MAUNA KEA, Hawaii >> The crowd of demonstrators on Mauna Kea opposing the Thirty Meter Telescope grew to as many as 1,200 people Friday, but Gov. David Ige told reporters he will not call in additional Hawaii National Guard troops to help control the protests for now because he does not want to “escalate the situation.”
Ige also said he “never, ever” contemplated the use of tear gas on demonstrators on Mauna Kea, and state
Department of Land and
Natural Resources officials held news conferences
Friday morning and afternoon to deny reports among protesters that the state had
approved the use of “excessive force.”
“This is inaccurate, and no state agency or leader can make such an approval,” the DLNR said in a written statement. “This, and rhetoric such as ‘the state is preparing for war,’ is dangerous and false,” according to a statement from a Joint Information Center set up by the state.
For his part, Ige said that “my No. 1 priority has been and continues to be the safety of all people. I am committed to avoiding violence by anyone and keeping everyone safe.”
Meanwhile the gathering on the shoulder of Mauna Kea continued to gain momentum, and took a festive turn Friday as law enforcement officials kept a low profile. Protesters and their supporters danced hula, chanted and sang for hours in the middle of Mauna Kea Access Road, which state officials ordered closed Monday.
A makeshift stage area and sound system were set up, and the appreciative audience of TMT opponents sat in folding chairs or rough lava rocks or on the road, with some hiding from the intense sun under umbrellas. The activists ran a large-scale feeding operation for the crowd, and about 20 upside-down Hawaiian flags flapped in the strong breeze.
The activists are trying to block any effort to move heavy equipment up that road to begin construction on the $1.4 billion TMT project, which is to be built at the summit of Mauna Kea on land that some Hawaiians consider sacred.
The summit is generally acknowledged as the best location for astronomy in the world, and there are now 13 telescopes on the mountain.
To help open the way for the movement of the construction equipment, the state has tapped state law enforcement officers including state sheriffs and Hawaii County, Maui and Honolulu police. Eighty Hawaii National Guardsmen were also mobilized to move equipment and handle other chores.
The mood at the protest was relaxed and cordial Friday, but Ige cited what he said were serious problems with the operation. He said there are inadequate bathroom and rubbish facilities for the crowds, and “we’re seeing the impact on the environment.”
Ige also expressed concern about traffic safety on Daniel K. Inouye Highway because “pedestrians are running back and forth across a major highway at night and in bad weather when visibility is poor.”
The main hub for the protesters is at a puuhonua, or refuge, at Puu Huluhulu, and Ige said there have been reports of drug and alcohol use at the site. He said protest leaders have not been able to maintain order.
Even still, he said, the state is not on the verge of clearing the camp.
But because of that “unsafe situation,” Ige said the emergency proclamation he signed Wednesday will remain in effect. The proclamation suspends various state and county laws and allows for mandatory evacuations of civilians.
Leaders of the Mauna Kea kiai, or “protectors,” accused Ige of lying about conditions at and around Puuhonua o Puu Huluhulu refuge and suggested he come see for himself.
“Mr. Ige, it is shame. It is shame what you have done,” protest leader Kealoha Pisciotta told a gathering of protesters and media representatives at the base of Mauna Kea Access Road.
“The akua (god) is watching over us,” she said. “That is why we would never disgrace the puuhonua or anywhere here.”
Lanakila Mangauil told the gathering the commitment from TMT opponents to kapu aloha, or act with peaceful restraint, is being upheld.
“The kapu aloha still stands,” he said. “We hold ourselves in the highest accord, the highest conduct. No one here has ever broken that. It has been a beautiful day full of aloha. We know what the vibe is here, and we’re going to maintain that even in the face of such lies.”
Kahookahi Kanuha had written a list to refute Ige’s claims point by point.
“I got a list of some of his lies right here,” he said. “Not all of them. I cannot type that much, that’s why.”
Ige praised law enforcement’s effort to keep the crowd under control, but Kanuha said the presence of law enforcement was little to none Friday. He blasted Ige’s claims over dangers crossing Daniel K. Inouye Highway, cleanliness and drug and alcohol use.
Kanuha said there have been crossing guards 24 hours a day safely managing pedestrian and vehicle traffic and that additional portable bathrooms arrived Friday and are being pumped out twice a day while garbage is removed daily. He added the kiai security is enforcing rules that include no drugs or alcohol.
“The only threat to control and safety here, in fact, is the law enforcement officers,” he said. “We don’t carry batons swinging at our waist. I don’t have cans of pepper spray. I don’t got mace. I don’t got an LRAD (long-range acoustic device). I don’t have a gun.
“They have those weapons,” Kanuha continued, referring to law enforcement. “The only people who should be concerned for their safety is us. Right? Public safety. We are the public.”
Kanuha suggested Ige made his statements about conditions and conduct of protesters to rally public support for the state’s position. “He’s lying to build support against us,” Kanuha said.
Star-Advertiser reporter Mark Ladao contributed to this report.
