Nearly 200 people gathered on the road near the planned $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope on Friday, but there was no construction and no arrests on the Good Friday holiday, one day after 31 protesters were detained and charged for blocking work crews on Mauna Kea.

In Honolulu, meanwhile, Hawaiian leaders called on Gov. David Ige and University of Hawaii President David Lassner to establish a 30-day moratorium on construction and to halt the arrests of those fighting to preserve the sacred mountain.

"The arrests being made are a stunning error of judgment and an in-your-face provocation to Native Hawaiians," Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Peter Apo told a news conference at the OHA offices Friday. "It shows that a construction schedule is more important than people."

Apo called for the governor to bring together a group of leaders during the moratorium to reassess the state’s oversight of the ceded lands on which the mountaintop science reserve sits.

The state was entrusted with managing these lands for the Hawaiian people as a fundamental condition of statehood, he said, but officials have failed to give cultural impacts the same weight of importance as other impacts.

While state and university officials continue to stress that the Thirty Meter Telescope underwent a seven-year environmental review before it was given the green light, Apo said the process was dominated by "academic and intellectual snobbery" and a condescending view of Hawaiian cultural concerns.

"We’re not the criminals," Apo said. "The breach of trust is not on the part of the Hawaiians. The breach of trust is on the part of the state, in my opinion."

Mike McCartney, the governor’s chief of staff, responded with a written statement: "We are aware of this situation and are deeply involved in discussions and conversations about this important matter. However, we must respectfully decline to comment at this time to protect the integrity of these discussions and allow productive conversations to continue. Mahalo for your understanding."

UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said, "UH welcomes all calls for more dialogue and is actively meeting and addressing the issue at the highest levels."

Community activist Walter Ritte, also speaking at the OHA offices, went a step further in urging the removal of all 13 of Mauna Kea’s observatories.

Both Ritte and Apo said Thursday’s arrests represent a spark that could motivate a new level of Hawaiian activism.

"They have crossed the line and really angered the Hawaiian community," he said. "On one it shows who’s boss. On the other side it shows stupidity on how to solve a problem."

On the mountain Friday, as many as 200 people gathered at the 9,000-foot level for a day that turned into a rally featuring musical performers and speakers that include UH-Manoa law professor Williamson Chang and former Hawaii island state Rep. Faye Hanohano.

Kamahana Kealoha of the Sacred Mauna Kea Hui said vehicles with telescope workers came up the Mauna Kea Access Road at about 8 a.m. but they indicated they weren’t working today, so they were allowed to proceed.

Kealoha said the group had been fully prepared to block the vehicles and face arrest if needed. Hawaii Police Department officers were monitoring the scene.

"We’re not going to allow them to dig into the mauna," he said. "This is our burials, our sacred place, our water aquifer, our endangered species."

A spokesperson for TMT Observatory Corp., the nonprofit that is heading up construction of the telescope, said the company is assessing their construction schedule on a day-to-day basis.

Kealoha, an anthropology student at UH-Manoa from Waimea on Hawaii island, said momentum is building for what could be a lengthy vigil. Newly established social media fundraising accounts, he said, have raised thousands of dollars for bail costs and for food, transportation and other costs needed to support the ongoing demonstration.

The Land Board signed off on a notice to proceed with construction March 6 despite a couple of legal challenges that are still pending in court. After construction equipment was hauled to the site last week, protesters began gathering on the mountain March 26. On Monday they blocked the construction workers’ vehicles without incident. On Thursday 31 protesters were arrested.