<< 2003 >>

"Castor diary"
daily e-mail report to US-subscribers from "Ed"
[ "Ed"  - well known to me in person -  a retired writer from the US, who's living in the 'Wendland' since a few years! ]

please bookmark this page for tomorrows 'update' !

latest entry at the bottom !

< page will remain until December, 12th >

Background:

Background Info No. 1

Please excuse any repetition of facts you may have already read. We do this for our new subscribers

What is a Castor?

Nuclear waste is shipped in a special cask, called a "castor", weighing 120 tons. The castor is an unproven container that has been

shown to leak radioactivity. Each castor contains more radioactivity than that released at Chernobyl or Hiroshima (One castor was even deformed by the tremendous pressures.)

Moreover, a shock protection system required by law was recently found to be almost non-existent -- a slipshod "fix" is  accomplished by inserting wooden blocks during unloading! 

Rolf Bertram, Professor for Physical and Electrical Chemistry at the University of Goettingen, has warned:

"I would like to remind those responsible of material facts that have been known for decades. Despite their significance for the transport and storage of atomic waste, they have either been completely overlooked, or not sufficiently taken into account.

"Inside the Castor walls, made of cast iron, a polyethylene (PE) covering is supposed to provide neutron protection. When the Castor is filled, both the walls and the PE are subjected to constant radiation. Through a radiolytic reaction the PE tends to decompose, releasing Hydrogen and Carbon.  The Hydrogen atoms characteristically diffuse through the cast-iron walls to the outside (there are plenty of literature references concerning the escape rates of Hydrogen from closed containers.) These well-known reactions lead to a weakening of the neutron protection. The flow of neutrons affects the cast-iron, and the Hydrogen diminishes the flexibility of the iron, resulting in diminished stability and greater corrosion.

"Through these unavoidable chemical reactions, both the iron and the PE become increasingly radioactive.  In cast-iron (containing up to 4% carbon), this leads to a build-up of radioactive nuclides, especially the strong Gamma- and Beta radiators Fe-59, Co-60, and the long-life C-14. In the PE, radioactive carbon and Tritium are produced. These radioactive isotopes also penetrate the container walls.

"It is frequently argued that glass encapsulation of the atomic waste is less dangerous because when the products are encased in glass, there is a separation of Uranium and Plutonium nuclides.  Thereby, the fact that during the first 1000 years. the radioactive toxicity of atomic waste is determined by the amount of Americium present (Am-241), is overlooked.  In a single encapsulation, the  radioactivity of Am-241 is about ten times that contained in a ton of used atomic fuel.

"CONCLUSION:  After the Castor is filled, the effects of  radioactivity and neutron radiation become dangerously greater with time, weakening its material stability. This was not taken into account when risks were calculated. Because the iron tends to become drastically deformed, tests for collision and fire with filled containers are essential."

Real Castor collision tests have never been made, because they are supposedly too expensive, while at the same time, millions of dollars have been allocated for police protection.

Prof. Bertram can be reached by e-mail at bertramrolf@aol.com

Where and what is Wendland?

Wendland is in the northeastern corner of the State of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). It´s a rural region of forests,  river marshlands, heath, and family farms, with small towns: Luechow, Dannenberg, Hitzacker, Gartow and scores of smaller hamlets. The region is noted for its exposed-beam houses and circular villages dating back to the days of the Wends, a Slavic tribe that settled the region some three centuries ago. Its northeastern border is the Elbe River ( the boundary with the communist German Democratic Republic before the reunification). Because of its relative isolation, depressed circumstances and sparse population, Gorleben was originally proposed as the site of Germany´s first nuclear dump.  Nowdays, the isolation is ended by a modern bridge across the Elbe, linking Wendland with Dömitz and the Berlin-Hamburg motorway, as well as a motorway from Lueneburg to Hamburg. Also a new group of artisans, writers, and retired persons has migrated to the countryside from the crowded cities, doubling the population.

To follow the Diary reports, you´ll need detailed maps of Wendland.  Good ones can be found at

www.oneworldweb.de/castor/nix7/karten.htm.   Click on any of the series to get enlargements.

New Police Laws Cause Concern

With the excuse of combatting terrorism, many German states, including Lower Saxony where Wendland is located, have tightened their laws to drastically restrict the elementary basic rights and liberties of all citizens, whether or not they are suspected of a crime.

One basic right -- the freedom of communication and movement without fear of repression -- is especially affected by wiretapping, monitoring of telecommunication data, electronic location devices for mobile phones, bugging homes and autos, and automatic recording of all motor vehicle license numbers.

Another basic constitutional privilege -- the right of assembly -- is now being threatened by a proposed new law that will allow "preventitive" detention for 10 days without trial, even if no crime is committed. Thus even peaceful demonstrations can be crushed simply by arresting the participants.  "We´re giving the police back their teeth," were the words used in the State Parliament to justify the new measure.

Further, the regional authorities have passed an emergency law forbidding demonstrations in a wide corridor along the "Castor Route". This no-go area encompasses a quarter of the entire region!

This loss of civil liberties has resulted in an ironic "Big Brother Award" issued by a charitable organisation opposed to the erosion of citizens´rights. You can read the details (in English) at www.bigbrotherawards.de/en/2003/.pol 

Winter is Almost Here

It´s getting chilly in Wendland -- it´s a time of cold winds, falling leaves and frost.  Loaded castors must be transported when it´s cold, because they are already hot, and it would be dangerous for them to get hotter. The weather makes it uncomfortable for the citizens to leave their firesides, but they will come out in great numbers, just as they always have. Here´s a quote from last year that explains the demonstrations pretty well:

"The police are here in greater force than us.  We know that, and we protest nevertheless -- we can't do otherwise. What drives us onto the tracks is more important than our fears and our cold feet. Maybe they'll laugh when they use their technical superiority to drive us to the wall. But we're not strategists or generals -- we don't care how many points we win or lose. We go out there with desperate hope, and we do it wholeheartedly.  We'll go against the barbed wire, the water cannons, and the death train, because we have to take responsibility for LIFE. We'll do this for our neighbours, for the children of our children, and also for the children of the police....The leaders will have to reckon with us -- the strategists will have to brood.  What we bring with us is the power of our hearts, and that's greater than water cannon."

There is more background information to come.

1 #  November, 9th

More than 5,000 protestors attended a "kickoff" demonstration yesterday that first assembled in the center of Dannenberg and then marched seven kilometers in a chilling wind to a field near the village of Splietau. The rally was accompanied by 200 tractors from the farmers´ emergency organisation that formed a protective backdrop, preventing police intrusions.

The demonstration was organised by the national Republican Lawyers Association; Martin Lemke from Hamburg spoke on their behalf. The Humanistic Union, a well-respected civil rights organisation, was represented by its chairman, Nils Leopold, who said that the growing criminalisation of atomic dissidents was no longer acceptable.

Nina Brown, granddaughter of respected senior Aborigine Eileen Kampakuta Brown, and Karina Lester from the Iranti Wanti campaign came all the way from Australia to describe the terrible environmental destruction and loss of life

caused by bomb testing, uranium mining and waste storage on their ancestral lands. It was important that the Wendland demonstrators should realize the links between Castor transports and the uranium mines: the start of the atomic

chain. The two women were enthusiasticly applauded. Irati Wanti, which means "The poison - leave it" can be reached at www.irantiwanti.org.

Speaking for the famers´ emergency organisation, Detlind Kulow said that the people here wanted to prevent Gorlebenbecoming a ticking time bomb for all Europe. Finally, the French antinuclear network "Sortir du Nucleaire" sent representatives in support of the protest.

A similar protest in Lueneburg was hampered by police interference - "the police were not properly informed" – and by chicanery such as a lack of electricity.

2 #  November, 10th

IN FRANCE

In spite of strict military secrecy imposed by the French authorities, the following information has reached us from our comrade anti-castor groups:

Nov. 9  7:05 p.m.       The Castor train left La Hague inFrance.  It consists of 12 Castor wagons and three personnelcarriages. The heavy load is being pulled by two locomotives, with an additional locomotive pushing in the rear.

Nov. 10  9:33 a.m.    The train passes Bar-le-Duc.It was delayed 1 hour and 10 minutes. 9:50 a.m. The train is in Nancy (still delayed). 11:15 a.m.    The Castors roll through Luneville (still with over an hour´s delay). 11:45 a.m.    Two activists - one German from Wendland and one French, have chained themselves to the tracks just beyond Luneville  1:00 p.m. One activist has been removed; the other is still imprisoned in a pipe. 1:45 p.m. The second activist is removed; the train proceeds. 2:50 p.m. The train passes Bischheim. 3:56 p.m. The Castors are nearing the German border. Helicopters are circling the border region.

4:22 p.m. The train passes the German border near Lauterbourg. Total delay: 3 hours, 40 minutes.

IN LUENEBURG

Lueneburg is a thousand-year-old city located just East of Wendland. It´s a business and cultural center with its own university and a population of about 80,000. The headquarters of the district government for Wendland, where most of the responsibility for Castor transports, police, and the courts is concentrated, is also here.

Lueneburg is also important in terms of railroad logistics. Here, the Castor train has to switch locomotives for the Wendland line, which is not electrified. This afternoon, 3,000 protestors demonstrated here in a city park. By nightfall, an estimated 1,500 were "on the streets". There will probably be more to report about Lueneburg tomorrow.  

AT GUSBORN 4:33 p.m. The main road from Dannenberg to Gorleben is blocked by a large number of tractors at Gusborn. The farmers are apparently sawing wood to be used in a blockade. 5:11 p.m. A large number of protestors has flocked to the scene. The police have confiscated the motor saw used by the farmers. Gusborn also sits astride the only alternative route to Gorleben via Siemen and Duensche. The blockade is still in place.

ABOUT LANTERN PROCESSIONS

These colourful parades are always held during the first two weeks of November. Because they are a historical tradition, the courts have decided that these are not political demos, and therefore the police must allow them to pass unmolested. So this evening, shortly after dark, many lantern parades are proceeding in Hitzacker, Metzingen, Splietau, Langendorf, and other towns along the otherwise-prohibited Castor route. These slow-moving processions tend to block the main roads and make it difficult for traffic to move. Well, it´s only once a year!

3 #  November, 11th

The Castor train was supposed to arrive in Dannenberg at 8:00 a.m. this morning. But because of massive protest and blockade actions, not only in Wendland but thoughout Germany, the Castors only reached Lueneburg at 9:55 a.m., despite dangerous overspeeding in an attempt to make up for some of the lost time.

Nov. 10 11:32 p.m. At Osterburken (about 80 km. south of Wuerzburg). The train is 7 hours late.

9:32 a.m. The train roars through Uelzen at 100 km/hr, greatly exceeding its legal speed limit.

Protestors were out in force at numerous towns and cities along the route: at Osnabrueck, Marburg/Lahn, Fulda, Kassel, Goettingen, Hannover. All were beaten back by massive police interventions. In Lueneburg, about 100 demonstrators were forced into a "Kessel" (a police encirclement where nobody is allowed to escape). Heavy police brutality has been reported.. More about this later.

10:24 a.m. A reassembled diesel-powered Castor train leaves Lueneburg. Over all of Wendland, on the main streets and the railroad track, protestors are moving

10:34 a.m. At Dahlenburg -- 30-40 protestors block the main highway connecting Lueneburg and Dannenburg.

10.20 a.m. Serious damage to one of the two possible roads from Dannenberg to Gorleben has been reported. It seems that someone tapped into a main water line and connected a smaller plastic pipe that led underground to the middle of the highway. It is now being investigated whether this water may have eroded the sandy soil under the road; it is suspected that a deep hole might cause the whole street to become impassable. (The atomic Mafia shouln´t underestimate water power!)

11:38 In the forest near Harlingen, 300 young people have been temporarily chased from the track by a posse of police on horseback. It was discovered in tests yesterday that people can escape in the dense underbrush where horses cannot follow.

4 #  November, 11th

The Castor train moved very slowly, having encountered fierce resistance all along the way since leaving Lueneburg. For example, about 10 a.m., a group of 150 protestors from Hitzacker occupied the track at Rohstorf, where they chained themselves together. The police were very brutal during the clearing process, and some of the demonstrators were injured. When asked to show their identification, which each citizen must carry, the activists produced only a "passport" issued by the "Free Republic of Wendland". For this act of civil disobedience, the entire group was arrested and brought to the New Tramm detention centre.

The train passed Bavendorf at 12:12 p.m.; Eimstorf at 12:25 p.m.; Neetzendorf at 12:51 p.m.; Sueschendorf at 15:55 p.m.; and Goerde station at 1:12 p.m. 

At Tangsehl, two protestors, who had chained themselves to the track, had to be cut away.

The train left Tangsehl at 1:22 p.m.; Leitstade at 1:26 p.m. and came to a halt at 1:55 p.m. in the forest between Posade and Harlingen, where 200 protestors, who had been chased away earlier, swarmed back and sat on the track.

By 2:17 p.m., this blockade was cleared and the train reached Harlingen, near Hitzacker, at 2:37 p.m. The train finally reached its destination at the Dannenberg loading station at 4:20 p.m., after a delay of more than seven hours. Each Castor must now be loaded onto special trucks for transport to Gorleben.

5 November, 12th

The Castors -- all twelve of them -- were finally brought through the barbed wire into the Gorleben compound at 5:28 a.m., after having fought their way for the last 20 miles through crowds of demonstrators. Thousands of citizens were on hand, with thousands of police chasing them, bullying them, encircling them, sending them off by the busload to be locked up for their "crime" of standing up for their rights.

On this night, the police simply disregarded many constituional laws. They stormed churches and arrested all the people they found inside; with the utmost brutality, they entered private dwellings and barns without warrants and took people away; they surrounded whole villages (Grippel and Laase) and held the inhabitants captive; they confiscated private vehicles .... and when citizens were brought to the detention centre, where they were held in miserable conditions, they denied their right to be brought immediately before a judge by delaying their paperwork.

All in all, it was a bad night for civil rights. Of course, there will be court cases to follow, with trumped-up charges and eventually fines for those unlucky enough to be arrested. There may even be charges against the police, which will probably result in a proverbial "slap on the wrist".

I haven´t given you a detailed account of what happened today; I ask your forbearance, because we´re all exhausted. 

Tomorrow I´ll fill in the gaps and try to include some human-interest stories of the resistance in Wendland.

Aftermath report No.1 - Nov. 13

"At a sit-down demonstration in Rohstorf, demonstrators were violently attacked and 150 people were taken into custody. About 60 were transported to the collective prison at Lueneburg. After more than five hours had passed without any charges being filed, the judge acted correctly and ordered the release of the prisoners. (The law states that a judicial review must take place without delay, and prisoners must be released if the police cannot show grounds for their arrest)."

"There was a different scene entirely at the Neu Tramm collective prison (in Wendland). Here the first cases were presented to the court only after the prisoners had been held for seven hours, and then cases were heard at a slow pace all night long. The judicial decision was that most prisoners had to stay locked up until the Castors had been brought to Gorleben. This meant imprisonment for more than 15 hours under unworthy conditions."

"The judge decided in favour of the police because of an alleged report of a police spy who was said to have been present at an organisational meeting of the demonstrators. The spy was said to have learned that people in the sit-down action were planning to move their protest to another location. Thus, according to the police, there was a danger of repeated actions. None of the accused, nor their lawyers, had an opportunity to question this witness, who did not appear in court."

"In any case, the charges against each accused person must always be considered separately. Yet the judge accepted the charges as applying to the whole group, even though the supposed spy had reported that some people had come late to the organisation meeting and could not have been part of the original plans. In so doing, the judge played into the hands of the police, who simply wanted to keep as many demonstrators as possible under wraps."

"In Quickborn, the police arrested 54 people even after the Castor transport had passed and charged them with a "heavy breech of the peace".

"There were many other instances where the police themselves broke the laws protecting civil rights: tractors and even whole fields confiscated, numerous roadblocks outside the zones forbidden to demonstrators, the forbidding of doctors to attend to the injured, countless hindrances to lawyers."

"The nearer the Castor came, the more our contitutional rights disappeared -- and all this only because of the atomic business -- that is the conclusion we reach after this transport."

"Even two days before the Castor transport reached the area, there were massive attacks. On Tuesday morning (November 11) at a blockade at Rohstorf, many demonstrators were wounded and then surrounded by police in a "Kessel". According to various doctors and first-aid workers, the many injuries were out of all proportion to their "crime" (sitting down).

For example, some were "stomped on" (stepped in the face) by police wearing heavy boots."

"Already on Monday evening (November 10), during the clearance of a blockade of tractors, demonstrators were pulled from tractor trailers, roughed up, beaten, and stepped upon. One man was attacked in his genitals and then his knee was stepped on sideways, destroying the knee ligaments. An entire family group -- first the father, than the mother, and finally their 14-year-old son -- all received massive breast blows; the son had to be treated for symptoms of shock and lack of oxygen."

"When the Castors reached the Dannenberg offloading station, police attacked peaceful demonstrators in the area. A group of young people was violently attacked by being beaten and stepped upon, and one person had serious head injuries. An emergency doctor who attempted to help was himself attacked so seriously that his glasses were ripped off his face, and he was not allowed to reach the injured. There are numerous witnesses to this event."

"When the Castors reached Gusborn [webmasters note: it was the village of Quickborn!], the police chased demonstrators; also here there were many injuries as a result of their attacks."

"In total, first aid workers and emergency doctors treated 85 serious injuries including bruises, contusions, concussions, sprains, bites from police dogs, kidney damage, lacerations, and torn ligaments. There are of course many more injuries that were unreported."

"The first-aid centre strongly protests these brutal methods. With 13,000 police on duty, they could have easily accomplished their objectives without injuring the demonstrators."

[press release on above (last) subject in german]:

Der heute ins Zwischenlager verbrachte Castortransport mit 12 Behältern hat wieder zu zahlreichen verletzten Demonstrantinnen und Demonstranten infolge von Gewalteinwirkung seitens Polizei und BGS geführt.

Der Einsatz der Staatsmacht ließ sich in diesem Jahr anfangs ruhiger an. Jedoch kam es bei einzelnen Aktionen auch schon im Vorfeld, also zwei und einen Tag, bevor der Castortransport den Landkreis erreicht hatte, zu massiven Übergriffen. So wurden bei Blockaden in Rohstorf am Dienstag Vormittag zahlreiche Menschen bei der Räumung einer zuvor in einen Kessel verbrachten Menge verletzt. Das Vorgehen der Polizeibeamte gestaltete sich nach Aussage verschiedener ÄrztInnen und SanitäterInnen nicht verhältnismäßig. Misshandlungen wurden wahllos (z.B. Stiefeltritte ins Gesicht) begangen, diverse Verletzungen waren die Folge.

Auch in Groß Gusborn kam es bei der Räumung einer Treckerblockade am Montag Abend zu Ausschreitungen seitens der Polizei. Menschen wurden von Treckeranhängern gezerrt, geschlagen und getreten.

Beim Eintreffen des Castors am Dannenberger Verladekran sind Polizeibeamte gegen friedlich anwesende DemonstrantInnen eingeschritten, einer Person wurden Kopfverletzungen zugefügt, eine Gruppe von Jugendlichen mit Tritten und Schlägen traktiert. Einem Notarzt, der dem Verletzten zu Hilfe eilen wollte, wurde die Brille aus dem Gesicht geschlagen und die Hilfeleistung untersagt, er wurde nicht zu dem Verletzten durchgelassen. Hierfür gibt es zahlreiche ZeugInnen.

Als der Transport Quickborn passiert hatte, riegelten Polizeikräfte das Gelände um das Gemeindehaus ab, nahmen alle im Gebäude anwesenden ca. 60 Personen in Gewahrsam, wobei sehr ruppig vorgegangen wurde. Gleichzeitig machten sogenannte Greiftrupps draußen förmlich Jagd auf einzelne Demonstrierende, auch hier kam es zu zahlreichen Übergriffen und Verletzungen durch Polizeibeamte.

Insgesamt sind der Sanidezentrale 85 durch SanitäterInnen und ÄrztInnen versorgte Verletzte bekannt, die Zahl dürfte sich im Laufe der genaueren Recherche noch erhöhen und die Dunkelziffer ist beträchtlich.

Die SEG war mit 22 Kräften und Sanis von Status4 zu 23 im Einsatz. 10 Saniteams mit 25 SanitäterInnen und ÄrztInnen waren in diesem Jahr von der Sanidezentrale koordiniert.

Besonders hervorzuheben ist das Engagement einiger Saniteams, die unter Gefährdung ihrer eigenen Person Verletzte aus den Händen von Polizeibeamten und /oder Kesselsituationen bergen.

Von Prellungen, Verstauchungen über Knochenbrüche, Hundebisse bis zu Nierenquetschungen, Platzwunden und Bänderrissen reicht die lange Liste der Misshandlungen durch Polizeibeamte.

Beispielsweise wurde ein Mann am Montagabend in Groß Gusborn bei der Räumung der Treckerblockade zuerst in die Genitalien getreten, dann auf einem Bein stehend derart seitlich ins Knie getreten, dass die Bänder rissen. Strafanzeige gegen die Beamten ist bereits erstattet.

Ein weiterer eklatanter Fall von vorsätzlicher Körperverletzung ist die Misshandlung einer ganzen Familie bei der Treckerblockade in Groß Gusborn am Montagabend, wo erst Vater, dann Mutter und anschließend der 14- jährige Sohn Schläge auf den Brustkorb erhielten, woraufhin der Sohn mit Schocksymptomen, Atemnot und Prellungen behandelt werden musste.

Die Sanidezentrale verurteilt aufs Schärfste die brutale Gangart von Polizei und BGS. Bei 13000 eingesetzten Beamten sollte doch ein Mindestmass an Rücksicht, wenigstens auf die körperliche Unversehrtheit von DemonstartionsteilnehmerInnen gewährleistet sein können.

Dem verantwortliche Geamteinsatzleiter, Niehörster , kann von unserer Seite nur dringend geraten werden, die disziplinarrechtlichen Konsequenzen aus diesen vielfachen Misshandlungen einzuleiten, wenn er nicht in den Verruf kommen möchte, derartiges Verhalten der ihm unterstellten Kräfte zu befürworten oder zu billigen.

 Aftermath report No.2 - Nov. 14

The attached reports from Indymedia, with links to other stories and pictures, are of special interest.

Positive Gorleben demo, though 72 hurt  By Anonymous - From Indymedia - 12.11.2003 15:55

  This is how it reads in the police report: "In the further proceedings it was possible at around 11 pm to prevent a rail track blockade by detaining 12 persons in the Guntershausen area (south of Kassel). In close proximity to the tracks they had materials with them for chaining themselves fast." <http://link is'nt available anymore !!>

Taken to a detainee collection centre in Kassel, those arrested were held for more than 12 hours without food, all the women in single cells. Everyone´s identification was noted; in at least one case one person who refused to surrender identification details was gravely maltreated.

Investigations have been launched from "right up top" about alleged serious interference.

[Note: buttom-line of this (fwd.) posting has been taken away by webmaster]

Chronology of the November 2003 Castor transport

Here is a good compendium of all reports, with links to further stories and pictures.  

<< please notice: meanwhile a good amount of websites/~pages are'nt available anymore !! >>

by Diet Simon (compiling from Indymedia posts) - 13.11.2003 08:25

12 Nov 20:27 Another demo took place in Lüneburg from 4 pm. Despite the presence of six conflict managers there were clashes and injuries. Unexpectedly up to 200 protesters turned up. Police without local knowledge caused confusin about banned and permitted routes.

12 Nov 22:38 Dispute posted about demo methods at Grippel previous day

12 Nov 05:40 Call to release all prisoners taken by police, “especially the encircled who’ve been holding out in the cold for hours in Quickborn, Grippel, Laase”

12 Nov 5.28: much delayed, the last Castor container reaches the Gorleben storage hall (pictured at

<http://link is'nt available anymore !!>)

+++ All police encirclements of protesters dissolved +++ Call to 4 p.m. demo in Lüneburg against reprisals against prisoners +++ Activist radio ZUSA staying on air live until 3 pm, coming from Plattenlaase.

12 Nov 05:39 Police continue encirclement in Grippel +++ timed pictures by Frank Eichi 

<http://www-public.tu-bs.de:8080/~y0013807/tmp/grippel03/> +++ Grippel is about 6 km from Gorleben and the junction of the two possible Castor routes +++

12 Nov 05:31 Call to protesters to come to Gedelitz +++ Call to 4 pm Demo in Lüneburg +++ Reprisals against prisoners +++

12 Nov 05:26 Castor trucks drive into Gorleben storage compound +++ Police hunt down demonstrators in Quickborn

12 Nov 05:17 Castor convoy through Laase

12 Nov 05:34 By radio police leaders thank all police and border police deployed and wish them a good journey home; same concept to be used next year

12 Nov 05:11 Castor convoy through Grippel +++ Police leaders declare assignment over

12 Nov 04:59 “Music fighting vehicle” en route to Gedelitz - joint closing session

12 Nov 04:58 Police encircle Quickborn community house ++++ Castor through Langendorf.

12 Nov 04:55 Castor truck convoy through Laase, which is a few kilometres from Gorleben +++ Activists encircled

12 Nov 04:39 Brief stop in Quickborn +++ Moving on through Langendorf.

12 Nov 04:37 Convoy on north route +++ Road transport starts 1 ½ hours late +++ Convoy takes north route, has two spare tractors along +++ Pictures at <http://www.seg-dannenberg.org/>
 +++ Convoy composition: about 100 police, 2 Castor lowloaders, 6-8 police vehicles, 2 Castor lowloaders, again police vehicles, and so on until all 12 lowloaders are on the road, the convoy ending with one to two hundred police

12 Nov 04:09 Castor road transport is rolling, using the north route +++

12 Nov 03:56 Trucks not yet moving +++ All 500 demonstrators in Grippel being held by police without facilities +++ Police holding a seriously injured woman in an ambulance in Grippel

12 Nov 03:31 Castor convoy vanguard forms +++ Castor containers still not moving. Castor vanguard moving

12 Nov 03:31 The vanguard of the Castor road convoy of heavy-duty, low-loader trucks has started to roll, most likely heading for the north route.

12 Nov 03:22 Blockade in Grippel removed +++ Heavy-duty lowloader trucks ready to move from Dannenberg since 14:10

12 Nov 02:24 Blockade in Langendorf (north route) appears to have been removed, blockade in Gusborn (south route) remains.

12 Nov 02:32 Activists have been moved out of the village of Grippel, some police brutality reported +++ Privately owned paddock confiscated for holding detainees

12 Nov 02:24 Blockade in Langendorf (north route) seems to have been moved away, blockade in Gusborn (south route) still in place

12 Nov 01:57 Police massively shifting forces in the direction of Gorleben, road transport seems about to start. +++ Villages of Laase and Grippel declared completely under arrest; some arbitrary seizures of activists

12 Nov 02:05 ZuSa activist radio interviews Australian Aboriginal woman fighting nuclear waste dumping in Coober Pedy area http://Monday//2003/11/65197.shtml <http://monday//2003/11/65197.shtml>

+++ Activist radio (<http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65905.shtml>) reports police declaring the entire village of Grippel under arrest. Earlier police dragged people across fences and kicked them. A water cannon is at the ready. Protesters are covering themselves with sheeting, under which they’re singing, reportedly in a happy mood. A loudspeaker car is playing music and speeches about human dignity being inviolable, as set out in the German constitution. Police, lined up along both footpaths of the main street of Grippel are starting to seize individual demonstrators out of the group. An activist woman who liaises with police tells the radio that police appear to have lost the plot. Under the law, from the moment people are arrested the time begins in which they have to be presented “without delay” to a judge, who decides whether the arrest is legal. Local courts have been reprimanded by the German supreme court for not abiding by correct procedure in the past. The local courts argued that there was just too much for them to do to get it right.

12 Nov 00:38 Police encircle 500 people in Grippel, say all will be detained

12 Nov 00:11
It’s reported that despite several warning signals the Castor train sped through obstacles on the tracks south of Göttingen.

11 Nov 22:47 Sitting blockade in Langendorf (north route) being removed, people detained +++ About 700 block the road near Gusborn (south route), about 400 near Grippel +++ Reloading from train to trucks continues in Dannenberg

11 Nov c. 23:30 Two Radio Zusa interviews <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65898.shtml>, one with Robin Wood activists in tree house, the other with police spokesman expressing concern things could be thrown down from the tree house. +++ Activists leave the tree house when police threaten to destroy it ++ House equipment like ropes and ladder seized, close guard on the last rope hanging down!

11 Nov 22:47 Sit-down blockade in Langendorf (north route) being removed, people being detained +++ About 500 blockading road near Gusborn (south route), about 400 near Grippel +++ Reloading from train to trucks continuing in Dannenberg

11 Nov 22:36 Quote from interior ministry media release about new command post vehicles for border police.

11 Nov 22:12 Pictures taken about 9 pm at the reloading station in Dannenberg <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65878.shtml>

11 Nov 21:35 Six of the 12 Castor containers have been loaded off the train onto trucks

11 Nov 20:17 The Castor train needed more than five hours from Lüneburg to Dannenberg. The 12-stop stretch takes normal passenger services 58 minutes. Small and large groups of demonstrators kept getting on to the tracks. At 9.35, when the train had passed Uelzen station, about 500 people were getting ready at “refreshment stations”. In groups of different sizes they made for Hitzacker and Harlingen “to see how far they’d go” (their demo slogan). A pleasant surprise was the news that about 25 kms away 70 people had stopped the train in Rohstorf with a sit-down blockade. The train took from 9.55 to 15.35. Single people, groups of two and three, kept climbing on to the tracks everywhere, which pulled police lines apart for seven km, enabling blockaders to slip through. Not even mouinted police, deployed in unprecedented numbers, could prevent this. The procedure was further aided by creative stupidity. Near the refreshment stations, strollers had left their vehicles any old way, hindering police convoys getting through. Which forced several hundred police to walk several kms to their destinations. A way blockage by farming implements in the end delayed the departure of the police troops by hours.

11 Nov 19:55 "Widersetzen", the big non-violent sit-down bloxckade of the road road route is being prepared in Langendorf, Grippel and Gusborn, already more than 1,000 demonstrators there +++ Post at <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65871.shtml> about federal government plans to celebrate its alleged abandonment of nuclear power in Berlin in the same week that 12 Castor containers are rolling into Gorleben.

11 Nov 19:09 Pictures of Castors being reloaded from train cars to trucks in Dannenberg <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65843.shtml>

11 Nov 18:31 Road transport of the 12 Castor containers likely via the north route

11 Nov 17:00 One activist of Robin Wood has managed to get into the tree house in Langendorf at the northern road

11 Nov 18:56 Police threat to destroy tree house if activists don’t come down. +++ A Robin Wood activist manages to get into the tree house in Langendorf on the northern Castor road route, other activists try to follow him despite hindrances by police. +++ Robin Wood activists stopped from entering Langendorf tree house, from which police have removed ladders and ropes.

11 Nov 18:52 2,500 at Castor train arrival in Dannenberg +++ Road transport route closed in Langendorf because of repairs to the road surface which was undermined with water; the concrete still has to set +++ <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65859.shtml>

11 Nov 18:03 pictures of the Dannenberg reloading crane and demo<http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65843.shtml> +++ More at <http://www.seg-dannenberg.org/> +++ mobil_elw@seg-dannenberg.org <mailto:mobil_elw@seg-dannenberg.org>,

+++ Pictures at Lüneburg station <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65822.shtml>

11 Nov 16:50 While the Castor train rolls into Lüneburg station, police use inappropriate force against peaceful demonstrators, injuring three and arresting four. Pictures from Lüneburg after almost 40-minute stop there <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65798.shtml>

11 Nov 16:30 Demo between Nebenstedt and Splietau ++ Klein Gusborn: Tractor blockade remains, more activists gathering +++ Still a lot of people at the Dannenberg reloading crane (from train to truck) +++ In Langendorf there’s a “carnival procession” +++ The Castor train arrives at the Dannenberg reloading crane

11 Nov 16:00 h Dannenberg Roadhouse/reloading station: many people there +++ A bush burns, attempts to extinguish it.

11 Nov 15:36 300 folks at the Roadhaus in Dannenberg, police call in reinforcements, good spirits among those present.

11 Nov 15.30: Castor train reaches Dannenberg +++ Several hundred people in a good mood in central Dannenberg near reloading station +++ Tractors of the farmers’ emergency community block the road in Klein-Gusborn.

11 Nov 14:44 Train just outside Seerau - stop and go +++ Police on horseback clear the track over the Seerau bridge +++ Sit-down blockade at Harlingen again stops the train, is pushed off, track cleared, train moves on slowly +++ At kilometre 187.7 people jump on to the advance train, which stops again.

11 Nov 14:31 Demonstrators gathering Tuesday morning in Lüneburg passenger station. When the Casstor train nears, police push them away and keep them in check. At least three demonstrators arrested.

11 Nov 14.27: Female activists beaten with batons to get them off the advance train, train keeps rolling

11 Nov 13:19 Train has passed Dahlenburg and is in Göhrde station +++ 2 chained people removed from the track a few km on in Tangsehl

11 Nov 11:50 Harlingen: 200 - 300 pushed off the track by mounted police +++ People on the move everywhere along the track and in the forest

11 Nov 11:29 Again and again small blockades on rail and road are removed and turn up again +++ Castor stopped at Wendisch Evern +++

11 Nov 09:40 through Bad Bevensen, about 25 km south of Lüneburg. Going 80 kmh, may reach Lüneburg between 10 and 10.10 am.

11 Nov 08:49 Through Celle, Uelzen towards Lüneburg. <http://www.oneworldweb.de/Castor> train/

11 Nov 08.36 in Lehrte, heading for Burgdorf/Celle, could make Lüneburg by 10 a.m. or earlier without incidents. Taking shorter route Celle, Suderburg, Uelzen, Bad Bevensen, Bienenbüttel, Lüneburg. NiX-Live-Ticker <http://www.oneworldweb.de/Castor> train/ticker/index.html ; where is the Castor train? <http://www.oneworldweb.de/Castor> train/nix8/woCastor train.html

11 Nov 07:30 am train stands in Lehrte / Hannover, apparently taking a break.

11 Nov 7:15 Castor still in Hannover. Police presence reported on the routes Uelzen to Lüneburg, and via Nienburg, Rotenburg/W., Buchholz/Nordheide, Maschen to Lüneburg.

11 Nov 05:28 Castor train passes Kreiensen, moves towards Hannover +++ 05:19 through Nordheim

11 Nov 05:23 Train runs through Göttingen 5 am.

11 Nov 04:53 Castor train outside Göttingen. 4.35 in Witzenhausen (30min to Göttingen). Runs very fast. Does NOT brake for people on the tracks.

11 Nov 4.35 Castor train near Witzenhausen (30min from Göttingen). Running very fast, does not brake for people on the tracks.

11 Nov At 03:55h Castor train passes through Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe and on towards Göttingen.

11 Nov 03:26 Castor train has passed Bera, running towards Kassel.

11 Nov 03:13 Castor train through Bebra heading for Kassel

11 Nov 03:05 Police threaten to bash reporter for activist radio trying to cover demo: fanal@radio-rum.de <mailto:fanal@radio-rum.de>

11 Nov 02:52 Activist Kassel route watch leaves because of heavy police presence. Police moving along the route towards Göttingen.

11 Nov 02:50 Police activity in Hannover town, especially near railway liones. People and vehicles checked info@atomplenum.de <mailto:info@atomplenum.de>, address: www.atomplenum.de .

11 Nov 2:15 Through Fulda

11 Nov 02:02 Police ban people from certain places. First chopper arrives, second 10 minutes later.

11 Nov 01:57 Kassel momentarily as if dead, not a cop in sight.

11 Nov 01:37 Demo in Hannover by more than 50 people. 2002 train rolled through Hannover towards Gorleben (H-Laatzen-H-Linden-Ahlem-Wunstorf). <http://www.atomplenum.de/>

11 Nov 00:35 Police massed in front of the passenger and freight stations. Passenger station totally in their control. Id’s of all who enter or leave are checked. 20 vans outside the cargo station. Plainclothes and other patrols on the other side, all checking id’s. Many police unfamiliar with the area because not from there, so make ludicrous mistakes. Police vehicles at all junctions.

  11 Nov 00:45 Entire Göttingen, town and industrial area, full of police, probably not a bridge or crossing without them, people body-searched. <http://www.oneworldweb.de/castor/3aktuelles.html>

11 Nov 00:27 Castor Radio for Hamburg region and Wendland:
Radio ZuSa always airs from 23-6 o’clock (Mo/Tu and Tu/We) live reports and phone interviews from the wendland to Hamburg. (Livestream at www.zusa.de, but is fairly overloaded.) Tnight and tomorrow night live from 11 pm to 6 am.

11 Nov 0.15 Heavy police presence at Göttingen cargo and passenger stations, id’s checked of all who want to enter or leave.

10 Nov 23:56 High police presence at Hannover-Linden railway station, some vehicles hidden.

10 Nov 23:52 Strong police presence reported on Nienburg-Verden route. A water cannon sighted near Dörverden, two police launches near Aller Bridge.

10 Nov 22:59 Castor train likely to run through Kassel. Five arrests reported. Warning that anyone staying near tracks would be arrested. Contact : 0173-5475117.

10 Nov 22:50 Police remove a human blockade in Gusborn, injuring many; children are yanked from tractor trailers, the first row of people get punched in the face, police kick and bash, people pushed off in an open circle; police short-circuit tractors and drive them away. Police leader waits until editorial deadlines are past so that the next day’s media will have nothing about this.

10 Nov 22:43 Nuclear opponents stop an Intercity passenger train in Darmstadt central station, achieving the first meaningful delay of train traffic.

10 Nov 22:35 Report of burning tires and cable shafts on the routes Uelzen-Lüneburg, Hamburg-Ludwigslust and Berlin-Wolfsburg, hindering rail traffic at about 4:30 am Monday. e-Mail: stop@den.castor <mailto:stop@den.castor>

10 Nov 21:59 Pictures from the southwest <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65715.shtml>

10 Nov 21:20 Castor train standing since 20:40 at Jagstfeld because of two people chained to the track, a local and a Briton.

10 Nov 9 pm 15 people follow call for an anti-Castor meeting at Marburg/Lahn station. Several police officers stop them getting in.

10 Nov 20:56 Train moves on unlit and without helicopter cover.

10 Nov 20:24 Because of 15 protesters Lüneburg police cause huge traffic snarl at peak time.

10 Nov 19.50 Train through Bietigheim heading for Heilbronn. There were demonstrations right next to the tracks. akwhessen@epost.de

10 Nov 19:25 Anti-Castor online game installed for those who want to practice before heading to Wendland. <http://de.geocities.com/lengers16/nocastorgame.html> ¦

10 Nov 19.25 Train arrives in Bietigheim-Bissingen, where it has to change direction. Well attended demo at station reported. Picture <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65693.shtml>

10 Nov 19:06 Castor train en route to Bietigheim-Bissingen, i.e. it will not take the Rhine-Main route. Good-humoured activists await it at the station.

10 Nov 19:01 Castor protest in Berlin by about eight people at 4.30 pm, who stopped an ICE train from departing for a few minutes.


10 Nov 18:04 Berlin: Few activists compared with police numbers. Attempts to hinder train traffic. Banners displayed.

10 Nov 18:03 Train leaves Wörth 17.58 following a spontaneous protest gathering in the station. SuedWestInfo@gmx.de <mailto:SuedWestInfo@gmx.de>

10 Nov 17:47 Strong police presence between Nienburg and Verden; at Dörverden, where the last Castor train was stopped, a water canno is in place. Two police launches visible at the Aller Bridge near Verden. Observations between 4 and 5 pm.

10 Nov 16.30 Castor train arrives in Wörth

10 Nov 16:28 Train through Maximiliansau, soon in Wörth for shunting.

10 Nov 16:22 The Castor train has crossed the German-French border three and a half hours late +++ 3,000 at anti-Castor demo in Lüneburg

10 Nov 16:14 Castor train crosses border into Germany in Lauterbourg.

10 Nov 15:20 Castor train rolling again since 13:46 after activists stopped it for two hours.

10 Nov 14:39 Story about police running their own radio service and more than 100-person propaganda unit for Gorleben deployments
<http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65619.shtml>

10 Nov 14:01 Both activists removed from the rail track +++ After a stop of two hours the train is running again

10 Nov 13:26 Radio interview about situation in France mp3 830K
Freies Radio

10 Nov 12:41 Anti-Castor Radio: Situation in Maximiliansau <http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=8064>

10 Nov 12:30 Activists stop train before the border. Two people, one man from the Wendland and one from France, have chained themselves to the rails. The train is stopped behind Luneville. SüdWestInfo@gmx.de

10 Nov 12:12 Castor train stopped since 11:45 behind Luneville. A Wendlander and a Frenchman have chained themselves to the track. Train moves on two hour late. The activists expect to cause at least two hours delay +++ The action is deliberately German-French

10 Nov 09:03 The person was released again in the night.

10 Nov Around 4.30 a.m. rail traffic hindered by burning tires and cable shafts on the routes Uelzen-Lüneburg, Hamburg-Ludwigslust and Berlin-Wolfsburg.

10 Nov 02:14 First arrest of demonstrator at around 0.00h in Maximiliansau, near Karlsruhe. Person accused of messing with yellow paint on platform. Two police choppers in the air and other big input to find the dauber. Police also accuse the arrested person of damaging station lamps.

10 Nov 01:01 Demo by about 30 in Osnabrück central station. After peacefully following police orders to leave, the group marched spontaneously with drums and banners through a main street. Although there was litte likelihood of Castor trains through Osnabrück, a spokesman said they wanted to make the point that radioactivity knows no boundaries and that the railways profits from such transports through a division specially set up for the purpose. buendnis.gegen.atomenergie¦ Homepage:: <http://www.antiatomos.de/> ¦

9 Nov 23:00 Pictures from the southwest <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65534.shtml>

9 Nov 22:58 Pictures from Lüneburg <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65525.shtml>

9 Nov 21:28 Regardless of the route the train takes, Rhein-Main nuclear opponents call a gathering.

9 Nov 19:40 Castor train starts journey a minute sooner than the time published on the internet.

9 Nov 19:24 Since Saturday Münsterlanders are inviting anti-atomic groups to a resistance barn at Meudelfitz Estate, about 2 km from Hitzacker. The mood after the 1st day is very good, there’s an own kitchen, lots of staw and a railway track quite nearby. Yesterday everyone was at the demo in Dannenberg, today they took part in action in and near

9 Nov 18:00 Twenty-seven men and women horse riders got together for a ride out in the Göhrde Forest. <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65461.shtml>
Between Grünhagen and Leitstade the rail track had to be crossed several times. That was possible without problems in most cases. In breaks the police tried unsuccessfully to make agreements on further procedure.

9 Nov 16:11 Anti-Castor-Radio Stuttgart 99.2 by aerial, 102.1 in cable, at following times: Monday from 6-7, 8-12; Tuesday 6-12; Wedenesday 6-9, 10-12.

Ready stories on the Castors: <http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5390>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5397>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5398>

Homepage:: <http://www.freieradios.net/>

<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5399>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5401>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5402>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5413>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5414>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5415>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5416>
<http://freieradios.nadir.org/portal/content.php?id=5417>

9 Nov 14:44 “Impartial and independent”, the first aid service of SEG - Dannenberg e.V. at the 2003 Castor transports again offers online reporting on its internet pages, <http://www.seg-dannenberg.org/> , and this year cooperates closely with the first aid group "Status 4" and most camps. Centre: 0 58 61 - 97 97 87, reachable round the clock.

9 Nov 13:41 Breaking news for WAP mobiles at http://Monday/index.wml <http://monday/index.wml>

9 Nov 11:02 Notice from “Sanidezentrale” that they are first aid givers for demonstrators, that “as in past three transports we provide partisan care…..We don’t like cops, some of us are even allergic to them. We cooperate with the BI and all forms of action.” Phone 05882 987436

9 Nov 10:32 Around a dozen Robin Wood activists climb the pithead tower of the salt mine being explored as a possible final repository for nuclear waste at about 6.30 am. presse@robinwood.de <mailto:presse@robinwood.de> ¦ Homepage::<http://www.kein-atomklo.de/>, picture <http://germany.indymedia.org/2003/11/65424.shtml>

9 Nov 10:01 A night stroll is seen as a threat to the state of Lower Saxony. Yesterday a group of Dutch tourists were “encircled” at about 10.30 pm and hence illegally held. This though the place where this happened in the centre of town is three kms away from the no-go corridor. The visitors were just looking through town to find a place to stay when a grouip of Cologne police encircled them. They held them for half an hour and stopped friendly Hitzacker people giving them something warm to drink. Police vehicle registration numbers K-3666 , K-3758 , K-3764 , K-3291 .

9 Nov Castor train starts moving a minute earlier than published on the Internet. Loaded with 12 Castor containers, pulled by two locomotives, pushed by another, also contains three passenger carriages. Make-up: 2 diesel locomotives, 1 CRS car (translator doesn’t know what that is), 12 containers, 1-2 CRS cars. 1 diesel locomotive. Demonstrations in Valognes with French and German banners, giant atom symbol. More actions planned in France. Flyers and iodine tablets distributed in Vandouvre-lès-Nancy. French women were at demo in Dannenberg, more have arrived there meanwhile.  

Aftermath report No.3 - Nov. 17
Attached are some editorial comments.

EDITORIALS

As of November 14th, there is one less German atomic power station in operation. At 8:30 a.m. the Stade reactor was deactivated after more than three decades in operation.  The closing seemed to be timed to detract from the massive protests in Wendland.  However, Stade´s closing doesn´t constitute a real lessening of atomic power because the so-called atomic consensus allows the "remaining power quantity" of about 5000 gigawatt-hours to be applied to other power stations.  The Environment Minister, Jürgen Trittin (Green party) declared that this closing was the "beginning of the end", and organised a big party to celebrate the event. But realists in the anti-atomic movement are not so euphoric. They point out that Stade´s closing, which the owners said was for purely economic reasons, simply means that other dangerous reactors will be allowed to operate longer.  The atomic consensus, a tricky agreement two years ago between the power companies and the government, badly split the Greens into two camps: those who demanded a real end to atomic power, and others who wanted to remain in the coalition government even at the price of a bad compromise.

**************************************************************

  Here is a letter that was sent by a concerned citizen to the local newspaper:

In an advertisement that appeared just before the latest transport of twelve Castors, the police leader spoke of their "constitutional duty to ensure the safe transport of the Castors to the temporary storage depot" and from democratic rules.  But how is this  atomic waste transport "constitutional"?  It´s actually unconstitutional, because our right to be protected against bodily harm is violated.  The worldwide use of atomic energy depends on environmental crimes that destroy social and cultural values.

And how can the German rail system, with its many failures, be given the responsibiliy of transporting atomic waste without unreasonably high risk?  The Castors, in these mammouth transports with their faulty lid design, are being shipped at speeds far exceeding the allowable limit (only 8 km/hr is permissible due to unauthorised shock absorbers).

Which democratic rules does this transport represent?  It´s being forced through against the will of the majority, and its dubious legality depends on fooling the voters with lies (the lie that we are abandoning atomic power, and the lie that nuclear waste can be made safe or safely stored).  The profits of private concerns are being given preference over people´s rights and constitutional guarantees. Should this injustice be declared to be the legal responsibility of citizens, something that can be reasonably discussed with the police and their Trojan horses, the "Conflict Managers"?

No, the people aren´t that dumb, that they can´t see that their constitutional rights are violated by the Castor transports and its ensuing police intervention. "Conflict Manager" -- what a weasel-word! It´s supposed to fool us that it´s about "conflicts" between individual persons, when what concerns us is really the unjust politics and the criminalisation of useful forms of protest.

"However closer the Castors come, however faster our basic rights disappear -- and that all on account of the atomic business --  this conclusion we´ve also reached after this transport", stated the Gorleben Legal Committee in their report of November 12th 2003.

******************************************************************

  Here is a poem about nuclear waste:

Like the alchemists of old,

"Scientists" strive to change atomic garbage

into something useful (or at least, inert).

Like knights of old searching for the holy grail,

others ride out on white horses, looking everywhere

for a place where all problems can be solved,

where a mountain of radiating offal

can be safely stored for centuries

until it´s no longer dangerous.

The truth: "safe nuclear energy"

depends on a hope for things

that cannot be found on this earth.

„Don´t worry," say the nuclear capitalists,

"Here and now, there´s money to be made,

and our children, or our children´s children

will surely find a way out of this mess."

We nuclear opponents

also want a little "here and now".

Energy?  We don´t need more and more.

Leave uranium in the ground, close the reactors!

We just want to live in peace and safety

For ourselves, our children, and our children´s children.

Is that too much to ask?

Aftermath report No.4 - Nov. 19

The Interior Minister for Lower Saxony, Uwe Schuenemann (CDU, the Christian Democratic Union), has now issued his final report on the Castor protests. According to the Minister, about 3,500 demonstrators and 12,500 police were on hand. Police costs amounted to about 25 million Euro (about 30 million dollars). More than a third of the demonstrators -- 1,247 -- were arrested. The Minister stated that these arrests were absolutely necessary, "otherwise the Castors could not have been transported along the final kilometers". Of those arrested, there were about 170 persons who had committed violent acts, and a further 500 persons who were ready to be violent. (How these categories weredefined wasn´t explained.) Some 85 demonstrators were charged with crimes ranging from sitting on the railroad track, shooting fireworks, and damaging police vehicles. The Minister claimed that 17 police officers were wounded by demonstrators, but that only two demonstrators were wounded by the police. (This contrasts with the First Aid Committee`s final tally of 120 wounded demonstrators with 85 serious injuries including bruises, contusions, concussions, sprains, kidney damage, lacerations, torn ligaments, and 24 dog bitings.)

This concludes the Castor Diary for 2003. Attached is the complete diary, in zipped form. We appreciate your attention, hope that some of this information will publicised abroad, and that our Diary has been useful to others around the world. Your comments are always appreciated. Warmest Regards from Wendland,

Again ~ thanks to 'Ed' for spreading out the word
maybe we'll meet again in 2oo4 ?!

©2oo3 by: "Ed" / healing-circle.com