Why save Christiania? Simply because it is an alternative. A viable and truly free alternative to the other neighbourhoods of Copenhagen where more often than ever it is money that dictates the lives of the people. Christiania is an example - the most successful example to date - of a free society based on tolerance, cultural initiatives, collective ownership and self-management. What does it mean in practice? From a consumerist point of view, it means that people are happy to serve you because they chose to be there for the pleasure, not for the money. They close when they feel like closing, not because it is time to close. This is a subtle, but very beautiful difference.

Copenhagen and Christiania actually complement each other: on one side, the slick, clean, organised, chic design of a bustling european capital and on the other the humble, environmentally-friendly, visionary and artistic Christiania. But to me there is no doubt about which is the most sustainable in the long term..

Last weekend was yet-another high moment in Christiania with the HalfMachine interactive art installations: the "Grey Hall has transformed into a weather machine - objects and dancers are suspended in a giant mobile - robots, video art and live concerts in water and light - a crazy and surreal eco system in the midst of an electronic playground."

It is sad that people who devote their time and energy to arts should be harassed. Let not freedom be about greed, but about creativity.

(do read http://www.forsvarchristiania.dk/index.php?id=38)