The article in West Hawaii Today on Oct. 21 about decommissioning the UKIRT telescope may be the sad beginning of the decline of astronomy, Hawaii’s greatest scientific program. Gov. David Ige, in his May 26 plan for the Thirty Meter Telescope, demanded the removal of 25 percent of the telescopes on Mauna Kea. This demand along with others has now started to become reality. Telescopes which are obsolete and unproductive facilities should be and will be removed. But why removed existing, scientifically productive facilities? The governor’s plan was an effort to defuse the growing protests against the construction of the TMT by Hawaiians and other sympathizers on “cultural” grounds.
So what has been the protesters response to the governor’s plan?
They have blocked the Mauna Kea road for the third time on June 24, preventing workers for the TMT project from accessing their construction site. They covered the roads in various places with rocks, which blocked the road for all vehicles, including emergency vehicles.
They built, maintained and refused to remove illegal structures at the Mauna Kea visitor center.
They continued to camp illegally for months on Mauna Kea. They recently left their camp on Mauna Kea because there was nothing to protest since the TMT project has delayed another attempt to start work until they are assured of safe access to their site.
According to a recent letter to Ige from the Big Island Chamber of Commerce (http://spotidoc.com/doc/1278079/hicc—letter-to-governor-ige), some TMT protesters are also creating a climate of “peer pressure, threats of violence and intimidation both physical and through social media against pro-TMT support.”
They organized a TMT protest parade in Waikiki during the convention of the International Astronomical Union, which consists of astronomers from all over the world to embarrass the University of Hawaii as convention hosts.
They continue to proclaim that they will never allow TMT construction to proceed.
It seems clear from the protesters activities and statements that they are dedicated to stop the TMT and eventually to demand the removal of all telescopes from Mauna Kea. The governor has recently repeated his promise to provide the security necessary for the TMT to proceed during the next attempt to start work.
Starting with the TMT ground blessing ceremony in October 2014, the protesters have overwhelmed authorities on four occasions and disrupted TMT activities. So time will tell if the rule of law is going to be followed and enforced or if mob rule prevails again.
In the meantime, the removal of one or two working telescopes may seem insignificant to the TMT protesters but it diminishes the overall science data generated by the facilities on Mauna Kea. That is foolish and wasteful of all the resources and effort put into building and operating these telescopes. Nothing is gained by their early removal.
Jerry Smith is a resident of North Kohala.
Viewpoint articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of West Hawaii Today.