Click here to view the KITV News clip that aired on Wednesday May 13, 2015.
HONOLULU—And there are no signs of slowing down for TMT opponents. In Canada earlier today, they filed formal war crimes complaints with the Canadian Justice Department.
Activist Kaho‘okahi Kanuha says the charges are for desecration of property, unlawful confinement, and being denied the right to a fair trial. The last two relates to the arrests of 31 protestors who blocked construction of the thirty-meter telescope.
Kaho‘okahi Kanuha in Canada stated: “We’re working off of the fact that Hawai‘i was never legally annexed by the United States of America. This has gotten international attention, world-wide attention, and the ramifications of the actions taking place on the mountain, are very, very, they’re huge.”
Kanuha says that filing initiates a preliminary inquiry into their complaints. He says if the Canadian Justice Department finds “probable cause”—it will launch a criminal investigation.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The British Monarch is the Head of State and the Canadian Prime Minister is the Head of Government. Canada received its dominion status in 1867 under the Constitution Act enacted by the British Parliament. This Act provided self-government for Canada while the British Monarch remained the Head of State represented by a Governor General. Today the Constitution Act of 1867 forms the basis of Canada’s constitution.
Since 1867, Canada’s treaties with other countries required the countersignature of a British Minister. The first treaty Canada entered into on its own was with the United States in 1923—the Halibut Treaty. Prior treaties that Great Britain entered into with other countries before 1923 applied to Canada if it mentioned the treaties application to British dominions as well as to the United Kingdom.
When the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in 1851 with the British, the treaty applied to the United Kingdom and the British Monarch’s dominions, which included Canada. The Hawaiian-British Treaty would also apply to other countries that achieved dominion status, which today is referred to as realm status, include Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu. All realm countries recognized the British Monarch as the Head of State.
The Hawaiian-British Treaty is permanent and has no provision for cancellation. Other treaties the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into that have no provisions to terminate and are permanently binding include Denmark (1846) and Japan (1871).
In 1985, Canada established the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals “to conduct such investigations regarding alleged [Nazi] war criminals in Canada, including whether any such persons are now resident in Canada and when and how they obtained entry to Canada.” The Commission made recommendations on how to bring war criminals to justice proposed amendments to laws to accomplish this.
On December 18, 1998, Canada signed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Rome Statute that reinforced Canada’s commitment to enact further legislation to criminalize war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. In 2000, Canada enacted the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act that authorized Canadian authorities to prosecute war crimes committed on Canadian territory and outside of Canada. If the war crimes are committed on Canadian territory, the jurisdiction is territorial. If the war crimes are committed abroad by a Canadian the jurisdiction is active personality principle, and if the victim of the war crime is Canadian the jurisdiction is passive personality principle. If the war crimes committed abroad have no direct connection to Canada, the jurisdiction is universal principle.
The ICC exercises universal jurisdiction with the primary responsibility to prosecute is with countries that signed the Rome Statute, but for cases that will be prosecuted by the ICC, Canada amended its Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act (1985) in 2015 to allow Canadian authorities to assist the ICC Prosecutor with their own investigation of persons and the gathering evidence in Canada.
The RCMP National Division’s Sensitive and International Investigations unit is responsible criminal investigations for war crimes. The Sensitive and International Investigations “is tasked with investigating the activities of suspected war criminals who have sought safe haven in Canada. These investigations require strong collaboration between the RCMP and our national and international partners, the ability to adapt to various foreign legal systems while respecting their customs and laws, and bringing these convicted war criminals to justice by denaturalizing, deporting or extraditing them.”
OTTAWA, CANADA – On May 13, 2015, attorney Dexter Ka‘iama reported war crimes of unlawful confinement, deprivation of a fair trial, and destruction of public property to the Department of Justice’s Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes section and to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) National Division’s Sensitive and International Investigations on behalf of his client, Mr. Kaho‘okahi Kanuha. War crimes were alleged to have been committed by TMT International Observatory, LLC, (TMTIO), which has a Canadian partner, the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy. Canada’s government also recently committed $250 million dollars for the construction of the thirty-meter telescope by TMTIO on Mauna Kea.
Ka‘iama requested Dr. Keanu Sai, a political scientist, to draft a War Crimes Report to accompany the complaint so Canadian authorities can understand the context of why war crimes are being committed in the Hawaiian Islands. The report affirmatively answers four fundamental questions that underlie Ka‘iama’s complaint: first, whether the Hawaiian Kingdom existed as an independent State and a subject of international law in the nineteenth century; second, whether the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as an independent State and a subject of International Law, despite the illegal overthrow of its government by the United States on January 17, 1893; third, whether war crimes have been committed in violation of international humanitarian law; and, fourth, whether the Canadian Government is capable of investigating and prosecuting war crimes that occur outside of its territory.
Due to a court appearance on Maui, Ka‘iama was unable to accompany Kanuha to meet with the Canadian authorities. In his stead, Dr. Sai, who is Ka‘iama’s law office’s expert consultant on these matters, accompanied Kanuha. In a letter to the Canadian authorities, Ka‘iama stated, “Dr. Sai is perhaps the foremost qualified expert to answer any questions you may have regarding the case as well as the circumstances of why the Hawaiian Islands are currently under an illegal and prolonged occupation by the United States since the Spanish-American War, 1898, being an international armed conflict as defined under common Article 2 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.”
“We met with two Constables who were criminal investigators of the RCMP’s Sensitive and International Investigations unit at their headquarters,” said Kanuha. “They fully understood what we were saying about war crimes and they took it very seriously. At first they were puzzled because they assumed Hawai‘i was a part of the United States, but Dr. Sai was able to explain why and how we were occupied since the Spanish American War. Dr. Sai even lightened things up when he asked them if they ever saw the movie Matrix, and after they both said yes, he jokingly told them that they just took the red pill and now they know about Hawai‘i’s occupation. Dr. Sai even told the Constables that Keanu Reeves, a Canadian citizen who played Neo in the Matrix, was his cousin.”
The war crimes were reported in accordance with the Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (2000) and international humanitarian law. Ka‘iama stated, “I am filing this complaint, on behalf of my client, Mr. Chase Michael Kaho‘okahi Kanuha, a Hawaiian subject and protected person, for the war crime of deprivation of liberty when he, along with thirty other individuals, was unlawfully arrested and temporarily detained on April 2, 2015, in the taking of protective measures to prevent the war crime of destruction of public property during occupation to be carried out by TMT International Observatory, LLC, (TMTIO) upon the summit of Hawai‘i’s largest mountain Mauna a Wakea, also known as Mauna Kea. Additionally, my client is reporting the war crimes of destruction of public property during occupation committed in the building and erecting of the following thirteen observatories:
University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy’s UH telescope built in 1970;
NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility built in 1979;
CFHT Corporation’s Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope built in 1979;
UKIRT’s United Kingdom Infrared Telescope built in 1979;
East Asian Observatory’s James Clerk Maxwell Telescope built in 1987;
Caltech Submillimeter Observatory’s telescope (10-meter) built in 1987;
National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Large Baseline Array radio-telescope antennas built in 1992;
M. Keck Observatory’s Keck I telescope built in 1993;
M. Keck Observatory’s Keck II telescope built in 1996;
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan’s Subaru Telescope built in 1999;
Gemini Observatory’s Gemini Northern Telescope built in 1999;
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics of Taiwan’s Submillimeter Array built in 2002;
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s UH Hilo Educational Telescope built in 2010.”
In the complaint, Ka‘iama invoked his client’s rights under the 1851 Hawaiian-British Treaty with the filing of this complaint. Article VIII provides, “The subjects of either of the contracting parties, in the territories of the other, shall receive and enjoy full and perfect protection for their persons and property, and shall have free and open access to the courts of justice in the said countries, respectively, for the prosecution and defense of their just rights; and they shall be at liberty to employ, in all causes, the advocates, attorneys or agents of whatever description, whom they may think proper; and they shall enjoy in this respect the same rights and privileges as native subjects.” The treaty, among other things, provides reciprocal rights to the subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom and to the subjects of Her Majesty in all of her dominions, which includes Canada.
The treaty is perpetual and has no provisions for termination, except for termination of articles 4, 5, and 6 that apply to duties and trade. According to Dr. Sai, “the treaty continues to be binding on Her Britannic Majesty in right of Canada or any of its provinces.” In 1893, the Hawaiian Kingdom maintained a Legation in London, a Consul General in Toronto (Ontario), and Consulates in Montreal (Québec), Belleville (Ontario), Kingston (Ontario), Rimouski (Québec), St. Johns (Newfoundland and Labrador), Yarmouth (Nova Scotia), Victoria (British Columbia), and Vancouver (British Columbia).
After Ka‘ima stated, “In accordance with the principle that war crimes shall not be treated with impunity, and also pursuant to §702.1 of Canada’s Unit Guide (1990), which notes that the Geneva Conventions ‘impose an obligation on all nations which have ratified them to search for and try all persons who committed or ordered to be committed grave breaches of the Conventions,’” he requested “that an enquiry be instituted by the RCMP’s Sensitive and International Investigations concerning the alleged violations of the 1949 Geneva Convention, IV. And, if after careful review the violations have been established, I call upon the Canadian authorities to put an end to the violations and punish those responsible without any possible delay.”
Kanuha said, “This is not a conflict between culture and science, but rather on procedures that have not complied with international law and the law of occupation. If Hawai‘i is legally a part of the United States then there are no war crimes, but if Hawai‘i is not then we are forced to deal with the ramifications of this new reality and war crimes that have been committed on Mauna a Wakea. This has been a learning process for me and for many others as well. I never thought stopping the building of the thirty-meter telescope would be at the international level.”
In its Sunday edition (April 19, 2015) on page 12, Neue Zürcher Zeitung(NZZ) a Swiss German language daily newspaper published in Zurich, broke the story of war crimes committed by the United States in Hawai‘i. NZZ has a reputation as a quality newspaper and as the Swiss newspaper of record, the newspaper is known for its detailed reports on international affairs, stock exchange, and the intellectual, in-depth style of its articles. Here is the English translation of the article.
Click here to download the article in NZZ Sunday newspaper.
The authorities of the Federal Judiciary are confronted with a strange case, which has the potential of straining the relations between Switzerland and the USA. What is to be clarified is nothing less than the question of whether in the view of the [Swiss] Confederation Hawaii is recognized in accordance with international law as the 50th Federal State of the USA, or whether the Kingdom of Hawaii rather still exists – albeit since 1898 under occupation. Furthermore, it is to be determined whether the USA committed war crimes in Hawaii, including against Swiss residing there – and this possibly even with the assistance of the Swiss Joe Ackermann. It is indeed a delicate dossier, which since April 9 has been with the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona.
Coup against Lili‘uokalani
Specifically, the case is about the criminal complaints by a Swiss and a “Hawaiian Subject,” as the latter identifies himself in the documents. In petitions to the Office of the Swiss Federal Attorney General dating from January, these two accuse the US authorities of war crimes, including pillaging, unfair trials and unlawful detention. These are said to have taken place in the context of financial disputes in Hawaii – disputes which, however, are directly related to the question of Hawaii’s status in international law: Both plaintiffs hold the view that the Kingdom of Hawaii still exists, and that in consequence, the US authorities have no rights whatsoever in the archipelago. The Swiss, who by virtue of his nationality considers the Office of the Federal Attorney General to have jurisdiction in this case, is bringing action for unlawful appropriation of property as well as pillaging in form of taxation by the US tax authorities. The Hawaiian subject, on the other hand, sees himself as being cheated when purchasing a real property: The transaction at first followed US-American law and was notarized accordingly. But then the subject came to the conclusion that the USA was not authorized to do such official acts on the territory of the occupied Kingdom of Hawaii – in consequence he discontinued his interest payments to the lending bank.
Joe AckermannAs former CEO of Deutsche Bank, the Swiss business leader was targeted by Hawaiian subjects
The bank in question was Deutsche Bank, which ordered the mortgaged property to be foreclosed, by US authorities of course. In this context the subject was temporarily arrested. At that time, Joe Ackermann was heading Deutsche Bank – a sufficient reason for the Hawaiian to make a criminal complaint against the Swiss banker to the Office of the Federal Attorney General in Berne. So much on the specific cases.
The matter might be dismissed as a legal frivolity by two odd characters, were it not for a larger movement standing behind it, a movement which has seriously been addressing the question of the continuity of the Kingdom of Hawaii for years. The prime mover is Keanu Sai, “a political scientist whose research and expertise centers on the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom as an independent and sovereign State,” as he states.
At the center of the debate are historical events: In 1893, the last Queen of Hawaii, Lili‘uokalani, was deposed in a coup d’état and in 1895 forced to abdicate (see box). Goal of the coup leaders – protected by US troops – was the annexation of Hawaii by the USA. The latter happened, effectively, in 1898, in connection with the Spanish-American war, when Hawaii gained strategic importance in the Pacific. The USA employed as a basis for the occupation a so-called “joint resolution,” a legal act jointly passed in the Senate and the Congress [sic] in Washington. The admittance to the United States as the 50th State happened only in 1959, after a plebiscite with a clear-cut result – by then, of course, the culture of the Hawaiian people had already been pushed back strongly by American and Asian immigrants.
For Sai and his colleagues, the unilateral American decisions are all null and void. A “joint resolution” of the legislature in Washington, such as the one of 1898, could be legally effective according to constitutional law only within the USA and could not be extended to another territory, such as the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Federal State of Hawaii of today, therefore, is seen as a direct successor to the Republic of Hawaii that was proclaimed by the coup leaders in the 1890s. Thus, it would have no legitimacy whatsoever under international law. Sai has placed his struggle for the Kingdom of Hawaii into courtrooms all over the world, including in Switzerland. Here he is now representing the two plaintiffs. His argument includes a friendship treaty between the [Swiss] Confederation and the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1864: The Treaty is said to have been never officially cancelled or replaced with another convention. The treaty obliges both parties to protect each other’s citizens – thus, it is argued, the Office of the Federal Attorney General must now prosecute the alleged war crimes of the USA in Hawaii.
Diplomatic Help
In Berne, sure enough, the situation is assessed differently: Pointing to the factual recognition of the USA in its present boundaries by the [Swiss] Federal Government, the prosecutor in charge decided not to accept the complaint. Berne, he argued, has no jurisdiction in the case. He included reference to the fact that Switzerland maintains a consulate in Hawaii – which is not without irony since, of all things, it is a long-serving diplomat who today is acting as a door-opener for Sai in Switzerland.
The dismissive decision of the Federal Attorney General’s Office was indeed unable to stop the Hawaiian independence fighter Sai: The latter appealed the decision – now the case is up to the judges in Bellinzona.
Swiss Federal Criminal Court to Hear Objection on War Crimes Committed by United States Officials and Deutsche Bank in the Hawaiian Islands
HONOLULU—A Swiss citizen and a Hawaiian subject from the Hawaiian Kingdom filed an objection with the Swiss Federal Criminal Court Objections Chamber in Bellinzona, Canton of Ticino, on April 1, 2015. The identity of the Hawaiian subject is Mr. Kale Kepekaio Gumapac, but the identity of the Swiss citizen is being kept confidential for safety reasons. Both appellants are residents of the Hawaiian Islands and are represented in these proceedings by Dr. David Keanu Sai through powers of attorney. Dr. Sai is a political scientist whose research and expertise centers on the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom as an independent and sovereign State.
“During the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States has belligerently occupied the Hawaiian Kingdom being a neutral State,” says Dr. Sai. “As a result of the prolonged occupation of a neutral country, the United States is responsible for the commission of war crimes that have been committed for over a century on a monumental scale. The war crimes committed against the two appellants include pillaging, unfair trial, unlawful confinement and unlawful appropriation of property.”
The initial war crime complaint was filed with the Swiss Attorney General’s office in Bern on December 22, 2014 by Gumapac alleging war crimes have been committed against himself by Deutsche Bank for the pillaging of his home, whose Chief Executive Officer at the time was a Swiss citizen and resident of Zurich. Deutsche Bank’s pillaging of Gumapac’s home was carried out by State of Hawai‘i Deputy Sheriff Lieutenant Patrick Kawai, which also led to his unlawful arrest.
The second complaint was filed with the Attorney General’s office on January 22, 2015 by the unnamed Swiss citizen alleging the war crimes of pillaging and unlawful appropriation of property under the guise of taxation that were committed against himself between 2006 and 2013 by the self-declared State of Hawai‘i and the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“The State of Hawai‘i has no lawful authority in the Hawaiian Islands because Congress created it by a Congressional law in 1959, which has no effect outside of U.S. territory.” said Dr. Sai. “It is also a direct successor of the provisional government of 1893 and the so-called Republic of Hawai‘i of 1894, both of which the United States determined were self-declared. So a self-declared entity is not a government that can lawfully tax people, and the IRS can only tax their own citizens who reside in a foreign country. It can’t tax the entire population of a foreign country. This is a war crime.”
The complaints were given criminal case number SV.15.0101-MUA and assigned to Federal Prosecutor Andreas Muller of the Center of Competence of International Crimes, an agency of the Office of the Attorney General that is empowered to prosecute war crimes.
Prosecutor Muller officially notified Dr. Sai in a letter dated February 3, 2015 that he completed his criminal investigation into the alleged war crimes and concluded there are no war crimes being committed in the Hawaiian Islands. Dr. Sai received the report (German) (English translation) on March 23, 2015. Both the Prosecutor’s notification and the report were in the German language. Prosecutor Muller stated to Dr. Sai that his decision could be appealed to the Swiss Criminal Court Objections Chamber within 10 days after receiving the report.
In his report, Prosecutor Muller specifically cites the 1898 Congressional joint resolution of annexation as the means by which the Hawaiian Islands was annexed. He also stated that there was an agreement of annexation between the United States and the self-declared Republic of Hawai‘i. Prosecutor Muller further stated that Congress created the State of Hawai‘i in 1959 and that Switzerland officially recognizes that Hawai‘i is a part of the United States and maintains a Consulate in Honolulu.
However, according to Dr. Sai, there is a clear contradiction in the Prosecutor’s report. In the beginning of the report, Prosecutor Muller stated that Hawai‘i was officially recognized as being a part of the United States, but later he stated that the 1864 treaty between the Hawaiian Kingdom and the Swiss Confederation was not cancelled. Article 13 of the treaty states that in order to terminate the treaty, either the Swiss government or the Hawaiian Kingdom government must notify the other in writing of its intention to terminate. There is no record that the Swiss government or the Hawaiian government provided any notice of termination.
“A treaty is a contract between States and in this case it is a contract between the Swiss State and the Hawaiian State,” said Dr. Sai. “A treaty is not a contract between governments because governments represent States and are not the States themselves. Should a government be illegally overthrown, as is the case for Hawai‘i, the contracting State, being the Hawaiian Kingdom, would still exist and therefore the treaty would still be in effect. When the Japanese and German governments were overthrown at the end of World War II, their treaties with other countries were not cancelled.”
Another way a treaty could be canceled under international law is where one of the contracting States ceded its sovereignty to another State by a treaty. This absorption of one of the contracting States into another State would have effectively replaced the former treaty with the treaty the absorbing State would have with the other contracting State. In other words, if the Hawaiian Kingdom were annexed by the United States under international law, then the United States-Swiss treaty would have replaced and therefore cancelled the Hawaiian-Swiss treaty. This is what occurred to the 1848 Hawaiian-Hamburg treaty and the 1854 Hawaiian-Bremen treaty when both of these States joined the German Empire in 1871. Both treaties were cancelled when Germany entered into a treaty with the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1879.
Dr. Sai said, “If the Prosecutor was convinced that a domestic law of the American Congress could annex a foreign State and terminate its existence under international law, he wouldn’t conclude in an official report that the Hawaiian-Swiss Treaty was not cancelled. He would have stated that the Hawaiian-Swiss treaty was cancelled and replaced by the United States-Swiss treaty. That was clearly not the case.”
Dr. Sai, who is a political scientist that specializes in international relations, said that it is proper diplomatic etiquette that governments must presume that other countries would not violate international law. This presumption, though, is rebuttable if there is convincing evidence that the country has violated international law. “So the Swiss government probably approached the American Embassy in the city of Bern and asked the United States how did it annex the Hawaiian Islands,” stated Dr. Sai. “And when the American government said they passed a law in Congress to annex Hawai‘i, the Swiss government would have to take it at face value and assume that under American law, Congress has the ability to annex a foreign country.”
Since Dr. Sai received the official report by the prosecutor on March 23, Swiss law would allow the objection to be mailed from Hawai‘i no later than April 2. FedEx received the appeal in Honolulu on April 1 from Dr. Sai, and on April 8 it was delivered to the Swiss Criminal Court Objections Chamber in the city of Bellinzona, Canton of Ticino. Dr. Sai received confirmation that the court is in receipt of the objection and the case has been assigned reference no. BB.2015.36-37 (German) (English translation).
In a letter (German) (English translation) dated April 9, 2015, the Clerk of the Federal Criminal Court notified the Federal Prosecutor that the court is in receipt of the objection and has requested the Prosecutor to furnish the Federal Criminal Court right away with the records in this matter with an index of the records.
“The appeal to the Swiss Criminal Court Objections Chamber is the perfect forum to provide the rebuttable evidence that the United States has violated international law,” said Dr. Sai. “Our appeal centers on four points: first, United States Congressional laws are not a source of international law and therefore cannot annex a foreign country; second, there is no agreement between the United States and the self-declared Republic of Hawai‘i; third, Switzerland acknowledges the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom as contracting State in the Hawaiian Swiss-Treaty; and, fourth, the United States cannot deny the existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom because a criminal court of the so-called State of Hawai‘i recognized the existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom by a ruling on evidence on March 5, 2015.”
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CONTACT: Dr. David Keanu Sai
Phone: (808) 383-6100
Email: keanu.sai@gmail.com
On April 17, 2015 the following cease and desist letter was sent by Dexter Kaiama, legal counsel for Chase Kaho‘okahi Kanuha and Lanakila Mangauil, to Douglas Ing from the law firm Watanabe and Ing who is the legal counsel for TMT International Observatory, LLC. Kanuha and Mangauil are the leaders of the protectors of Mauna Kea.
TMT International Observatory, LLC,
by its attorney James Douglas Ing
First Hawaiian Center
999 Bishop Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Re: WAR CRIMES CEASE & DESIST NOTIFICATION-Construction of 30-Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea
Dear Mr. Ing:
This law office represents Chase Kaho‘okahi Kanuha and Lanakila Mangauil, both being Hawaiian subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom with vested undivided rights in the lands as native tenants under Hawaiian law.
Your client, TMT International Observatory, LLC, is hereby directed to immediately cease and desist in the construction of a 30-meter telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea that is situated within the ahupua‘a of Ka‘ohe, district of Hamakua, Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Kingdom. The ahupua‘a of Ka‘ohe is public land under the administration of the Minister of the Interior of the Hawaiian Kingdom under An Act Relating to the Lands of His Majesty the King and of the Government (1848). The Hawaiian Kingdom has been under an illegal and prolonged occupation by the United States of America since August 12, 1898 during the Spanish-American War.
Under international law, extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly is a war crime. The construction of permanent fixtures on public property that belongs to the Hawaiian Kingdom government is extensive destruction of that property.
On behalf of my clients, be advised that the construction of the 30-meter telescope is a war crime in violation of:
Article 56, Hague Convention, IV (1907), “All seizure of, destruction or willful damage done to institutions [dedicated to religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, even when State property], historic monuments, works of art and science, is forbidden, and should be made the subject of legal proceedings;”
Article 53, Geneva Convention, IV (1949), “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or other public authorities, or to social or co-operative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations;” and
Article 147, Geneva Convention, IV (1949), “Grave breaches… shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention: …extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.”
The United States military’s omission of preventing the destruction of the public property of the Hawaiian Kingdom is also a war crime in violation of:
Article 55, Hague Convention, IV (1907), “The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the [occupied] State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.”
The Final Declaration adopted by the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims in 1993 urged all States to make every effort to, “Reaffirm and ensure respect for the rules of international humanitarian law applicable during armed conflicts protecting…the natural environment…against wanton destruction causing serious environmental damage.” In its advisory opinion in the Nuclear Weapons case in 1996, the International Court of Justice stated, “States must take environmental considerations into account when assessing what is necessary and proportionate… Respect for the environment is one of the elements that go to assessing whether an action is in conformity with the principle of necessity.”
War crimes of destruction of real property on the summit of Mauna Kea belonging to the occupied State have been committed since the State of Hawai‘i leased 13,321.054 acres of the summit of Mauna Kea to the University of Hawai‘i in 1968. Thirteen telescopes have been constructed as permanent fixtures since 1970, and your client will make it fourteen. TMT International Observatory, LLC, has already committed the war crime of destruction of property when it began the construction of the 30-meter telescope by breaking ground, and has committed secondary war crimes of unlawful confinement (Article 147, Geneva Convention, IV) when 31 individuals who were preventing TMT International Observatory, LLC, from committing additional destruction.
The Hawaiian Islands was never an incorporated territory of the United States and is currently under an illegal and prolonged occupation. The Hawaiian Kingdom was recognized as an independent and sovereign State since November 28, 1843 by joint proclamation of Great Britain and France. As a result of the United States’ recognition of Hawaiian independence, the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, Dec. 20th 1849 (9 U.S. Stat. 977); Treaty of Commercial Reciprocity, Jan. 13th 1875 (19 U.S. Stat. 625); Postal Convention Concerning Money Orders, Sep. 11th 1883 (23 U.S. Stat. 736); and a Supplementary Convention to the 1875 Treaty of Commercial Reciprocity, Dec. 6th 1884 (25 U.S. Stat. 1399).
The Hawaiian Kingdom also entered into treaties with Austria-Hungary, June 18, 1875; Belgium, Oct. 4, 1862; Bremen, March 27, 1854; Denmark, Oct. 19th 1846; France, July 17, 1839, March 26, 1846, Sep. 8, 1858; French Tahiti, Nov. 24, 1853; Germany, March 25, 1879; Great Britain, Nov. 13, 1836 and March 26, 1846; Great Britain’s New South Wales, March 10, 1874; Hamburg, Jan. 8, 1848; Italy, July 22, 1863; Japan, Aug. 19, 1871, Jan. 28, 1886; Netherlands, Oct. 16, 1862; Luxembourg, Oct. 16, 1862; Portugal, May 5, 1882; Russia, June 19, 1869; Samoa, March 20, 1887; Spain, Oct. 9, 1863; Sweden-Norway, April 5, 1855; and Switzerland, July 20, 1864.
Unable to procure a treaty of cession from the Hawaiian Kingdom government acquiring the Hawaiian Islands as required by international law, Congress enacted a Joint Resolution To provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, which was signed into law by President McKinley on July 7, 1898 during the Spanish-American War (30 U.S. Stat. 750) as a war measure. Congressional laws have no extraterritorial effect and are confined to United States territory.
The Hawaiian Kingdom came under military occupation on August 12, 1898 at the height of the Spanish-American War in order to reinforce and supply troops that have been occupying the Spanish colonies of Guam and the Philippines since May 1, 1898. Following the close of the Spanish-American War by the Treaty of Paris signed December 10, 1898 (30 U.S. Stat. 1754), U.S. troops remained in the Hawaiian Islands and continued its occupation to date in violation of international law.
U.S. War Department General Orders no. 101 (July 18, 1898) regulated U.S. troops when it began the occupation of the Hawaiian Islands on August 12, 1898. General Orders no. 101 mandated the Commander of U.S. troops to administer the laws of the occupied territory, being the civil and penal laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom. This order was not complied with. Administration of the laws of the occupied State was codified by Article 43, 1899 Hague Convention, II (32 U.S. Stat. 1803), and then superseded by Article 43, 1907 Hague Convention, IV (36 U.S. Stat. 2227). On August 12, 1949, the United States signed and ratified the (IV) Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 (6 U.S.T. 3516, T.I.A.S No. 3365, 75 U.N.T.S. 287).
In direct violation of the 1899 Hague Convention, II, President McKinley signed into United States law An Act To provide a government for the Territory of Hawai‘i on April 30, 1900 (31 U.S. Stat. 141); and on March 18, 1959, President Eisenhower signed into United States law An Act To provide for the admission of the State of Hawai‘i into the Union (73 U.S. Stat. 4) in direct violation of the 1907 Hague Convention, IV. These domestic laws have no extraterritorial effect and stand in direct violation of the 1907 Hague Convention, IV, the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, IV, international humanitarian law, and customary international law—jus cogens.
In an evidentiary ruling in State of Hawai‘i v. English (CR 14-1-0820) on March 5, 2015, where I served as defense counsel, the State of Hawai‘i Circuit Court took judicial notice of adjudicative facts that concluded the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law, despite the illegal overthrow of its government by the United States of America on January 17, 1893 and the prolonged occupation since August 12, 1898. This ruling reaffirms the illegitimacy of the State of Hawai‘i and therefore its claim to be a de jure government is unfounded. State of Hawai‘i officials are also named in a pending criminal investigation for war crimes that is currently before the Swiss Federal Criminal Court Appeals Chamber under Gumapac, et al., vs. Office of the Federal Attorney General, reference no. BB.2015.36-37. A Hawaiian subject filed the first war crime complaint with the Swiss Attorney General on December 22, 2015 [2014], and a Swiss citizen filed the second complaint on January 21, 2015. Both complaints allege State of Hawai‘i officials committed war crimes of unfair trial, pillaging, and unlawful appropriation of property.
Being a self-declared entity, the State of Hawai‘i was never lawfully vested with the freehold in fee-simple to the ahupua‘a of Ka‘ohe, and therefore its so-called general lease no. S-4191 to the University of Hawai‘i dated June 21, 1968 is null and void. Consequently, all 10 subleases from the University of Hawai‘i that extend to December 31, 2033 are null and void as well, to wit:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration dated November 29, 1974;
Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope Corporation dated December 18, 1975;
Science Research Council dated January 21, 1976;
California Institute of Technology dated December 20, 1983;
Science and Engineering Research Council dated February 10, 1984;
California Institute of Technology dated December 30, 1985;
Associated Universities, Inc., dated September 28, 1990;
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan dated June 5, 1992;
National Science Foundation dated September 26, 1994; and
Smithsonian Institution dated September 28, 1995.
Therefore, the proposed University of Hawai‘i sublease to TMT International Observatory, LLC, would also be considered null and void.
The funders for the construction of the 30-meter telescope who are not the principal partners are accomplices to the principal partners’ war crime of destruction of an occupied State’s property. On April 6, 2015, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Canadian government’s intent to provide nearly $250 million dollars over the next decade to assist in the destruction. The Canadian government’s involvement would be a war crime as defined under Article 6(3) of Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (2000), which is similar to Switzerland’s legislation implementing the International Criminal Court Rome Statute into the Swiss Criminal Code in 2010. I will be providing a copy of this cease and desist to the Canadian Department of Justice, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Section.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Very truly yours,
DEXTER K. KA‘IAMA
Attorney-at-law
Encl. (hotlinks to e-documents)
cc:
Canadian Department of Justice
Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
Board of Regents, University of Hawai‘i, State of Hawai‘i
Board of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawai‘i
Trustees, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, State of Hawai‘i
Police Department, Hawai‘i County, State of Hawai‘i
The position taken by Mauna Kea protectors that the building of the 30-meter telescope is a desecration of sacred land is firmly grounded in international law. Because the Hawaiian Kingdom has been under an illegal and prolonged occupation by the United States since the Spanish-American War in 1898, the international laws of occupation apply to Hawai‘i’s situation and not United States law.
International law prohibits a neutral country from being occupied when two or more other countries are at war with each other. In other words, the United States was prohibited from occupying the Hawaiian Kingdom, being an internationally recognized neutral country since 1854, in its war against Spain in 1898. Despite the violation of international law, the laws of occupation mandates the occupier to temporarily administer the laws of the occupied State until the occupation comes to an end.
During the Spanish-American War the laws of war and occupation of countries were considered customary international law and in 1899, The Hague Conventions codified these laws into four treaties. In 1907, The Hague Conventions were revised into fifteen treaties. The United States ratified all of the Hague Conventions. The 1907 Hague Convention, IV—Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, applies to Hawai‘i’s occupation even if Hawai‘i is not a war with the United States.
Article 43 mandates the occupier “shall take all the measures in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.” In addition, Article 56 specifically protects “institutions dedicated to religion, charity and education, [and] the arts and sciences. All seizure of, destruction or willful damage done to institutions of this character, historic monuments, works of art and science, is forbidden, and should be made the subject of legal proceedings.” The United States military considers violations of the provisions of the Hague Convention, IV, to be war crimes. Section 499 of the U.S. Army FM 27-10 states, “The term ‘war crime’ is the technical expression for a violation of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. Every violation of the law of war is a war crime.”
The Mauna Kea protectors have generated worldwide awareness, much through social media, in order to prevent the building of a 30-meter telescope on the revered mountain in the Hawaiian Kingdom called Mauna Kea. Some are calling this the “Hawaiian Spring” that has similar traits to the “Arab Spring” where the younger generation in the Arab world was mobilized through social media to protest and demonstrate against undemocratic rule.
The proposed development began in 2010. According to the TMT website, “TMT completed an Environmental Impact Statement, after 14 community meetings, and it was signed by the Governor of Hawaii. The Cultural Impact Statement, as key part of the document, included consultations with Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners. No groups or individuals challenged the contents or process of this important and required document.”
TMT also stated that in 2013, “the Kahu Ku Mauna Council, made up of local Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners approved the University of Hawaii granting a sublease to TMT to build on Mauna Kea. The University of Hawaii Board of Regents, after another public hearing, agreed.” The following year, “the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to approve the sublease for the TMT site.”
Mauna Kea is government land of the Hawaiian Kingdom and in 1848 it came under the administration of the Minister of the Interior under An Act Relating to the Lands of His Majesty the King and of the Government. The Act states, “And we do hereby appoint the Minister of the Interior and his successors in office, to direct, superintend, and dispose of said lands, as provided in the Act to organize the Executive Departments… Provided, however, that the Minister of the Interior and his successors in office shall have the power, upon the approval of the King in Privy Council, to dispose of the government lands to Hawaiian subjects, upon such other terms and conditions as to him and the King in Privy Council, may seem best for the promotion of agriculture, and the best interests of the Hawaiian Kingdom.” By an Act in 1854, the Hawaiian Legislature allowed foreign nationals to own property in the Kingdom, but subject to Hawaiian law.
On October 18, 1893, a Presidential investigation concluded that the United States diplomat assigned to the Hawaiian Kingdom, John Stevens, and Naval Captain Gilbert Wiltse were directly responsible for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government that occurred on January 17, 1893. On December 18, President Cleveland entered into an executive agreement to reinstate Queen Lili‘uokalani and her cabinet but due to political wrangling in the Congress, Cleveland was not able carry out the agreement. What was on the minds of the Congress was to secure the Hawaiian Islands as a military outpost in order to protect the American west coast from foreign invasion.
Unable to secure a treaty of annexation, the United States Congress unilaterally seized the Hawaiian Islands during the Spanish-American War under what a Senator called a war necessity. The United States claim to sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands relies on a congressional joint resolution of annexation that was signed into U.S. law by President McKinley on July 7, 1898. The underlying problem that congressmen at the time knew was that no law of Congress can have any force and effect beyond the borders of the United States. In other words, the United States could no more annex the Hawaiian Islands by passing a domestic law, than it could annex Canada today by passing a law. American diplomats and revisionist historians took measures to conceal this from the world. Today, the Hawaiian Islands serves as headquarters for the largest United States combatant unified command in the world called the U.S. Pacific Command, and 20% of the Hawaiian Islands come under the direct control of U.S. troops.
On January 17, 1893, U.S. forces seized the Hawaiian Kingdom government by illegally removing the Queen, as the chief executive officer, and her cabinet of ministers, and replaced them with insurgents. All other officials and employees in the executive and judicial branches of government were then forced to sign oaths of allegiance to the insurgents under threat by U.S. troops. This is called regime change.
The Hawaiian Kingdom government was renamed to the self-declared provisional government on January 17, 1893. On July 4, 1894, the same insurgents renamed themselves to be the Republic of Hawai‘i. By an Act of Congress on April 30, 1900, the so-called Republic of Hawai‘i was renamed the “Territory of Hawai‘i,” and by another Act of Congress on March 18, 1959, it was renamed the “State of Hawai‘i.” Interestingly, the Congress passed a joint resolution on November 23, 1993, apologizing for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, and specifically called the Republic of Hawai‘i “self-declared.” Self-declared means it wasn’t a government a lawful government. So if the so-called Republic of Hawai‘i was self-declared, then its successors are self-declared as well since the so-called Territorial and State of Hawai‘i government can claim no U.S. authority if Congressional laws have no effect beyond U.S. borders.
Simply said, the Hawaiian Kingdom government was carjacked and merely painted red, white and blue.
In light of this important historical and legal information, TIO cannot claim to have a valid lease from the States of Hawai‘i to build the 30-meter telescope if the State of Hawai‘i is self-declared. Only a U.S. military governor established under the laws of occupation and temporarily acting in the capacity of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s Minister of the Interior could enter into a lease, but only after hearings and public input is gathered under Hawaiian Kingdom law and not the laws of the United States. The issue is not whether or not the 30-meter telescope should be built on Mauna Kea, but rather have Hawaiian laws been complied with that would allow or not allow the construction of the telescope. Should TIO disregard the law they would be prosecuted for war crimes.
Mauna Kea, Kaʻohe, Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi
For Immediate Release April 7, 2015
TMT SHUTDOWN
Protectors of Mauna Kea update the status of their encampment on the mountain
The protectors of Maunakea continue to camp out across the Maunakea Visitors Center at approximately 9,200 feet elevation night in and night out and will soon reach the two week mark of their encampment. Although over 30 arrests were made on Thursday, April 2 by the Hawaii County Police Department and the DOCARE officers of the DLNR, the protectors atop the mountain of Wākea, continue their stance against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope and continue to build momentum and gain support. One reason for the building of momentum and support, they say, is what they are calling the Kapu Aloha. “Abiding by this is what has fueled and protected us in this movement,” says Lanakila Mangauil. Mangauil says the Kapu Aloha is about conducting oneself with respect towards others, under any and all circumstances. Over the weekend, hundreds of supporters ascended the mountain to join in the protection efforts, with many flying in from Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. Although no construction has taken place since the day arrests were made, the protectors have kept a constant presence and plan to continue to do so while attempting to garner more support.
Protectors of the mountain have many reasons why they oppose the proposed construction of the TMT, one being that the mountain is considered sacred and perhaps the most sacred lands in all of Hawaiʻi. The mountain is named after Wākea who mated with Papahānaumoku to birth Hawaiʻi Island. The peak of the mountain is considered to be wao akua, or the realm of the gods, as it is the dwelling place of gods and goddesses such as Poliahu, Waiau, Lilinoe, Lihau, Kukahauula, Kahoupokane and Mooinanea. Another reason for the opposition to the TMT is the fact that protectors feel that the TMT does not adhere to the developmental laws of conservation lands as determined by the State of Hawaiʻi and the mountain also contains many religious shrines as well as burial sites and sits on top of the largest aquifer on the island of Hawaiʻi and therefore they consider it to be desecration. Lastly, the protectors realize and understand that even if the TMT was in compliance with the laws of developing on conservation lands, the State of Hawaiʻi is illegal and the Hawaiian Kingdom was never lawfully annexed by the United States of America and therefore continues to exits today according to International Law. This stems from the fact that Americaʻs only claim to annexing Hawaiʻi is by Joint Resolution on July 7, 1898, which is really just a domestic law having no authority outside the boundaries of its territory, and Hawaiʻi clearly was not a part of the U.S in 1898 since it required annexation. Because the State of Hawaiʻi is illegal, the protectors argue that every extension and branch of the State is therefore also illegal and due to this, all contracts between the contractors and the State of Hawaiʻi are void and illegal. Protectors of the mountain call upon all countries involved to honor the continued independence of Hawaiʻi that America has refused to acknowledge for the last 122 years while illegally occupying Hawaiʻi in violation of the laws of occupation.
The protectors of the mountain know that there are many out there who have and continue to offer their support through donations of food, water, money and other necessities, and while appreciated, those atop the mountain humbly and respectfully ask that any attempts of raising funds and collecting and delivering donations be communicated first with the protectors so as not to mismanage resources and cause confusion amongst the people in regards to what certain funds and donations could be used for. Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, one of the protectors and one who was arrested in the first group last Thursday, says “We canʻt thank everyone enough. The amount of support we have received over the past week is absolutely unbelievable and simply amazing. I am not quite sure our people have seen a movement like this in their lifetime and I think itʻs a testament to the fact that our people have been ignited and are ready to move forward and solidify ourselves once again throughout the world as a people and a country.”
Talk story with Dr. David Keanu Sai and attorney Dexter Kaiama in Hilo concerning the international ramifications of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, and the growing awareness of the continued existence of the occupied Hawaiian Kingdom.
by David Corrigan
HILO – Inspired by the kapu aloha on display during the blockade of the Thirty Meter Telescope, Hawaii residents are flocking to Mauna Kea. Last Thursday, 31 people were arrested in connection with the blockade of the $1.4 billion observatory. However, the incident only strengthened the support for the protectors of the sacred mountain. On Monday, two figures active on the international front lines of the Hawaiian Kingdom joined the gathering.
Big Island Video News interviewed Dr. David Keanu Sai and attorney Dexter Kaiama about the latest developments on Mauna Kea and the international response.
Kale Gumapac and Nanci Munroe are interviewed by Dr. Lynette Cruz regarding the pillaging of his home and the commission of war crimes. Kale speaks to the issues first hand and shares his journey of knowledge and awareness of the history of his country to a victim of war crimes. Kale’s case was reported by his attorney Dexter Kaiama to the United States Pacific Command, the International Criminal Court, the Hawai‘i Police Department, and the Swiss Attorney General for prosecution.
On December 12, 2005, Kale and his former wife took out a loan with Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, in the amount of $290,000.00. As security for the loan, the Gumapacs mortgaged their home property, which was recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances. The Gumapacs, as the mortgagor, assumed their title was free and clear as did Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, being the mortgagee of the title since it cleared escrow. As the mortgagee, Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, did not have title to the property, but only a lien. Title being vested in the Gumapacs as the mortgagor.
When the Gumapacs mortgaged their property in order to secure the repayment of the loan, they were required by Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, as a condition of the loan, to go to escrow, being Security Title Guaranty Corporation, to purchase a loan title insurance policy in the amount of $290,000.00 for the benefit of Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, should there be a defect in title, which would render the mortgage invalid. Many people confuse the terms mortgage and a promissory note, which is a loan, as if they are synonymous. In fact, a mortgage is a security instrument or collateral that secures the the promissory note, it is not a loan. So if a mortgage is invalid due to a defect in title, it does not release the borrower from the debt owed to the bank, which is, however, covered by the lender’s insurance policy the borrower purchased.
According to the loan policy the Gumapacs purchased at escrow on December 19, 2005, they paid a premium $1,050.00 for the policy with Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, as the named insured. The Gumapacs previously paid a premium of $660.00 for an owner’s title insurance policy for their protection against title defects on February 24, 2003 for a coverage of $178,000.00 from Title Guaranty Company. Deutsche Bank purchased the Gumapac’s mortgage and loan, which was included with other mortgages and loans in a mortgage-backed security. Along with the mortgage and loan, Deutsche Bank replaced Argent Mortgage Company, LLC, as the beneficiary of the loan title insurance policy.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th ed., title insurance is a “policy issued by a title company after searching the title, representing the state of that title and insuring the accuracy of its search against claims of title defects.” It is an indemnity contract that does not guarantee the state of the title but covers loss incurred from a defect in land titles that would arise from an inaccurate title report.
Below is a copy of the lender’s policy they purchased at escrow from Stewart Title Guaranty Company, being a Texas corporation. Both lender’s and owner’s title insurance policies provide the same coverage of risks to the title.
On January 21, 2011, Kale’s company Laulima Title Search and Claims, LLC, (LTSC) investigated the status of his fee-simple title that was acquired from the Linda Vivian Little and Alice Evelyn Little on April 17, 2002, and recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances. Kale is the owner of LTSC, which provides claims packages to be filed with title insurance companies under a lender’s and owner’s policy.
LTSC’s investigation identified defects in Kale’s fee-simple title that should have been disclosed in the title report done by Security Title Corporation, which they paid $468.75 at escrow and reflected in section 1100—Title Charges of the HUD Final Settlement Statement. The title report was the basis of the lender’s title insurance policy the Gumapacs purchased. Security Title Corporation and Title Guaranty Company, Inc., are fully aware that all land titles in the Hawaiian Islands originate in the year 1845 through Land Commission Awards and Royal Patents. It was also in 1845 that the Hawaiian legislature established notaries public and the Bureau of Conveyances. LTSC’s processor’s report was based on an expert memorandum Dr. Keanu Sai authored as a consultant to LTSC. The report summarized the defect by stating:
“This claim involves a defect of title by virtue of an executive agreement entered into between President Grover Cleveland of the United States and Queen Lili‘uokalani of the Hawaiian Kingdom, whereby the President and his successors in office were and continue to be bound to faithfully execute Hawaiian Kingdom law by assignment of the Queen under threat of war on January 17th 1893. The notaries public in the Hawaiian Islands and the registrar of the Bureau of Conveyances were not lawful since January 17th 1893, and therefore title to the estate in fee-simple described as Lot 2787, area 1.00 acre, more or less, Block 7, as shown on Map 58 filed in the Office of the Assistant Registrar of the Land Court of the State of Hawai`i with Land Court Application no. 1053 (amended) of W.H. Shipman, Limited, under document no. 2895104 & certificate no. 505052, filed with the Registrar of the Bureau of Conveyances on February 24th 2003, is vested other than Kale Kepekaio Gumapac and Dianne Dee Gumapac, now divorced, because the aforementioned deed of conveyance was not lawfully executed in compliance with Hawaiian Kingdom law.”
According to a United States presidential investigation into the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian government, President Cleveland concluded in his message to Congress on December 18, 1893, that the so-called provisional government “was neither a government de facto nor de jure,” but self-declared (see page 453, Exhibit A of the memorandum). Additionally, the United States Congress in its 1993 joint resolution of apology for the illegal overthrow (Public Law 103-150) admitted that the provisional government’s successor was also self-declared. The resolution stated “Whereas, through the Newlands Resolution, the self-declared Republic of Hawaii ceded sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.” This preamble in the apology resolution is problematic because it conflates two problems—the first is that Congress by legislation has no effect beyond the borders of the United States, and, second, the so-called Republic was self-declared and therefore not a government, since by definition self-declared is defined as proclaimed or announced by oneself.
Since all titles in the Hawaiian Islands originated in 1845, the defective notaries and registrars of the Bureau of Conveyances after January 17, 1893, which were members of the self-declared provisional government and the Republic of Hawai‘i, are covered risks under section 2(a)(iii) and 2(a)(vi) of the lender’s title insurance the Gumapacs purchased to protect the lender. By letter to Deutsche Bank dated November 22, 2011, Kale demanded Deutsche Bank to file a loss of title claim with Stewart Title Insurance Company under the lender’s title insurance policy he purchased to protect the bank should their be a defect in title and consequently an invalid mortgage. Because Deutsche Bank was the beneficiary of the title insurance policy purchased by the Gumapacs, Deutsche Bank is supposed to file the insurance claim and not the Gumapacs.
Section 3 of the lender’s title insurance policy stated: “The Insured shall notify the Company promptly in writing…in case Knowledge shall come to an insured of any claim of title or interest that is adverse to the Title or the lien of the insured Mortgage, as insured, and that might cause loss or damage for which the Company may be liable by virtue of this policy… If the Company is prejudiced by the failure of the Insured Claimant to provide prompt notice, the Company’s liability to the Insured Claimant under the policy shall be reduced to the extent of the prejudice.”
Deutsche Bank who was represented by attorneys Charles Prather, Sofia Hirosone and Michael G.K. Wong of the law firm RCO Hawai‘i, LLLC, refused to file the claim and continued to proceed against Kale. These proceedings in the Third Circuit Court i in the city of Hilo, Island of Hawai‘i, constituted the war crime of denying Kale a fair trial as well as pillaging his home.
What many people may not know is that a title insurance policy does not insure the validity of the title, but only the accuracy of the title search that the title insurance underwrites. Only the grantor of the title, who in the case of the Gumapacs is Linda Vivian Little and Alice Evelyn Little, ensures that the title is valid under a warranty, not Deutsche Bank as the mortgagee or Stewart Title Guaranty Corporation who issued the policy. Again, the definition of title insurance, it is a “policy issued by a title company after searching the title, representing the state of that title and insuring the accuracy of its search against claims of title defects.”
The foreclosure process is a collection of a debt, and Kale has been consistent with his obligations in the repayment of that debt to Deutsche Bank. It is Deutsche Bank that did not comply with the contractual obligations. If Deutsche Bank filed an insurance claim, and the insurance company in their response provided clear evidence that the provisional government and the Republic of Hawai‘i were not self-declared, but lawful governments of Hawai‘i, then Deutsche Bank would be legally authorized, by virtue of the mortgage agreement, to carry out the eviction as a means by which a debt is being collected.
There was no lawful basis for Deutsche Bank to carry out the foreclosure and eviction if they were given due notice of the defect in the mortgagor’s title by Kale as the mortgagor, himself. As a mortgagee, Deutsche Bank can claim no better interest in the property than Kale, which is precisely why a lender’s title insurance policy was made a condition of the loan in the first place. What is for sure is that war crimes were committed against an innocent person by the following individuals who were reported to the U.S. Pacific Command, the International Criminal Court, the Hawai‘i Police Department, and the Swiss Attorney General:
Judge Greg K. Nakamura, Circuit Court of the Third Circuit, State of Hawai‘i, whose address is Hale Kaulike, 777 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720-4212;
Jürgen Fitschen, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Anshu Jain, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Stefan Krause, Chief Financial Officer, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Stephan Leithner, Chief Executive Officer Europe (except Germany and UK), Human Resources, Legal & Compliance, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Stuart Lewis, Chief Risk Officer, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Rainer Neske, Head of Private and Business Clients, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Henry Ritchotte, Chief Operating Officer, Deutsche Bank Management Board, parent company of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, whose address is Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany;
Charles R. Prather, attorney for Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, belonging to the law firm RCO Hawaii, LLLC, whose address is 900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 800, Honolulu, HI 96813;
Sofia M. Hirosone, attorney for Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, belonging to the law firm RCO Hawaii, LLLC, whose address is 900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 800, Honolulu, HI 96813;
Michael G.K. Wong, attorney for Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, belonging to the law firm RCO Hawaii, LLLC, whose address is 900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 800, Honolulu, HI 96813;
Lieutenant Patrick Kawai, State of Hawai‘i Department of Public Safety Sheriff’s Department, to include his superiors and deputies, whose address is Hale Kaulike, 777 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720-4212;
Police Chief Harry S. Kubojiri, County of Hawai‘i Police Department, whose address is 349 Kapiʻolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720;
Detective Brian D. Prudencio, Office of Professional Standards, County of Hawai‘i Police Department, whose address is 349 Kapiʻolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720;
Captain Samuel Kawamoto, County of Hawai‘i Police Department, whose address is 349 Kapiʻolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720; and
Detective Derek Morimoto, County of Hawai‘i Police Department, whose address is 349 Kapiʻolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720.
Everyone who claims to own property in the Hawaiian Islands all have a defective title and consequently mortgages that are invalid. But everyone also purchased title insurance at escrow to protect the bank in case of a defective title, which pays off the debt the borrowers owe. The irony of this whole situation is that the above named perpetrators of war crimes assuredly have the same insurance policies Kale has if they currently have a mortgaged loan. These individuals have quickly moved from victims themselves to alleged war criminals who mistakenly thought that Kale was a sovereignty activist. Everyone should begin to read their escrow papers and they will find the very same documents that were at the center of the war crimes.
A former diplomat reported war crimes being committed in the Hawaiian Islands to Swiss Attorney General in Bern
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – On December 22, 2014, it was reported by a former diplomat to Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber that war crimes are being committed in the Hawaiian Islands. The case has been assigned to a Prosecuting Attorney of the Center of Competence of International Crimes, an agency of the Office of the Attorney General that is empowered to prosecute war crimes.
A month later on January 22, 2015, the Prosecuting Attorney received a formal criminal complaint in Bern by a Swiss citizen residing in the Hawaiian Islands alleging war crimes have been committed against him and his family by the State of Hawai‘i and the government of the United States. The Swiss citizen traveled to Bern for this very reason. His name is kept confidential for safety reasons and he has invoked his right to protective measures under Article 152 of the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code.
Click here to download complaint by Swiss citizen.
“Through rigorous academic research, especially in the department of political science at our university, a revised view of the status of Hawai‘i in international law has emerged,” explained the diplomat. “In several dissertations that came out in the last few years it was proven that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as an independent State, yet under a prolonged occupation by the United States of America since the Spanish-American War (1898).”
“In this context,” the diplomat stated, “it should also be mentioned that the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into a treaty of friendship, establishment and commerce with the Swiss Confederation in 1864, which has never been terminated by any of the two contracting parties.”
“Spearheading this research concerning the legal status of Hawai‘i is Dr. David Keanu Sai who graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa with a Ph.D. dissertation on that topic a few years ago, and who has subsequently inspired a series of other academic researchers,” said the diplomat.
On September 19, 2014, Professor Williamson Chang, a senior law professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder, in which he reported war crimes being committed by the United States on Hawaiian territory. ABC News Australia covered the story and Attorney General Holder has been silent on the reporting.
The diplomat explained to Swiss Attorney General Lauber, “It is Professor Chang’s letter to Attorney General Holder concerning the committing of war crimes in Hawai‘i that prompted me to turn to the Swiss authorities, because it directly affects the estimated 600 Swiss citizens residing here in the Islands, as well as all foreign citizens residing or doing business in the Islands. Because of his expertise, I have therefore asked Dr. Sai to put together an exhaustive report for the attention of Swiss citizens, which I have the honor to forward to you.”
Dr. Sai’s report answers three initial questions in order to provide context for the reporting of war crimes: first, whether the Hawaiian Kingdom existed as an independent State and a subject of international law; second, whether the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as an independent State and a subject of international law, despite the illegal overthrow of its government by the United States; and, third, whether war crimes have been committed in violation of international humanitarian law.
After the three questions have been answered in the affirmative, Dr. Sai addressed whether the Swiss Federal Government is capable of investigating and prosecuting war crimes that occur outside of its territory. According to the report, Dr. Sai states that the Swiss authorities are authorized under Swiss law to prosecute war crimes committed outside of its territory under passive personality jurisdiction where the victim is a Swiss citizen, under active personality jurisdiction where the perpetrator is a Swiss citizen, and also under universal jurisdiction where the victim and/or perpetrator of the war crime are not Swiss citizens.
A complainant who is identified in Dr. Sai’s report is Mr. Kale Kepekaio Gumapac, a Hawaiian subject, who resides on the island of Hawai‘i and has alleged war crimes have been committed against himself by Deutsche Bank for the pillaging of his home, whose Chief Executive Officer at the time was Josef Ackermann, a Swiss citizen and resident of Zurich. Deutsche Bank’s pillaging of his home was carried out by State of Hawai‘i Deputy Sheriff Lieutenant Patrick Kawai.
On January 22, 2015, Gumapac amended his complaint to include active personality jurisdiction due to the fact that Josef Ackermann is a Swiss citizen and resides within the territory of the Swiss Confederation. Swiss law mandates an investigation of crimes committed abroad where the perpetrator or victim are Swiss citizens. Gumapac also invoked his rights as a Hawaiian subject under the 1864 Hawaiian-Swiss Treaty that states, “Hawaiians shall be received and treated in every canton of the Swiss Confederation, as regards their persons and their properties, on the same footing and in the same manner as now or may hereafter be treated, the citizens of other cantons.”
Click here to download Gumapac’s amended complaint.
The pillaging stemmed from an unfair trial, which is a war crime under the 1949 Geneva Convention, IV, because since the State of Hawai‘i is self-declared, its courts cannot claim that they are properly constituted under the law. Gumapac also named the trial judge, Greg Nakamura, had committed the war crime of depriving Gumapac of a fair trial after Gumapac’s attorney, Dexter Kaiama, provided clear evidence that the court was unlawful. Nakamura disregarded the evidence and allowed Deutsche Bank to pillage Gumapac’s home despite the fact that Gumapac had title insurance to cover the debt owed to Deutsche Bank.
Dr. Sai also serves as the attorney for both claimants by virtue of specific powers of attorney entered into in Geneva, Switzerland, by the unnamed Swiss citizen, and by Gumapac in the State of Washington, United States of America.
In his report, Dr. Sai drew a comparison of Hawai‘i’s occupation by the United States to the German occupation of Luxembourg during the First World War from 1914-1918. Like Luxembourg, the Hawaiian Kingdom was a recognized neutral State, and both occupations took place without armed resistance.
According to Dr. Sai, “The Germans invaded Luxembourg in order to use it as a military base to launch attacks against France, and the United States invaded the Hawaiian Kingdom and used it as a military base to launch attacks against Spain in its Pacific colonies of Guam and the Philippines. Where the German occupation ended in four years, only to be reoccupied again by Germany from 1940-1945, the Hawaiian Kingdom has since been under a prolonged occupation and its territory has and continues to be used as a military base of operations in all the wars the United States has participated in since 1898.”
On March 30, 2013, the Peoples Republic of North Korea formally declared war on South Korea and the United States. In its declaration North Korea specifically stated they have targeted Hawai‘i because of the presence of the United States military. Hawai‘i serves as the headquarters for the Pacific Command, which is the largest combatant command for the Department of Defense.
“What people don’t realize,” said Dr. Sai, “is that the Hawaiian Islands was never a part of the United States. It is the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom that has been an independent and sovereign State since November 28, 1843 and a recognized neutral State since the Crimean War in 1854. The Hawaiian Islands were never acquired by the United States under international law and it is international law that maintains and protects its independence and continued existence.”
In his report, Dr. Sai identifies two armed conflicts. The first was an armed invasion by United States troops on January 16, 1893 and lasted until April 1, 1893. A subsequent Presidential investigation concluded the United States to be in the wrong and negotiated settlement by executive agreement with the Hawaiian government. The second armed conflict occurred during the Spanish-American War when the Hawaiian Kingdom was occupied on August 12, 1898 after the Congress passed a law unilaterally seizing the Hawaiian Islands on July 7, 1898. The President and the Congress knowingly violated Hawaiian neutrality after the Spanish consul in the Hawaiian Islands made a formal protest. Hawai‘i’s neutral status was explicitly stated in Article 26 of the 1863 Spanish-Hawaiian Treaty. Hawai‘i was used as a base of operations against the Spanish in the Pacific. The war came to an end on December 10, 1898, but the United States remained as an occupier and fortified the Hawaiian Islands as a military outpost.
According to Dr. Sai, “What you have here is deception and fraud on a grand scale where the United States government deliberately mislead the international community that Hawai‘i was made a part of the United States in order to conceal the military occupation of a neutral and independent State.”
According to the report, Dr. Sai states that a formal policy of Americanization through denationalization was instituted in the public schools throughout the Hawaiian Islands in 1906 called Program for Patriotic Exercises in the Public Schools. The Hawaiian language was banned and replaced by the English language. The children were also taught American history, patriotic songs, figureheads, and holidays. The purpose, according to Dr. Sai, was to obliterate the national character of the Hawaiian Kingdom through institutionalized indoctrination.
Dr. Sai states that the Americanization is reminiscent of Germanization and Italianization in occupied territories during World War II that took place in Norway, France, Luxembourg, the Soviet Union, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia. In only three generations, this indoctrination nearly succeeded in erasing any memory of the national character of the Hawaiian Kingdom, but through academic research at the University of Hawai‘i the true status of Hawai‘i is being exposed.
This revelation not only has legal and political consequences, but also economic consequences as well. As a direct result of the United States deliberate failure to abide by international law, titles to real estate in the Hawaiian Islands could not be conveyed since 1893 because there were no functioning notaries under Hawaiian law to acknowledge the deeds of conveyances. Without valid titles, mortgages can’t exist. And because there are no valid mortgages, this has a direct and dire impact on mortgage-backed securities that include mortgages from the Hawaiian Islands, which are now realized to be defective. The recent banking crisis that centered on mortgage-backed securities and foreclosures pales in comparison to the Hawaiian situation.
“My reporting of war crimes is a very serious issue and it should not be taken lightly by anyone, including myself,” said the diplomat. “According to Swiss law, a person must report a crime to the proper authorities if there is corroborating evidence. And that is what I did.”
CONTACT: Dr. David Keanu Sai
Email: keanu.sai@gmail.com
It has been a common misunderstanding by individuals who are not familiar with international law that the laws of occupation did not become a part of international law until the year 1899, which is when the Hague Conventions were signed. The 1907 Hague Conventions later superseded these Conventions. Because of the chronology, as the argument goes, the United States was not bound by the Hague Conventions because the occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom occurred one year before in 1898. And since laws do not have a retroactive effect—unless explicitly stated, the United States was not bound to follow a law that wasn’t in effect at the time the occupation occurred. This would be inaccurate.
First, there are two primary sources of international law—customary and treaties. Customary international law is defined by the International Court of Justice as “evidence of a general practice accepted as law.” Since there is no law making body at the international level, such as legislative bodies within countries, international law is created by the consent and actions of independent and sovereign States, since international law is literally law “between” nations (States). As a result, States themselves create international law through practice and if all States are doing the same “general practice” it is considered customary international law that all States are bound by. An example of customary international law is diplomatic immunity. Customary international law can also be codified into a treaty, which is the other primary source of international law.
When States met in the city The Hague in the Netherlands in 1899 to codify the laws of war and occupation, they did not create new law but merely codified what was already regarded as customary international law. According to Professor Graber, The Development of the Law of Belligerent Occupation: 1863-1914 (1949), “nothing distinguishes the writing of the period following the 1899 Hague code from the writing prior to that code (p. 143).” With regard to the occupation of a State’s territory during war, the laws of the occupied State must be administered by the occupant State since occupation does not transfer sovereignty to the occupier.
This requirement was codified under Article 43 of the 1899 Hague Convention, II, which states, “The authority of the legitimate power having actually passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all steps in his power to re-establish and insure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.” Although the United States signed and ratified both Hague Regulations, which post-date the occupation of the Hawaiian Islands, the “text of Article 43,” according to Professor Benvenisti, The International Law of Occupation (1993), “was accepted by scholars as mere reiteration of the older law, and subsequently the article was generally recognized as expressing customary international law (p. 8).”
When the Spanish-American War broke out, President McKinley proclaimed that the Spanish-American war would “be conducted upon principles in harmony with the present views of nations and sanctioned by their recent practice,” and acknowledged the constraints and protection international laws provide to all sovereign states, whether belligerent or neutral. As noted by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge during the Senate’s secret session, Hawai`i, as a sovereign and neutral state, was no exception when it was occupied by the United States during its war with Spain.Article 43 of the 1899 Hague Convention, II, which remained the same under the 1907 amended Hague Convention, IV, delimits the power of the occupant and serves as a fundamental bar on its free agency within an occupied State, whether belligerent or neutral.
On April 25, 1898, the U.S. Congress declared war against Spain and battles were fought in the Spanish colonies of the Philippines and Guam in the Pacific, and the Spanish colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Although fighting ceased in Puerto Rico and Cuba on July 25 under an armistice agreement signed in Washington, D.C., fighting continued in the Philippines until August 13 when a second armistice was signed. Both armistices suspended hostilities pending the negotiation of a treaty of peace that was eventually signed in Paris on December 10, 1898.
Before the first armistice was signed, President McKinley sent directives to the Secretary of War on July 13, 1898 regarding occupations by U.S. troops during the war. This prompted the Secretary of War to publish General Orders No. 101 and was provided to all commanders of U.S. troops, to include the commander of troops that occupied the Hawaiian Kingdom, which took place on August 12, 1898, one year before the armistice was signed suspending hostilities in the Philippines. General Orders No. 101 clearly reflects the United States recognition of customary international law regarding the law of occupation, which are the same provisions codified in the 1899 Hague Convention, II.
The commanders of U.S. troops occupying the Hawaiian Kingdom since August 12, 1898 disregarded General Orders No. 101. The failure of the commanders of U.S. troops in the Hawaiian Kingdom to comply with General Orders No. 101 and international humanitarian law, to include its current commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Locklear, is why war crimes have and continue to be committed on a monumental scale.
In 2012, Admiral Locklear was notified by attorney Dexter Kaiama that war crimes are being committed in the courts of the State of Hawai‘i. Kaiama’s protest and demand stated:
“As the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, your office is the direct extension of the United States President in the Hawaiian Islands through the Secretary of Defense. As the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to remain an independent and sovereign State, the Lili‘uokalani assignment and Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Convention IV mandates your office to administer Hawaiian Kingdom law in accordance with international law and the laws of occupation. The violations of my client’s right to a fair and regular trial are directly attributable to the President’s failure, and by extension your office’s failure, to comply with the Lili‘uokalani assignment and Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Convention, IV, which makes this an international matter.”
Although Admiral Locklear disregarded the protest and demand, he cannot claim he wasn’t aware. In order for a person to have committed a war crime, the perpetrator must be aware of the alleged war crimes and possesses the criminal element of intent—mens rea (criminal intent), in the commission of the war crime—actus reus (the guilty act). Defenses to criminal liability include mistake of fact and mistake of law.
According to Article 30(1) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the defendant is “criminally responsible and liable for punishment…only if the material elements [of the war crime] are committed with intent and knowledge.” Therefore, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will prosecute if there is a mental element that includes a volitional component (intent) as well as a cognitive component (knowledge). Article 30(2) further clarifies that “a person has intent where: (a) In relation to conduct, that person means to engage in the conduct; [and] (b) In relation to a consequence, that person means to cause that consequence or is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events.”
With regard to knowledge, Article 30(3) of the Rome Statute provides that “‘knowledge’ means awareness that a circumstance exists or a consequence will occur in the ordinary course of events.” “A mistake of fact,” according Article 32(1), “shall be a ground for excluding criminal responsibility only if it negates the mental element required by the crime,” and a “mistake of law,” according to Article 32(2), “shall not be a ground for excluding criminal responsibility [unless] …it negates the mental element required by such a crime, or as provided for in article 33.” Article 33 provides that a crime that “has been committed by a person pursuant to an order of a Government or of a superior, whether military or civilian, shall not relieve that person of criminal responsibility unless: (a) the person was under a legal obligation to obey orders of the Government or the superior in question; (b) the person did not know that the order was unlawful; and (c) the order was not manifestly unlawful.”
General Orders No. 101 is a lawful order that has not been complied with for over a century and the excuse that the Order is not relevant because the U.S. Congress annexed the Hawaiian Islands by a joint resolution of annexation on July 7, 1898 is also a violation of customary international law previously recognized by the United States. Not only are municipal laws incapable of annexing foreign territory because municipal laws are confined to the territory of the country that enacted them, U.S. Attorney General Thomas Bayard in 1887 famously stated, “If a government could set up its own municipal law as the final test of its international rights and obligations, then the rules of international law would be but the shadow of a name, and would afford not protection either to states or to individuals. It has been constantly maintained and also admitted by the Government of the United States that a Government can not appeal to its municipal regulations as an answer to demands for the fulfillment of international duties.”
Attorney General Bayard’s statement was the United States’ recognition of what was considered customary international law, at least in 1887. This customary international law was codified in the 1980 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Article 27 provides, “A party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.” These treaties include the 1907 Hague Convention, IV, and the 1949 Geneva Convention, IV, which the United States ratified and recognized as customary international laws. Although the United States has not ratified the Vienna Convention, it does consider it to be customary international law. According to the U.S. State Department website, “The United States considers many of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to constitute customary international law on the law of treaties.”
The authorities of the Federal Judiciary are confronted with a strange case, which has the potential of straining the relations between Switzerland and the USA. What is to be clarified is nothing less than the question of whether in the view of the [Swiss] Confederation Hawaii is recognized in accordance with international law as the 50th Federal State of the USA, or whether the Kingdom of Hawaii rather still exists – albeit since 1898 under occupation. Furthermore, it is to be determined whether the USA committed war crimes in Hawaii, including against Swiss residing there – and this possibly even with the assistance of the Swiss Joe Ackermann. It is indeed a delicate dossier, which since April 9 has been with the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona.
As former CEO of Deutsche Bank, the Swiss business leader was targeted by Hawaiian subjects
