DLNR unwise to hide behind media blackout

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ media blackout on its enforcement of an emergency rule limiting late-night access to Mauna Kea is an affront to the public interest, and to the First Amendment.

Moreover, the media restrictions undermine DLNR officers’ legitimate attempts to enforce the rule, a regrettable outcome given the state’s careful response to sustained civil disobedience by Native Hawaiians trying to block construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop a mountain they consider sacred.

The DLNR should lift this restriction, which does nothing to instill trust in government during what is already a fraught situation.

The TMT should be built; it has cleared hurdle after hurdle during a years-long approval process that addressed numerous environmental and cultural concerns.

The state government supports construction, but also has strived to react appropriately to ardent critics who persist in their opposition, many of whom are indigenous people citing religious beliefs.

These Mauna Kea “protectors” have succeeded for many months in stalling construction with their nonviolent protests, which at times blocked the road to the building site.

It is a grave mistake for the DLNR to fuel mistrust among the broader population now by creating the perception that it has something to hide, especially when enforcement officers generally have shown restraint during this saga and just as more protesters are being arrested.

The media restrictions feed just that perception, and prevent unbiased, responsible coverage of a controversial issue that is of major concern in Hawaii and throughout the world. As a state government agency funded by the taxpayers, the DLNR must uphold higher standards of transparency and accountability.

The fact that the DLNR is controlling the flow of public information by limiting the media, and therefore trying to control the message about Mauna Kea, should be of great concern not only to reporters, news photographers and editors, but to anyone who believes in the democratic principles of a free, open government.

The few photos and limited video that the DLNR produced itself of arrests on the mountain early Friday are no substitute for independent, comprehensive coverage. That this tactic could be applied to any controversial enforcement action should give all Hawaii residents pause, no matter how they feel about the TMT, Mauna Kea or the protesters who have held a vigil there for months.

Seven of those protesters, all male, were arrested early Friday for allegedly violating an emergency rule approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources three weeks ago that restricts access along the Mauna Kea Observatory Access Road from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily. Another six men were issued lesser citations and voluntarily left the mountain. The arrests and citations followed more than a week of educational outreach to make sure that people knew about the rule and the potential ramifications of breaking it.

Once the BLNR approved the rule, it was not a question of whether protesters would be arrested, but when. With its decision to keep the media from directly observing and reporting on those arrests, the DLNR clouded a controversy that deserves more clarity, not less.