Eurodusnie

Eurodusnie is a left-wing political collective with various initiatives and projects in Leiden ( South Holland ), which opposes the capitalist character of the European Union and advocates a political and social coexistence in the sense of a direct democracy .

The term “Eurodusnie” contains several puns : the Dutch words “Euro - dus nie” (translated: “Euro - just not”) sound similar to the name of the amusement park Eurodisney in Dutch pronunciation ; if the letters “d” and “s” are omitted, Euro Unie (European Union or European Monetary Union ) appears.

history

The Eurodusnie collective was founded in 1997 to protest against the Amsterdam Treaty . The members were and still are of the opinion that existing parliamentary institutions are basically corrupt and incapable of organizing “real democracy ”. Eurodusnie differs from the political parties in that it does not participate in parliamentary politics. Political decisions should come from the citizens and not from state institutions. According to their point of view, a world without borders, but with individual self-determination (“individuele zelfbeschikking”) in mutual respect, should form the democratic basis for social coexistence. The collective consists of around 25 permanent employees (as of November 2012) and a few dozen (constantly changing number) volunteers in the various "Eurodusnie projects".

Various groups, initiatives and organizations have been active in the “ Vrijplaats Koppenhinksteeg ” in Leiden since the late 1960s. In 1967 Eurodusnie emerged out of protest against the political manipulation of the International Monetary Fund of the World Trade Organization , which has since grown into an anti-globalization movement in the Netherlands. In 2005 Eurodusnie carried out an action against the European constitution . "Eurodusnie is considered to be the best organized anarchist collective in the Netherlands " ( Eurodusnie geldt as het best georganiseerde anarchist Collektief in Nederland ).

Vrijplaats Koppenhinksteeg

"Koppenhinksteeg" is seen by the Dutch secret service ("Inlichtingendienst") as "the most important center of anarchism in the Netherlands".

The “Eurodusnie squatters collective” in the “Koppenhinksteeg” consists of five squatted houses and sees itself as a “Free State” ( Vrijstaat ). The “Eurodusnie logo”, a variant of Mickey Mouse , is affixed to a school that was also occupied in 1997 and was set up as the “Hauptkwartier” .

background

Eurodusnie is one of many active squatter collectives in the Netherlands who have successfully prevailed against the evictions of the communities. For example “Vrankrijk” in Amsterdam, “De Blauwe Aanslag” in The Hague, “De Groete Broek” in Nijmegen or the Oude RKZ in Groningen. Around 1980 there were an estimated 20,000 squatters in the Netherlands and “officially” 1000 in 2005 (“Elsevier” from April 15, 2005). Some of the collectives are tolerated ( gedoogd ) by the municipalities , according to Eurodusnie , others were able to buy the squatted houses from the municipalities, some even receive subsidies : The squatters' collective "De Blauwe Aanslag" (The Hague) was able to do this for after moving to an empty school building Buy 453,000 euros . They received a subsidy of 1.36 million euros from the municipality for the renovation of the building.
Eurodusnie set up a program for a “new world order” ( nieuwe Wereldorde ). Among other things, it says: Everyone has the right to move in a world without borders and to settle where they want, according to their choice. The “new world order” respects the different cultural backgrounds of the people and the creative forces that arise from them. There should be a basic income for every world citizen. The means of production should be distributed in the form of direct democracy.

activities

1999 opened Eurodusnie the first Umsonstladen ( Weggeefwinkel ) in the Netherlands. There is a canteen called "Las Vegas", which offers vegetarian meals and serves as a meeting place for the homeless as well as for political discussions, student organizations and migrants' associations. In 2004 initiators of “anarchist radio pirates ” from the Netherlands came together to discuss the future existence of illegal radio stations. These included "Vrije Radios" ( Free Radios ), "Koekoeroe Radio" (Leiden region), "Vrije Keyser", "Radio 100", "Patapoe Radio", "Radio Tonka" (The Hague) and "Radio Wanklank" (Wageningen ).

One of the cultural initiatives of Eurodusnie was, for example, the “Remember Bob Marley ” evening in 2006 as a memorial service for the reggae musician, where music groups such as “Cool Vibbes Soundsystem” performed. There is also the “Cultureel Centrum Bar & Boos” ( Cultural Center Bar & Boos ), an anti-racism organization and a sports school: “Chinese Martial Arts Center Hong Ying”. Eurodusnie was also considered a source of inspiration for the Dutch counterculture.

criticism

Eurodusnie is considered a "left-extremist action group". Allegedly, the neighboring residents are said to have had enough of the “anarchy in Leiden”, as the community supports the tolerated “left-wing extremist stronghold” with considerable financial resources. Eurodusnie activists are seen as “extremists”, “disgusting squatters” and “work-shy rabble”. A volunteer told the de Volkskrant newspaper that the various groups consist of hardcore anarchists and moderate leftists, the youngest being 18 and the oldest 76 years old.

In 2005, Eurodusnie received a 40,000 euro subsidy to campaign against the European Basic Law. The VVD politician Hans van Baalen was indignant that this was a “gross mistake” ( grove fout ), because the money would probably be used for housing foreign anarchists and for the demonstrations. After all, no subsidies would be paid to, for example, the “ Hells Angels ”. “In the beginning we were actually quite provocative, now we are a very broad organization” (Marco van Duyn from Eurodusnie).

literature

• Saskia Poldervaart: Leven volgens je ideal . P. 186: Eurodusnie als inspiratiebron voor de tegencultur (“Eurodusnie as a source of inspiration for the counterculture”). Uitgevereij Aksant, January 2003. ISBN 90-52600-46-5

Web links

• Homepage of Eurodusnie (Dutch)
• Interview with “Eurodusnie” . (English)
• State archive in the International Institute for Social History . ( IISG , Amsterdam). Information on documents: "Anti-Verkiezings Komitee" (AVK); "Eurodusnie"; “Europa tegen de stroom in”; "Cineclub Vrijheidsfilms"; "Info coffee Vrankrijk". (Dutch)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Brief description of how Eurodusnie sees itself . Dutch, accessed December 1, 2010
2. ↑ Quotation and further information in the “Eurodusnie” section ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Author: Martin de Jong in Elsevier . First published on August 23, 2003. Dutch, accessed December 1, 2010  
3. ↑ "Anarchist Radio Pirates" . Dutch, accessed December 1, 2010
4. ^ "Remember Bob Marley in Eurodusnie" . Dutch, accessed December 1, 2010
5. ↑ Cf. on this: Saskia Poldervaart: Leven volgens je idealen . P. 186: "Eurodusnie als inspiratiebron voor de tegencultur"
6. ↑ "Anarchy in Suffering" . Dutch, accessed December 1, 2010
7. ↑ Authors: Gerard Reijn, Ianthe Sahadat, January 8, 2010 . Dutch, accessed December 1, 2010
8. ↑ Den Haag angry about subsidy  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Elsevier, April 15, 2005. Retrieved December 1, 2010