What is really happening in Berlin right now?
Police and protesters clash during squatters' rights protest in Berlin
About 3,500 demonstrators participate in rally that police describe as ‘most violent protest in last five years’
More than 120 police officers were injured and 86 demonstrators detained during left-wing riots in Berlin, which police have described as “the most aggressive and violent protests in the last five years”.
Berlin police said in a statement on Sunday that protesters threw bottles, cobblestones and fireworks, destroyed cars and attacked officers, one of whom required hospital treatment. It wasn’t immediately clear how many rioters were injured.
About 3,500 protesters participated in the rallies, which started on Saturday evening and lasted until early on Sunday. Activists had called for the demonstration to protest against police operations at buildings inhabited by squatters in the eastern part of the German capital last month.
About 1,800 police officers were called in to monitor the protesters.
-o-
What matters is the show
Unlike the riots of the 80s and 90s, in this case of the Rigaer 94 it is "just" about a single building. But the leftists and the politicians need it as a symbol.
It's rumbling again in Berlin. In the capital storefronts are being smashed, a few cars are being set on fire, politician's offices are being sprayed with slogans. Thousands of radical leftists dressed in trendy "scene black" march through a night-time entertainment district. The police are outfitted in similar uniforms. There are casualties on both sides. The press writes about a night of terror.
Typical Berlin? Yes, typical Berlin. The capital is once again playing housing wars. Almost like back in the 80s and 90s, when within a few months hundreds of buildings were squatted. The emphasis is on "almost". Because this time around it's only about one building in the Rigaer Straße. More specifically: the rear wing of the building. And it's not even squatted. It used to be. 25 years ago. Since then everyone has a lease. The only problem: the contracts were never updated, even though the apartments have changed tenants several times since. But these details don't interest anyone - they would ruin the show. And that's what this is all about.
Firstly, there is the left-wing scene, which is happy to once again have the Rigaer 94 as a symbol for the Big Picture struggle - a place that can be defended against gentrification, capitalism, investors and police.
And on top of that there is the Berlin Senator of the Interior Frank Henkel. He will be leading the CDU [Christian Democrats/center-right] in the September elections and also discovered the Rigaer 94 as his symbol for the Big Picture struggle. Berlin has long had the highest police density of all the federal states, even as the number of violent crimes has dropped in recent years. But if the "radical lefties" set fire to cars, he can present himself as a strong man who will ensure the strength of the local police.
Using the police to pander for votes is not exclusive to Henkel. Five years ago there was the exact same spectacle of escalation. The formerly-squatted Liebigstraße 14 was hyped up to be a terrorist nest, then forcibly evicted ahead of the election. Only that time around the Senator of the Interior was SPD [Social Democrats/center-left].
Today reminds us of the solutions of the 80s and 90s, a dialog with all stakeholders. This has always worked pretty well - except when the hardcore insist on a final battle.
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Source 1: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/10/berlin-police-protesters-clash-squatters-rights
Source 2 (German, translated by OP): http://www.taz.de/Kommentar-Haeuserkampf-in-Berlin/!5317307/
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There is a lot of press reporting on this right now, and aside from a couple of outlets they are universally referring to the protest as a riot. It wasn't. I was there, because I live a few blocks from the heart of all this. For two weeks now there have been heavily-armed riot police lining the streets of my neighborhood, harassing residents and trying to break up peaceful gatherings in the Dorfplatz (village square) - a cobble-stone crossroads surrounded by historically squatted buildings and leftist information centers. I am not even a part of the scene but have never felt so oppressed.
The protest itself was very loudly anti-police and anti-capitalist. Yes, there were a number of kids in ski-masks who most likely fancy themselves violent revolutionaries, but there were also a lot of gutter punks, hippies, socialists, radical queers and just middle-class folks like myself who did not throw a stone or a bottle and just want to send a message to the cops to get out of our neighborhood.
I'm surprised this story has blown up all over Europe today, but more surprised that so much of the coverage paints me and my neighbors as hooligans and terrorists. I thought I'd post here to give a bit of balance.
About 3,500 demonstrators participate in rally that police describe as ‘most violent protest in last five years’
More than 120 police officers were injured and 86 demonstrators detained during left-wing riots in Berlin, which police have described as “the most aggressive and violent protests in the last five years”.
Berlin police said in a statement on Sunday that protesters threw bottles, cobblestones and fireworks, destroyed cars and attacked officers, one of whom required hospital treatment. It wasn’t immediately clear how many rioters were injured.
About 3,500 protesters participated in the rallies, which started on Saturday evening and lasted until early on Sunday. Activists had called for the demonstration to protest against police operations at buildings inhabited by squatters in the eastern part of the German capital last month.
About 1,800 police officers were called in to monitor the protesters.
-o-
What matters is the show
Unlike the riots of the 80s and 90s, in this case of the Rigaer 94 it is "just" about a single building. But the leftists and the politicians need it as a symbol.
It's rumbling again in Berlin. In the capital storefronts are being smashed, a few cars are being set on fire, politician's offices are being sprayed with slogans. Thousands of radical leftists dressed in trendy "scene black" march through a night-time entertainment district. The police are outfitted in similar uniforms. There are casualties on both sides. The press writes about a night of terror.
Typical Berlin? Yes, typical Berlin. The capital is once again playing housing wars. Almost like back in the 80s and 90s, when within a few months hundreds of buildings were squatted. The emphasis is on "almost". Because this time around it's only about one building in the Rigaer Straße. More specifically: the rear wing of the building. And it's not even squatted. It used to be. 25 years ago. Since then everyone has a lease. The only problem: the contracts were never updated, even though the apartments have changed tenants several times since. But these details don't interest anyone - they would ruin the show. And that's what this is all about.
Firstly, there is the left-wing scene, which is happy to once again have the Rigaer 94 as a symbol for the Big Picture struggle - a place that can be defended against gentrification, capitalism, investors and police.
And on top of that there is the Berlin Senator of the Interior Frank Henkel. He will be leading the CDU [Christian Democrats/center-right] in the September elections and also discovered the Rigaer 94 as his symbol for the Big Picture struggle. Berlin has long had the highest police density of all the federal states, even as the number of violent crimes has dropped in recent years. But if the "radical lefties" set fire to cars, he can present himself as a strong man who will ensure the strength of the local police.
Using the police to pander for votes is not exclusive to Henkel. Five years ago there was the exact same spectacle of escalation. The formerly-squatted Liebigstraße 14 was hyped up to be a terrorist nest, then forcibly evicted ahead of the election. Only that time around the Senator of the Interior was SPD [Social Democrats/center-left].
Today reminds us of the solutions of the 80s and 90s, a dialog with all stakeholders. This has always worked pretty well - except when the hardcore insist on a final battle.
-o-
Source 1: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/10/berlin-police-protesters-clash-squatters-rights
Source 2 (German, translated by OP): http://www.taz.de/Kommentar-Haeuserkampf-in-Berlin/!5317307/
-o-
There is a lot of press reporting on this right now, and aside from a couple of outlets they are universally referring to the protest as a riot. It wasn't. I was there, because I live a few blocks from the heart of all this. For two weeks now there have been heavily-armed riot police lining the streets of my neighborhood, harassing residents and trying to break up peaceful gatherings in the Dorfplatz (village square) - a cobble-stone crossroads surrounded by historically squatted buildings and leftist information centers. I am not even a part of the scene but have never felt so oppressed.
The protest itself was very loudly anti-police and anti-capitalist. Yes, there were a number of kids in ski-masks who most likely fancy themselves violent revolutionaries, but there were also a lot of gutter punks, hippies, socialists, radical queers and just middle-class folks like myself who did not throw a stone or a bottle and just want to send a message to the cops to get out of our neighborhood.
I'm surprised this story has blown up all over Europe today, but more surprised that so much of the coverage paints me and my neighbors as hooligans and terrorists. I thought I'd post here to give a bit of balance.