CCL-Centro de Cultura Libertária- An anarchist centre in Portugal under eviction threat.

CCL is an anarchist centre that exists in Cacilhas, Portugal, since 1974. It was started by old anarchists that fought against dictatorship and since then it stands in the same place. Along the years it has been an important place for anarchism in Portugal and it has been the house of several generations of anarchist. It has an unique library and archive in Portugal, with anarchist books that were edited in the last hundred years as well as its own distro. During these 35 years of existence it has been the place of several activities such as discussions, video screenings and workshops. Voz Anarquista in the 70’s, Antítese in the 80’s, Boletim de Informação Anarquista in the 90’s and, more recently, Húmus are examples of zines and newspapers published and edited here. In January of 2009, an eviction threat was made against CCL by the owner of the building in which it stands. Due to that, there was a court case between September and October. In the 2nd of November the sentence came out: CCL has until the 22nd of November to empty the place. An appeal in the court will be made now. In this period there are costs, like paying the lawyer and the appeal. We still don’t know the exact amount of money that will be needed but for sure some hundreds of euros. What is happening here concerns all those who struggle against realty speculation and the greedy propriety owners behind it. The pretext from the accusation was the excessive noise during night time. The real interest for the owner is to gain a higher profit from the rent of the house. CCL has a lifetime contract that prevents major changes in the rent price. The end of this centre means a big loss in all possible ways: it’s an important place for reflexion, debate, struggle and resistance. As others fought in the past for the existence of this place, we fight back again saying NO to losing it by the hands of courts, profitmakers or any other reason. We will continue our struggle! All support and solidarity that can make our resistance stronger is urgent and necessary, therefore welcome! Centro de Cultura Libertária 07.11.09 Contacts: E-mail: ateneu2000@yahoo.com Mail: Apartado 40 2800-801 Almada – Portugal Blog: http://culturalibertaria.blogspot.com