Italians occupy Danish consulate over youth centre

ROME, Mar 6 (Reuters) A group of anti-globalisation protesters occupied the Danish consulate in Venice today to express support for hundreds of demonstrators arrested during violent protests in Copenhagen last week.

''We have occupied this consulate in order to speak directly with the Danish government'', Italian news agency ANSA quoted the Venice group's spokesman Luca Casarini as saying.

Consulate staff in Venice said around 40 members of an Italian youth group sent a message from their office to the Danish government demanding the detainees' release. The protest ended peacefully with no arrests.

Around 50 members of two other youth groups staged a similar protest at the Danish consulate in Milan shortly afterwards.

Italy has many ''social centres'' -- buildings occupied, often illegally, usually by left-wing groups which use the space as a meeting place or to hold concerts.

The eviction of left-wing squatters from a Danish youth centre provoked days of violent protest in Copenhagen.

REUTERS MS RAI2022