Demonstrators to protest weapons program at Livermore Lab

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 20, 2008 | by Eric Kurhi

LIVERMORE -- A group of demonstrators will again gather in front of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at sunrise Good Friday to peacefully protest the facility's role in creating weapons of mass destruction.

The demonstration has been an annual event since 1981. Last year more than 200 protesters marched down Vasco Road to the laboratory gates. More than 60 were arrested on charges of trespassing on lab property.

This year's featured speaker will be The Rev. Louie Vitale, who recently spent five months in prison after being arrested at a demonstration against the use of torture by military interrogators.

According to event organizers, Vitale was arrested while trying to deliver a letter to the commander at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The letter alleged that the facility was used to train interrogators in torture methods.

Vitale is also well known for his efforts to provide shelter for the homeless at San Francisco's St. Boniface Church.

Friday's event is co-sponsored by the Ecumenical Peace Institute and the Livermore Conversion Project. It will begin at Patterson Pass and Vasco roads at 6:45 a.m., with a worship ceremony at 7 a.m. followed by the march to the gate.

There the demonstrators will hear speeches, pray for peace, and have the "opportunity for nonviolent civil disobedience," according to organizers.

Usually that involves some arrests when people choose to enter the grounds of the lab.

The demonstration will be followed by a gathering from 10 a.m. to noon at 5720 East Ave., with refreshments.

Eric Kurhi can be reached at 925-847-2184 or ekurhi@bayareanewsgroup.com.