About OREPA and the Stop the Bombs! Campaign

About OREPA | About Stop the Bombs! | About Non-Violent Resistence

Who are we? The (OREPA) Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance was born in a nonviolent direct action in 1988 at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant in Oak Ridge, TN. From its earliest days, OREPA has embraced nonviolent action in many forms as the most appropriate tool to effect positive social change. OREPA's statement of non-violence guides OREPA in its actions. The statement was developed by the (FGS) Foundation for Global Sustainability when OREPA was a member of FGS. Read OREPA's history of non-violent resistance via the FGS website »

What does OREPA do? OREPA focuses efforts primarily on the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant in Oak Ridge, TN by making a regular peaceful demonstration at the plant, and by utilizing the Stop the Bombs! campaign and website to share valuable information and network with the largercommunity. While we specifically advocate US adherence to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and to Article VI of the US Constitution, we also advocate nuclear nonproliferation at the international level.

What's Stop the Bombs!? The Stop the Bombs campaign is a seriesof anti-nuclear weapons events sponsored by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. We host an annual protest of nuclear proliferation on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki [August 6th] at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant in Oak Ridge, TN. In 2008, our big rally event will take place in April.We also sponsor regular small gatherings/ peace vigils at the gates of Y-12. Join us »

Resistance News » & How you can help »

Nonviolent Resistance

• OREPA's Statement of Nonviolence
• OREPA's Principles of Nonviolence
• OREPA's Standards of Nonviolence
• Handbook for Nonviolent Action

Statement of Nonviolence

OREPA affirms the following principles of nonviolence:

1. Violence is a negative force; It is destructive and not constructive.
2. Violence alienates people from one another and from the earth; violence restricts understanding and communication.
3. Violence begets violence; the spiral of destruction is accelerated by all acts of violence. Inasmuch as every act of violence contributes to our self-understanding as a culture, every act of violence adds force to the spiral.
4. Breaking the cycle of violence is the responsibility of all who hope to build a better world.
5. Breaking the cycle of violence requires not only passive non-participation in violence, but active participation in nonviolence.
6. Nonviolence is not limited to physical activity; nonviolent actions are defined by tone as well as action. Neither physical nor verbal nor psychological assaults are acceptable.
7. Nonviolence means refraining from avoidable or necessary harm, not only to human beings, but to members of other species, to the land, and to the earth.
8. Nonviolence is not "natural" to us; it is a skill we must learn.
9. Nonviolence is possible only when we prepare mentally and spiritually.
10. Nonviolence is most easily lived out in community, with support and encouragement from others.
11. Nonviolence is a power greater than violence. It is born of moral truth.

OREPA standards of nonviolence:

1. Actions sponsored by OREPA will be nonviolent in tone and action. Participants in OREPA actions will never initiate violence. If attacked, they will seek means of defense that do not harm the attacker.
2. In public actions, violence will be guarded against through careful preparation, commitment to community responsibility by all participants, clear communication of expectations, and a system of discipline (peacekeepers) to guard against non-cooperation/violence.
3. OREPA actions will normally comply with all state, federal, and local laws. Civil disobedience will be considered only after reasonable legal options have been exhausted and will be employed only after careful discussion and planning. OREPA has an obligation to inform all participants in a civil disobedience actions of the potential consequences of such actions; all participants in civil disobedience actions should participate deliberately and willingly from an informed perspective.
4. OREPA expects members of its staff and other prominently identified with OREPA to exercise thoughtful judgment about participation in events (including non-OREPA events) where the above commitments are not present.
5. OREPA expects staff and members of its Decision-Making Council to communicate with other DMC members about events which may be "questionable" and which might be associated by the media or the public with OREPA.
6. OREPA actions will be planned so as to minimize harm to animals, plants and land and will, to the maximum extent possible, rely on sustainable sources of materials and energy.
7. OREPA encourages creativity and full expression within these guidelines.