DON'T MENTION THE WALL

There were turbulent confrontations between protesters and police in Berlin last week that led to 82 people arrested and 22 charges. Officially, 61 cops were injured in a mammoth police operation. Around 2,500 police officers, a helicopter and a water cannon were deployed on Wednesday (2nd) for the eviction of the 25 inhabitants of the infamous Liebig 14 squat.

One of the few remaining communes in the city, it was first squatted in 1990, just post the fall of the Berlin Wall. More than 2,000 protesters had gathered outside holding banners and shouting at police. In the following days things reached a climax. After officers from the German Special Force department charged in, protesters took to the streets of Friedrichshain and raised a storm. Caught in the wave of destruction were a department store, several banks and an O2 shop.

Green MP, Hans-Christian Strobele stated “alternative housing projects such as Liebig 14 were one of Berlin’s trademarks and should be protected rather than destroyed. Even the district mayor, Franz Schulz, criticised the eviction. “It is not a good day. We’re losing an important alternative project”. The eviction is another step towards the urban gentrification of Berlin, that is pushing out all the low income bracket and working class households from certain areas.