The efforts of Denmark’s Parliament to take back control of the progressive enclave of Christiana and evict all its squatting residents have been upheld by the Eastern High Court. This could mark the beginning of the end for the alternative-minded folk who live in the former Copenhagen naval base, which they have been occupying since 1971.
The Eastern High Court agreed that the government was within its powers to assert control over Christiana. The residents of Christiana tried to preserve their right to live in the old compound in the heart of Copenhagen by taking the Place and Properties Agency to court in a bid to challenge the 2004 Act of Parliament that terminated their right to use the 35-hectare property.
The Copenhagen Post says that in 1989 Parliament passed a law giving partial supervision of Christiana to the state instead of the City. The government then said the site was still state property since no formal agreement had ever been signed with the community.
The residents of Christiana saw things differently, and tried to argue that an earlier 1987 Justice Ministry memo stated the government had to make an agreement with the community before it could reassert control over the site.
Although the attorneys for the residents had been optimistic the court would side with them, they lost the case. Now the 900 or so residents of Christiana must decide if they want to take the matter to the Supreme Court. The government has said the residents will not be evicted immediately until a final plan is constructed.