A local circuit court in Hawaii has overturned a piece of legislation that made it illegal for people to visit Mauna Kea at night.
Members of the Hawaiian Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) approved the emergency rules in July after a group of protesters picketing against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) blocked roads leading up to Mauna Kea.
Judge Ronald Ibarra of the Big Island Circuit court granted the motion to invalidate the emergency rules on Friday, Oct. 9.
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation lawyer David Kauila Kopper filed the suit against the BLNR legislation on behalf of Professor E. Kalani Flores, one of the local residents opposed to the building of the massive telescope.
Kopper said that the circuit court has recognized that the state government failed to follow the rule of law in approving the emergency rules. He stressed that the state no longer has the authority to arrest people who would journey to the mountain at night for spiritual or cultural reasons.
"The state adopted an illegal rule to prevent opposition to the TMT at the expense of sincere cultural practices and public expression," Kopper said.
Kopper added that cultural practitioners, such as Flores, and members of the public should not have been forced to choose between carrying out their nighttime traditions on Mauna Kea or be considered a criminal by the state.
Lanakila Mangauil, an activist from Aloha Aina, said the emergency rules were specifically designed to prevent them from openly advocating the protection of their natural resources and sacred grounds.
According to the state government, the emergency rules were necessary after protesters blocked the road to the summit using rocks and boulders, forcing agents from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to turn people around because of public safety concerns.
The government has arrested 15 people since the rules were implemented, but one of those detained has expressed concern about how the circuit court's invalidation of the rules will affect them.
Kuuipo Freitas, a Kailua-Kona resident who was included in those arrested, said she understands that it is only the BLNR rules that have been invalidated by the court, but she hopes that it will also lead to the dismissal of their arrests.
Freitas is also being legally represented by Kopper, but she said she has not yet to spoken to him since Friday.
Photo: Robert Linsdell | Flickr
