Walkers, Bikers, Runners set out on Oak Ridge, Tennessee ““ New York City trek to Call Attention to US Weapons Plans on the eve of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference
immediate release
March 30, 2015
An international delegation of more than a dozen people will begin a 730 mile journey from the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, TN, to the United Nations on Tuesday, March 31, at 8:30am.
The group’s journey, Traveling Toward a Nuclear Free Future, will include walkers, bikers and runners from the United States, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Local members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance will walk on the first leg of the journey, from Oak Ridge to Knoxville, on Tuesday.
The travelers will arrive in at the United Nations in New York City in time for the opening of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review on April 27, 2015. They will join a mass march for nuclear abolition called “Peace and the Planet” on Sunday, April 26, 2015 in New York City and will address the Peace and the Planet Conference on the 25th of April.
“We are starting out from Y12 because this is where the United States is violating the promises it made forty-five years ago in the Nonproliferation Treaty,” said Jim Toren of Footprints for Peace, organizers of the journey. “The idea of building a new bomb plant in Oak Ridge is a complete reversal of the promise to disarm we made to the rest of the world.”
The route for the travelers will take them into Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and into New York City. They will make presentations and share information about the Uranium Processing Facility bomb plant with their hosts each evening.
Marcus Atkinson, joining the travelers from Western Australia, said, “The treaty will only work if every nation keeps its part of the bargain, and the United States is falling short.”
The journey will be launched from the main gate of the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex, at the intersection of Scarboro and East Bear Creek Roads. The travelers will be hosted by the Riverside Nonviolent Community, 4627 Martin Mill Pike in south Knoxville on Tuesday evening. A potluck dinner, open to the public, will begin at 6:30.
for more information
Jim Toren 513 403 2765
Ralph Hutchison 865 776 5050
