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Thousands in Germany Protest Nuclear Power

   VOA News  March 26, 2011
   Anti-nuclear  demonstrators  march  in Cologne, western Germany, March
   26, 2011, to protest against nuclear power

Photo: AP

   Anti-nuclear  demonstrators  march  in Cologne, western Germany, March
   26, 2011, to protest against nuclear power

   Thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Germany
   on Saturday to demand an end to nuclear power in the country.
   The demonstrators were motivated by the nuclear crisis in Japan, where
   an earthquake and tsunami-damaged nuclear reactor is leaking radiation
   into the atmosphere.
   Organizers   say   more   than  200,000  people  turned  out  for  the
   demonstrations  in  the  nation's  four  largest  cities, each protest
   urging Germany's leaders to abolish to nuclear power plants.
   Police  said more than 100,000 protesters turned out in Berlin alone.Â
   Marches also took place in Hamburg, Cologne and Munich.
   German  Chancellor  Angela Merkel said earlier this month that Germany
   would  speed  up its move to renewable energy sources, as it evaluated
   the safety of its nuclear power plants.
   Merkel also has said Germany will temporarily close seven of its aging
   nuclear  power  plants pending a safety review, in light of the crisis
   in Japan.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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