Thousands protest against Germany's nuclear plants

BERLIN. March 14. KAZINFORM Tens of thousands of people have protested in Germany against the government's plans to extend the life of its nuclear reactors; Kazinform cites BBC News.

Demonstrators in Stuttgart formed a human chain reaching 45km (27 miles) for the protest, planned before the current nuclear crisis in Japan.

Organisers said events in Japan had proved atomic power was an uncontrollable and risky technology.

Nuclear policy is a key issue in German regional elections this year.

About 60,000 people turned out for the protest, according to organisers. Police said the number was in the tens of thousands.

The demonstrators formed a human chain between Stuttgart and the Neckarwestheim nuclear plant, waving yellow flags with the slogan "Nuclear power - no thanks".

The protest took place in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg where Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives may lose power in elections two weeks from now, partly because of rising support for the Greens, analysts say.

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