[Organize] Oak Ridge Bechtel action, Aug 9

[ralph hutchison]

Report from Oak Ridge

Thirty demonstrators gathered in the early morning mist outside the 
Federal Building in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to read a letter addressed to 
Riley Bechtel, CEO of the Bechtel Corporation. The reading was 
uneventful, despite a heavy police presence. The Department of Energy 
had graciously provided a "Free Speech Zone" located a quarter mile 
from the Federal Building, behind some Manhattan Project era buildings; 
demonstrators instead chose to stand at the entrance to the Federal 
Building.

After the public reading, it was off to see the Bechtel folks. A three 
mile walk made the link between DOE and Bechtel physically real. The 
demonstrators, ages 8-70, reached the Bechtel office at 8:15am and 
found the building under a self-imposed state of seige. A delegation of 
four demonstrators attempted to deliver a copy of the letter to Bechtel 
management in Oak Ridge. All entrances to the building were locked, and 
Bechtel employees were turned away as they scanned their cards and 
attempted to enter the building. One food vendor was admitted, but 
another was turned away. Local police were stationed inside the 
building to reinforce the locked doors. After nearly an hour of trying 
to enter the building, Bechtel security ordered Oak Ridge police to 
clear their private property or arrest demonstrators.

The protesters adjourned to the sidewalk where Shelley Wascom, 
President of OREPA's Board, announced that a copy of the letter would 
be mailed to Bechtel's CEO and members of the Bechtel Board of 
Directors. The letter calls on Bechtel to seace and desist from nuclear 
weapons production activities, and to divest itself of DOE and war 
profiteering contracts. Wascom pointed out that Bechtel's refusal to 
meet with the public even to accept a simple letter was in keeping with 
the complete lack of accountability of private corporations who get 
rich off our tax dollars. "Bechtel is doing what they do every day," 
Wascom said, "and they are making our point for us." Wascom pointed out 
that the Oak Ridge action was part of a coordinated series of actions 
across the nation.

WBIR-TV, Channel 10 in Knoxville, covered the event.