Empty house owned by the city council in Copenhagen. Squatters arrive at the house and the city council lends them the house. A couple of years later the city council decides the house is unfit for occupation and offers a new place for the squatters; yes – now squatters can hardly be called that. Anyway, they refuse to leave the house and the house is sold to an independent contractor. This contractor sells the house to a religious sect. They ask the occupants to leave the house, that is refused, the sect takes the case to the courts, win (easily), the case is appealed (yes!) and the sect wins again. It is now 6 years since they bought the house. They then ask the police (or rather, a special branch of the judicial system, which then asks the police since the case has been decided) to clear the house.

Now I am no fan of religious sects and this one is no exception. But I do think the law protects all…

So what happens is pretty standard. The occupants get hold of masonry blocks, bricks, toilets, molotovcocktails, ready to throw them at the police. Most of this is placed on the roof of the building, so it can get the velocity of three floors as well, making sure someone will get hurt at the other end.

Meanwhile a new organisation is founded; “Parents against policebrutality”. They demonstrate, regularly.

One night there is a big party in the house. It ends around 3 a.m. At 7 a.m. the police arrive. In this way: Two cranes are driving down the roads, each with a cargocontainer, converging on the house. When they reach the house the cranes swing over and position the containers outside windows on the first and second floor. At the same time a helicopter arrive above the house. From the helicopter and the containers police enter the house; all the weaponry on the roof are captured and waterhoses from the cranes pumps (cold) water into the house.

Physical harm? One person has a scrabe, perhaps on the elbow. 35 occupants arrested and removed from the house. All over in twenty minutes.

Then the violence begins, but as I see it, this is standard-anti-establishment-we-want-to-hurt-other-people hoodlums. A number of people who should know better get involved but when bricks are flying, you are either a violent hooligan or will get hurt. The police seems to have done their work with a minimal use of force, which everyone (except the beforementioned organisation) agrees.

Se estivessem trabalhando, nao estavam por ai botando fogo e fazendo arruaca… O estado social europeu eh um estado falido.

ó compadre, antes de ir para os copos faça como eu e tome um KGB.