Trinity Nuclear Abolition
NEWS ADVISORY
31 December 2011
FOR MLK HOLIDAY,
CONVICTED PRAYER-ACTIVISTS DECRY GOVERNMENT VIOLENCE
Trinity Nuclear Abolition (TNA) has organized another peace vigil in front of the main sign at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) on Monday January 16th at the corner of Diamond and West Jemez. The focus of this demonstration is to call for clean up of radioactive contamination in the area, and for an end of funding to the plutonium pit factory at LANL (CMRR). In light of high costs of clean-up and high costs of build-up in the realm of nuclear contamination, January's demonstrators will include the LANL Fathers Day Five (FD5) who are donating their court fees to a local Native American organization trying to protect the land from government violence. Each FD5 convict is currently on probation, which ends on January 17th. Each person convicted of trespassing while praying near the CMRR site is supposed to pay $73 to the Los Alamos Magistrate Court (LAMC). It is expected that LAMC will not see the value of the FD5's gifts to Tewa groups as a valid form of "mandatory court fees", and will subsequently punish the FD5. January's "Occupy Los Alamos" event starts at 12:00 noon and ends at 1:00 pm. TNA calls upon LANL to stop working on plutonium pits for new nuclear bombs and instead use LANL's resources for jobs to clean-up the region from all the nuclear hazards which harm New Mexicans, especially the Pueblo peoples.
Recognizing the environmental destruction LANL has committed, and the danger LANL presents to the world, TNA demonstrators pray for peace, safety, environmental justice and they hope to alert employees of the shared duty to stop LANL's criminal activities as per the Nuremberg Charter. In the past when peace activists have tried to hold LANL accountable for LANL's crimes, the local police and court (LAMC) has chosen the side of LANL's government-sanctioned violence. "This collaboration of cops, courts and LANL's agenda of destruction is ridiculous. It's the privileged one percent of our population hurting the out-of-luck ninety-nine percent, not to mention the suffering of non-human populations in our environment!" says Marcus Page of TNA. TNA will have about 20 courteous demonstrators on-site at January's peaceful,nonviolent, non-obtrusive vigil. TNA breaks no laws, but rather intends their prayers to help LANL's employees STOP committing crimes against humanity (which are supposed to be illegal under international law). Los Alamos County Police Department (LACPD) officers have repeatedly arrested nuclear abolitionists who uphold international law, while LACPD continually takes NO action against LANL's international criminals.
The upcoming January prayer follows a meeting that a TNA representative had with a Los Alamos Sheriff in November. At that meeting, Deputy Chief Kevin Purtyman stated that LANL's occupation of land in New Mexico is similar to WalMart's occupation, meaning that the LACPD will uphold the property rights of the apparent land owners, despite any immorality conducted by the landowners. This offends TNA activists who see morality as key in the issue of nuclear weapons work. Similarly, the FD5 cannot in good conscience support the work of LAMC, which is allied to LANL by ignoring international law and protects the grossly immoral actions of LANL, as demonstrated in prior court cases where LAMC stands on the side of injustice. Neither LAMC nor LACPD personnel follow suit with the Nuremberg Principles. Both LAMC and LACPD are potentially at risk of international sanctions when the international community eventually holds LANL accountable for its crimes against humanity. At a prior meeting with some of the arresting LACPD officers, Juan Montoya told the police officers that the defendants had prayed near the plutonium pit factory,“on behalf of not only our grandchildren, but yours as well, and in fact for the benefit of the whole world.” The “no contest” plea bargain reached on October 18th was signed by Magistrate Pat Casados and each defendant, indicating each defendant pay $73 in court costs and break no laws in LA County for 90 days. Each convicted defendant has agreed to pay $73 to morally outstanding Tewa Women United instead of to the disreputable LAMC.
TNA vigils have been conducted at LANL since August 2007. This peace vigil will be the 55th picketing event for TNA at LANL. These monthly vigils are conducted to remind the public and the LANL employees that the Lab is actively conducting international criminal activity, as shown by the nuclear bomb pit production work at the Chemistry Metallurgy Research (CMR) facility, and as LANL continues to build a replacement for the current CMR facility (the new CMRR, also known as a plutonium pit factory). The CMRR violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by working to make more nuclear weapons. It is also sited foolishly on a narrow mesa of volcanic ash in an earthquake zone. The price tag therefore continues to rise each year and is currently scheduled to cost 6 billion dollars.
TNA pledges to continue vigilling until the majority of LANL resources are spent on CLEAN-UP of radioactively contaminated sites at LANL. TNA supports the immediate peaceful ending of nuclear weapons research, development, and production. For four years TNA has protested LANL's noncompliance with the U.S. Constitutional duties and U.S. treaty obligations. TNA is always nonviolent, playful, prayerful and peaceful in the prayer-actions conducted at LANL.
The lovarchists of TNA attempt to love enemies, and advocate for others to do likewise, in order to bring about the highest quality of security. TNA thereby calls for cleanup of radioactive sites, disarmament of nuclear weapons industries and active rebuilding of a peaceful structures in the USA. TNA denounces nuclearism because TNA is a spiritually grounded group promoting peaceful disciplines and healthy ways of living in harmony with creation.
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