Stand for Mauna Kea! Stand against a legacy of oppression

Stand for Mauna Kea! Stand against a legacy of oppression!

The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) stands with native Hawaiians, the Kanaka Maoli, and all kia’i (guardians) in their continuing struggle to protect Mauna Kea against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and to assert their right to ancestral lands, culture and ways of life.

For more than a month, the resolute gathering of kia’i remains in protest at the foot of Mauna Kea to oppose the construction of TMT. Amidst the arrests last July of some kia’i, including the sick and elderly Natives, and the looming threats of state violence, IPMSDL salutes their bravery and unwavering courage. Just this week, land beneficiaries and Native Hawai’ians were prevented by state securities to pray and conduct traditional ceremonies in Mauna Kea.

The construction of TMT on Mauna Kea — the sacred mountain of Kanaka Maoli to which they have guaranteed spiritual, historical, political, and economic rights — will only perpetuate the historical injustice to Native Hawaiians. It will similarly highlight the systematic erasure of IP cultures, the national oppression by imperialist US and its colonial legacy of land grabbing serving capitalist interests.

By violating their right to ancestral lands, IP are further discriminated and disempowered as decision-makers that will self-determine their territories and future.

Mauna Kea, which already houses 21 telescopes and 13 observatories, has been bridled with a history of failed environmental management thus, TMT construction poses greater pollution and environmental hazards for the Natives and people of Hawai’i. Further detaching the IP as recognized best protectors of world’s biodiversity in the processes of TMT may mean irreparable deterioration of Mauna Kea.

The struggle for Mauna Kea is part of the fight of IP and oppressed peoples against perpetuating imperialist occupation and plunder of lands and resources. IPMSDL joins the outpouring local and international support, and enjoin our members and networks to extend their strongest solidarity and echo the struggle for rights, justice and self-determination!

Reference:
BeverlyLongid, Global Coordinator

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