Police use water cannon to clear protests, Gorleben

Описание: (28 Nov 2011)
Laase, Germany
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Mid of protesters adding fuel to bonfire, UPSOUND: music
2. Wide of hooded protesters jumping and chanting, loud music in background
3. Wide of water cannon firing
4. Mid of protesters behind plastic sheet being hit by sprays of water
5. Wide of water cannon spraying
6. Wide of fireworks exploding, water cannon spraying, pan to another set of fireworks going off next to water cannon
7. Wide of water cannon hitting burning hay bale
8. Mid of scuffle as policemen detain several protesters, mounted police ride in, pan to group of officers running past the camera
9. Close of protesters behind the plastic sheet being hit by jets of water from water cannon
10. Wide of three protesters dancing in front of lights and water cannon
Gorleben, Germany
++NIGHT SHOTS++
11. Various of convoy of police vehicles escorting trucks carrying nuclear waste, arriving at Gorleben
STORYLINE:
The transport of processed nuclear waste from France finally made it to the end of its controversial route in Germany, as a convoy of trucks carrying so-called Castor containers arrived in Gorleben late on Monday.
After a journey of several days, the convoy arrived under the cover of night along with a heavy police vehicle escort, in expectation of angry protesters gathered near the route.
Only hours before the convoy's arrival, German police fired water cannon at groups of anti-nuclear protesters who had built up bonfires and set off fireworks near the road where the nuclear waste convoy was expected to pass.
Riot police initially moved in to put out fires set by the demonstrators with protesters responding by throwing firecrackers and bottles at the officers.
Several arrests were made, but it is unclear if those will be followed by charges being pressed.
Eventually mounted officers and additional armoured police were brought in to disperse demonstrators.
The 11 containers of nuclear waste had been transferred from a train at at France's La Hague facility, which had arrived in Dannenberg on Monday morning after massive delays caused by protests and blockades on its way through Germany.
Earlier police began removing about 1,800 protesters from the road leading to a nuclear-storage site in northern Germany on Monday afternoon.
Officers were trying to clear the way for the nuclear waste shipment to proceed to its final destination.
Protesters had been blocking the road to Gorleben for more than 24 hours.
After just a few of them complied with a police request to leave the area, officers were forced to carry most of them away from the road on the outskirts of the town.
In an attempt to maintain a peaceful atmosphere, police officers did not wear riot gear.
Nuclear energy has been unpopular in Germany since fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine drifted over the country.
The annual shipment from France has been a traditional focal point for protesters.
This is the first shipment, however, since Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to speed up shutting down all of Germany's nuclear plants, with the last one scheduled to go offline by 2022, following safety questions raised after the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.
Activists in Germany have said the waste containers, and the temporary storage facility near Gorleben, are not safe.
Germany has not yet decided where such waste, which remains radioactive for thousands of years, should be stored permanently.
Germany receives waste shipments roughly every year under an agreement that sees spent fuel sent to France for reprocessing and returned for storage.

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