Anti-nuclear protesters block Czech border

Temelin nuclear station is the cause of the dispute

VIENNA, Austria -- Austrian anti-nuclear protesters have jammed all 15 border crossings to the Czech Republic in a bid to halt the operation of a Soviet-designed atomic plant they fear is unsafe.

An estimated 6,000 opponents of the Temelin plant, which lies about 30 miles (50 km) from the border, gathered at the Wullowitz crossing in the province of Upper Austria. Among them on Friday, the fifth consecutive day of demonstrations, were far right leader Joerg Haider and local politicians.

"More buses are arriving by the minute," a police spokesman said. The entire 570 km border would remain closed to road traffic at least until midnight (2200 GMT), he added.

Anti-nuclear Austria is angry that the Czech Republic started up the Temelin plant on Monday despite calls for further safety checks. Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel has said he will raise the issue at the European Union summit in France this weekend.

The Czech government says Temelin meets EU standards and wants the European Commission to intervene to stop the blockades, which have snarled traffic along key routes from eastern to western Europe and stranded dozens of trucks.

Czech President Milos Zeman reproached the protesters for "adolescent behaviour," Austria's APA news agency reported. He reminded them that Austria's border with the Czech Republic was also the European Union's outer frontier.

Organisers of the Wullowitz rally erected a stage across the highway, and protesters made roadblocks out of tractors, wooden barricades and banners.

There were smaller protests at the other 14 crossings. Only rail traffic and pedestrians were able to get through, the police said.

They expected some border crossings in the province of Lower Austria to reopen to cars and trucks on Saturday. In neighbouring Upper Austria, protesters said they would stay put until Sunday evening.

Average daily traffic flows have been cut from about 17,000 people to just hundreds because of the protest.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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