Dear Friends,

We are writing to you to inform you of the demolition of Metelkova and actions undertaken to counter the cultural and other damage caused by this.

Metelkova is an internationally renowned autonomous cultural zone situated on the site of former military barracks – the Slovene headquarters of the Yugoslav National Army. This public space which otherwise lay unused, and which the state now intends to clear, was occupied in September 1993 precisely in order to prevent its illegal demolition and to carry out various forms of autonomous creativity. Neither the City of Ljubljana nor the Slovene state have showed any interest in maintaining the status of the autonomous zone of Metelkova, and therefore the possibilities of the people involved in it, to further develop their creativity.  Instead we have witnessed attempts by the city and the state to try and legalize Metelkova or attempting to supplant it with shopping centres and other commercial ventures. The hard, yet energetic, development of Metelkova in a contrary direction, was possible due to numerous groups and individuals who consistently fought to maintain the autonomy, new spaces, contents and cultures of Metelkova.

For instance – Metelkova is one of the few places where different types of live music ranging from Free Jazz, Noise to Dub and Techno can be heard in peaceful coexistence. A number of artists have their studios at Metelkova. This also boasts one of the most open and creatively varied galleries for contemporary art not only in Slovenia but regionally, too. Metelkova is also one of the few places in Slovenia to offer migrants and asylum seekers, members of ethnic and other minorities, a possibility to openly socialize among themselves and with other people. For many years, Metelkova hosted the only fully fledged Women’s centre, and it is today still the only place in the country with community run clubs for handicapped youth, gay and lesbians. Many campaigns against racism, various forms of individual as well as social violence, have been planned and carried out at Metelkova.

Metelkova has been a site of political abuse and one where the representatives of all the political parties have tried to maximize their popularity. In 1997, the then Mayor of Ljubljana and the current foreign minister, Dimitrij Rupel, had the so-called Old School demolished. In its place the Little School was built. As part of their academic studies, the walls of this building were painted with a mural by Tina Drčar and Bine Skrt, under the tutorship of Dr. Gabrijelčič and Dr. Gruev. The building itself was the result of a project carried out by the German artisan group Axt und Kelle, and was financed by the German embassy and the City of Ljubljana. In 2002, Vida Stanovnik - the then city coordinator for Metelkova in the cabinet of the Mayoress Vika Potočnik, reported the Small school as an illegal construction to the relevant authorities. Metelkova’s users, however, were never allowed to become subjects in the discussions that took place between the State Inspectorate and the City Council. Throughout these they were relegated to the role of being powerless witnesses who otherwise annually answered forms of state oppression with various festivals, and other instances of creativity and imagination.

In 2006, the Inspectorate for the Environment unsuccessfully tried to carry out the demolition of Metelkova, but was prevented each time by the physical yet non-violent intervention of people at Metelkova itself. On 2nd August, however, the Inspectorate nonetheless succeded in its intentions, and with the help of a large number of police who cordoned off the relevant site. Nonetheless, later in the same time, the various users of Metelkova decided to build a new school in place of the the old one. This will not be renamed the Small school. Rather, we want to show that we have politically as well as culturally grown and developed in all these years. Therefore instead of a “Small school” we shall build a “Primary school”. The autonomy that therefore crucially defines the creativity Metelkova continues regardless.

We invite all those who wish to support us to come and visit us. If you also have some donations to make we will gladly accept them in Club Gromka or Jalla Jalla.

ACZ Metelkova is under attack. They need support. Please circulate this information. If you want to express your support, please write to the Prime Minister:
Janez.Jansa@gov.si
And to the Minister of Culture:
vasko.simoniti@gov.si

[ preberi več... ]

[ preberi več... ]

Pismo AKC MM javnosti
Izjava za javnost foruma AKC Metelkove mesta, kjer je pojasnjena odločitev o gradnji Osnovne šole na Metelkovi, obenem pa je na javnost naslovljena tudi prošnja za podporo.

[ preberi pismo ]

Rušenje Male šole, 2.8.2006
Oglejte si nekaj fotografskih utrinkov včerajšnjega rušenja objekta Mala šola.

[ foto galerija ]

Ogledate si lahko tudi krajši videoposnetek, ki je nastal ob policijski intervenciji ob rušenju.

[ video posnetek ]

Predsednik republike o rušenju v Metelkova mestu
Predsednik republike dr. Janez Drnovšek v zvezi z današnjim rušenjem Male šole v Metelkova mestu meni, da je slabo in nesprejemljivo, da so uradne inštitucije tako togo, birokratsko šle proti objektu v Metelkova mestu in da se razen rušenja objekta ni poskušalo najti neke boljše rešitve.

[ preberi več ... ]

stran gosti / powered by: