls, are the joys and angers, the rages and passions of several generations, just as our walls tell about 8 years of adventures and similar emotions.

..because Ungdomshuset, though firmly rooted locally, is also carried by a large community, which doesn't care about borders, whose affinity and solidarity cause to mobilise widely, be it by carrying decentralized support actions across the world, or by converging on the spot to physically protect the house against eviction. Les Tanneries have already benefited from the very same international solidarity, which we are most probably to call for once more some time in the future, since the local council has recently declared our space would be tagged for deletion, once a project of so-called "public interest" would be found;

For all these reasons, we feel concerned by Ungdomshuset - politically, emotionnaly. Hence, we encourage everyone to shout out loud his/her indignation towards the danish state. Say it with words, say it with actions! For doing so, you'll find a list of all danish consulates & embassies in France in the following appendix. Use it accordingly!

Popular collective strenght and determined resistance have nearly always been the most essential ingredients in allowing self-managed autonomous spaces to last. We're going through times that are very likely to be of critical importance to the history of political squatting in Europe. In this context, the case of Ungdomshuset does brings a red alert, but also conveys an enormous boost in not letting it happen!

To our danish comrades:
Congratulations, don't give up the fight;
Your barricades are our barricades!
UNGDOMSHUSET BLI'R!

Dijon, France, December 17th 2006
some fellow squatters from l'Espace autog(c)r(c) des Tanneries

Notes:

[1] "L'Espace Autog(c)r(c) des Tanneries" is a squatted autonomous social centre, hosting subversive, political and social activities in a post-industrial environment. It was opened in 1998, and has reached a certain degree of stability, thanks to years of struggle against the city council, which owns the occupied buildings. More infos on http://squat.net/tanneries/

[2] For more info on Ungdomshuset, visit: http://ungdomshuset.dk/

[3] The original support letter in french can be found here: http://squat.net/tanneries/documents/Tanneries_-_Ungere...7.txt