The day after Christmas, not ordinarily an ominous occasion, likely will be one this year. Dec. 26, said Gov. David Ige, is set as the deadline for clearing the Mauna Kea Access Road.
The area surrounding that public byway is now an established campsite set up by opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope, part of a full-fledged movement by Native Hawaiians who consider the mountain a culturally sacred space.
Since July, the protest has immobilized the state officials who assert their intention to enforce the legal permit to build TMT, but have not done so. The entire conflict has been mismanaged by the administration from the start. There is no reason to believe that Thursday’s declaration — the state law-enforcement operation is now in temporary stand-down mode — signals a real end to any of that.
The leaders of the kia‘i (“protectors”) at Puu Huluhulu at Mauna Kea’s base have responded to Ige’s announcement on Thursday by signaling they will not go on hiatus, for Christmas or ever. If anything, the decision to set the deadline — at a time when families are on holiday or winter break from school and thus have more time for a visit to the mauna — has all but assured a showdown on Thursday.
There really is no choice for the governor other than to follow through on his pledge to have those blocking the access road, a public route, arrested and removed. To announce a deadline and then fail to enforce it is to yield all credibility.
If Ige has done nothing else, he has managed to avoid injuries, one marker for success that everyone wants to maintain. Whether or not he can walk that precarious line while achieving the crucial reopening of the access road will be unknowable until the 26th.
It is crucial that the road be opened for the near term because the state has a duty to provide safe passage to those using the road legitimately, to reach observatories and other operational facilities at the summit.
And in the not-too-distant future, the state also must assure access to the TMT observatory construction site, fulfilling its commitment to an invaluable project that has earned its permit to proceed.
In a series of confusing developments last week, Ige indicated there was no imminent construction activity anticipated by TMT. So, according to the initial news release, law enforcement personnel could have “some respite during the holiday season.”
The governor did not cite as a reason last week’s decision by the Hawaii County Council, though it surely must be a consideration. The Council on Wednesday rejected a state-county deal that would have obligated Big Island police to respond to the protests for up to five more years.
And who could blame Council members? Hawaii County has been under fiscal duress in recent years, with losses from storms and the 2018 volcanic eruptions diminishing property tax revenues and compounding expenses. The county has contributed more than its fair share to the enforcement budget.
In particular, Mayor Harry Kim has developed a proposed settlement that was aimed at finding a peaceful resolution.
His blueprint, titled “The Heart of Aloha, A Way Forward Maunakea,” incorporated an accelerated timetable for decommissioning the aging telescopes at the summit along with increased lease-rent payments for TMT, and more community benefits.
The mayor’s overtures were conciliatory; however, the kia‘i politely but firmly declined. The compromise was meant to achieve clearance for TMT, and opponents have been flatly unwilling to budge on that.
MAUNA KEA has had an inestimable value for the Native Hawaiian community that, if anything, is even more exalted through the development of the “protectors” movement. Participants and sympathizers have made their allegiance known throughout the islands, Hawaiian flags flown upside-down as distress symbols, anchored to cars and truckbeds.
It’s difficult to see what can be achieved with further negotiation at this point. Either the state is prepared to fulfill its responsibility for delivering the promised safe access to the summit, or it is not.
Undoubtedly enforcement in favor of TMT would be a boon to scientific inquiry and educational opportunity, as well as revenue for an island that sorely needs it. It also would show the state’s resolve to meet its legal obligations, a critical underpinning of the economy that Hawaii must have.
And it would stop the bleeding of taxpayer money, up to $15 million at this point, spent on security. The public deserves to have its limited resources spent more wisely.
Healing the deep rift the conflict has caused the community will be a long way off, if it’s ever achievable. For many in the Hawaiian community, this has never been about money but about taking a stand for something they treasure.
Those who support TMT believe the telescope honors Mauna Kea. The fact that so many people can’t share that vision has been the sad outcome of this painfully prolonged standoff.
