MAUNA KEA, HAWAII >> An emergency proclamation signed by Gov. David Ige means that no one will be allowed on Mauna Kea, including cultural practitioners, and National Guard troops will join other law enforcement officers in dealing with protesters attempting to stop construction of a telescope at the mountain’s summit, state officials said Thursday.
In the past, even when the Mauna Kea Access Road leading to the top of the mountain was closed, cultural practitioners were allowed to walk on the mountain.
That’s no longer the case, said Department of Land and Natural Resources spokesman Dan Dennison.
“That was then, this is now, because of the emergency proclamation and the additional authority that law enforcement has. They can restrict access to anyone and everyone, including practitioners,” Dennison said. “We respect Native Hawaiian practitioners’ efforts to do that, but right now, for the safety and security of everyone, that’s not going to happen.”
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The proclamation also means a “limited number of National Guard” personnel will be involved to assist law enforcement officials, Dennison said.
Dennison and other state officials continued to say Thursday that the safety of everyone is their top priority and that there is no intention to use violence against peaceful protesters.
The entrance of Mauna Kea Access Road was covered Thursday with 600 protesters, tents, camping chairs and blankets but few law enforcement officers and no construction equipment.
Four days after Ige said construction of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea would begin, there was still no movement of workers, materials or machinery up the mountain.
“The TMT will never be built, and we will always protect our mauna,” said Mauna Kea Hui spokeswoman Kealoha Pisciotta at a news conference at the site.
Thursday was mostly a day of reaction to the events of Wednesday, when police arrested 34 — mostly elder — protesters and Ige signed an emergency proclamation giving more authority to law enforcement officers to close off areas of Mauna Kea.
“We’re not violent protesters or causing a statewide emergency,” said Noe Noe Wilson-Wong, a kupuna, or Hawaiian elder. “I don’t understand. To me it’s just an uninformed and illegal decision. Maybe somebody is feeding him bad information. But Gov. Ige, if you’re listening, maybe it’s time for you to come up here and witness (it for) yourself.”
The protesters want to block the telescope because they say it would desecrate and damage the sacred mountain. For many Native Hawaiians the issue has tapped into deep-seated sadness and anger over the loss of their sovereignty and land.
Ige said the TMT developers went through a 10-year process of obtaining all legal permits and now have a right to build it. TMT supporters say it will create high-paying jobs and help diversify the Big Island economy, which is mostly dependent on tourism.
On Thursday only one vehicle passed down the access road, accompanied by a handful of officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources on foot. The vehicle was a water tank trunk, and when it arrived, protesters quickly moved a tent shading the group of kupuna protesters off the road to let it by.
Other than that, law enforcement officers didn’t come out in any kind of force, and neither did construction equipment.
It was a good day for those who don’t want the TMT built, but DLNR also saw success Thursday.
“At its peak, there were an estimated 600 people in the area and around the intersection of the Daniel K. Inouye Highway (formerly known as Saddle Road) and Mauna Kea Access Road,” the department said in a news release. “There were no arrests or injuries reported today.”
But while there wasn’t any confrontation at Mauna Kea on Thursday, the struggle between building and not building the TMT went on.
Most of the protesters’ anger was aimed at Ige and his emergency proclamation.
“Our illustrious governor decided to abuse his powers,” said Walter Ritte, a Native Hawaiian activist who was one of the 34 arrested Wednesday. “This is not a volcano that is erupting or some kind of protest that is out of control. This is about aloha yet he has signed that proclamation.”
Pisciotta, the Mauna Kea Hui spokeswoman, directed her comments to out-of-state TMT funders, partners and other contributors, including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the California Institute of Technology and the University of California system.
“You are brilliant scientists. Your quest for knowledge is a beautiful and honorable thing. We want you to continue that quest in ways that are good for this planet and humanity.”
