Anti-atomic Demonstration in Berlin on September 18 2010


 * big anti-atomic demonstration in Berlin on September 18, 2010
 * more information: http://www.ausgestrahlt.de/mitmachen/anti-atom-demo.html

About 100,000 people protested in Berlin and closed the government's quarter for several hours.

A wide alliance of environmental and anti-atomic organizations, trade unions, parties and individuals came together to protest against the government's atomic policy and against nuclear power in general. More than 100,000 people demonstrated their anti-nuclear opinion; action groups invited for direct actions and blockades during the next months to stop atomic waste transports.

Positive impressions were the promotion of a new action project against the next Castor nuclear waste transport to Gorleben in November 2010 "Castor Schottern" ("Castor gravel" - call-out for a mass action to remove the ballast from the tracks to make them impassable for the atomic train) and the inclusion of anti-coalfired power stations campaigns to the anti-atomic movement.

As often in cases of alliances with parties and other big NGOs to reach a huge amount of people the level of political analysis and critism in some speaches was not very well. Speakers of the former government parties SPD (social democrats) and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (green party), who are responsible for creating the possibilities for the pro-nuclear parties and industry to extend lifetimes of their plants and to claim concessions for their cooperation in the atomic policy, were allowed to speak and dressed up the so-called "nuclear phaseout" (the law that allowed the industry to produce more nuclear electricity and that limited the governments possibilities for restrictions of atomic facilities). Also the presence of other party flags was annoying as they use the anti-nuclear movement for their propaganda. It is fine if party members join the anti-nuclear movement, but they should not instrumentalize the movement for their party policy.

Fortunately in the end there were also some speakers of the local resistance against nuclear power in the Wendland region - the destination of many high level radioactive waste Castor transports. They stressed that their resistance is not only about the atomic waste they don't want to have in their region, but also about nuclear power in general and the political system being the basis for the dangerous nuclear industry.