Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Honolulu, Hawaii’s Governor David Ige said on Tuesday rescinded an emergency proclamation that was set to deal with native Hawaiian protestors. The protest group Pu’uhonua o Pu’uhuluhulu have been protesting the construction on a massive telescope – Thirty Meter Telescope on a mountain considered sacred.

During weekdays, up to 1000 protestors can be seen blocking the main access road to the Mauna Kea’s summit. During the weekend, up to 2500 protestors gather in opposition of the construction.

The protest group Pu’uhonua o Pu’uhuluhulu called the governor’s announcement “a victory that reaffirms our resolve.”

According to the project’s website, the Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow scientists to ‘see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity.’ The Thirty Meter Telescope has selected Mauna Kea’s summit for its project because the weather and air conditions there are among the best in the world for viewing the skies.

The governor also said there were no immediate plans to move heavy equipment to Mauna Kea’s summit. Ige also noted two hurricanes were approaching that could affect not only the immediate protest area but also the rest of the state.

According the Pu’uhonua o Pu’uhuluhulu Facebook page, “We are aware of the two incoming storms and we are tracking and monitoring them very closely. If necessary, we are willing and ready to evacuate this area to ensure the safety of everyone here at Puʻuhonua o Puʻuhuluhulu.”

They also addressed misinformation regarding access of Maunakea stating, telescope technicians, water trucks, Hale Pōhaku Workers and Maunakea Rangers have had access to Maunakea since the very beginning. The only thing the kiaʻi are preventing is the access of TMT construction workers and vehicles.

The governor declared an emergency on July 17 to give law enforcement more authority to close areas of the mountain and to use additional National Guard troops to help deliver construction gear.

On the third day of the protest law enforcement arrested 38 people, mostly elders, who were blocking the road, with Ige saying law enforcement on the ground judged it wasn’t in the best interests of everyone’s safety to arrest more people.

According to NBC News, “The numbers of protesters there who appeared on the mountain was greater than anticipated Ige noted and when meeting face to face with protestors he admitted he ‘underestimated our strength, unity, and broad public support’ as the protestors numbers continue to grow.

The Hawaii Supreme Court last year ruled the international consortium behind the telescope lawfully obtained a permit to build the telescope, clearing the way for the project to proceed.

Pu’uhonua o Pu’uhuluhulu responded to the state’s and TMT’s claims that they have the ‘legal right to proceed’, stating, “Legal does not always make it right, there was a time where slavery was legal, where women didn’t have the ability to vote, where ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi was illegal in schools, but that never made it right.”

Adding, “And it was through actions like this that got those things over turned and changed so that those legalities could eventually be pono and right. So, this idea that just because it’s legal, it does not make it right and does not make it moral.