Upcoming trial against Ungdomshuset, Copenhagen

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Thursday January 13, 2005 16:38 by www.ungdomshuset.dk - www.ungdomshuset.dk

the court is in session

Today the danish High Court decided the following dates for the upcoming trial that the christian sect “Faderhuset” is leading against the alternative culture center Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark: the 21,22,25,28,29 nov. and 1st of dec. 2005
Ungdomshuset is now facing the biggest and most concrete threat in the history of the house...

Yet again we are up against a trial that we are forced to act on, no matter what the outcome will be. This does not mean that we recognize the foundation of the trial; we believe this whole circus could have been avoided if the Copenhagen City Council would have kept the promise they gave back in 1982 when the house was given to the Squatter-movement.
We stick to the belief that the right is on our side and that there is a necessity for a cultural institution like Ungdomshuset.
Ungdomshuset has a great historical and social signifigance for alternative Copenhagen. Not only for the greater part of the alternative music-scene, but also on other social and cultural levels where the house creates a setting for various groups and individuals that wouldn’t fit in elsewhere in Copenhagen.
Therefore we see it as the City Council´s responsibility to provide the facilities on Jagtvej 69 to the youth of Copenhagen that needs a free alternative space created by the people that use it. The City Council abandoned their responsibility the minute they decided to sell the house to the highest bidder.
It is important for us to make it clear that this process cannot be reduced to an insignificant legal-battle between a group of “anti-social radicals” on one side and a group of “mentally deranged rightwing fanatic christians” on the other.
This, for us, is a very fundamental struggle to defend the right to cultural alternatives in a society that hails conformity and intolerance. Ungdomshuset and Christiania are fighting the same struggle and we encourage everyone that believes in a widespread political and cultural diversity to support this appeal.
If they evict Ungdomshuset, Copenhagen will be without this unique alternative.

We have now started a campaign to organise the struggle for the continuous existance of Ungdomshuset. This campaign will be workig on different levels; on one side we will try to make our cultural activities more visible through a series of shows, performances and live acts with bands/performers/artists that will promote the idea of Ungdomshuset and aknowledge the existance of an alternative non-commercial music scene in Copenhagen.
On the other side we will try to be more offensive in our political activities on street-level. So from now on you can look forward to more activism from us and at the same time an increasement in our other activities on all fronts.
So keep your eyes and ears open...

More information can be found on a regular basis here on this website (hopefully also in english...) www.ungdomshuset.dk or you can try to contact our campaign-office mon-fri from 10.00-17.00 pm on 0045 35839611 or send us an e-mail to info@ungeren.dk.

On behalf of Ungdomshuset
The Pressgroup

We will never surrender!

* 22 years of counterculture!
* Against culturael and political unification!
* For the right to alternatives!
* Solidarity with Christiania and Blitz!