‘The Navy cannot be trusted’: Rally outside state capitol calls for Red Hill shutdown
By ‘A’ali’i Dukelow
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HONOLULU (KITV) — Dozens of demonstrators criticized the Navy’s refusal to shut down its Red Hill facility by laying on the ground outside of the state capitol on Friday afternoon.
The gesture, protesters said, symbolized death — an outcome they fear many could soon face as a result of the ongoing contaminated water crisis.
During the “die-in” rally, organizers demanded the Navy not only shutter the Red Hill fuel farm, but remove its tanks entirely.
“It’s time for us to take the streets back, to take our land back, to take our water back, and get the U.S. military out of Hawai’i permanently! Take your ‘opala and leave!” shouted Kawena’ulaokala Kapahua.
Many in attendance Friday agreed they do not trust the Navy.
“Just in the last week alone, the Navy’s position has changed, from the water is safe, to there is no evidence the water isn’t safe, to shutting down two of their wells and daily flip flopping on the outcomes of its own testing,” said University of Hawai’i professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer, a former two-term commissioner on the Hawai’i State Water Resource Management Commission.
However, others added the Navy alone is not to blame, but local elected officials as well.
Organizers referenced the 2014 leak at Red Hill, when 27,000 gallons of fuel were released. Since then, protesters argued the state legislature has not done enough to roll out measures on regulating or repairing the tanks.
“It wasn’t even an issue in this legislative session,” Healani Sonoda-Pale said.
“The lack of action of our elected leaders to adequately address the issue of protecting our precious water source begs the question, ‘who are they working for?’ because they are not working for us.”
Some demonstrators pledged to organize more protests to hold the Navy accountable. Others encouraged the public to register to vote, as a means to remove elected officials they claimed are failing to address the crisis.
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