March 22, 2009

Ending the Occupation: Hawaii and the Baltic States

Kuhio (Mossman) Vogeler (4th from left) presented data from his dissertation this evening at Palolo Media Center on how the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) restored their independence and how/whether their strategies might have relevance to the situation in Hawaii today.

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[Excerpts from Baltic Independence from the Soviet Union by James Graham http://www.historyorb.com/russia/baltic_independence.shtml]

Under Joseph Stalin the USSR re-annexed the Baltic countries in 1940. The independence the Baltic states had enjoyed since the collapse of the Tsarist empire was over. The pretext for the invasion was the articles of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact that acknowledged Nazi Germany’s and the USSR’s separate spheres of influence. Stalin promptly invaded Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and deported or executed anyone who held nationalist beliefs. Without national elites the USSR gained complete control over the Baltic people and the articles formed the basis of the post Second World War Soviet state.

Lithuania and the other Baltic states Latvia and Estonia set an example of rebellion for the rest of the USSR to follow. In 1988 while the rest of the USSR was relatively calm the Baltic states were in open defiance of the Kremlin. On 24 August 1989 half the adult population of the Baltics formed a human chain stretching the entire length of the three republics to protest against the fiftieth anniversary of Soviet rule. The Soviet authorities such was their loss of touch with the average person viewed the anniversary as a celebration. In the parliamentary elections Sajudis swept the board. They were elected to the Supreme Soviet in Moscow allowing their voices to be heard nationwide through televised coverage. On 11 March 1990 by 124 votes to zero with six abstentions the Lithuanian parliament passed the Act of the Supreme Council on the Restoration of the Independent Lithuanian State. This shocked the Kremlin who replied in the only way they knew how. Tanks were sent in on the 22 March and five days later Soviet troops occupied strategic buildings. Estonia and Latvia were not far behind declaring independence on 30 March and 4 May respectively. Economic sanctions were applied but had no effect just like the military actions before them.

The Baltic republics blew a hole in the walls of the Soviet state. They had achieved the unthinkable by use of mere people power, along the way setting an example for the other republics to follow. National fronts were quickly established in most Soviet republics. Lithuania brought into the USSR by force had proved it could leave through mass protests and popular support for independence.

March 19, 2009

Press Release re Hawaii, the So-called 50th State

Filed under: Press Release

Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lynette Cruz
(808) 284-3460
palolo@hawaii.rr.com

50th STATE or HAWAIIAN STATE UNDER OCCUPATION?
Demonstration for the History the State Does Not Want Remembered

Honolulu, Hawaii – The Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance (HIAA) is calling a press conference at 11a.m, March 18, in front of the Queen Lili‘uokalani statue between ‘Iolani Palace and the State Capitol. HIAA, comprised of more than 10 different Hawaiian groups, will peacefully draw attention to the wrongs committed against the Hawaiian nation and the fraudulence of the history being celebrated at the capitol.

Statehood is memorialized as a civil rights victory, where Hawai‘i defeated a notion that it was unqualified for statehood because of its largely Asian population and rumors of communism. Lynette Cruz organizer of the demonstration argues, “the human rights violations committed against Hawaiians do not warrant celebration. Why should we commemorate theft?”

Hawai‘i was listed as a Non-Self-Governing-Territory by the United Nations in 1946, and the United States had a “sacred trust” obligation to promote self-determination. In 1953 the U.N. General Assembly passed Resolution 742, which stated that offering “independence,” “separate systems of self-government,” and “Free Association” were factors that would determine “whether a Territory is or is not a Territory whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.” The federal ballot used in 1959 did not afford the people of Hawai‘i several possibilities besides statehood, and thus violated U.N. Resolution 742.

Furthermore, on January 17th 1948, the 55th anniversary of the overthrow, Alice Kamokila Campbell filed a lawsuit against the Hawaii Statehood Commission in Campbell v. Stainback et. al. Her lawsuit won an injunction against the legislature for using taxpayer money to advertise nationally for statehood, which the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled in 1949 “are to the exclusion and detriment of citizens and taxpayers …opposed to statehood for Hawaii.”

Indeed, in 1998, United Nations Special Rapporteur Miguel Martinez, after reviewing the process by which Hawai‘i was made a territory and state of the U.S., recommended that Hawai‘i be placed back on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing-Territories.

In 1988, the Justice Department issued a memo to the State Department stating that the annexation of Hawaii required a two-thirds vote, which never took place.

For more information visit www.hawaiianindependencealliance.org or call Lynette Cruz at (808) 284-3460.

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News article about “Statehood” protest

Filed under: Uncategorized

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Hawaii-celebrates-50-years-of-statehood/articleshow/4285086.cms

Hawaii celebrates 50 years of statehood

HONOLULU: The state that gave America its first black president was hailed as a model of tolerance and diversity on the 50th anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signing the bill that led to Hawaii becoming the 50th state.

The pen Eisenhower used was on display at the state Capitol as past and present state leaders sang Hawaiian music, held hands and reflected in speeches Wednesday on the meaning of joining the United States.

The Hawaii Admissions Act was signed March 18, 1959, clearing the way for a vote of Hawaii residents in June and the islands’ acceptance into the nation Aug. 21.

Statehood was the culmination of a long series of events: the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the islands’ years as a remote US territory and its importance in the Pacific following the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

As the 111th Army Band played patriotic songs for the ceremonies, about two dozen Native Hawaiians chanted and marched in protest of statehood near the statue of Hawaii’s last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani, wearing shirts that spelled out “A history of theft” and “Fake state.”

Speeches commemorating the 50th anniversary emphasized the islands’ ethnic diversity and its right to have a voice in the United States through its overwhelming 93 percent vote for statehood.

The Nisei soldiers, those who were born of Japanese parents but fought for the United States in World War II, showed Hawaii’s commitment to the nation before it even became a state, said Gov. Linda Lingle.

“These soldiers showed that being loyal to the American cause was in no way defined by ethnicity. It was determined instead by a belief in the principles of freedom and democracy,” Lingle said. “Hawaii provided a model of tolerance ahead of its time.”

Hundreds of the state’s former governors, legislators, congressmen, judges, entertainers and their families packed the Capitol for the event. During the song “This is aloha,” singer Danny Couch persuaded them and the audience to hold hands and sway to the music.

The Native Hawaiians outside weren’t so cheerful. Longtime protester Richard Pomai Kinney carried his Hawaii state flag upside-down as a sign of distress.

“Statehood is a fraud,” said Kinney, who was 19 years old at the time. “My parents said Hawaii would become a place only for the wealthy. Look at it today. There’s nothing to celebrate.”

Others with the Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance said they feared the islands’ native people will lose what’s left of their sovereignty if the US Congress passes a pending measure that would give them a degree of self-government similar to mainland Native Americans.

They insist that Hawaii is still an independent nation because the Hawaiian Kingdom never agreed to be annexed.

“There was no treaty of annexation. Show me the treaty,” said group organizer Lynette Cruz. “There’s been an incorrect interpretation of history all these years.”

But House Speaker Calvin Say told the audience in his speech that Hawaii embraced core American ideals of overcoming adversity and accepting different cultures, as shown by the state’s election of the nation’s first Chinese-American, Japanese-American and Native Hawaiian senators, as well as being the birthplace of President Barack Obama, the first black president.

“History shows time and again that even if you were born in the poorest part of town, you can achieve,” Say said.

Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance in Action!

Filed under: Uncategorized

Nice photo in today’s online Star Bulletin:

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20090313_Front_Page_photo_gallery.html?page=1&c=y

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March 18, 2009

Protesting the Illegal State of Hawaii

Filed under: Uncategorized

Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance members gathered at several places today to honor our ancestors at the ahu, Queen Liliuokalani, and King Kamehameha during a time set aside by the illegal state of Hawaii to commemorate its 50 year anniversary of misinformation, disinformation, illegality, and theft. It was a good day!

Beginning at the ahu at Iolani Palace grounds, participants wearing black shirts with large bright green letters lined themselves up to spell words that challenged the state’s celebration of itself: FAKE STATE, A HISTORY OF THEFT/A HISTORY OF THE U.S. Large red and black banners spelling out HAWAIIAN and INDEPENDENCE, as well as Hawaiian flags, Ka Hae Hawaii, and Ka Hae Kalaunu, rounded out the display and provided a colorful alternative to the drab white of the military band and the mostly colorless good Americans who attended the state’s event at the capitol.

Security challenges were minimal. Energy was high. The state’s agenda for the day changed a couple of times. The rotunda gathering ended up in the House Chambers, so our messages lined up on either side of the entrance and across the way. While those who entered the chambers where former governors were being recognized waited for the sound of jets overhead, what they actually heard was the pu, loud and clear. And following that, HIAA members chanting “I Ku Mau Mau”. Photographers were everywhere.

Photo opportunities took place at the Queen’s statue, where Kekuni Blaisdell offered hookupu to the Queen on our behalf; in front of the military band on Beretania St., on the street itself, fronting Washington Place; inside the rotunda of the state capitol; in front of Iolani Palace; on King St., where the A HISTORY OF THEFT blocked traffic until an ambulance came down the road; and in front of the Kamehameha statue.

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Here’s a great photo from Jon S. of jets flying overhead with our Hawaiian Independence banners in the foreground.

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