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'All Berliners should be standing here today'

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'All Berliners should be standing here today'
Photo: Matthew Luxmoore

Plans to tear down part of the Berlin Wall for a luxury apartment building sparked angry demonstrations on Friday to save the city's East Side Gallery. The Local hit the streets to see what people were saying.

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Around 300 protesters gathered in eastern Berlin close to the Spree River to form a human chain near one of the last remaining segments of the once hated Cold War barrier.

Many Berliners are incensed that part of the East Side Gallery, a 1.3-kilometre stretch of the Wall now covered in murals by artists from around the world, is to be moved for a block of luxury flats near the river. The open air gallery is the second most popular visitor attraction in the German capital after the Brandenburg Gate.

After a few tense hours, the demolition work was called off, for today at least, but the anger is likely to remain. Another demonstration is planned for Sunday morning.

Click here to see what protestors had to say

Interviews conducted by Mithila Borker and Matthew Luxmoore

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