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WASHINGTON: Protesters led by a group of native Hawaiian elders delayed the start of construction on Wednesday for a giant new telescope atop Hawaii’s tallest mountain, but state officials began making arrests and vowed the project would ultimately proceed.
Demonstrators formed a human blockade for a third straight day of an access road leading to an area they consider sacred ground at the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island and site of the planned $1.4 billion observatory.
Astronomers consider the Mauna Kea summit, already dotted with telescopes, one of the world’s best places for viewing the cosmos. Native Hawaiians say the project will disturb holy ground crucial to their connection with ancestors and the heavens. (REUTERS)
Demonstrators formed a human blockade for a third straight day of an access road leading to an area they consider sacred ground at the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island and site of the planned $1.4 billion observatory.
Astronomers consider the Mauna Kea summit, already dotted with telescopes, one of the world’s best places for viewing the cosmos. Native Hawaiians say the project will disturb holy ground crucial to their connection with ancestors and the heavens. (REUTERS)
