Native Hawaiians protest against the construction of a telescope on a sacred mountain

Hundreds of protesters gathered Monday at the base of the highest mountain in Hawaii to protest the construction of a giant telescope on land that some Hawaiians consider sacred.

Towards dawn, a group of kupuna or elders, sitting in chairs, tied themselves with a rope and blocked the road that led to the top of Mauna Kea. Another group of protesters was lying on the ground, arms tied under a gate in the street.

Around them, the protesters sang and sang.

The road was then officially closed, a few hours later, it was essentially blocked by protesters. The old attachés were waiting to be arrested.

After two protest leaders contacted the police, they went to the crowd and told them that whoever would not move would be arrested. The group would move aside, but the elders had to stay, said protest leaders Kaho's leaders Okahi Kanuha and Andre Perez.

Officials said anyone who broke the law would be prosecuted. Protesters who blocked the roadway during previous attempts to build were arrested. No arrests were reported immediately Monday morning.

Jennifer Leina 'ala Sleightholm, opponent of the Telescope, expects the protests to remain peaceful. "I do not anticipate that someone will become out of control," she said. "We never gave them any reason to think we would."

She said she hoped construction convoys would turn around and leave.

"I think I know what will happen, but hopefully that will happen, it's that I hope that they'll just turn around and save our kupuna," he said. she said, using the Hawaiian word for elders.

A puuhonua, or place of refuge, at the base of Mauna Kea will not be swept away by the authorities, Kanuha and Perez told the protesters after consulting the police. The protesters had planned to stay there overnight.

Scientists hope that the gigantic telescope that they have planned for the site – a world-renowned place for astronomy – will help them go back in time right after the Big Bang and answer the fundamental questions about the planet. 39; universe.

But some Hawaiian natives regard the holy land as a kingdom of gods and a place of worship.

Groups of activists sang and prayed at the foot of the mountain Sunday afternoon. They stated that the area, which is convenient to the highway at the intersection of the access road to the mountain, is a place of refuge and security.

"These are the Hawaiian homelands," said Kealoha Pisciotta, one of the event's leaders. "We are clearly out of their way, we do not obstruct anything, everyone is in ceremony."

The project has already been delayed by years of legal battles and demonstrations attracting the attention of "Aquaman" actor, Jason Momoa, who has Hawaiian indigenous ancestry and voiced opposition to the telescope.

The scientists chose Mauna Kea in 2009 after five years of researching the ideal site worldwide.

The protests disrupted a ceremony of inauguration and a Hawaiian blessing ceremony on the site in 2014. After that, the protests intensified.

Construction was halted in April 2015 after the arrest of protesters for blocking the job. A few months later, a second attempt to resume construction led to further arrests and the withdrawal of the teams.

But the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the construction was legal, that permits were in place and that the state had given the go-ahead to the company behind the telescope to resume its efforts. The company is comprised of a group of California and Canadian universities, with partners from China, India and Japan.

According to the University of Hawaii, ancient Hawaiians considered the site as kapu, or forbidden. Only the highest ranking chiefs and priests were allowed to make the long trek to the top of Mauna Kea above the clouds.

Today, the university rents the land located at the top of the state to existing telescopes and observatories located at the summit. A road built for telescope access several decades ago is used every year by thousands of tourists and locals, including Hawaiian natives, who go there to pray.

Proponents of the $ 1.4 billion giant telescope claim that this state-of-the-art instrument will not only make important scientific discoveries, but will also bring educational and economic opportunities to Hawaii.

The main mirror of the telescope would have a diameter of 98 feet (30 meters). It would be three times larger than the largest visible light telescope in the world, with a surface area nine times larger.

Governor David Ige said unarmed units of the National Guard would be used to transport personnel and supplies and to impose road closures, but they will not be used as law enforcement forces during planned events.

At a press conference Sunday, Ige said that he "respected the right of people to protest" on the telescope's website, provided the protesters behaved legally.

"At the beginning of the work, our number one priority is to ensure the safety of everyone," Ige said, adding that he wanted to make sure that construction workers and truck drivers have unimpeded access to the telescope site.

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Kelleher reported from Honolulu.

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This story was corrected to indicate that the elders were sitting in chairs and not lying on the floor.