Peace For Okinawa Coalition Condemns Governor’s Actions

TMT protest, DAY 3, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. PC: Gerald Besson

The Peace For Okinawa Coalition has issued a letter to Gov. David Ige, who is of Okinawan descent, denouncing his actions against Hawaiians surrounding the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea.

The Peace For Okinawa Coalition condemned the governor’s course of action in the letter and a press release, asserting they are not representative of Okinawan values.

“Governor Ige has mobilized police and soldiers to harass, forcefully remove, and arrest peaceful, unarmed Hawaiian rights and environmental protectors,” the release read.

“What Governor Ige is doing to Hawaiians on Mauna Kea is essentially the same as what Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is doing to Okinawans at Henoko,” said President of the Peace For Okinawa Coalition Robert Kajiwara. “He has totally ignored the will of the Hawaiian people. These are human right violations.”