Christiania Residents Sue for Control Over Their Enclave

[3 articles]

Danish court to decide on counterculture enclave

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hNe6fnxk2CpnZka7wFc5JqVI8_HwD947L1T04

By GABRIEL GABIRO
Nov 3, 2008

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) ­ Residents of a counterculture oasis in the
Danish capital challenged government moves to regain control of their
community Monday, petitioning a court to guarantee their right to use
the former navy base they took over three decades ago.

The case is expected to determine the future of Christiania, a
partially self-governing neighborhood of more than 900 residents that
was created in 1971 when hippies began squatting at a derelict
18th-century navy fort on state-owned land.

Christiania became an enclave with psychedelic-colored buildings,
open trade of hashish and limited interference from the government.
But when authorities started cracking down on the drug trade in 2004
and later announced plans to tear down buildings to build new
apartment blocks, the squatters fought back.

They sued the government in 2006, claiming they have the right to use
the land, even if they don't own it. The center-right government
rejects that claim.

The dispute has sparked numerous clashes between police and
residents, including street battles last week which left two officers
injured and 15 people arrested. Police fired tear gas to dispel
demonstrators protesting the eviction of squatters; the protesters
set fires to barricades and pelted police with rocks and firebombs.

"The plan by the government would destroy Christiania as we know it,"
said Thomas Ertman, a spokesman for Christiania residents.

The government's lawyer, Stig Groenbaek Jensen, did not return calls
seeking comment Monday.

The last day of hearings at the Eastern High Court is set for Nov.
21, and a ruling is expected in January.

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Denmark's Christiania Residents Sue for Control Over Their Enclave

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/559/christiania_fights_back_in_denmark_courts

11/7/08

The residents of Christiania, a 900-person countercultural enclave
that had been self-governing since hippies took over an abandoned
military base in the center of Copenhagen in 1971, have petitioned
the Danish courts in an effort to regain control over their
community. The conservative national government cracked down on drug
sales in the enclave's famous Pusher Street in 2004 and later
announced plans to yuppify the district.

Christiania residents have fought back. When the government announced
in 2004 it was cracking down, cannabis dealers burned their own
Pusher Street shops and retreated to cafes and apartments in a bid to
blunt the drive. They sued the Danish government in 2006 claiming the
right to use the land even if they don't own it.

Since then, there have been numerous clashes between residents and
police, including street fighting two weeks ago that left two
officers injured and 15 people arrested. That battle came as police
tried to evict squatters. They fired tear gas at demonstrators, who
responded by setting fire to police barricades and pelting police
with rocks and Molotov cocktails.

"The plan by the government would destroy Christiania as we know it,"
Thomas Ertman, a spokesman for Christiania residents, told the
Associated Press Monday.

The case is before the Eastern High Court and is set for a hearing by
November 21. A decision is expected in January.

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Christiania residents battle Copenhagen police

http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2008/11/06/christiania-residents-battle-copenhagen-police/

By Erlingur
Nov 6, 2008

The giant squatter city in the heart of Copenhagen known as
Christiania was the scene of clashes with local police over plans by
the city to tear down an illegal building within the "free city."
More than 300 residents put up burning barricades and threw petrol
bombs at police after they demolished the illegal structure.

The AP news agency reported the scene along Christiania's main
street, Princessegade looked like something from a guerrilla war
zone, as protestors taunted the police and set fire to just about any
piece of rubbish they could get their hands on. Tear gas was volleyed
back by police to try and disperse the crowds, at least three of whom
were arrested, according to Copenhagen police spokesman Flemming Steen Munch.

The clash stemmed from the demolition of a house that had allegedly
been illegally built on the old ramparts of Copenhagen, a
historically protected site. Christiania is the epitome of social
controversy, having been founded in 1971 as a hippie community in an
abandoned military barracks by Danish hippies.

It has been a political hotspot for years, as some see the enclave as
an interesting social experiment where liberal social attitudes and
personal freedoms take precedence over commerce and bureaucracy, and
others as simply a den for drug addicts and criminals. Yet somehow
Christiania has survived nearly 40 years, and is now home to more
than 1,000 artists, misfits, and activists who have established a
thriving business scene within the community.

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