HONOLULU — Police arrested elderly protesters, some using wheelchairs and canes, as they blocked a road Wednesday to Hawaii’s highest peak to try to stop construction of a giant telescope on land some Native Hawaiians consider sacred.
Protest leader Kealoha Pisciotta said that hundreds of demonstrators moved aside to allow police to take away about 30 elders, called kupuna in Hawaiian, who were prepared to be arrested.
“They’re taking our kupuna,” Pisciotta said, sobbing. Around her, people sang “Hawaii Aloha,” a Hawaiian song that’s common at events.
Some of the elders used canes and strollers to walk, while others were taken in wheelchairs to police vans. Those who could walk on their own were led away with their hands in zip ties.
State spokesman Dan Meisenzahl confirmed the arrests. He said in an email that the number of people arrested and what charges they may face were not available.
Authorities cited and released some protesters, but others insisted on going to a holding cell, Pisciotta said.
Officials said construction equipment was scheduled to go up Mauna Kea on the Big Island later Wednesday to start building the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, which is expected to be one of the world’s most advanced.
Native Hawaiian protesters and other opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope say they are concerned construction will desecrate and damage the mountain.