On Wednesday September 2, just two days before the Weekend of discussion and action started, cops evicted the Luwi 71 squat. In the days that followed the price of the eviction was getting higher and higher and it ain’t over yet. Tonight (Sept 5) there will be another demo.
After the somewhat disillusioning eviction of the Syndikat in Berlin last month, people in Leipzig show that it is still possible to drive up the price of evictions. The actions around the eviction of the Syndicat in Berlin started with a strong demo on August 1. The eviction itself showed once again that the Syndicat was deeply anchored in the neighbourhood, many neighbours protested from their balconies with potts and pans. But from an antagonistic point of view the eviction went to smoothly for the cops and the political pressure from the streets wasn’t big enough to stop the coming wave of evictions in Berlin.
The Day X demo after the eviction in Berlin was a complete disaster. As I arrived at the starting point I was baffled. Although Berlin has enough squares wih wide and open streets around it, the demo started at a square with narrow streets. There are enough tourist areas in Berlin where cops need to consider their tactics because tourists don’t like to see their fantasy world destroyd by police violence. That said, it of course doesn’t mean that cops will not be violent in Tourist areas, but it makes it at least a bit more difficult for them. In the end the Day X demo in Berlin has put up a lot of frustration and questions. Of course things are different in Berlin. In Berlin you often have to deal with whole armies of cops, but still… I hope that the Liebig 34 action days will work out better.
In Leipzig things went differently this week. On Wednesday the Luwi 71 squat was evicted. For the day after, Thursday, a Day X +1 demo was called for, the demo was determined and the cops received a lot of bricks. Some barricades were erected and set on fire. For a short time Luwi 71 was also re-squatted (and than evicted again). On Friday a building at Bornaische Street 34 was squatted. The cops cleared the new squat after a few hours, and for that reason there was another spontaneous demo last night. A cop station was attacked and again there were stones for the cops and some burning barricades. Two cop cars crashed into each other under a shower of stones.
Leipzig is a city where antagonistic resistance continues to take place on a regular basis. No matter what the cops are doing there, they always have to expect determined resistance and they know that. That is not only important on a political level, but also psychologically. Leipzig shows not only that antagonistic resistance is still possible, but also that the investors who are destroying our cities into a thoroughly gentrified desert are vulnerable. They are everywhere and therefore have to expect interventions everywhere.
I do not want to say that it is easy to act more anatagonistically in other German cities. But it is possible and important. This is also shown by the constant resistance in projects like Rigaer street or the Stuttgart riots. In my opinion, the best possible solidary support would be to create as many such antagonistic resistance herds as possible.
“Out of the defensive” should not remain just a slogan, but should be implemented through practical interventions like in Leipzig or the demonstration in Berlin on August 1. If we manage to bring continuity in this, we would take a big step forward.
Tonight there will be another demo in Leipzig (starting point Hildebrand-Platz 08:00pm – 20:00), the price for the evictions is getting higher and higher.
