Mayor Harry Kim’s TMT plan offers nothing new, supporter says

A prominent supporter of the Thirty Meter Telescope said Friday there is little that is new in Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim’s plan to resolve the dispute over TMT, suggesting the pamphlet Kim released last week is a rehash of old plans, promises and commitments to Hawaiians.

Wallace Ishibashi Jr., a former Hawaiian Homes commissioner who is now senior adviser and cultural officer for the Office of Mauna Kea Management, said there is “nothing written in that plan that isn’t already written.”

‘Right now we’re back to square one with this mayor’s plan,” he said.

Ishibashi made his comments during a noon forum Friday at the state Capitol auditorium that was attended by about 100 people. Also speaking at the forum were Samuel Wilder King II, retired Judge Walter Heen and astrophysics student Makana Silva, who are all supporters of the TMT project.

Ishibashi said efforts to resolve more than 11 weeks of protests on the mountain were flawed because they have not included the leaders of the protesters, who call themselves “kiai,” or protectors of the mountain. Ishibashi was a longtime union leader with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and he argued that in negotiating agreements “you gotta include everyone in the discussion.”

Some members of the audience asked why representatives of the protesters were not invited to participate in the Friday forum, and King noted that he was not invited to participate in a panel discussion on TMT last month that was put on by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement in Waikiki. King said he is ready to host the protesters at a future panel.

King said he believes Gov. David Ige has not engaged in direct discussions with the protesters because “at some point the protesters do not have the right to be negotiated with … just because they’re breaking the law. I mean, are we going to have people breaking the law all the time?”

The TMT opponents have blocked Mauna Kea Access Road to prevent site work for the telescope from starting near the summit, and King, Heen and Ishibashi all support using law enforcement to clear the road.

However, Ishibashi also said the protests have changed the political environment for Hawaiians.

“I hope somebody on the protectors’ side is coming up with some alternative ideas. If and when TMT doesn’t proceed, or if it does proceed, what we gonna do next? We have the power right now, we have the mana (power), the lahui (nation) is formed, so what are we going to do with that? Turn ’em off after TMT leaves?” he asked.