arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

A train filled with 85 tons of deadly nuclear waste pulled out of Le Havre early Monday morning, crossing the French-German border at Lauterbourg-Woerth around midnight on its way to the storage site in the rural village of Gorleben. In response, activists all across Germany mobilized in a wave of actions focussed along the train's planned route. In the Wendland area around Gorleben, thousands of demonstrators engaged a force of some 15,000 police in a variety of actions. Today's struggles, many ofwhich were characterized by extremely heavy police deployments, ratcheted up tensions towards the major confrontations that are expected tomorrow. The train is due to arrive in the Wendland Tuesday at midday, but sabotage efforts and human blockades are almost certain to lead to delays.

In this forested area, where a broad anti-nuclear coalition has gathered, the police made hundreds of arrests in several distinct actions. The nonviolent group X1000MalQuer staged a sit-in on the tracks near the town of Dahlenburg. Some 300 of the 1000 or so protesters were arrested as they sat, after which they were summarily placed on a train and driven out of the region, where they were in general released without charges. Around the same time, 200 of more activists were arrested on their way to a watch station which had been erected along the tracks. They were surrounded by riot police and held outside in a bitter wind for the whole of the afternoon, then transported to a local jail and for the most part released (though the fate of all prisoners was not yet clear late Monday night).

Soon after the last prisoners were hauled away, police announced their intention to forcibly remove all persons and vehicles from a nearby field where they were encamped. Large numbers of riot police encircled the camp and oversaw its dismantling. This was the latest in a series of actions by the police aimed at undermining the camp infrastructure that the movement here relies on. In addition to greatly disturbing the communication among activists, the banning of all but two of these camps has been a significant barrier to indymedia-germany, in this rural region with no internet cafes and very limited bandwidth.

A number of activists were also arrested in independent actions. In addition, there were non-confrontational events such as a youth volleyball tournament on the train tracks, and a Critical Mass-style ride towards Gorleben.

Numerous demonstrations also took place outside the Wendland, including demonstrations in France and in several German cities. Actions along the southwestern stretch of the CASTOR route peaked at the border, where a small group of activists managed to halt the train's progress with a blockade, according to the anti-nuclear website http://www.castor.de. Wendland activists will spend the night preparing to STOP CASTOR before it arrives in Gorleben!