[spectre] Call for International help against eviction of COX18 and all the other squatts and free social centers in Milan/Italy

[Redazione Digicult]

Hello people at Spectre

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 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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.