Please sign the solidarity petition for Rog on the folloving adress

http://www.njetwork.org/spip.php?article67

The mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković has been threatening to close down Rog and to evict its users since Thursday, 21th of March 2008. He is doing that contrary to the agreement and praxis that has lasted for almost 2 years. For some time his private security even closed the doors of Rog in order to prevent people form entering. What is more, he threatened to close down Rog with the help of the Police. However, the Police informed us that they cannot do anything without the court order, which the mayor does not posses. Thus, the mayor is threatening with means he cannot legitimately and legally employ. As far as we know, he has not initiate any official legal procedures against users of Rog.

The mayor's actions are not easily understandable, since there are no obvious reasons for closing Rog in such haste. At the moment, the municipality does not have any final plans, provided for in its legal acts, and no developed financial arrangement for Rog. Therefore, we understand the mayor's action against Rog as a symbolic attack on everything that Rog represents. As a former manager of a huge business enterprise the mayor does not understand the importance of autonomous spaces like Rog.

Rog is an open place, where things are done differently. The mayor obviously does not appreciate forms of creative living, uncensored expression, actual exercising of freedom of assembling, respecting human dignity and cherishing heterogeneity. Therefore he is intentionally trying to make impossible some truly autonomous and self-determined activities of individuals and groups, who reject to do exclusively, what the hegemonic model of organization of social life expects them to do.

However, we, the users of Rog, organized ourselves and started an internet petition to gather signatures of support. A Slovenian and English version of the petition is available on the web page:

http://www.njetwork.org/spip.php?article67

Furthermore, we are inviting individuals and groups to send their letters of support to the mayor's office. Mayor Janković's email address is

zoran.jankovic@ljubljana.si

and his fax number is

00386 1 306 12 14.

We are planning some further activities in the following week. For example, we joined forces with some established cultural and artistic institutions, which face similar problems. They do not have adequate place and means for their activities as well. Together we are preparing a public debate on thursday in Rog.

Autonomous spaces are becoming an essential part of the policy of modern European cities. Autonomous spaces are essential to exercise democratic values for people, who cannot be or do not want to be a part of established cultural, political and other social institutions. In this respect, the autonomous spaces contribute to the freedom and democracy, which are fundamental values of European integration.

Solidarity!