Statement of Solidarity with Mauna Kea ProtectorsHawaii Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines

We, the members of the Hawaii Committee on Human Rights in the Philippines, stand firmly in solidarity with our Kanaka Maoli sisters and brothers in opposing the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea and in defending their sovereign and indigenous rights. 

The construction of the TMT will not only further defile the sacred peak but will also perpetuate the shameful legacy of colonial dispossession and systematic oppression of Native Hawaiians, a continuing history that has immensely benefited US imperialist and capitalist interests.

The opposition to the TMT by the Kanaka Maoli and the broad ranks of kia’i (supporters) is a direct response to the environmentally disastrous mismanagement of existing telescopes on the mountain and the disempowerment of Kanaka Maoli in the decision-making processes concerning TMT and the future of the Mauna. 

We have great respect for the extraordinary courage and kapu aloha that Kanaka Maoli have shown even in the face of threats of state violence. Their unwavering resolve to fight for what is pono reminds us of the aloha ‘āina also practiced by the indigenous peoples in the Philippines  — from the Igorots in the northern mountains who defend their land from the ravages of greed and false progress, to the Lumad in the southern island of Mindanao who defend their schools and communities from rapacious mining companies backed by the Philippine military and the terror of martial law. 

We therefore view the struggle to protect Mauna Kea as part of a global uprising of indigenous peoples who will no longer allow the continued destruction of their culture and the plunder of their resources. We join our mana to this global ’ohana, with whom we share an aspiration for justice, peace, and the protection of our basic human rights.

Signed: 

Members of the Hawaii Committee on Human Rights in the PhilippinesEmail: hichrp@gmail.com