Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, December 19, 2019

NO THIRTY METER TELESCOPE PROJECT FOR MAUNAKEA "AT THIS TIME," announced Gov. David Ige during a press conference this morning, on day 158 of  protesters blocking access to the project site. He said the state was informed that Hawaiʻi "remains the preferred site" for TMT, but that construction would not proceed under current circumstances.

     Several news sources reported today that state law enforcement issued a deadline to protectors encamped at Maunakea Access Road this morning: they must vacate their camp by Thursday, Dec. 26 or be arrested. The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported that branch chief of the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resource Management, Lino Kamakau, made the announcement to about 75 protectors. Honolulu Star Advertiser reported that Noenoe Wong-Wilson, one of the kūpuna at the camp, said that elders will discuss the deadline, but that she didn't think the kiaʻi would voluntarily clear out after protesting since July 15.

     Vice president of external relations for the $1.4 billion telescope, Gordon Squires, said opening Maunakea Access Road "should not be predicated on TMT's timing to start construction. Over the last five months, we participated in frequent discussions with the state on finding a peaceful, lawful, and non-violent way forward on Maunakea. We don't want to put our workers, the people of Hawaiʻi, and the protesters at risk.

     "Unfortunately, the state and Hawaiʻi County have not demonstrated that they are able to provide safe, sustained access to Maunakea for everyone. For us, this dates all the way back to our groundbreaking in October 2014, and subsequent attempts to begin construction in April and June 2015, and in July 2019."

     Squires said those involved with TMT "are sensitive to the ongoing struggles of indigenous populations around the world, and we will continue to support conversations around TMT and the larger issues for which it has become a flashpoint. We are participating in private conversations with community leaders, but these conversations will take time.

     "The project and our individual partners are committed to moving forward in a manner that honors and supports our scientific goals, environmental stewardship, and the traditions and culture of Hawaiʻi."

     Said Ige, "Today, the state reduced its personnel on Mauna Kea. We made this decision after we were informed that TMT is not prepared to move forward with construction on Mauna Kea at this time.

     "State personnel have been deployed to assist the Hawaiʻi County Police Department and to help ensure public safety and safe access for Thirty Meter Telescope equipment and personnel. State personnel and resources will continue to be available upon request to support Hawaiʻi County's efforts to restore full public access on Mauna Kea Access Road.

     "While I am disappointed that TMT will not move forward at this time, I hope this will allow for some respite during the holiday season. I also remain committed to continuing the many conversations that are currently taking place. I know that we can do great things when we work together, and I am hopeful that our community will be stronger going forward.

     "I want to thank the officers of the Hawaiʻi County Police Department, as well as our state law enforcement officers at the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Public Safety and the Attorney General's office."

     See the press conference here.

     Big Island Video News reported that Hawaiʻi County Police Chef Paul Ferreira said Hawaiʻi County Police will continue regular traffic patrols on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, "but will no longer have officers specifically assigned to the area of the Mauna Kea Access Road protests against Thirty Meter Telescope."
     University of Hawaiʻi was granted the conservation district use permit for TMT on Maunakea. President David Lassner issued a statement in response to Ige's announcement, saying, "These past months have been difficult for everyone, and we deeply hope this provides a period of reflection for all to continue to seek a positive, peaceful, and non-violent path forward on Maunakea and for Hawaiʻi.

     Lassner said UH "embrace(s) the decommissioning of multiple telescopes on the mauna and the commitments to stewardship, education, and culture embedded in the permit conditions for the TMT and the resolutions of our Board of Regents."
     He said UH still supports TMT "as part of a positive future for modern world-class astronomy on Maunakea… a place of inspiration, awe, and spirituality for many, where modern astronomy can and should coexist synergistically with traditional knowledge and culture to advance all the people of Hawaiʻi and the world."

     Thousands of Hawaiians and others have raised voices in opposition, said Lassner, "and I am sorry for the pain that UH's support of TMT and astronomy on Maunakea has caused. At the same time, some Hawaiians and others have shared that they consider the study of astrophysics, the beginnings of the universe and the origins of mankind, to be the most spiritual of endeavors. Some consider the fact that Maunakea is the best site in the world for astronomical observation to be a gift to the people who were the best naked eye astronomers of their day – the Polynesians who first settled here after navigating to these most isolated of islands using their knowledge of the stars along with the ocean and winds, the clouds and the birds.”
     Lassner said he is inspired by collaborations, such as Hawaiian-speaking students creating new Hawaiian names for the celestial bodies discovered in Hawaiʻi, saying "they are examples of collaborations that take place nowhere else on earth." He committed UH to strengthening the stewardship of Maunakea. He also said the sole root causes of the "deep turmoil that Hawaiʻi has faced over these last months, including the reawakening of many to the need for justice," are not just about TMT but "the historic wrongs against Native Hawaiians."

     Read his whole statement here.