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Protesters form 75 mile human chain against German nuclear energy
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have formed a 75 mile-long human chain between two German nuclear power plants, to protest against the government's energy policy.
According to organizers, the human chain event drew some 120,000 atomic energy opponents from across the country. The symbolic protest stretched from the Kruemmel nuclear plant near Hamburg to the Brunsbuettel plant at the mouth of the river Elbe.
The Kruemmel plant in particular is the focus of fierce opposition, due to two small-scale accidents that occurred there in 2007 and 2009.
The center-right coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that it intends to revoke an earlier law which would have seen all nuclear plants in the country shut down by 2020.
The protest falls two days before the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, which sparked the anti-nuclear movement in Germany.
"Today over 120,000 people have signaled to the government: You must change your pro-nuclear position," event spokesman Thorben Becker said.