Hawaiian authorities have voted to impose an emergency rule that would restrict access to Mauna Kea following protests blocking the construction of a giant telescope.
The Board of Land and Natural Resource voted 5-2 on Friday on the 120-day rule that would restrict people from being within one mile of Mauna Kea's access road from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. except in cases when a person is in a moving vehicle.
It also prohibits the use of camping gear within a mile of the Holy Mountain. Protesters, however, said that the rule poses a problem.
"If you're trekking miles, and you're caught in inclement weather, you may not have the time to go down the mountain," Kaipo Moris said. "It doesn't just affect protectors; it affects astronomers and photographers, too. It's such a broad spectrum of rule. Even the hunters are affected."
The government has green-lighted the construction of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea. Scientists hope that the giant telescope could make important contributions in the field of astronomy. Once completed, TMT will allow astronomers to conduct studies of objects in our solar system and study stars not just in the Milky Way but also in its neighboring galaxies.
Native Hawaiians, though, oppose the construction of the telescope on top of Mauna Kea because they consider the mountain sacred. The peaks of the island of Hawaii are considered sacred in Hawaiian religion and Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawaii, is considered the most sacred. Only high-ranking tribal chiefs were in fact allowed to visit its peak, according to an ancient law.
Protesters kept their presence on Mount Kea round the clock stalling the construction of the telescope, with protest leaders declaring that they would not stop keeping their constant vigil.
Some protesters, however, were behaving badly, resorting to putting boulders on the roads and engaging in threats and harassment, which, according to Hawaii's Attorney General Doug Chin, created unsafe conditions that necessitated the imposition of the emergency rule.
The University of Hawaii released records kept at the mountain's visitor center, and these showed that since late March, when protesters began staying on Mauna Kea overnight, there have been a number of troublesome incidents, such as a bomb threat being posted on Facebook; protesters making throat-slashing gestures at those who work at an existing telescope; and the taking of items from the gift shop. Protest leaders, however, denied reports of these incidents.
