Moni bleibt

After more than a year of resisting and living in Losser Forst against the A14 and the system that wants to build and profit from it, our camp was destroyed by the cops. Tree houses, ground structures, even the compost toilet, everything was completely destroyed and taken away for the most part. What remains is an apocalyptic scene of injured trees, rumpled ground and lots of broken glass.

We had left the forest before and no people were evicted, we are all fine. Reflection on the occupation and its end is a necessary, ongoing process. But for us it is and remains already clear: The resistance in the Altmark against environmental destruction and fascism goes on! For an ecological life in the countryside we need neither monotonous landscapes nor gray asphalt, but colorful projects and space for biodiversity!

We continue to welcome support in the form of donations for upcoming repression costs, talks to create further perspectives and reflect on the past, and lived solidarity with all living beings affected by oppression in the Altmark and everywhere else.

Heute is’ nich alle Tage – wir komm’ wieder, keine Frage!

(Today is not everyday, we will be back, no question!)

The train station fire still lingers as we look ahead to another month of drought and our gathering is once again massively disrupted by the police and public order office at great expense and under the pretext of personal protection.
We recognize that the last year and a half can best be described as the story of a collision of two worlds. With potential for explosion. The attacks on the train station, which culminated in its burning down, the conflict site forest occupation, hotly debated and contested, yet sign of a political stalemate. The constant police presence and harassment, as an unwelcome consequence.
We see the need in the people for tranquility and social peace, yet vehemently oppose a mere “business as usual”. We want to change something positive in this region, to advance the confrontation with our destructive political and economic system and to create self-organized, alternative ways of living. We’ve made our point, persisting through the winter and the eviction to our position that we need to build sustainable solutions, rather than a new highway. But in the current moment, building bridges is just as bitterly needed. We don’t want to get “stuck” but to be part of a healing process that creates something positive out of a polarized situation. The forest occupation has always been a means of protest; as a place of political gathering, it must overcome its isolation.

Therefore, we strive for a transformation of the forest occupation.
In this context we refer to statements of the district administrator Patrick Puhlmann, who also asked the question what the forest occupants expect in return to leave the forest. We will not leave the forest, we want to transform it. This means that people will no longer be there permanently, but the place will remain in a different form.
In order to accomplish this process, we only expect the authorities not to put obstacles in the way of our efforts and to hinder the process through repression, unfulfillable regulations or bureaucratic hurdles.

We can imagine withdrawing from the forest in order not to further burden both the ecosystem and the social structure of the region. We want to respond consistently to the situation. In this way, we want to prevent further fires.
We are currently working out various scenarios for what could happen to the Moni. We do not want to make a final commitment yet.
Because one thing is certain, we will continue to engage ourselves in the region, against the highway and for the good life away from capitalism, patriarchy, domination and environmental destruction. For this we want to put our focus on other projects, such as the gradual reconstruction of the train station Seehausen. This is not an end but it can be the beginning of a new stage.

We want to promote mutual understanding and tolerance with the inhabitants of the region, unless they are fascists, (neo-)Nazis, AfD and their followers. In this case, our fullest rejection still applies!

The Station building Seehausen is a long contested object. Since we moved in April 2021, we have repeatedly been the target of fascist attacks. Over the months, a social climate in the region solidified in which attacks on us were talked down, kept quiet, then partly approved and supported. On the morning of June 6, the station building finally burned down. The exact cause of the fire is still unclear, but it is clear that unknown people had gained unauthorized access to the building before the fire. No people were injured because, fortunately, there were none of our people in the building at the time. The building itself, however, is in ruins, was seized by the police and what the flames did not destroy was thoroughly frisked by the State Security. This measure, as well as the securing of the building, will be charged to the owner of the station, who had allowed us to use it. The building as well as all materials, tools, art, crafts etc that were in it are not insured. If a (partial) reconstruction should be possible, it will also be very expensive.
Any kind of support is urgently needed right now. We expect further costs and problems and do not exclude the possibility of further attacks on the station or the forest.

If you can, come to Seehausen or to the Moni or donate for us.
Donations gladly to:

Recipient: Spenden und Aktionen

DE29513900000092881806

BIC: VBMHDE5FXXX

Bank: Volksbank Mittelhessen

Intended Purpose: Keine-A14-Bahnhof

Against the social climate that has laid the groundwork for this fire! Against those who helped ignite it with misanthropic statements! Kein Ruhiges Hinterland! Moni Bleibt!

Press Statement regarding the events of may 18th 2022

In the morning of the 05/18/2022 there was a large-scale police operation with about 2 hundred units and additional heavy duty equipment in the forest occupation Moni in Losser Forest (Seehausen). Police violence, failure to render assistance, arrests, life-threateningly damaged tree houses, destroyed height and ground structures, cut ropes and stolen material were the result. All this under the pretext of prosecuting minor breaches of the law. What a load of crap! 

Detailed version

Yesterday morning at about 9 o’clock, the police arrived with a large contingent in the forest occupation Moni in Losser Forst (Seehausen). Involved were an estimated 2 dog units from different cities including a climbing unit of nine cops, the “evidence securing and arrest unit”, short BFE or , 2 lifting platforms and a Unimog/clearance tank. The goal of the operation was allegedly the identification of activists due to misdemeanors (violations of assembly requirements) and violations of the ban on hooding, as well as the search of several inhabited structures. In addition, 4 people were evicted from tree houses with a hoist/cherry picker. Therefore, we also speak – in contrast to the police – decidedly of a partial eviction.

During the operation, several people were subjected to or threatened with physical violence. One person was pulled from a staircase and pushed to the ground while trying to get themself to safety. An underage person who was awakened by the cops was threatened to be stripped naked shortly after their living space was stormed without notice. The same person was denied urgently needed medical assistance during the identification process, despite repeated requests.

Another person was denied food for several hours while being taken into custody to establish their identity. The attempt of some observers to bring food to this person was answered by the police with physical violence and 3 charges. 

After about 8 hours after the start of the operation, the last of 5 people was released from custody and picked up by a supporter, whose car was followed and observed for several hours. 

In addition, the cops did a lot of damage to the assembly area: Climbing material, a roll of polypropylene and 7 ladders were stolen (#freeVersammlungsleiter), about 15 climbing ropes and several trusses were cut, ground structures, building material and a car trailer were destroyed, drinking water was dumped, a tree was severely damaged by crampons, the cables of the solar system were cut, tree houses were completely devastated from the inside as well as a tree house damaged in a life-threatening way. In addition, our fire protection sign was knocked over, our officially ordered fire protection aisles were filled in and fire extinguishers were obstructed – especially ironic in light of the fact that the public order office (Ordnungsamt) constantly criticizes our fire protection precautions. 

We repeat: all this because of a few misdemeanors and covered faces. The legality and especially the proportionality of this operation is highly doubtful. There were several unanswered offers of cooperation and talks on our part with the public order office – so this operation was not “the last option”. Regarding the conditions we are said to have violated: one of them is that we are not allowed to enter the tree houses until they have been checked for stability. We stand by the fact that we have used the tree houses, as they are an essential part of our gathering character and are our homes. We have tried several times to get an expert opinion on the stability of the tree houses, but this failed because there are no DIN standards for logs (which support the floors of the tree houses) in Germany. In addition, we can claim with a clear conscience that we know more about tree house statics than the alleged “specialists” in the Ordnungsamt. We know which trunks can withstand how much, we know what kind of ropes we use for suspensions and bindings, how to use them and how strong they are. Our tree houses are safe. And we don’t need law enforcement rags pretending to protect us.

The other misdemeanor, according to the police, is participating in an assembly without an assembly leader. We can only laugh angrily at this accusation: only last summer the Higher Administrative Court of Magdeburg ruled that the occupation enjoys the legal status and protection of an assembly even without an assembly leader.

At this point, we would like to contradict some press voices that claimed that no expulsions were issued: both assembly participants and press representatives were expelled and supporters were prevented from participating in the assembly. But as is so often the case, the assembly law apparently only applies when it suits the cops.

We are incredibly angry about such criminalization and harassment of our legitimate protest. Climate protection is not a crime and not a misdemeanor, but the destruction of our livelihood is.

Pigs and public order office idiots: we can do without you. Get the hell out of the forest!

Since the district of Stendal has so far behaved uncooperatively with regard to the Autonomous Zone Altmark (AZA), we see ourselves forced to publish the following conditions in order to ensure peaceful coexistence. Violations by the police or the county, which endanger the autonomy and existence of the AZA, will be considered as belligerent aggression. In this case, we consider a declaration of war as a last necessary means to guarantee our right to exist. In this respect, we invoke the Geneva Convention of 1918.

1.a) The Altmark Autonomous Zone is not a national territory of the Federal Republic of Germany but an anti-national, self-governing zone. As such, it is not under the authority of the district of Stendal.

b) Police officers have no authority to enter or drive around the assembly area.

c) Violations will be considered as an act of aggression and will be prosecuted self-legally.

2. a) As a gesture of goodwill, the district of Stendal must immediately provide 10 pallets of “Sternburg Bräu Export”. This is to be considered as a prerequisite for peaceful negotiations.

b) Furthermore, we demand the provision of a fire-fighting water supply of 20,000 liters of oat milk.

3. church bells of the adjacent communities must not exceed a limit (measured at the border of the assembly area) of 60 db or 45 db after 10 pm.

4. a) We demand information about all stocks of the aservatenkammer of the police Stendal. Furthermore, the transmission of the complete site plans of all buildings used by the police.

b) The administrative district Stendal has to present the fire protection concept of all its buildings used by the police. Particular emphasis is to be placed on possible weak points.

c) The Autonomous Zone is to be provided immediately with 6,000 liters of heating oil and 3,000 liters of gasoline for the preservation and enforcement of peace and the anarchist values of self-determination, freedom and solidarity.

5. a) All employees of the public institutions of the district Stendal have to dry their laundry at a central place.

b) The exact location must be communicated to the occupants by means of officially prescribed pictograms for this purpose in accordance with ACAB 13.12.

c) Special attention must be paid to the underwear of officers, which must not exceed a soiling level of 3.
For better traceability, only undergarments of the color “pearl white” may be used.

6. a) On all surfaces used by the district of Stendal, neither soil sealing nor compaction may occur. The use of concrete is particularly prohibited.

b) All structures that do not meet these specifications must be demolished immediately and the affected areas subjected to a renaturalization process.

7. a) All minors are not allowed to be in school buildings between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

b) Police officers are only allowed to be present if they are accompanied by a young person under the age of 16. This serves to control the officers with regard to their responsibility towards the younger generation not to actively participate in the destruction of the planet.

8. a) The district Stendal has to provide for the fact that in its forests, no murder is committed. For this purpose we demand the immediate destruction of all infrastructure serving to hunt.

b) All rifles of hunting persons are to be confiscated and immediately handed over to the occupying person.

9. a) Any “civilization waste” caused by the county is to be disposed of properly outside the earth’s atmosphere by Elon Musk’s SpaceX program.

b) The so-called “civilization waste” includes all resident millionaires and billionaires in addition to the waste generated by the implementation of 6b).

10) A complete list of the names and addresses of all members of the state parliament as well as officials in the service of police and public order office is to be handed over on request.

11. in anticipation of the extreme weather conditions due to the climate disaster caused by the county, the county is to be evacuated immediately.

The fulfillment of these conditions within a period of 2 weeks is to be understood as a condition for the possibility of the implementation of the condition notice issued by the district of Stendal to the occupation. Should future negotiations fail to produce an agreement that is responsible for the occupation, the option of a Holz-Gladius duel between the Federal Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer, and a deligated person from the AZA is envisaged.

Hello dear people who want to support the occupation,
some of us were talking these days about sustainability and food. For people in this occupation that includes moving away from capitalist consumption and towards self-organized supply structures. To engage with this process more depply, people have decided to ask for a BUYING STOP for food donations (such as bread spreads, individually packaged rice/noodles/grains, bought fruits and veggies, etc.) People want to try this as an experiment to challenge themselves to be more engaged with their nutrition. This is not meant as an expression of ingratitud towards those who have supported us in this manner. At the same time people want to take responsibilty for the suffering and destruction which many commercial products cause. Another goal is to motivate to support the occupation in more uncommercial ways. It is always nice if people come by to visit the occupation. Preferably it should grow as a community with roots in the region rather than an isolated occupation (“activists”) with an outsourced service sector (“supporties”). If you dont have the possibilty to gift us some of your time and energy, but have some spare money, just ask us what specifically is needed (We will continue buying regional products in large quantities such as oats, flour, oil, etc.)
People are also always happy about donations of rescued or self-produced food. We are receiving a lot of wonderful self-grown food donated from regional organic farms. If we have everything we need and you still want to donate, there are plenty of anarchist groups who really need money that we would happily distribute that to.
A goal for the future would be to be to build up alternative food structures for the region. If you have motivation or ressources to help (ex. contacts to supermarkets, spare food that you dont use yourself) create foodsharing structures, please write us a message!
Also feel free to contact us with thoughts and comments!
This should be  understood as an open process of reflection on our consumption behaviour, for everybody to participate. This is also part of a much broader discussion on how we can build up alternative structures to replace capitalist ones. Thank you for taking the time to think about this!

This speech was held on the bridge across the river Elbe on the mobility change action day on the 5th of june

Hey people, how is it going? First I would like to say thank you to the people organizing the demonstration for the invitation to speak here.
I came from Moni forest occupation where I´ve spent last one and half month. Many of us in Moni have been to Danni or other occupations before where we´ve learnt many skills but especially we´ve learnt that we want to do a lot of things differently.
First of all we don´t want to have here a division between activists in the forest and supporters who bring them oat milk while both groups keep distance from each other.
We chose to occupy the forest as our form of action but we are aware that this action is just same important as all the others. Some people build treehouses, other organize demonstrations, another people take care of the train station in Seehausen while other people grow nice organic food. Diversity of tactics is important for any movement which want to be successful. Continue reading →

An insight into our struggle

Our forest occupation is standing for about one month now and a lot has happened since then. There are now more than 10 structures in the trees. None of us expected that we would grow so fast when we first got together somewhere in the Altmark a few weeks ago and figured out where we would put up the first platforms.
We have had a lot of visits and support from people in the surrounding towns, for example our potato supply is always full, which we are very enthusiastic about!
But there have also been some visits from highway supporters, some of them just for discussion, some of them openly right-wing extremists, who were behaving aggressively and because of this acute threatening situations have occurred a few times. Continue reading →

A new highway, the A14, is meant to be built in the Altmark, a part of Germany’s largest highway-free area. The highway track will cut through the Seehausener forest.

In times of global climate crisis it is not acceptable for the state to keep pushing a car-based system.

We don’t want another forest to be destroyed for a shitty highway, which will just generate more profit for the industry and further destroy the environment and living space for all lifeforms.

As the government keeps on ignoring the interests of people and nature, we choose to directly prevent the cutting and construction.

This is not just a fight for mobility change but part of a way bigger struggle against the capitalist system. We do not want to create a greener capitalism based on the exploitation of humans and nature espacially in the global south. As long as this colonial patriarchal system exists, we will continue to climb trees and occupy forests to stop destructive projects like the A14.

We are just one part of the resistance against the highway. We stand in solidarity with all persons fighting with all methods against all highways and the system that needs them.

We stand in solidarity with everyone fighting against oppression and the destruction of our world.

We want to create an open space in which we try to reflect and unlearn oppressive behavior, where everyone is welcome and feels invited to pass by and be part of the occupation.

No machos. No fascists. No cops.

For a world without hierarchies. For selfdetermination. For a good life for everyone.

Moni bleibt!