<nettime> Call for International help against eviction of COX18 and all the other squatts and free social centers in Milan/Italy

["Redazione Digicult" <redazione@digicult.it>]

Hello people at Nettime

The past one, was a sad and angy week for people living in
Milan/Italy. Milan's social and cultural life was stricken hard
once again. At 7am on january the 22nd around 100 policemen entered
the squatt COX18 (http://www.cox18.noblogs.org), which include in
its premises the social center created more than 33 years ago, the
Calusca City Light bookstore, founded in 1971, and the Primo Moroni
Archive. Looking at the Expo2015 that will take place in Milan, the
Municipality ask for legal possession of some buildings in town in
order to sell them and earn money. The words of the Vice Mayor De
Corato were clear: we want to close all the free social centers and
squatts in Milan, after COX18 and Pergola Tribe, will be the turn of
Cantiere and Torchiera (other 2 important places of free culture in
town).

We at Digicult, supporting COX18 and all the squatts and social
cultural centers in town, ask to all the people that belive in
cultural freedom, in the importance of the existance of places of free
voice and ideas, that are against repressive policies against free
spaces, to follow and help us as much as you can internationally.
Spread this call and the future ones and sign the Online Petition
here: http://www.petitiononline.com/cox18/petition.html

----------

At 7am on january the 22nd around 100 policemen entered the squatt
COX18, which include in its premises the social center created more
than 33 years ago, the Calusca City Light bookstore, founded in
1971, and the Primo Moroni Archive. The importance of this archive
is stunning: it is, without any doubt, the most important treasure
of memory, books, videos, registrations and a considerable portion
of counterculture in Milan and in Italy. At the present moment the
squatt is sealed and under seizure with all the materials inside, the
books and the magazines of the bookstore and the archive included. The
damage is unbelieveble!!!.

COX18 was a place where one could encounter people and ideas, where
prices were accessible for all and where discrimination never took
place. A place for concerts, workshops, screenings, presentations,
meetings, art installations, crossing from different art-forms, many
of those related to electronic and digital culture. The Milan town
municipality is trying to turn the city into a huge commercial centre,
destroying all forms of cultural alternatives and closing down all
those spaces where cultural elaboration is not subject to a purely
market-oriented vision. It's a processes that is still ging on from
the last 15 years. We are not in for this. We won't abandon this city.
We are going to stay here and fight for the right to have free social
and cultural spaces destined to free forms of expression.

The morning of 22nd, a lot of people arrived in via Conchetta (the
street in which COX18 lives) to defend the social center against
the eviction, then from 4.00 pm in a spontaneous demonstration and
call to everybody and to everything to converge at Palazzo Marino,
Milano town hall, for a participated and determined demotration for
Cox18 and against the evictions. After this demonstration, many other
initiatives were organized in the days after, both on the Internet
and on the Streets. There was a big response from intellectuals,
people of culture, normal people from all ages. A big concert was
organized in a big square in Ticinese disctrict (the same of COX18)
and a big mobilitation was a great success on Saturday, January the
24th, against the eviction of the Cox18

At the moment there is a civil case to define the right of ownership
of bulding and of the Archive: of course, many other cultural
initiatives will be organized in the next days, many words will be
written, many concerts will be organized in public spaces of the town,
a big national mobilitation will be organized and the Internet will
be our friend to spread the word of what is happening against Free
Culture in Milan/Italy in this historical moment

best and thanks to all
Marco Mancuso / Digicult

----------

Videos:

http://www.streamit.it/index.htm?v=1f5401a85672f89663ccc9801811eed2

http://new.c6.tv/component/library/?task=view&id=2772

http://milano.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/4476258

http://www.youreporter.it/view_video.php?viewkey=99d28729e0473f7a54e16e2ea4ee0178

http://www.youreporter.it/view_video.php?viewkey=53efdba22c4fc43bad923ceb27a1614f

----------

LET'S TAKE BACK COX18, CALUSCA AND THE PRIMO MORONI ARCHIVE

At 7am on january the 22nd around 100 policemen entered the squatt
COX18, which include in its premises the social center created more
than 33 years ago, the Calusca City Light bookstore, founded in
1971, and the Primo Moroni Archive. In a matter of a few hours, the
answer of the city was explicit, a number of comrades, friends and
neighbourhoods, gathered in front of the squatt and the armoured
police units to confront the unwelcomed guests.

It's clearly an illegal eviction which doesn't consider a legal action
already going on since july 2008 between the city administration and
the squatt COX18 with the sole purpose of taking legal possession
of the building. Vice Mayor De Corato, one the main heads trying to
suffocate whatever isn't uniformed, gives the responsibility of the
action to head of the police and the regional administration. The DA
affirm he wasn't informed of anything until the eviction was on. Not
a real problem, cause all the protagonists agree on the fact that
the economic value of the building shouldn't loose value. They're
talking about money and economic interest as if this was a reasonable
explanation for what is going on.

At the present moment. the squatt is sealed and under seizure with all
the materials inside, the books and the magazines of the bookstore
and the archive included. The COX18 squatt, the Calusca Bookstore and
the Primo Moroni Archive represent an important piece of radical and
workers' history; they testify the possibility to elude the principle
of commercialization of things and thoughts.We're not alone, we got
the company of others squats, places of free expression and exchange
of ideas. Our survival is the survival of freedom of expression,
thought and action; of the chance to master our own destiny and
future, of any chance not to be judged and considered for what we
can/want to spend.

It's pretty clear we don't consider this 'game' close, we recognize
the ones refusing the homogeneity of monolithic thought guaranteed
by the market and this pseudo democracy: they want us compatible,
buyers and buyable, ordered and uniformed, we'll remain what we know
we are: original, always ready to spread knowledge, not homogenous and
critical to whatever is imposed as truth.

----------

FACTS AND CONSIDERATION ABOUT THE EVICTION

It's not correct to read at warm the eviction of the Cox 18,
historical social center of street Conchetta in Milan, besides center
of the bookshop Calusca and the Primo Moroni's archives. Mobilization
against the eviction is in progress, and the Cox eviction is not a
closed fact. The eviction occures on January 22 after a question in
Parliament against Milan social centers adressed, on January 21, to
the Home Affair Minister Mr Maroni the notorious vice-mayor, and
public safety alderman and parliamentary, Mr Riccardo De Corato.

Certainly this eviction as well as a value in practice, has a great
symbolic value in order to state power of abuse over the city by
certain administrators sheriffs in double- breast jacket protagonists
of politics based upon evictions of social center in order to support
private interest of meddlers and ndrangheta members who see Milan at
the center of a vhirl of business for the future Expo. A moltitude
of people mobilized this morning since dawn after the first news
about Cox18 eviction . After some hours from the garrison of street
Conchetta was born a blockage directed toward the mainstreet of
the city, stopping traffic of one of the most important metropolis
arteries. This morning police intervened under disposition that town
hall has emanated anadministrative act (act that has not been proved)
in which was signalled the unauthorized occupation of the bulding.

The eviction occured and after a long negotiation the real estate
was returned by the police to town hall, without clearing away the
documents, books, furniture. At the moment there is a civil case to
define the right of ownership of bulding and we all demand reinstate
of ownership to the occupantes, who after 33 years and a deliberation,
made in 1989, that granted the real estate to them.






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