Photo by John Amidon
On April 1, about 40 people participating in the annual Sacred Peace Walk went to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. After some of the group entered the public roadway into Creech, Clark County Metro Police redirected traffic to the West Gate a mile away. After a five-minute warning, three of the activists were arrested when they continued praying in the roadway.
The prayer-action was in response to the peace and justice violations committed by the U.S. Air Force at Creech, including regular assassinations by drone at the behest of the CIA. The three who were arrested – Judy Kehr, Joan Monastero and Marcus Page-Collonge – have a court date in Las Vegas City Court on May 20.
Following the arrests at Creech, Peace Walkers continued on their journey. Some visited the southwest side of Yucca Mountain for a Western Shoshone prayer for the healing of the Earth, led by Chief Johnnie Bobb. The Sacred Peace Walk concludes on Good Friday with a Western Shoshone sunrise ceremony, followed by a Good Friday Stations of the Cross liturgy and civil resistance action at the entrance to the Nevada Test Site.
Local peace and justice activists were joined by others from around the United States, Europe and Japan for Nevada Desert Experience’s 20th Sacred Peace Walk, which began in Las Vegas. Some of the participants are Buddhist monks and nuns from Japan walking from San Francisco to the United Nations in New York City for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.