International Criminal Court to Consider Alleged War Crimes Committed by State of Hawai‘i Officials, Judges, Banks and Attorneys

KaiamaOn February 14, 2013, attorney Dexter Kaiama, filed a war crime complaint with the ICC alleging that the following State of Hawai‘i officials deprived his client of a “fair and regular trial” on the Island of O‘ahu. These individuals are District Court Judge MAURA M. OKAMOTO, Intermediate Court of Appeals Presiding Judge DANIEL R. FOLEY, Associate Judge KATHERINE G. LEONARD, Associate Judge LAWRENCE M. REIFURTH, Attorney General DAVID M. LOUIE, Deputy Attorney General DIANE K. TAIRA, Deputy Attorney General S. KALANI BUSH, Deputy Attorney General MATTHEW S. DVONCH, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Chair JOBIE MASAGATANI, successor in office to Mr. Alapaki Nahale-a, and Governor NEIL ABERCROMBIE.

Under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, it provides that the International Criminal Court “shall have jurisdiction in respect of war crimes in particular when committed as part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes.” Article 8 further states that war crimes means “Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention…Willfully depriving a…protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial.”

Four days later on February 18, 2013, Kaiama filed six additional complaints with the ICC alleging the same war crime of unfair trial against the following judges, banks and attorneys that occured on the Island of Hawai‘i. These individuals include Circuit Court Judges RONALD IBARRA, GREG K. NAKAMURA, and GLENN S. HARA; Banks FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION, BANK OF HAWAI‘I, DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, VANDERBILT MORTGAGE AND FINANCE, INC., DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, WELLS FARGO BANK; and Attorneys BLUE KAANEHE, CHARLES PRATHER, PETER K. KEEGAN, MITZI A. LEE, SOFIA M. HIROSANE, MICHAEL G.K. WONG, ROBERT E. CHAPMAN, MARY MARTIN, ROBERT D. TRIANTOS and EDMUND W.K. HAITSUKA.

In his letters to the ICC, Kaiama stated this “communication and complaint is provided to the office of the Prosecutor pursuant to the Hawaiian Kingdom’s accession to the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on December 10, 2012, and the Hawaiian Kingdom’s accession to the 1949 fourth Geneva Convention deposited with the Swiss Federal Council on January 14, 2013.”

According to Article 126 of the Rome Statute, the ICC would have jurisdiction “on the first day of the month after the 60th day following the date of the deposit of…accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” which is March 4, 2013.

W.P. Dillon, Head of the Office of Information and Evidence Unit, Office of the Prosecutor, sent the following letter to Kaiama acknowledging receipt of the complaints. The letter was dated March 4, 2013, the date the ICC began jurisdiction over the Hawaiian Islands.

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Dillon’s statement to Kaiama that the Prosecutor “will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” is making specific reference to Article 17 of the Rome Statute titled “Issues of admissibility.” Since the ICC is a court of last resort where it compliments local courts of the country with primary responsibility to prosecute crimes, and not replace them, it can only intervene if (a) the perpetrators and being shielded, (b) there is an unjustifiable delay in the proceedings to bring the perpetrators to justice, or (c) where proceedings are not being conducted independently or impartially.

Article 17 also provides that the ICC “shall consider whether, due to a total or substantial collapse or unavailability of its national judicial system, the State is unable to obtain the accused or the necessary evidence and testimony or otherwise unable to carry out its proceedings.” This provision has a direct nexus to the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian government by the United States on January 17, 1893, whereby the “national judicial system” was overthrown and to date has been replaced by illegally constituted courts in violation of the international laws of occupation, in particular, the 1949 Geneva Convention, IV.

MasudEAn example of where the Prosecutor of the ICC has rejected a claim based on lack of jurisdiction occurred last year in 2012. On October 1, 2012, Enver Masud, as CEO for The Wisdom Fund (TWF), submitted a letter to the ICC Prosecutor providing “information about the coverup of the facts of 9/11 used to justify the wrongful invasion of Afghanistan.” Masud’s letter was in response to posting on the ICC website that stated “The OTP is currently conducting preliminary examinations in a number of situations including Afghanistan, . . . ” and one is invited to “submit information about alleged crimes.” The Office of the Prosecutor received Masud’s letter on October 10, 2012.

Enver Masud is founder and CEO of TWF, and the recipient of the 2002 Gold Award from the Human Rights Foundation for his book The War on Islam. He is also a co-author of Islam: Opposing Viewpoints, and 9/11 and American Empire. TWF is a non-profit organization based in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A. TWF’s mission is to advance social justice and peace.

On November 27, 2012, W.P. Dillon, Head of the Office of Information and Evidence Unit, Office of the Prosecutor, sent the following letter to Masud declining to consider the allegations on jurisdictional grounds.

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The reason why the ICC could not claim jurisdiction over international crimes alleged to have been committed within the United States when individuals planned the invasion of Afghanistan was because the United States of America did not grant jurisdiction to the ICC.  In 2000, the Clinton Administration signed the Rome Statute, but the Bush Administration refused to ratify the Rome Statute and declared it would not be a party to the ICC. Therefore, the ICC cannot claim it has jurisdiction over international crimes committed within the territory of the United States of America.

If the Hawaiian Islands were a part of the United States of America, being the so-called 50th State of the American Union, the ICC would have sent a letter to Kaiama similar to its letter sent to Masud who was alleging international crimes took place within the territory of the United States. Especially when the alleged war criminals include the Governor, Attorney General, Deputy Attorney Generals and Judges who are government officials of the so-called State of Hawai‘i.

Instead, the ICC letter to Kaiama acknowledges receipt of the complaints and it will provide its response according to the Rome Statute regarding international crimes committed within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom, which has been under a prolong and illegal occupation by the United States since August 12, 1898.

16 thoughts on “International Criminal Court to Consider Alleged War Crimes Committed by State of Hawai‘i Officials, Judges, Banks and Attorneys

  1. Aloha,

    Thank you for your timely updates and giving me the ability to comment again.
    While I am not “directly” involved with Dr. Sai right now in this case, I have known and worked with Keanu for years, sponsoring on our own dime many workshops that led up to the Larsen case, where the attorney found me and we took Lanceʻs case with Keanu to the Hague, before that paid money to Kaui Goodhue to clear my title through Perfect Title Co. and paid my taxes etc., have been a notary and gave thousands of dollars towards studying the laws that helped to bring this case to this level through the first step…The Larsen case….and as a Kanaka Hawaiʻi I defend my right to support and improve the Hawaiian Kingdom Government as the government for my little ahupuaʻa that will come out of seclusion to serve again using our culture sharing it with our people, to malama our lands and bring our people to a higher vibrational and spiritual enlightenment level to ascend as a people and nation, to a higher vibration that will break the hold on us; as a people, includes our waters, minerals, air space and lands that the creator made for us to be the true stewards of this land, not the US Military who is requesting 162,000 acres to do their “war games”…just for the record, Aloha and War cannot exist in the same space…so what does that mean? It means to us, that the US military has to be cut back, pack it up and get ready to leave our islands peacefully and maintain relationship with us from their homelands that is overseas like every other country is doing today. Aloha Keakua…e malama kaʻaina.

    Mahalo Piha,
    Kawehi Kanui,
    Waimanalo Ahupuaʻa

    I was disappointed earlier that I could not comment, seemed I was being blocked and could not figure out why. If at anytime you are upset at what I comment on, I wish that someone would write to me and explain why and why I am being blocked and not just block me, without explanation because I believe that this case is pono and as a Native Hawaiian, Kanaka Hawaiʻi and Aboriginal I would think that the commentator would appreciate my comments. That is the least anyone can do for people like me who have been fighting for the right to speak for over 40 years.

    Now that the prosecutor from the Hague has in so many words concluded that this case that Kaiama is defending has all that it needs to move forward, then holomua. We shall wait to see what is going to happen…since MANY donʻt believe anything will come of these cases…therefore, I look forward as the saga unfolds and we shall pule for what Liliuokalani did with Cleveland, with those two executive order because it is a blessing all of our people, lands and waters.

    In conclusion, in our research we found that it is necessary to pule and bring aloha to Mr. Kaiama who is the bravest man alive, who continues to smile and is doing the right thing that his ancestors are guiding him to do…from everyone, to me Kaiama has my vote to be the Head of State for the Hawaiian Kingdom Government

    Imua Kanaka Hawaiʻi,
    Kawehi Kanui, Oahu Island
    Waimanalo Ahupuaʻa

  2. Aloha,

    Now that the Protest and Demand has spent some time saturating
    amongst the 173 countries and the U.N. General Assembly, is it of
    any matter that the U.N. placed the sovereign independent nation
    of the Hawaiian Kingdom under the administration of the U.S.
    as a non-self-governing territory back in 1946? And later, in August
    of 1959, accepting information from the U.S. that the sovereign
    independent nation of the Hawaiian Kingdom was admitted to their
    Union as the 50th State without any evidence of a treaty of cession?

    Whether an inadvertent error or not the evidence now placed before
    the U.N. by way of the Protest and Demand clearly indicate that their
    decision concerning the Hawaiian Kingdom back in 1946 and
    1959 was misplaced.

    The United Nations recent acceptance of the Protest and Demand clearly
    display their acknowledgement of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s status as an
    independent nation state which would automatically render their 1946
    and 1959 decisions concerning Hawaii moot!

    I did not see any provision in the Protest and Demand requiring the U.N.
    to either reverse or void their 1946 and 1959 decisions in light of new
    information provided to them. This in my opinion would provide
    validation to Hawaiian subjects that the international organization is
    making a concerted effort in resolving the wrong done to the Hawaiian
    Kingdom and its subjects by the united states of america.

    A hui hou,
    Wayne

    • That makes sense. To have the United Nations General
      Assembly undo what they did back then would demonstrate
      to all the U.N. member states including the United States that
      they were without proper knowledge and information back then
      to make an informed decision. For the U.N. to correct its error would provide a path for the member states to follow their lead, including the U.S.

  3. Here’s a description of the process in another recent matter. A friend of mine who Studies International Criminal Law at Leiden University and lives in The Hague, Netherlands, states that this is a good summary of the process.

  4. Aloha Wayne, nice to meet you and get this latest update. It would be good for you to know that there are certain people and “sovereignty groups” at the UN claiming to be the “government” and must be confusing for those other united nations states who received the information from Dr. Sai…so I am happy that there are some good people going to the UN to straighten out this problem…at the same time, we know that these people that are confusing the members are those who claim to have a PHd are professors who are pushing Hawaiʻi under Art. 73, The Decolonization Process which Inouye and the cabal created to “justify” the “taking” of Hawaiʻi by making us…the 50th for the US…which is another slimy way Inouye has messed up our lives, with the help of weak na kupuna since 1959, making him a god. I am aware that after a long arduous meeting with these PHdʻs and professors…who lost the “debate” to justify that Art. 73 is what we have to work with…was not accepted by those who know the true history. My concern is there are other “groups” claiming and using the names of our past governments to make them the “entity” for the UN to deal with and not Dr. Sai…so I would like to impress everyone reading this response to keep their eyes, ears and hearts open to a final resolution to address the decolonization process once again at the UN and put it to sleep.

    Mahalo Piha,
    Kawehi Kanui

  5. Aloha Rita,

    Mahalo for sharing! I know exactly what you mean about the
    “Groups” confusing other countries, it’s so sad and frustrating.
    On the flip side, Dr. Sai’s Protest and Demand document was
    the one accepted at the U.N. and fortunately he has the intellect
    to back it up. That’s why I brought up the issue about the U.N.
    making the erred decisions back in 1946 and 1959, the Protest
    and Demand had been accepted by the U.N. it would only be
    proper for them to correct their errors with the right party.
    I think that although the U.N. accepted the Protest and Demand
    they never took immediate action to correct their errors. Perhaps
    in the eyes of the U.S., if the U.N. never took any formal action
    favorable to the Hawaiian Kingdom aside from accepting their
    documents, maybe they won’t need to do anything too.
    I believe however, that international law operates in spite of those
    errors.

    I’m looking forward to that final resolution concerning decolonization

    Mahalo again,
    A hui hou
    Wayne

  6. Aloha, that is our exact position with the PHdʻs at the UH Manoa at a recent meeting held at the Kanaina bldg. with those who worked at the UN level and have had experience with international work and this meeting focused on what is called, Article 73,” The Decolonization Process” when it is really akk about; “Restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom” as the solution and must be shared with the other UN members, to show them what law is the problem, where it lays today in light of the prolonged illegal US military occupation of Hawaiʻi for 120 years and who is involved, that stems from the Vatican, to Washington D.C., US and Hawaiʻi being the woman, getting gang raped, is what hurts…because that is what is feels like from a womanʻs perspective at this occupation… which you did not mention, so why did you mention it at all? …that makes a difference when educating the world about what law was involved and how Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka pushed it through the US congress, to “pay off the 442/100 B.” for their role in many things including killing their own people in the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Atomic bombs…is genocide to me. Anyway, things are heating up and Kanaka Hawaiʻi are moving forward as if this is their government and nation-state. Aloha Keakua

    • I don’t understand, who mentioned anything about rape?
      As far as the PHd’s, if they got their certification through the University of Hawaii system is that even valid now? After all
      the University of Hawaii is an educational system under the
      illegal State of Hawaii, not to mention all the other fields of
      professions licensed under the State of Hawaii.
      All that would be left is the knowledge and experience over time of
      each individual, something the PHd’s and “Groups” lack in
      comparison to Mr. Keanu Sai. Based solely upon the
      preponderance of evidence only Mr. Sai’s information before the
      internationl community qualifies! The Chronological descent of
      the other PHd’s and “Groups” concerning the Hawaiian Kingdom
      up to present day just don’t add up!
      The Vatican, what factual part do they play with the Hawaiian
      Islands? Thank you.

  7. Aloha Kanekeawe,

    E kala mai iʻaʻu…I donʻt know you or what your politics are…If you are writing to me because of what I said…I never mentioned the word rape…not sure where you got that from…I believe when you say that the PhDʻs got their certificate from an illegal system….many were graduates of Kamehameha also…SO, I would demand that they would do good things with those degrees for Hawaiʻi, our people, lands government, and self…that said, some who get their certification do not know what to do with it and they fall into the same trappings of society…unlike Keanu, at least he and Kaiama are using their degrees to do good with it, although they also graduated from the UH…so there is no excuses NOT to do good things, but these people are trained by another “attorney” about nation within a nation (Ka Lahui model of independence) which is no different from what already exists…The State of Hawaiʻi…except this time, Ka Lahuiʻs people want a cut of the pie…itʻs a complex issue…I will stop here.

    Mahalo Piha,
    Kawehi Kanui, Kahu
    Waimanalo Ahupuaʻa

    • The below is from your comment above, I don’t know what it means:
      “US and Hawaiʻi being the woman, getting gang raped, is what hurts…because that is what is feels like from a womanʻs perspective at this occupation… which you did not mention, so why did you mention it at all? …”
      Just wanted to know who mentioned it?
      The Hawaiian Kingdom as far as I know has been occupied since January 17, 1893, I don’t think the Kingdom approved U.H. Hawaii, but their knowledge however no one can take-away.
      Although I am licensed in my profession, if it is true that there was and still is a lawful Hawaiian Kingdom my own license is invalid!
      I’m willing to give it up for the return of the kingdom!
      Just because my credentials may be stripped from me that doesn’t
      mean I lost all trace of knowledge and experience!
      On one hand you seem to be loyal to the kingdom, I’d like to believe that, but on the other you want to hang on to things approved by the
      State of Hawaii? No sure on your position too!

  8. .Aloha, yes I wrote that…from a womanʻs perspective…that is what it feels like has happened to our ancestors, lands, waters, rights and children bwhen everything was not given, as it should be…for over 120 years. It is a metaphor of how many see it. Sorry.

    R.

  9. Rita and Kenekeawe, you both have lots of knowledge on what is going on with our Kingdom. Having people like you, Keanu and Dexter is a blessing. Keep blogging and share your comments.

  10. Aloha, sharing with Wayne on the Decolonization process. We believe that the Kingdom if here already and that Art. 73, The Decolonization process, a US document that was created by the late Daniel Inouye and the US Congress, to confuse and keep people from KNOWING the TRUTH, that we were illegally occupied since 1893, that would stop the Hawaiians from *protesting*…well, that was another lie. That is all. From our kupuna perspective (Aunty Peggy, Pilahi, Maunupau, Luahine etc.) we are still an independent nation state…why are these PHds pushing Art. 73? The sad part is that they all have degrees and are teaching their students (many of my family and friends from Waimanalo) the wrong history. That was the question at our meeting for those working at the UN and in other international arenas. Basically, we without a degree won the debate based on the correct history and we did not criticize them for their mistakes, we merely rested our case and continue to walk the path of our ancestors…I hope that I explained it well. No hard feelings amongst us, as we all took to the steps to take pictures of this historical event. In reality, there are two positions going up to the UN…also, though the members got Dr. Sais documents…there are still some rogue types who feel that they do not respect what Keanu is doing for their own political and economic futures…but, we from Waimanalo who know the true history will not buy into wrong histories no matter from whom and we shall correct them, even in a full room. Now, where do we go from here with this understanding? Go within, spiritually to get the feeling and pule quietly not saying a word…just go inside your heart space of compassion and to bring aloha back to our aina, water, people and air space. It is all about spirituality at this point that our ancestors practiced as kahuna…not to bring harm but to bring peace and aloha to life again.

    Mahalo Piha,
    Kawehi

  11. Aloha Ginger, thank you for your message. Everything I know comes from all those who came before me, travel through out the US, New Zealand and Europe…was my best education…then coming home to find our na kupuna upset and worried about Hawaii became my kuleana…more so after bad relationships and five children taught me to support the activists at that time, *The Aloha Movement* that sent me abroad to start talking about Hawaii as an independent country…long story, one day I will write my book. It takes up alot of time in the Law Libraries in Hawaii and online…attending all events that teaches Hawaiian history…that is where I met Keanu, at Perfect Title Co.

    While everything may look bad, it is actually changing for the better. Now, it is all about doing inner work, inside of ourselves…that is where the key is, not in these cases…but I support Keanu anyway…but wish he would know that there are many other people doing their share to protect everyone in Hawaii from being murdered… by US plans of war. I teach a class in spiritually understanding self and how to heal others…open to healing. I am moving forward…which is what everyone should do…with their knowledge and heart.

    Thank you again and please know that I have prayed for the day when the LUAU for celebration will take place…however, I believe with many of my family and friends that there are many who supports independence for Hawaii, who are coming to the LUAU on different means of transportation and that is all that separates us for now…see you at the LUAU.

    Mahalo Piha,
    Kawehi

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