LIHUE — The Kauai Police Department announced road closures in Lihue for Sunday to accommodate the largest planned community rally relating to Mauna Kea.
More than 1,000 participants are expected. People will gather at Vidinha Stadium before the march that begins at 12:30 p.m.
“Officers will be closing all roads along the march route from 12:30 p.m. to approximately 2 p.m.,” according to a county press release Wednesday.
The march will continue down Ho‘olako Street, followed by a right turn onto Rice Street, ending at the Historic County Building.
Officers will be manning the road closures along the route.
The planned march is the second of its kind, with the first “Mauna March” in Kapaa last Sunday attracting hundreds of participants.
Organizers have stated, “absolutely no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no drama.”
“This is not a parade or a party this is a demonstration of our rights and sovereignty as a people. Please come firmly grounded in Kapu Aloha. Please remind others constantly that everything we do is a reflection of our kia‘i on the front line so help each other remember their place,” Fern Holland said via Facebook, who is the rally organizer contact.
The rally is going through a last-minute push to get everything put together and has been very grassroots in nature, Holland said.
A lot of people have wanted to have some sort of organized demonstration, she said.
“We’re hoping for a large turnout, we believe that a lot of people have strong feelings about this issue and want to have their voices heard,” she said. “This platform allows for people to do so in a peaceful manner in a way that aligns with the protectors on Mauna Kea through Kapu Aloha. It allows people the opportunity to express and have themselves heard and that’s really our goal. We’re hoping that a lot of people show up and that people come to learn from each other and to connect as a larger lahui (people).”
For more information, or to volunteer contact Holland at 634-6242.
Are people who are in favor of the TMT project allowed to show up and make their voices heard too? If your real goal is to have people “learn from each other” then shouldn’t both sides be represented equally?
Didn’t think so.
Of course, who said you couldn’t ?
The tmt supporters should march down rice street in the opposite direction. I would be there, except for this thing called a job.
“Conflict in paradise.” TGI Letter on July 21st. author Jim Jung. We have protesters at Mauna Kea and around the Hawaiian Islands to Las Vegas wanting to stop the TMT from Building a telescope. it may be true that Mauna Kea is a sacred ground.
However, the saying goes, “keep our children from moving off the islands by providing jobs for them!” So, if TMT is allowed to build their telescope on Mauna Kea. Our college graduates at UH who studied Astronomy could have a job and not move elsewhere to compete.
We have to start somewhere with something. As the saying goes, “let the buck start here!”