STORY:
First act of Civil Disobedience this New Year

Anti-Nuclear Group Plans New Year's Eve Protest in Nevada

As the casino’s of Las Vegas welcome 500,000 visitors in sequins and jewels along the strip, another millennium movement, a celebration of candlelight and quiet will take place nearby. Anti-nuclear demonstrators are planning a vigil at the Nevada Test Site near Las Vegas.

About 65 miles from the city a solemn candlelight procession will take place in the desert. A group of protestors plan to march onto the Nevada Test Site at midnight. This could prove to be the first act of civil disobedience of the Year 2000 because the group will have to trespass to get on the site. The United States has exploded more than 900 nuclear devices on the range.

"In a way, we are going to be celebrating too and having a New year’s Eve party for Peace," Cindy Pile, a protest organizer told the Los Angeles Times. " People will be in the desert with God, but also with this immense evil."

The U.S. exploded more than 900 nuclear weapons on the Rhode Island-sized test range from 1953 until 1992 when President George Bush declared a moratorium on nuclear testing. The Federal Department of Energy still conducts "subcritical experiments" at the site, testing the reliability of nuclear computer codes and assessing the susceptibility of weapons to shock waves.

The group says it will be marching in support of a comprehensive test ban treaty that includes a ban on the testing that goes on in laboratories. Opponents say such a proposal would hurt the U.S. because there would be no way to verify the compliance of other countries.

Protests at the Nevada Test Site are nothing new and police know just how they plan to deal with the marchers. Once they step on private property they will be issued a $315 citation for trespassing. Police will only make arrests if protestors damage property.

While tourists on the strip will be paying up to $2,500 for a room, protestors will pay $75 for a four-night stay, which includes meals. No hotel room in the desert, just a sleeping bag under the stars.

Source: Los Angeles Times

DATE: 11/30/99

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