August 8, 2006 - Across the nation Sunday, August 6, protesters marched, rallied, and held vigils and teach-ins demanding an end to nuclear weapons and wars. These events, held on the 61st anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, kicked off a series of events taking place in over 70 cities in 27 states, culminating on August 9th, the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing, under the banner, “From Hiroshima to Yucca Mountain to the Middle East: No Nukes! No Wars! End War Profiteering! Support Indigenous Rights!” A major focus of the demonstrations was Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest beneficiaries of both the Iraq war and all things nuclear.

In an unprecedented day of action, protests took place at nearly all of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sites where Bechtel has profited, or hopes to in the future -- often at the expense of indigenous peoples and local residents living near these facilities.

At the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab in Livermore, California, Keiji Tsuchiya, a Hibakusha (Hiroshima survivor) and Vice President of Okayama A-Bomb Sufferers Association, spoke of his experiences as a rescue worker in the aftermath of the horror of the first atomic bomb. He was joined by Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, and Norman Solomon, author and media critic, in their unified demand for the cessation of nuclear weapons activity at the Lab, and the abolition of nuclear weapons globally. Ellsberg also warned of a possible US nuclear strike on Iran. Afterwards, protesters marched to the Lab’s gate for music and an interfaith ritual, and successfully shut down the facility’s activity for the day. No one was arrested.

At the Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab in New Mexico, events began with a sackcloth and ashes ceremony, followed by a Hiroshima Day festival featuring speakers and a multicultural musical program, including Japanese singing and dance groups. Dave Stephenson of the Los Alamos Study Group called the event a success, with 300-400 people attending, noting a greatly increased connection with the community of Los Alamos.

Hundreds of demonstrators came to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, August 5, to protest the continued production of nuclear weapons at the Y12 National Security Complex. Music, giant puppets, speakers and dancing marked a four-hour rally at Bissell Park in Oak Ridge, which was followed by a nearly two-mile march to the bomb plant. There, paper cranes were tied to the barbed wire fence and the police barricade erected for the rally. Eight protesters were arrested for acts of nonviolent civil resistance. Sitting across the road leading into the weapons plant with banners reading, “Imagine a World Without Bombs” and “Create a World Without Bombs,” the six men and two women were charged with obstructing a public roadway.

More than 100 people gathered before dawn at the Y12 plant on Sunday, August 6, to remember the destruction of Hiroshima. Names of Hiroshima victims were read along with first-hand accounts of the destruction of their city, and peace cranes were tied to the fence. An all-day fast and vigil by Buddhist monks at the bomb plant assured the cranes would remain throughout the day.

The Pantex nuclear weapons assembly plant near Panhandle, Texas saw protesters at its gates as well, meeting exiting employees with information about the facility’s impacts on local and international health and security. Organizer Mavis Belisle of the Peace Farm reported that the protesters were well received.

At the Nevada Test Site, 60 miles north of Las Vegas, a morning prayer service titled, "August Desert Witness," was held by the Nevada Desert Experience on Saturday, August 5, with 20 participants arrested for crossing onto the site. A teach-in followed. Protesters also held a vigil at the Nevada Test Site’s Atomic Bomb Museum, featuring another Hibakusha, Kazuo Maruta.

In Pennsylvania, following a well-attended discussion, book signing and teach-in with author Antonia Juhasz in Pittsburgh earlier in the weekend, protesters gathered near Bechtel-operated Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory for a festival and a march to the facility’s gates that resulted in Bettis being shut down for the day. At the gates, activists held a symbolic “die-in” while Edith Bell, a survivor of the Nazi holocaust and one of the event’s organizers, read a personal message to the Bettis protesters from Hiroshima survivor Keiji Tsuchiya (who spoke at Livermore).

The significance of this was not lost to any of the day’s demonstrators, no matter where they were in the nation. Speaking at Livermore, Jackie Cabasso, the Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation noted, “To this day the United States has not apologized for or even acknowledged the holocaust that was Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There was more than one holocaust in World War II.”

On Wednesday, August 9, protests will continue at nuclear weapon sites and Bechtel offices across the country. August 9 marks the 61st anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It has also been declared by the United Nations as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. For a list of planned events visit www.august6.org [1].

The August 6-9 actions are being coordinated by United for Peace and Justice in partnership with an ad hoc coalition of local and regional groups. www.unitedforpeace.org [2].

CONTACT: Hany Khalil, UFPJ (NY) 212-868-5545, 718-637-7351 cell, press@unitedforpeace.org [3]
Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation (CA) 510-839-5877, 510-306-0119 cell