Nuclear convoy assembled in face of peaceful demonstrations

A CONVOY of six special containers of radioactive waste was assembled at Walheim yesterday in the face of largely peaceful attempts to hinder its bitterly contested journey to a temporary dump in northern Germany.

Thousands of demonstrators are expected to accompany the containers on the final leg of their journey under the protection of 30,000 police next week.

The CASTORs (Casks for Storage and Transport of Radioactive material) were brought to the south-west German town of Walheim under heavy police protection - three from the Neckarwestheim power station, two from France and one from the Gundremmingen power station in Bavaria.

The two containers from France crossed into Germany around mid-morning by rail bringing German nuclear waste from the La Hague re-treatment centre. "All the birds are in the nest," a police spokesman said.

On Monday the "six-pack" is due to begin a rail journey to Luechow-Danneberg before traversing the final miles by road to the dump at Gorleben in Lower Saxony, which the convoy is expected to reach on Wednesday.

The Lower Saxony regional authorities are mobilising 30,000 police from around the country to ensure the convoy's passage and demonstrators are banned from approaching within 50 metres of the final route.

Violent clashes occurred when some 19,000 officers were mobilised to counter demonstrators seeking to hinder an earlier convoy to Gorleben last May. Antinuclear activists have also sabotaged railway lines to try to impede it. Police yesterday exploded a suspect fire extinguisher found lying on the tacks where some of the containers were to pass.

Earlier yesterday some 300 police using dogs cleared a camp of protesters and detained about 150 people at Neckarwestheim to allow three containers to reach nearby Walheim.

The short road trip was then interrupted by protesters who chained themselves to concrete-filled drums barring the way. Further on 50 people lay down in the road despite a ban on demonstrations, and they were also detained.

The Interior Minister, Mr Manfred Kanther, warned yesterday that the authorities would crack downs hard on those who used violence to impede the transport.