Iokepa Kaolulo Kaeo said he and others are dedicated to protecting Mauna Kea at all costs — even if it means going back to jail. ADVERTISING Iokepa Kaolulo Kaeo said he and others are dedicated to protecting Mauna Kea at
Iokepa Kaolulo Kaeo said he and others are dedicated to protecting Mauna Kea at all costs — even if it means going back to jail.
“This is bigger than me, this is bigger than what we see,” he said. “This is for our future.”
Kaeo was among the 31 people arrested on the mountain Thursday during a historic protest against the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, which is being built on what some say is sacred ground.
Speaking by phone Friday, Kaeo said he has no regrets and was honored to stand up for what is pono alongside other Hawaiians. The battle, he said, is just beginning.
“We’re going to go again. This is not going to stop,” he said.
On Thursday, Hawaii Police Department officers arrested and charged 12 individuals, ranging in age from 27 to 75, for blocking access to TMT construction workers en route to the summit to begin work on the telescope. The arrests began at approximately 8 a.m. and continued until about noon, according to officials. Those 12 individuals, all residents of Hawaii Island, were taken to the Hilo police station for processing and released after posting $250 bail.
An additional 18 people were arrested by state Department of Land and Natural Resources officers. Eight, including Kaeo, were charged with disobedience to police officers, while 11 were booked for trespass after refusing to leave the TMT construction site, located at 13,150 feet above sea level.
In a written statement, Interim Chairman Carty Chang said DLNR took necessary action Thursday to preserve and protect public safety and public access, and will continue working with its partners to monitor the situation.
During a press conference Friday in Honolulu, Peter Apo, a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, called on Gov. David Ige and the University of Hawaii to adopt a 30-day moratorium on construction in order to work out a solution everyone, Native Hawaiians and the scientific community, can live with.
UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said the university “welcomes all calls for more dialogue and is actively meeting and addressing the issue at the highest levels.”
Meisenzahl added that no work occurred at the project site Friday in light of the Good Friday holiday, and no arrests were made.
A number of websites, including the Protect Mauna Kea Facebook page, have called on their supporters to contact Ige and petition him to stop the construction of the TMT and the arrests of protesters, who have taken to referring to themselves as protectors.
Mike McCartney, Ige’s chief of staff, said in an emailed statement that the governor’s office is aware of the situation and “deeply involved in discussions and conversations about this important matter,” but must respectfully decline to comment at this time to “protect the integrity of these discussions and allow productive conversations to continue.”
Professional surfer and mixed martial arts fighter Dustin Barca, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Kauai last year, also was arrested Thursday. In a video posted online, Barca and at least six others, all with their hands zip-tied, can be seen being led away by enforcement officers.
“Wake up,” Barca says in the video, showing his cuffed hands. “This is what we got to do for aloha aina. This is what we got to do for our future, for our keiki. We are the past, the present, fighting for the future.”
Kaeo said among the greatest concerns is the potential danger of the telescope project to the Mauna Kea aquifer and the island’s drinking water. The University of Hawaii, however, said such claims are inaccurate.
“Comprehensive research by expert hydrologists confirms that TMT and the existing 13 telescopes pose no such danger,” UH wrote in a release March 31. “Furthermore, TMT is designed to be a zero waste discharge facility with all waste securely transported off the summit. There is also very little precipitation above 8,000 feet and the observatories are located well above that at the top of Mauna Kea at 14,000 feet.”
Scheduled to be operational in 2024, TMT will be more advanced than any existing optical telescope and is expected to capture nine times more light than the other observatories atop Mauna Kea.
Kealoha Pisciotta, a TMT opponent, said there was a large turnout of people from all the major islands Friday, as well as a heavy police presence. However, no arrests had been made by mid-afternoon, she said.
Asked if opponents have any intention of leaving the area, Pisciotta promised they would maintain a presence.
“The commitment is stronger than ever,” she said.
TMT spokeswoman Sandra Dawson and HPD Assistant Chief Henry Tavares could not be reached for comment by press time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Email Chris D’Angelo at cdangelo@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
