A partial win for Makua, but struggle far from over

January 14, 2011 by kyle from dmzhawaii.org

Yesterday, the Army announced that it will end live fire training in Makua valley. This is a win for those who have struggled for many years to save Makua from the destructive and contaminating activities of the U.S. military.

However, it is only a partial victory.

The Army continues to hold Makua hostage and plans to use the valley for other kinds of training. Furthermore, the Army is shifting the bulk of its training to Schofield in Lihu’e, O’ahu and Pohakuloa on Hawai’i island. This is consistent with the recent announcement of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for expanding or renovating training facilities at Pohakuloa.

This was never a “Not-In-My-Back-Yard” movement. Trading one ‘aina for another is not acceptable. Furthermore, it leaves unchallenged the very premise that the training is needed. Training for what purpose? To invade and occupy other countries? Inflict death and destruction in the name of Pax Americana?

The movement to protect Makua moves into a challenging phase as we now push for the cleanup and return of the land. The Army is hoping that non-live fire training will be less likely to inflame community anger. By removing a major flashpoint, the Army hopes to deflate the momentum of the movement. It is more difficult to sustain high levels of energy around the technical and tedious clean up and restoration of a site. So we must be inspired by our vision of the alternative we hope to grow in Makua.

Every gain we make in Makua owes to the thousands in Hawai’i and around the world who have come forward to malama ‘aina, speak out, protest, pray and grow the peaceful and blessed community we wish to see in the world. The Makua movement must not forget its kuleana to the many people who have stood in solidarity with us, as we continue to stand and speak out in solidarity with others.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110113_Army_ends_live-fire_training_at_Makua.html

Army ends live-fire training at Makua

After decades of opposition to bombing the valley, real ordnance will be used only at Schofield and Pohakuloa

By William Cole

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 13, 2011

The last company of soldiers may have stormed the hills of Makua Valley with M-4 rifles blazing, artillery whistling overhead, mortars pounding mock enemy positions and helicopters firing from above.

After battling environmentalists and Hawaiian cultural practitioners since at least the late 1980s, the Army said this week it is acceding to community concerns and no longer will use the heavy firepower in Makua that started multiple fires in the 4,190-acre Waianae Coast valley and fueled a number of lawsuits.

In place of the company Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercises, known as CALFEXes, the Army said it is moving ahead with a plan to turn Makua into a “world class” roadside-bomb and counterinsurgency training center with convoys along hillside roads, simulated explosions and multiple “villages” to replicate Afghanistan.

US Army and Native Hawaiians Sign Covenant

Army signs Native Hawaiian covenant
Posted: Mar 24, 2010 6:02 PM Updated: Mar 24, 2010 6:02 PM

WAIKIKI (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Native Hawaiian community and the military have often been at odds over the use of land across the islands. But Wednesday, representatives from both signed a promise to work together.

It’s called the Native Hawaiian Covenant, a simple one-page statement along with six goals designed to heal the hard feelings between the two groups.

The Royal Order of Kamehameha started the ceremony with an offering at the Kukalepa Memorial at Fort DeRussy. The memorial stands in honor of maoli killed in battles. After the playing of the Star Spangled Banner and Hawaii Ponoi, members of the army and the Native Hawaiian Community stepped forward to sign the covenant.

It states the army will work to protect and preserve the fragile environment of the islands, as well as keep a dialogue open with Native Hawaiians while meeting the military’s missions.

One development is already planned at Makua Valley. The leeward Oahu training ground has been the center of several battles from groups who say military action there is destroying cultural sites and living species

“Through funding obtained from Senator Daniel Inouye’s office, we are creating a visitor’s center at the Makua Military reservation that will provide a location to describe the history of the valley and the rare cultural artifacts and unique plants and animal life located in that beautiful valley,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Terry, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Hawaii. “We encourage people to visit Makua and fully support cultural access events and activities there.”

“It is the responsibility of the army and other other branches of service to safeguard us from unwarranted aggression,” said Neil Hannahs, a Kamehameha Schools Land Manager and member of the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council formed for this covenant. “The Kanaka Maoli advisory council recognizes these circumstances, and strives through this covenant to respect the importance of host culture needs and values while also recognizing the contribution of the military’s presence in ensuring our security and freedom.”

The covenant ceremony ended with hula, and the planting of an ulu to symbolize a new beginning.

Here is the complete text of the Native Hawaiian Covenant:

US Army-Hawaii’s Covenant with Native Hawaiians

We recognize that…

…The Native Hawaiians are nâ kanaka ôîwi Hawaii…the aboriginal peoples of Hawai’i.

…Native Hawaiian’ cultural and historical experiences are shaped by the land and surrounding ocean…that as the Army maintains and uses the land of Hawai’i, it is mindful to protect and preserve this fragile environment and ensure that what remains is a meaningful legacy for future generations.

We are committed to:

Providing sustainable installation support and services for Joint War fighters, our Army Families, and the military community that meets current and future mission requirements, safeguards human health, improves quality of life and enhances the natural environment;

Providing proactive dialogue with Native Hawaiians to ensure the meaningful exchange of information and to enable sound, informed decisions by the Army that respects the legacy of the Native people of Hawai’i while meeting the mission and goals of the Army;

Building a partnership between the Native Hawaiian community and the US Army, a relationship that promotes mutual cooperation, understanding and enhances the standing of each within the community;

We are committed to a mutually beneficial relationship between Native Hawaiians and the US Army, Hawai’i by:

- Enhancing education and understanding of Native Hawaiian issues, culture, and values to Army Soldiers and Families

- Enhancing education and understanding of Army values, culture and actions to the Native Hawaiian community

- Leveraging opportunities for proactive dialogue between the Army and Native Hawaiians

Judge Sustains Makua Complaint

Judge sustains Makua complaint
The ruling reveals doubt about whether Army environmental surveys were sufficient
By Gregg K. Kakesako
Honolulu Star Bulletin
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 20, 2009

A federal judge has sided with Hawaiian activists who want the Army to stop training in Makua Military Reservation, putting the military on notice that it will have to show that maneuvers in the Leeward valley would not contaminate ocean resources or damage cultural sites.

U.S. District Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway’s actions keep alive a request by the organization Malama Makua to have the court set aside the Army’s environmental impact statement until it completes more marine contamination studies and archaeological surveys.

The Army completed the EIS in June, and in August filed a motion seeking to dismiss Malama Makua’s complaint.

In denying the Army’s motion Wednesday, Mollway wrote that the Army does not have the sole right to determine what qualifies as a survey.

“Taken to its logical conclusion, the Army’s argument would allow the Army to satisfy its burden by poking a stick into the ground and calling that action a ’survey,’” the judge wrote.

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who has represented Malama Makua since 2000, said that he hopes that Mollway will act early next year to permanently bar further training in Makua before the Army resumes any operations using live ammunition.

The Army, which conducted both a survey of cultural sites and several scientific studies on possible water and soil contamination, has said it had met all terms of their October 2001 settlement agreement with Malama Makua.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Army was required to conduct studies to determine the potential for training activities to contaminate fish, shellfish, limu and other marine resources off Makua beach. The Army was also required to prepare subsurface archaeological surveys to identify cultural sites that could be damaged or destroyed by training.

“At the hearing on this motion, the Army argued that it was entitled to summary judgment because the settlement agreement only required it to do a study, which it did,” Mollway wrote. “The Army contended that what kind of study it did was in its sole discretion. At the hearing, the Army went so far as to argue that it could have satisfied the ’study’ requirement by simply having a luau, serving food from the area and seeing whether anyone got sick.”

Malama Makua President Sparky Rodrigues said: “For years we’ve been insisting that the Army tell the community the truth about the threats that training at Makua poses to irreplaceable subsistence and cultural resources. Now the court has told the Army that it can’t get away with junk science.”

Said Earthjustice attorney Henkin: “To make a rational decision about whether to allow training at Makua, it’s vital that decision-makers and the public have accurate information about the harm to public health and cultural sites that resuming training at Makua could cause. This ruling puts the Army on notice that the court will not allow the Army to pass off woefully inadequate studies as meaningful.”

Dennis Drake, an Army spokesman, yesterday said it is Army policy not to comment on ongoing litigation: “We will abide with the dictates of the court.”

In August Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, said the Army hoped to resume live-fire training before the end of summer since it believed that the environmental statement completed in June fulfilled its legal obligations. However, no training with live-fire ammunition has taken place.

The Army has said that it needs to rebuild several dirt roads and firing ranges in the training area damaged by heavy rain last year. The Army stopped live-fire training in the 4,190-acre valley in 2004, pending completion of the EIS.