Mauna Kea Hui Responds to OHA Statement

Members of the Mauna Kea Hui said Friday evening that they were not invited to meet with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and other groups to discuss the Thirty Meter Telescope project earlier in the day, despite a statement from OHA stating otherwise.

“To be clear, the Mauna Kea Hui, was not invited to this meeting [with OHA] until only yesterday and only after OHA had released its Press Statement claiming we would be in attendance,” the group said in a statement.

On Thursday, OHA released a statement mentioning that the organization had “arranged for a meeting tomorrow [April 24] for representatives from the Governor’s office, the University of Hawai’i, the Office of Mauna Kea Management, the Mauna Kea Hui, the Mauna Kea ‘Ohana, and OHA to discuss the thirty-meter telescope planned for Mauna Kea.”

Mauna Kea Hui responded to OHA with the following:

“It is the position of the Hui that we will to uphold the wishes of our Kupuna, those who came before us, such as Uncle Genesis Leeloy, Aunty Leina’ala Apiki McCord, Aunty Kamakahukilani Von Oelhoffen and so many more… because they are who moved us to stand for Mauna Kea so many years ago – their message was clear – enough is enough – there shall be no further development on Mauna Kea!”

According to Mauna Kea Hui, the group plans to continue to litigate in the courts. In addition, Mauna Kea Hui say it will stand its ground on the following positions:

“The TMT construction shall be halted and any new leases and/or subleases previously issued by BLNR allowing the TMT to be built and that are currently being challenged must be revoked and/or rescinded forever.

“The observatories currently operating on Mauna Kea shall pay fair market lease rent now and until the end of the general lease in 2033.

“No further development shall be allowed in any way, shape, or form and upon the decommissioning of observatories or the current general lease has ended there must be complete clean-up and restoration of the Mauna to its original state and condition as the general lease requires. There shall be no rocks, soils or other materials displaced or removed from the Mauna.

“We will consider working with State Official to help find solutions for: the protection of Mauna Kea waters and aquifers, clean-up, and restoration of the Mauna, to insure the “right-holders” (those who the laws are written to protect such as Native Hawaiians and the General Public) have a seat at the table of decision making and lastly we are committed to help to ensure educational opportunities and funds for all the children of Hawai`i are upheld and protected.”

The Mauna Kea Hui statement was prepared by Paul K. Neves, Clarence Ku Ching, Debbie J. Ward, Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Kealoha Pisciotta, the Flores-Case ‘Ohana, and KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance.