SEIZED NOT “CEDED”
Queen’s Protest Shows Title over Land Requires International Court
Honolulu, Hawaii – The Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance (HIAA) is holding a press conference at noon, Feb. 25, in front of the State Capitol on Beretania St. to point out the US Supreme Court has no legal standing in the so-called “ceded” lands matter.
HIAA, comprised of more than 10 different Hawaiian groups, is calling attention to the fact that the so-called “ceded” lands issue is based on a false understanding of history, and thus the issue of ownership can only be resolved in an international court of law.
Formal protests written by Queen Lili`uokalani at Washington D.C. in 1897 and 1898 address the present U.S. claims to what are, in reality, crown lands, currently and incorrectly called “ceded lands.”
The Queen stated,” I call upon the President and the National Legislature and the People of the United States to do justice in this matter and to restore to me this property, the enjoyment of which is being withheld from me by your Government under what must be a misapprehension of my right and title.”
She further remarked, “I…hereby call upon the President of that nation to whom alone I yielded my property and my authority to withdraw said treaty (ceding said Islands) from further consideration.”
History shows that no such treaty was ever enacted, thus the issue of lands ‘ceded’, or given over to the United States in 1898 via treaty between two countries recognized under international law, never took place.
Yet Governor Lingle and Attorney General Bennett are seeking a US Supreme Court ruling to settle who owns title to the “ceded” lands.
Both the U.S. and the United Nations acknowledge the illegality of Hawai`i’s taking. In 1993, President Clinton signed the Apology Resolution, a U.S. Public Law, where the U.S. apologized and acknowledged Hawaiians never relinquished sovereignty over Hawai`i.
In 1988, the U.S. Justice Department issued a memo stating the annexation of Hawai`i` required a two-thirds vote, which never took place.