Mass demonstrations against nuclear power due in German cities

BERLIN, March 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Mass demonstrations against nuclear
power will take place in major German cities - Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and
Cologne - on Saturday.
They were called by the Union of Nature Conservation Organizations,
the Catholic and Protestant churches of Germany, and trade unions. Taking
part in the demonstrations will be leaders of opposition parties - the
SDPG, the Greens and the Left Party. Support for the antinuclear
demonstrators was expressed by many leaders of culture. Famous German rock
groups will give concerts for participants.
As it is expected, in the capital city alone the protests will be
attended by 50 thousand.
The demonstrators plan to observe a minute of silence to commemorate
the victims of the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan and to express
solidarity with the people of that country.
Until recently in Germany there were 17 nuclear power plants, which
provided 23 percent of the electricity the country needs. As compared with
1991 the share of nuclear power in Germany has fallen by 4.7 percent.
After the disaster at the nuclear power plant Fukushima-1 the German
government ordered a thorough security check on all nuclear reactors. At
the same time it decided to immediately stop the eight oldest plants, put
into service before 1980. Chancellor Angela Merkel also called for the
introduction of unified EU safety standards for nuclear power plants.
Meanwhile, nuclear power in Germany employs 62 thousand highly
qualified specialists. According to the plans of the federal government,
by 2050 80 percent of the country's energy will be coming from renewable
energy sources.