Governor meets with Mauna Kea 'protectors'

STATE OF HAWAII

Law enforcement personnel are greeted nose-to-nose, a Native Hawaiian custom, by Mauna Kea 'protectors,'

During a visit to Mauna Kea, Hawaii's Gov. David Ige referred to the 1000 people blocking the road to the top of the dormant volcano as "protectors," not "protesters," a major shift in tone in the controversy over a giant telescope slated to be built on the mountain.

When he visited the kapuna, or elderly, blocking the road, he was given a lei as he rubbed noses in the custom of Native Hawaiians.

The Japanese American governor says both he and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim understand that the issues underlying the protests are deeper than the telescope and are about "righting the wrongs done to the Hawaiian people going back more than a century."  

Ige is asking Kim to lead efforts to find common ground with protesters blocking the construction of a 30-meter telescope at the summit of the state's tallest mountain.

Native Hawaiians say Mauna Kea is a sacred mountain to them, despite the 13 observatories that are already on the mountain. The giant telescope would dwarf the other observatories. It would occupy a 5-acre site and be 18 stories high.

Mauna Kea, say scientists, is one of the prime locations on the planet for observing space.

Protectors of Mauna Kea have been blocking the road since July 15 to prevent trucks carrying building material for the observatory.