Nick Bond of 95bFM – The Wire, an independent radio station in Auckland, New Zealand, interviewed Dr. Keanu Sai.
Most people would say that the United States of America has 50 states, and that Hawai‘i is one of them. But Hawaiian academic Dr. Keanu Sai says otherwise. Sai says that Hawai‘i was never legally annexed to the United States, and has been illegally occupied for the past 121 years. Wire producer Nick Bond asks Sai whether Hawai‘i really is a nation under occupation.
To listen to the interview of Dr. Keanu Sai click here.
Aotearoa!
Is there a part 2? Someone doing the follow-up? Why 7yrs, exact? BTW, any word yet on the Swiss as a High Contracting Power? And if Locklear is out, have they announced the replacement yet?
Aloha Noelani,
I believe Admiral Harry B. Harris was selected to replace Admiral Locklear pending confirmation.
Aloha Noelani.
Why 7 years? Well as what Dr. Sai said, it would take 7 years to fix this entire problem and I would believe so too. Not only does the H.K. Government need to be reinstated and we need to figure out who will be our Head of State (monarch) under H.K. Law and all that, we also have to contend with de-Americanization and de-indoctrination of the people of Hawaii. Especially those that are completely unaware of Hawaii’s legal history; they will take quite some time to completely fathom all this. That is if they choose to stay in Hawaii. It took me 3-4 years to completely fathom that Hawaii is occupied and never was a part of the United States. During those years, my mind told me not to believe in it, but the logic was too overwhelming to ignore. There’s a lot of other things as well that we also have to contend too like starting to speak Hawaiian for example. Off hand I cannot think of anything else, but I’m sure there is much more beyond what I mentioned. There’s no question a lot has happened and changed since 1898 and after more than a century of indoctrination and propaganda, its not easy to eliminate that from one’s mindset. Its like learning this field of Hawaii’s history–its impossible to learn it overnight.
We need the international community’s backing on this. I really hope the Swiss get involved. I wonder if there just waiting for the listing to come out to do something. Only time will tell.
I know the Swiss are the most experienced, but they might have some conflicting interests. Is there any other neutral countries, maybe one that does not have a history here.
Aloha Tim, if there is any conflicting interest regarding the Swiss then it would be taken cared of as part of the negotiations to be the Protecting Power. Then there would be no conflicting interest and they can be neutral to the conflict.
I don’t see any other State that is neutral since they all have been put on notice with the Protest at the U.N. General Assembly and hold liablity for violating their charter and States Rights of the HK.
I believe Syngenta is a Swiss corporation, that is actively polluting our aina and fighting to protect their right to do so under US law. I suspect this might be one of things holding up negotiations. Then again the bombing of Syrian territory, without their consent, I suspect is usurpation of Syria’s sovereignty. A preemptive norm of International Law that is being violated and no one is stopping it. We could be witnessing a collapse of the International Law system that we are relying on. Just something to consider. Please prove me wrong.
How can a foreign country use u.s. law to protect itself in another foreign country?
Hence the conflict. The Swiss would have to prosecute wealthy Swiss citizens for war crimes commuted in the Hawaiian Kingdom. I am talking about applying huge amouts of toxic substances that will affect the land and water quality of a nation during an illegal occupation.
Some might say those chemicals aren’t toxic. I would say the evidence is mounting that those chemicals are hazardous to humans and the environment.
Aloha Kuniole, if what you say is correct then Harris would be the next to receive protests and demands regarding the past and on going War Crimes. Once he has knowledge of said crimes then he has a duty to take action or become an accessory after the fact. Locklear and Holder, just to name a few are leaving to give themselves some kind of plausible denyability? Who knows, possibly everyone is jockey moving because they have gotten wind that a Protecting Power is expected soon.
Aloha Kekoa, do you know the current status of the Protective Powers request or have a contact in the Acting Hawaiian Kingdom Government that does?
Aloha Tim, I don’t think the issue with Syngenta qualifies as a conflicting interest as regards to being a Protecting Power. Syngenta is a private entity and not gov’t runned. There is a different process to take care of that situation. A conflicting interest would be a conflict between nation state governments.
I guess I am applying an American concept to another country, which isn’t fair. The concept I was referring to was that huge corporations have political clout and influence government. That may not apply in Switzerland, I hope.
E kala mai, for keeping you so busy. I do appreciate your clarification. Keep up the good work.
Aloha Noelani, 7 yrs sounds about right as an apprx. time line give or take a couple of years. This is the apprx. norm for de-occupation. Maybe you can check out other countries and the time line for their de-occupation process such as Iraq, Afghanistan, etc..
I think Dr. Sai referred to Japan as the reference, after their defeat in WW2.
Mahalo Tim.
Mahalo everyone, for the info and discussion! I’d just been wondering about Switzerland because I recall that there were timelines associated with their acceptance or refusal. And the interview seemed very “cut off” in the end.
Aloha!
I recall Keanu saying in one of his interviews the Swiss had another meeting in August I think it was on Aunty Lynette’s show. Tomorrow is Oct 1st and no news yet hopefully some good news soon.
Let’s put more clarity on the Hawaiian awareness of its situation which even Dr. Sai didn’t know. There were some of us, like myself, that knew we were a separate country from the U.S., but lacked legal definition to decribe what happened to us. There was a blackout from the medias if ever we brought out the facts. We questioned the statehood ballot that didn’t offer all the options. Even Americans kept asking if they needed a passport to be in Hawaii; a question that continued until around the 1970s. They even referred the U.S. continent as the “States”. For some of us, our tutus/great-grandparents shared some of the history of why the U.S. Americans and their military was here in Hawaii. Of course it didn’t sit well with us and our parents and family urged us to keep quiet and accept our fate as this is the whiteman’s world and we need to adapt to it; if not, at least to fight them with their own skills agains them. They were concerned for our safety and protection. Growing up, we were still considered a foreign country until 1959. We learned to walk that tightrope between the two cultures to survive. I always felt it was my advantage as they always under-estimated me and I knew exactly how they thought and used those skills. I had to temper my words for my parents sake; but that didn’t change my way of thinking. That’s why I began researching on how the western concept came to be; who were the players and their backgrounds; journals that revealed their thoughts and actions; and delved into Hawaii’s situation in-depth. I used the Library of Congress to search out as many aspects pertaining to Hawaii and learned much of what Dr. Sai had discovered for himself. It was he that defined a lot of legal terminology and semantics used and a more detailed data of the Hawaiian Kingdom and more proper usage in the legal sense, etc. for his extensive study and shared info, and better explanations, I am truly grateful. It emboldens me to argue or debate our issues more intelligently and with more clarity of what some of us already knew but couldn’t express it well enough. Dr. Sai reaffirms what some of us already knew but his insight gave us a deeper understanding of the laws that protect us and spurs us to research even deeper. His work has been invaluable for us all and I’m happy that more are being aware of the facts that many used to ridicule us while we were growing up. I am grateful for Dr. Sai because people are no longer laughing at us and are nervous and concerned as to their fate in Hawaii. One can imagine people living a lie their whole lives and discovering the truth. It must be quite a shock for them and may take time to recover from it. As for me, I feel vindicated.
Aloha, Tane. It is true – we stand on the shoulders of those patriots like you who’ve been aware, steadfast and vocal for many years now. I remember my uncle in the 70’s aligning with folks whose experiences track your own – for he was saying the same things and for our family this was very radical. But he was the one who carried the genealogy and he died knowing what we couldn’t quite grasp.
We are indebted to those who never gave up, and inspired folks like Dr. Sai to pick up the paddle and help move the canoe forward.
This is such a big job ahead. I think my uncle must be grinning ear to ear listening into some of the conversations of his family who now speak often of all his ‘crazy talk’ from years ago.
I know there are some ideological differences among others who’ve been in the struggle for many years. I think there’s more that unifies than divides these folks – and wonder if we might see a greater coming together for discussion. I know OHA tried to do earlier this year but like Keala Kelly and Dr. Chang suggested recently perhaps through the university, etc. Real education, critical dialogue – and less baloney and propaganda about the insulting fake sovereignty.
Mahalo nui loa.
It sounds like the interview got cut off at the end. Was there more or was that it?
Aloha Kuokoa, don’t need to. Take alook at what has happened and what is happening right now. Utilize that intel and apply it to the process and you can pretty much come up with a possible time line in which it will happen. Don’t confine yourself to just our issue but also what is happening in the international realm that would factor into our situation. Gotta read between the lines. It’s like a professional surfer that is constantly checking the weather and ocean data for the next big swell to surf. You see the radar images and data and know there is a storm that’s generating huge swells heading your way. Because you know how to apply that data to your location you can estimate when and where that big surf will arrive. Start waxing your surfboards.
Love that visual!!
Aloha Tim, I understand what you are trying to convey and appreciate your passion for the aina. However, the violation must contain certain elements inorder to classify it as a war crime. The acts or causes of action you mentioned may very well be a crime but not a war crime. It could also be the subject of a civil suit for punitive damages. It is not necessarily a war crime because it happened during an occupation. Hope this helps.
It does help. I was seeing all crimes committed within an occupied territory as war crimes, rather than differentiating between crimes committed under civil and penal codes of the Hawaiian Kingdom and war crimes.
Heres a link that provides info for Mauna Kea “A’ole TMT” on Tuesday, Oct 7th. This link provides info for those on Oahu as well.
https://www.facebook.com/kaheaalliance