Developer Pledges to Continue Berlin Wall Removal

A German property developer has rejected calls to halt work to remove one of the last remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall, despite angry protests against the plan.

Maik Uwe Hinkel says work to move a 22-meter (yard) section of the 1.3 kilometer (3/4 mile) section of the wall will resume next week.

On Friday, hundreds of protesters stopped workers from moving the 19 concrete slabs, each about 1.2 meters  (4 feet) wide, to make way for an access road to a luxury condominium being built on the banks of the reunited city's Spree river.

Hinkel said in a statement Saturday that his company has all necessary permits to move the mural-covered slabs and the road will also benefit the reconstruction of a bridge destroyed in World War II.

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