"The wind blows them out," complains Bartosch, one of a group of peace activists who work four-hour rotating shifts to keep the candles burning.

"The war isn't over for us. No one has officially said that it's finished."

Despite the fall of Saddam Hussein, Greenpeace still has its peace camp set up on Berlin's swank Unter Den Linden boulevard, near where armed security guards man the barriers blocking access to the embassy.

Germany has no shortage of people willing to make their views known in the streets, and this handful of hardcore peaceniks here all have the same word in their mouth, the war is not "officially" over.

It's as if they were waiting for US President George W. Bush himself, the man vilified on their posters and banners, to tell them when they can go home.

"It's a bit tough," admits Sebastian, 17, as he kills time writing post cards in the sun.

"People say to us: 'What are you doing here? The war's over, the Americans won, why don't you go home.'"

Elke, a 32-year-old German teacher, is more experienced and has an answer.

"The longer we stay, the more chance we have of sending a strong sign of opposition to the war. You may have the impression that the war is over, but in fact no, shots are still being fired in Iraq."

It's the same story a few metres away where the Peace Camp has no intention of breaking camp.

Some of the activists, like 21-year-old Kai, have been here for weeks.

"It will be sad when it's over," he says between mouthfuls of a shared meal, "we've got to know each other and we've all become friends."

It has to be said that the Peace Camp looks a little like a Holiday Camp.

There's a small canteen, mattresses, an exercise bike for the willing and a battered old bar room piano where one militant destroys Beethoven's "For Elise", an endless atonal rendition of the only tune he knows.

The group have found common cause in the war on Iraq. Their leader, Joerg, had just finished serving a 10-year jail term when it was declared on March 20.

The conflict has given him motivation and while the fighting is dying down, his battle has barely begun.

"We didn't mobilise because of the war against Iraq," he says, "but for peace instead. We'll stay until there are no more foreign soldiers in Iraq and no more weapons in the world."

He also plans to sue the city for trying to have the protestors removed.

Surprisingly the Peace Camp, as rundown as it is, has managed to blend in somewhat with its chic surroundings.

The owner of the plush Cafe Einstein nearby lets activists quietly use the toilets of his establishment and none of his clients are complaining.

"They were revolutionaries themselves a few years ago," he says, "and it gives the tourists something to look at from the terrace."

"They can stay as long as they want."

Passers-by continue to give encouragement. They buy badges, donate money, bring bread rolls and write messages in a mix of languages on a large banner.

In the middle of them all, three words stand out against the white background: "War is Over", underlined twice by its insistent author.

The activists from Greenpeace have chosen to turn a blind eye. Tomorrow, if the wind dies down a bit, they'll relight their candles.

SPACE.WIRE