Berlin, Sep 9

Protests have been held in Berlin by a group of artists to protect the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall, from any new attempt to dismantle the historic German structure.

The protesters used paper to partially cover the graffiti-filled East Side Gallery.

Their goal is to cover the wall, which is visited by thousands of people each day, for two weeks, said Kani Alavi, president of the East Side Gallery Artists Association, Sunday.

"We want to see how people react when they don't see the paintings," Alavi said.

The murals on the remaining segments of the wall were designed by artists from around the world in 1990 and have become a major tourist attraction in Berlin even though they are in poor condition.

The protests were criticised by Berlin tourism officials.

In March, thousands of people took to the streets of Germany's capital to protest a controversial plan to remove sections of the East Side Gallery to make it easier to access the construction site of some luxury apartments.

The protesters want officials to protect the East Side Gallery like other monuments.

Officials have made a hole in the most iconic stretch of the wall to allow emergency vehicles to cross.

The luxury apartments are being built on what was once the infamous "death strip" built by the East German authorities to keep people from leaving the country.

The Berlin Wall, whose construction started Aug 13, 1961, separated democratic West Germany from communist East Germany for 28 years.

According to official figures, at least 136 people died while trying to make their way over the barrier to freedom in the West.

The Berlin Wall fell Nov 9, 1989, amid wild celebrations on both sides of the city, but some stretches of the barrier have been retained as monuments to mark the capital's division into occupied zones at the end of World War II.

By:IANS

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