My Comment on the article, “Telescope legal costs fallout”

As I mentioned in the previous post, I posted the comment below on the article itself, and on FB.

My comment:

As is typical with many of these mainstream media articles about TMT, several attempts here are made to “blame” the protectors of Hawai’is sacred places for the problems this science project called TMT is having. Examples:

1. “Choy blames the protests for running up the legal tab, especially since projects like the TMT have been properly vetted in public.” NO they have not. The permit for construction was issued BEFORE a contested hearing had taken place. The state DLNR therefore violated its own rules. That’s why some in the Hawaiian community have taken this to the Hawaii Supreme Court, where it now awaits a ruling.
2. “I feel that a vocal few is costing the university money,” Wrong. It’s a “vocal MILLIONS”… from all around the world.
3. Saying, “the telescopes are a major economic driver in the state”, does NOT give anyone the right to destroy a sacred mountain, or any other place considered sacred to the Hawaiian culture and community. The best “economic driver” would be to care for the people of Hawaii, particularly those who have been standing for the ‘aina, and working for the return of the Kingdom for generations.
4. “If the university is legally challenged we need to defend ourselves.” The university AND the so called state of Hawaii have failed miserably in their “management” of the mountain. The current legal challenges are a direct result of that poor “management”, and failure to follow their own rules.

There will NEVER be a rest in any of these cases because those who understand the sacredness of places like Mauna Kea, Haleakala, etc., to the Hawaiian culture and to other people of Hawai’i, have the responsibility to stand against those who want to desecrate those places… and they have done so effectively in the case of the Mauna Kea TMT issue. The stand against the TMT is a worldwide movement, not just a “Hawaiian people” movement.

The other key point is this… Hawaii is still a Kingdom. The Kingdom of Hawai’i was never relinquished, and it was never annexed. The people who know this will NEVER rest until the Kingdom has been restored to full operation. They will NEVER rest.

And if you say, “Yes, the Kingdom WAS annexed”, please find and post a link to the Treaty of annexation between the US and the Kingdom of Hawai’i.

(If you wish to learn more about that, go to this video: http://youtu.be/9nqDkCzwXeY)