Edited from a report by activists who took part in the Shut Down the Camp! (Luk Lejren!) action on 25th October:
“2-3000 participants went from Allerød train station, 30 km away from Copenhagen, to the biggest refugee camp in Denmark, Sandholm, to cut down the fence around the place. Before the day, local nazis and anti-semitic groups cut one main train-cable to prevent us from arriving in time, the delay just scaled the whole thing up and more people came running! In front of the camp several hundreds of people tried to reach the fence to tear it down, the cops responded with LOTS of tear gas – both against the teams of mobile fencecutters and the standing demo also attended by children and elderly people – but the fence was torn down at several spots, game over.”
Following the action, activists have been busy pushing the agenda in the national media. The action was covered at every level, and has resulted in several different discussions:
1) Some in the parliamentary opposition are suggesting an end to the existing refugee camps and the indefinite detention that asylum seekers are subjected to.
2) The cops have been forced to explain their brutal use of teargas & pepperspray against the demonstration.
3) A central goal of the action was to pull the issue out of the closed system of NGO’s and politicians, to amplify the conflict at every level. Activists debated against politicians in different live-shows, called them racists etc., and exposed the role of the Red Cross that run all the refugee camps in Denmark.
Activists have daily contact with the asylum seekers inside both Sandholm and other Danish camps. Asylum seekers were satisfied with the action, and everyone is planning the next move together, with more people joining in every day.
Introduction to the action in English: http://luklejren.dk/spip.php?article14
Watch video of demos and direct action on Shut Down the Camp/Luk Lejren Danish website: http://luklejren.dk
Hour by hour acccunt of the action and link to pictures: http://luklejren.smartlog.dk/
Find some more pictures here on Belgian website: http://www.cemab.be/news/2008/10/5966.php