Last Friday, a judged issued a decision that invalidates the Hawaiian state's emergency rule of keeping protests at bay, from the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope located in the Big Island mountain of Mauna Kea.
The circuit court of Hawaii apparently granted a partial motion for summary judgement, that was revealed from a joint statement that was issued late Friday by the Attorney general Douglas Chin and Suzanne Case of the state's Board of Land and Natural Resources.
The statement includes the state's acknowledgement of the court's decision and will abide by it, reminding people who want to travel to Mauna Kea to respect existing laws and rules. It has always been illegal to block the road and this includes standing on the road or placing obstructions where laws will continue to be enforced.
According to lawyer David Kauila Kopper who filed the lawsuit against the rule, representing Hawaiian residents, he praises this decision as a sign of honor and respecting the wishes of Native Hawaiians who deem the mountain as the most sacred place among the islands.
Kopper who is also working with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation said that the State adopted an illegal rule to stop the protests at the TMT, in which this opposition is purely caused by respecting cultural practices and public expressions. The emergency rule was approved by the state land board after an intense public meeting last July 10.
To date, protesters are still camping out up in the mountain in the attempt to block mountain construction. Since April, construction was halted where the company has not yet announced when will the telescope building will resume.
The emergency rule prohibited protesters within one mile of the access road to the Mauna Kea between 10 P.M. and 4 A.M. unless the people are inside a moving vehicle. The rule also does not allow the use of sleeping bags at any time, including camping stoves and propane burners on the mountain.
However, last month, the TMT International Observatory released an announcement that despite the ongoing protests, the Thirty Meter Telescope is slated to be finished by 2024.