OHA seeks continued TMT moratorium

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees met on April 10, 2015, to discuss the matter of Mauna Kea and the planned Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT). The board says it plans to “gain greater clarity on the pending legal cases relating to the TMT project,” and that “the board will also review OHA’s past positions on these cases. With that information, the board will consider its position on the matter at an upcoming board meeting.”

“While a formal board vote has not been taken yet on the matter, OHA’s highest leadership involved in the discussions with state officials have sought and continue to seek a continued moratorium,” said Kehaunani Abad, OHA’s community engagement director.

Activists have been blocking the access road to the construction site in order to prevent construction from beginning. More than 30 people were arrested by Hawaiʻi County police on Thursday, April 2, but the demonstrations only grew last week, especially as hundreds of Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, dancers and spectators gathered on Hawaiʻi Island for the annual Merrie Monarch hula festival.

During the past week, OHA leaders have also been in discussions with state decision makers. In these talks, OHA leaders have emphasized the need for all parties to address the unresolved legal matters while the TMT construction moratorium remains in place.

Will Caron

Award-winning illustrator, painter, cartoonist, photographer, editor & writer; former editor-in-chief of Summit magazine, The Hawaii Independent, INhonolulu & Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi. Current communications director for Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center.

https://www.willcaronhawaii.com/
Previous
Previous

TMT: UH System-wide walkout planned for tomorrow

Next
Next

No cause of death yet for man who died in Honolulu police custody