CASTOR DIARY
 
Page 1 -- 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. November 12th
 
All times given in the diary are Middle European Time (MET), which is GMT+1
 
The Castor train, consisting of 2 diesel locomotives, 3 police carriages, 12 Castors, 1 police carriage, and 1 backup locomotive, left its starting station at Valognes at 7:25 pm Monday. Demonstrators caused a 20-minute delay. The train passed Amiens at 2:52 a.m. this morning, almost an hour late, due to demos at Carrenton and Sotteville. Additional protests are planned at Longeau, Reims, Bar le Duc, Nancy, Saverne, Vendelheim, Bischheim, and at the French border station at Lauterbourg. Source: Reseau du Nucleaire.
 
 

Page 2 -- 6:50 p.m. Tuesday. November 12th

All times given in the diary are Middle European Time (MET), which is GMT+1

Castor Train at the German Border

3:49 p.m. The Castor-train has reached the French border without undue incident. An extra carriage for BGS personnel is now being fitted. The train will then proceed to the German border station at Wörth, where German locomotives will replace the French ones. The police have fenced in the entire area and are patrolling the tracks.

5:01 p.m. The train has arrived at Wörth.

"Big Brother" in Action on the Internet?

3:51 p.m. It is announced that www.castor.de. is no longer reachable on the internet. This was the home-page of the Bürgerinitiative Umweltschutz (BI). This organisation can still be reached at www.bi-luechow-dannenberg.de. The BI ticker (latest news) (in German) can be found at

www.oneworldweb.de/CASTOR/ticker/index.htm. A detailed map of Wendland can still be obtained at www.oneworldweb.de/castor/nix7/karten.htm.

Traffic Blocked

1:58 p.m. A major crossroads 6 miles west of Dannenberg, near the village of Streetz, has been completely blocked. The chaos began when police denied access to Streetz, where a demonstration had been authorised. The line of cars quickly backed up to the intersection.

Angry farmers moved in with 15 large tractors. 300-400 pedestrians are now at the scene and more are arriving all the time. This action completely blocks road traffic between Dannenberg and the west, and between Dannenberg and Hitzacker.

4:34 p.m. Two independent groups, consisting of several hundred demonstators backed by 35-40 tractors, are on both sides of the train bridge at Seerau, headed for Hitzacker, but they are being blocked by the police.

Conclusion; where the demonstrators can´t drive, neither can the police.

Lantern Parades in Action

On this day all over Germany, parades with colorful paper lanterns are held. Since this is a time-honoured tradition, the police find it difficult to interfere, even if some of the "children" seem to be a little old for lanterns. In the dark, who can tell?

6:04 p.m. A slow-moving lantern parade at Metzingen blocks the major highway B216 between Dannenberg and Lüneburg.

7:00 p.m. At Hitzacker, a lantern parade will leave from a local school and proceed into the town centre. The route of this parade crosses the track that the Castor-train will use.

Page 3 -- 11:15 p.m. Tuesday. November 12th

All times given in the diary are Middle European Time (MET), which is GMT+1

Castor Train News

8:00 p.m. Train reaches Mannheim but is stopped there by a demonstration and a blockade in

Freudenheim (nearNeckarstadt), where two people have chained themselves to the track.

9:20 p.m. The train starts off again

In Lüneburg (gateway to Wendland) protestors have been told to be ready for action about 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. All railway bridges between Lüneburg and Dannenberg have now been illuminated with floodlights.

9:26 p.m. In Hitzacker, about 150 protestors were able to get on the track. These were carried off the track by the police, while 50 other people watched the action. The police have now blocked the access road to the train station.

Dannenberg Demonstration

7:31 p.m. Two thousand people attended a rally in Dannenberg´s central square. Amongst the speakers, a representative from the Australian anti-atom movement reminded the audience of the connection between uranium mining in his country and the waste storage dilemma in Wendland. Two hundred worshipers attended a service in the Dannenberg church.

Page 4 -- 8:06 a.m. Wednesday, November 13th
 
 
6:47 a.m. The train was. blocked at Hassbergen, near Nienburg on the Weser River (about 100 miles south of Hamburg). Here, 20 protestors had to be carried from the track.
 
The rest of the train´s route.is now known: Verden-Rotenburg-Buchholz-Hamburg-
Winsen-Lueneburg. Arrival time in Lueneburg is now estimated at about 8:45 a.m., assuming there are no further delays (a big assumption!). The 630-meter-long train, with a load of 1300 tons, is now being pulled by 4 electric locomotives. In Lueneburg, diesel locomotives have to be substituted for the final trip through Wendland.
 
 

Page 5 -- 1:32 p.m. Wednesday. November 13th

All times given in the diary are Middle European Time (MET), which is GMT+1

Castor Train Enters Wendland

12.52 p.m. The train -- now consisting of 2 diesel locomotives in front + 5 police coaches + 12 Castors + 6 more police coaches + 2 diesel locomotives at the rear -- left Lüneburg on its way to Wendland. Previously, some 30-50 demonstrators had tried to reach the track, but they were encircled by police.

1:14 p.m. At Hitzacker, thousands of people, having had a good lunch organised by the Widersetzen group, have now started on a walk "to aid their digestion".

Why Are All These Citizens Demonstrating?

The Widersetzen group published a call to action this morning. Here are a few words that explain how the great majority of Wendlanders feel: "The police are here in greater force than us. We know that, and we protest nevertheless -- we can´t do otherwise. What drives us onto the tracks is more important than our fears and our cold feet. Maybe they´ll laugh when they use their technical superiority to drive us to the wall. But we´re not strategists or generals -- we don´t care how many points we win or lose. We go out there with desperate hope, and we do it wholeheartidly. We´ll go against the barbed wire, the water cannons, and the death train, because we have to take responsibility for LIFE. We´ll do this for our neighbors, for the children of our children, and also for the children of the police....The leaders will have to reckon with us -- the strategists will have to brood. What we bring with us is the power of our hearts, and that´s greater than water cannon. Let´s go!"

Two Protestors Chained to the Track

Noon: Two persons, their identity hidden by blankets, were found chained to the track near Leitstade in the Göhrde forest, in a region difficult to reach by car. Although their action was spectacular, their timing was imperfect. They were unchained by police at 12:40 p.m. -- too early to hinder the train.

The Police Protest!

11:24 a.m. Yes, that´s right -- the police have begun passing out flyers and decals protesting planned pay cuts. Organised by the police union, they complain that they are being used as political footballs, and they don´t want to be kicked around. Your editor, with his Irish black humour, was greatly amused by this report.

Page 6 -- 10:15 p.m. Wednesday. November 13th

All times given in the diary are Middle European Time (MET), which is GMT+1

Train Arrives at Dannenberg End-Station

4:47 p.m. All 12 Castors arrive at their transhipment station, several hours late. Here, a giant railway crane has to lift each castor from its carriage and transfer it to a special "deep-loader" lorry for eventual transport to Gorleben, some 20 miles distant. This transhipment is a delicate operation that must proceed slowly, especially since these Castors have never been tested for integrity under actual "fall" conditions. By 9:39 p.m, only 5 Castors had been off-loaded. It´s estimated that this work will continue all night.

Protestors Move From the Track to the Roads

Gorleben lies due East of Dannenberg. (A good map is available at www.oneworldweb.de/castor/nix7/karten.htm) There are two possible roads: the so-called northern route via Quickborn and Langendorf; and the southern route via Splietau and Gusborn. Both roads meet at Pretzetze, where a single road proceeds on the Elbe-River dike to Gorleben.. Protestors generally congregate at Quickborn and Splietau. Many people have quickly moved there from Hitzacker, Metzingen and Dannenberg. It´s expected that the 12-lorry caravan caravan will start out early tomorrow morning.

Detainees Held Without Trial

8:47 p.m. About 200 persons have been brought to the "GefangeneSammelGelände" (Prisoner Concentration Area) where they are being held without the right to see a judge. Our legal services have complained that the Court is not fulfilling its functions.

Injuries Reported

8:37 p.m. Ther ambulance service reports that 13 persons were injured in demos at Hitzacker and Harlingen, including one seriously. Three persons became ill after a gas attack.

Page 7 -- 9:15 a..m. Thursday. November 14th
 
 
Transport Reaches Its Goal
 
7:44 a.m. All 12 Castors were brought through the gates of the "Zwischenlager" (temporary waste storage facility) at Gorleben, bringing to an end the largest transport of atomic waste ever attempted. Inside the unprotected shed, which is closed to the public and the press, a very tricky procedure will commence. Each of the Castors must be offloaded from its lorry, protective covering must be removed, and stood upright on wooden blocks. These blocks were recently added to the procedure when it was discovered that, because of a faulty design, there were no shock absorbers.
 
Protestors Show Civil Courage
 
Shortly before midnight, in spite of heavy police presence, over 1200 people managed to filter
onto the road at Laase and sit down, blocking all traffic. They stayed sitting in spite of repeated police warnings. After three hours, the police began carrying off the sitters, who were then taken into police custody and registered. The road, which had been blocked for five hours, was finally cleared at 4:35 a.m., allowing the transport to proceed.