LAUPAHOEHOE, Hawaii – Wally Ishibashi says he is sorry about his publicized confrontation with a leader in the Ku Kia’i Mauna movement that happened two months ago, the day following 31 arrests on Mauna Kea, but “that’s part of the game.”

Ishibashi is the cultural officer for the Office of Mauna Kea Management and has had his hands full since the disrupted groundbreaking for the Thirty Meter Telescope in October 2014. His tense face off with Lanakila Mangauil on April 3 was filmed by Keanuenue Roldan and was the subject of ridicule by other TMT-opponents in the weeks that followed.

Ishibashi, a retired ILWU business agent, was questioned about the incident following his presentation during the Common Ground talk story series organized by the Hilo-Hamakua Community Development Corporation.

You can block the road. You can picket all you like. I have no problem with that. Comin’ out of the line, and harassing the workers, I get one problem. That’s sugar days, that’s strike days. That’s what it was.”Wally Ishibashi

Ishibashi said he was also upset that Mangauil was present at the SMA, or Sub-Millimeter Array, another observatory on the mountain summit area.

Ishibashi spoke respectfully of the Ku Kia’i Mauna movement, and indicated he made amends with Mangauil.

We still friends, I still love him. They doing the thing that they believe in. Everybody should have the right to believe and support what they believe. I support TMT.”Wally Ishibashi