• Protests flare over construction of telescope in Hawaii


    MAUNA KEA, Hawaii (AP) - Singing, chanting and lying on the ground in the road, hundreds of people demonstrated on Monday against the construction of a giant telescope on a mountaintop that some Native Hawaiians consider sacred.





    After two protest leaders spoke with police, they addressed the crowd and told them anyone who didn't move would be arrested. The group would move aside, but the elders were expected to remain, protest leaders Kaho'okahi Kanuha and Andre Perez said.

    By mid-afternoon, law enforcement hadn't arrested anybody, saying their priority was installing concrete barriers along a nearby highway to create a buffer between speeding cars and the large numbers of people congregating in the area.

    Those on the grate left after being told they wouldn't be arrested.

    Walter Ritte, an activist, said it was difficult lying there for 11 hours. He said protesters' arms were connected through a series of metal pipes under the grate. Authorities would have had to cut the pipes to remove them, he said.

    "It was so cold at 4 o'clock in the morning," Ritte said. "It was a test of our fortitude. This mountain is like our last stand."

    Telescope opponent Jennifer Leina'ala Sleightholm said she hoped peaceful protests would lead to an end of the project while acknowledging that was an unlikely scenario.

    "I think I know what will happen, but what I hope will happen is I hope that they would just turn around and save our kupuna," she said, using the Hawaiian word for elders.

    Protesters vowed to return on Tuesday.

    Richard Ha, a Native Hawaiian farmer who supports the project, said he's encouraged that there seems to be some cooperation between protesters and law enforcement.



    "It's very difficult when you have family members on different sides," he said.

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





    Ancient Hawaiians considered the location kapu, or forbidden, according to the University of Hawaii. Only the highest-ranking chiefs and priests were allowed to make the long trek to Mauna Kea's summit above the clouds.



    The telescope's primary mirror would measure 98 feet (30 meters) in diameter. It would be three times as wide as the world's largest existing visible-light telescope, with nine times more area.


    In a news conference Sunday, Ige said that he "respected the right of people to protest" at the telescope site as long as protesters behave lawfully.

    "As construction begins, our number one priority is keeping everyone safe," Ige said, adding that he wants to make sure construction workers and truck drivers have unimpeded access to the telescope site.


    Kelleher reported from Honolulu.

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