sacredmaunakea.wordpress.com Demonstrators opposed to the construction of a 1-point-4 billion dollar telescope on a sacred site in Hawaii have gathered to picket the ground-breaking ceremony for the project. If it goes ahead, the telescope would rise 30 meters above the summit of Mauna Kea, and opponents say it would damage the area culturally, environmentally and spiritually. Presenter: Iskhandar Razak Speaker: Kamahana Kealoha, protest organiser Listen Here: Hawaiians protest world's biggest telescope | Pacific Beat. PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: The Thirty Meter Telescope is: *** Temporary value for PERMANENT DAMAGE. *** [Native Hawaiians] are connected in genealogy- by blood- to the land. Our Sky Father, his first Child, Ka Makahiapo ʻO Maunakea, the mountain itself. The mountain itself is the first-born son of OUR God. It is being desecrated and like the God of Christianity the observatories on top of the Mountain is like a crown of thorns and our God is being killed. *** The TMT itself is [18.5] stories. The size of sky-scraper. The size of a football stadium. *** This land had been taken from the "public trust" and put into conservation and yet they are turning around and developing on the land and poisoning it. The endangered species upon this summit have pretty much, almost, gone extinct because of this, including the Mamane forests, which is a Hawaiian plant which sheltered Hawaiian birds. We know that when the ecosystem in any area is not doing well that effects everyone down the chain. And we know that these regulations exist for a reason. Their being blatantly and belligerently ignored. This is not just a Hawaiian problem. This is a problem across the "state" and across the world. When we have a government saying "we're going to conserve this, so we're going to take it from you" and then turning around and making all these exceptions to poison it. *** Our Polynesian people didn't have to come to desecrate the Mountain to learn astrology. They learned to travel thousands of miles, back and forth, across the Pacific and to this day the Western Science cannot replicate that without instruments, so what value does it have for us at all? Pretty pictures, but temporary value for permanent damage. It is not worth it for us. The money doesn't stay here- it is just a travesty. *** They've blockaded the road up on the summit so we cannot enter our sacred area. So we are planning to blockade their blockade down at the Visitor's Center and not let any of them. We hope to make a statement that this is not ok- the public opinion, this is not democracy. What they're doing is corporation and corporations rule the government. This is not a democracy. We need to stand and the voice of the people need to be heard. Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike. Anybody who respects nature, respects the aquifer- we need water to live! This is just out of this world. *** We plan to pursue international law. This is a War Crime. The seizure of Hawaiian lands is illegal. The Kingdom was never peaceably given over by democracy- its illegally occupied according to International Law and because they have seized these lands, and they are not ceded as they claim- they have no title, it is a War Crime called Pillaging. And we plan to pursue that in international court. In our "state" court that exerts jurisdiction we plan to pursue the idea that hey, "they don't have a clear title." Show us the title. No title exists. This is a military occupation, this is an illegal occupation. They don't even have title to the land. [IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED DURING THE PLANNED BLOCKADES ON 10/7/14 ON AND AROUND THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA, CONTRARY TO INCORRECT REPORTS FROM MEDIA OUTLETS WHO PUBLICIZED FALSE INFORMATION FROM DECEIVING INFORMANTS. GLAD TO SEE THAT ON AN INTERNATIONAL SCALE, THE TRUTH GOT OUT.]

• published: 20 Oct 2014
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