Danish police arrested up to 250 people on Thursday after violent street clashes broke out in Copenhagen over the eviction of squatters from a left-wing youth center. The highly publicized case brought sympathizers from other countries to the Danish capital to take part in the protests, and there were also protests in Germany and Norway.
At 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, anti-terror police dropped onto the roof of the building from helicopters while riot police secured the surrounding streets. Police officers perched on a crane and aimed water cannon through the windows while other officers dragged the squatters out of the building.
Hundreds of demonstrators reacted by setting cars, trashcans and makeshift barricades on fire and throwing bottles and cobblestones at the police. Police vans smashed through the barricades and officers chased the demonstrators down the street.
Violence flared up again on Thursday evening after the youth center's Web site called for supporters to gather near the house. More than 1,000 protesters threw bricks and bottles at hundreds of riot police -- who responded with teargas.
The authorities said that at least three people had been injured, including one protester who blew off his hand trying to hurl firecrackers in the direction of the police. At least 17 of those arrested are reported to be foreigners, nine of them German. Now the Danish authorities have tightened border restrictions with Germany and Sweden in order to prevent more sympathizers from arriving in Copenhagen.
The "Ungdomshuset" center in the multi-ethnic working class district of Norrebo had been occupied by young squatters since 1982 and had been used as a base for left-wing activists. It was sold to a Christian group by the state in 2000 but the occupants refused to leave and the new owners got a court order to have them evicted. The conflict over the center has been simmering ever since, with the youths living in the house refusing a proposal to move to another building.
The center has become something of a cause célèbre for the far-left anarchist scene across Europe and the squatters had asked people to come to support them in their hour of need. Last December, protests by around 1,000 people against the eviction plans turned into street clashes, and more than 300 people were arrested.
In Germany there were spontaneous demonstrations on Thursday evening to protest the Danish eviction. In Hamburg, around 800 people demonstrated against police, and threw bottles and street signs. The youths also dragged construction material onto the road and set bins alight. Police prevented around 100 people from demonstrating outside the Danish consulate in the city. In Hanover around 20 demonstrators clashed with police, while another 120 peacefully marched in the city center.
In Oslo, Norway, around 150 demonstrators threw snowballs and paintbombs at the Danish embassy. And three men were arrested in the southern Swedish city of Malmö for carrying flammable material and explosives -- they are suspected of wanting to go to join the protests in Copenhagen.
Police spokesman Per Larsen told the Associated Press that officers from around the country were on their way to the capital to reinforce their colleagues over the coming days. Fresh trouble is expected.
smd/spiegel/reuters/ap
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