On April 8, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance gathered concerned citizens together at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant to protest the Department of Energy's plan to rebuild the bomb plant to do ten times the current level of nuclear weapons work, including new nuclear weapons.

Over 300 people rallied at Bissel Park, then joined a long and solemn procession through downtown Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and across the blue line marking government property.

Protesters, many of whom carried mock corpses covered with blood, moved onto the bomb plant to hold accountable those who profit from nuclear weapons. Oak Ridge City police met them, arresting 29 after a die-in and other individual expressions of resistance.

"Rebuilding Y-12 is an example of corporate interest undermining the peace process and profiting from a war economy," said Michele Blau, one of those arrested. Most of those arrested were charged by the city with trespass, and six by the state with impeding traffic flow. All the charges were later dropped.

The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), coordinator of the regional Stop the Bombs campaign, said, "We celebrate those who came today to stand for peace. The presence of so many people, many of whom traveled hundreds of miles to be here, shows that the world is beginning to take notice of the deadly activity taking place in the quiet hills of Tennessee. The Secret City is not a secret any more. The Stop the Bombs campaign will continue to energize local people and attract others to act for peace until the Y-12 plant ceases production operations. Nuclear weapons threaten all of us, and we all have a responsibility to stop them."

In the wake of the spirited action, Sr. Mary Dennis initiated a continuous vigil at the front gate of the Y-12 facility. Others have come forward to help sustain the vigil until the planned August actions at Y-12 (see future actions).

For more information, contact OREPA, 100 Tulsa Rd., Suite 4A, Oak Ridge, TN 37380, (423)483-8202; email: orep@earthlink.net, web: www.stopthebombs.org.