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How To Stop A Nuclear Waste Train. Impressions from Germany

TrippinOnTheNukes | 08.11.2008 16:05 | Ecology | Energy Crisis | World

Good news: 20 000 police trying to prevent countless anti-nuclear waste activists from stopping the castor transport train weren´t able to stop them: a couple of activists managed to stop the train not far away from the french border by chaining themselves to the rails.

The following is a portrait of a very famous and traditional event within the anti-Castor activist's agenda: the forest „game“ called the „Ralley Monte Göhrde“.






It began today, Friday 7th November at 14.30 with several thousand people participating in creative actions. Activists get virtual „credits“ for outcomes such as: building barricades, crossing the Castor railway (an activity that police try to prevent), taking stones from the road bed, intentionally getting told to 'go away' by the police, cutting down hunters' towers, as well as many other anti-authoritarian actions.
Spread over a large area in the forests of the „Göhrde,“ in the Wendland region of Germany, thousands of activists used their direct action skills and dodged police successfully while building barricades made of tree trunks on the small country paths, and trespassing on the famous railway that will soon carry the toxic and radioactive load of the Castor transport. Some of the paths, which are very small but are usable by cars if driven carefully, were made completely impassable by activists eager to gain points by building very effective barricades (we know this well – we were some of the fools who decided to drive too near the railway and we became stuck between the quickly appearing barricades along with other activist cars and many police cars as well!).

These kinds of forest games help to prepare activists for the coming Castor transport, which will be slowed on its journey by effective direct action both on and around the railway. The game helps participants gain knowledge of the forest landscape, become more confident in their interaction with the police, and gain experience with different types of direct action. It also helps to prepare the landscape for the upcoming, more serious, actions by encouraging road blocks, some of which will stall police who may be on their way to break up blockades on the day of the Castor transport itself.

Police presence was heavy at the site of the game, with helicopters, tanks, police vans and cars, horses, and police dogs all present at different times to try to minimize the impacts of the activist participants. Despite this, the game was very successful and participants gained many points for their direct action efforts!

Later on the evening of 7th, a candle-light vigil was held in Metzingen. This is an interesting sort of vigil, as it has a double-meaning for people participating in the anti-Castor movement. Because candle-light vigils are generally considered to be religiously-motivated events, they are difficult demonstrations to forbid, so police had to allow for the hundreds of participants to gather. This event, however, turned into a large party on the street, with people eventually blockading it and causing consternation among police forces. One person was sent to hospital after scuffles broke out, and several demonstrators suffered head wounds due to police violence.

The Ralley Monte Göhrde has a long tradition and was part of the anti-Castor resistance in the last few years. It always starts in Metzingen, where there's also an info point and a resistance camp. Some years ago the police forbade all camps of anti-nuclear activists in the Wendland – as a reaction people in the village of Metzingen decided to open their barns and houses to activists and turn the whole village into a resistance camp – this is not possible to be forbidden. These days Metzingen is a resistance knot for hundreds of protesters.

 http://castor.de

 http://contratom.de

 http://nucleaer-heritage.net

TrippinOnTheNukes

Additions

Castor: TOLLENDORF-BLOCKADE attacked by riot cops

09.11.2008 17:54

trying to remove parts of a blockade...
trying to remove parts of a blockade...


A blockade- action near Tollendorf faced strong repression by the police.
Hundreds of people met in Tollendorf today at 7.30 to continue to the tracks, where the Castor-transport is supposed to go through later in the afternoon. We walked in a huge queue along the forest-path, leaving behind us minor tree-blokades for the police-vans.

After walking about a 1km,there was a road in front of us .There, a lot of police was standing already, about 20 metres apart. There was no other choice than try to get running thourough the lines. Lots of people in front of us made it, but we saw some people getting caught or being pushed back by the cops. The more we waited, the harder it was to get through, because more police-vans were arriving all the time. So, the cat and mouse -game started. I saw a police reaching to a person in front of me and I ran across. There was nothing to be done for the people who couldnt get across. Some of them tried other routes.

So, we continued towards the tracks, that were really close to us already. But, the police was there waiting for us wearing full riot-gear and having watertanks in the backround. We got settled to the tracks as fast as we could, blockaders spread the huge plastic-material to cover themselves, and we began digging the stones off the side of the tracks to get better resistance positions... And after announcing three times the illegality of our action, the cops attacked. They used violent force and started hitting people with batons. Many got some severe pain from pepper-sprays, which was being done straight into individuals' faces. Water tanks were being used constantly.

We got back to the tracks a few times until it was impossible to stay, due to the serious police-violence. So hundreds of people retreated and got scattered in the forest; some ready to look for other ways to get to tracks, some heading back to their camps to gain more power for the other blockades of today. We havent given up. The resistance continues!

jenny


video

21.02.2009 17:38

pArAsite


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