Ke Aupuni Special Report June 3, 2013 Keeping in touch and updated on activities regarding the restoration of Ke Aupuni o Hawaii, the Hawaiian Kingdom. Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono. Aloha Kakou, It’s been a very eventful last few weeks on the international scene with developments pertaining to Hawaii’s independence. • Reinscription of French Polynesia Last week we reported on the significance of the recent reinscription of French Polynesia on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. There is general celebration at the UN among the Pacific island states that initiated and lobbied the action through to acceptance by the General Assembly. A rising (Pacific) tide r aises all boats. (Comments attached) • US Responds to the Notion of Hawaii Decolonization Besides the excitement of the General Asembly’s decision for reinscription of French Polynesia to the list of non-self-governing territories, on Thursday, May 30 at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII), the U.S. made a surprise move to register their objection to decolonization for Hawaii. They were responding to the recommendation in the Study on Decolonization of the Pacific Region (Document: E/C.19/2013/12) that includes Hawaii as among the Pacific peoples to be decolonized. But the U.S.’ statement only served to shine the spotlight on the situation in Hawaii, giving our pursuit of independence more credibility. Attached are the pertinent documents... First i s the Study on Decolonization of the Pacific Region that was the item being discussed. Second is the U.S.’ statement saying the only remedy for Hawaii is through federal recognition of Native Hawaiians as a domestic Indian-tribe. Same old tired mantra. The statement was read by Ms. Terri L. Robl, Deputy U.S. Representative Economic and Social Council. As you can see, it is US State Department propaganda... word art designed to mislead the unaware. However, since most of the audience at the UN and PFII are ma’a to such propaganda, we can surmise that this statement was not really meant as a rebuttal to the Pacific Decol Study, but as a message that the US opposes any notion of Hawaii decolonization (i.e. independence)...so it is a warning to everyone to back off. The US is trying to nip this in the bud. Unfortunately, they are a bit late. The issue of Hawaiian independence has been steadily growing and is about to crest. The squ elching attempt by the US could backfire on them as it only makes UN member states (especially decolonized nations) more curious, more aware and more sympathetic to our cause. That appeared to be the room’s reaction to Ms. Robl... "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Third, the intervention by the Koani Foundation that I was to present but was prevented from delivering... [My name ‘disappeared’ from the speakers list 3 times and then they abruptly cut off the session early, saying there were no more interventions. I wasn’t the only one left hanging. There were several others with strong interventions that were cut off.]... Even though not read, the intervention was filed and recorded. It helps to refocus attention to the violations of international laws and the remedies that can be applied through existing international laws. Things are definitely getting stirred up. • UN High Level Plenary Session (on Indigenous Peoples) In September of 2014 the United Nations General Assembly in New York City will be hosting a “High Level Plenary Session” (known as the “World Conference on Indigenous Peoples” (WCIP)). A committee called the Global Coordinating Group (GCG) was formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in January 2012 to make preparations for how Indigenous Peoples would participate in the WCIP. I attended that meeting and quickly realized that the fix was in. The so-called WCIP was being manipulated to benefit the agenda of the UN its member states and most of the indigenous leaders at the meeting were in on the scheme. Two of us, Hawaii and Alaska, dissented on several grounds, but the other 20 in attendance railroaded through their pre-arranged format, structure and management of Indigenous Peoples’ participation. It was such a ‘done deal’ that within two days, designated leaders hand-delivered the proposal to the office of the President of the General Assembly in New York! And what of the the people back home? There was no consultation, no pursuit of alternative formats, no time for discussion and certainly no consent. Everything was pre-determined. As far as I know, my written dissent (attached) protesting the proceedings and recommending a more productive way, was never disseminated or placed in the record. The railroading has continued over the past year and a half, causing a tremendous amount of turmoil and disagreements among the GCG members themselves, and especially among the peoples back home who are mostly being kept in the dark. Those who protest and refuse to go along with the agenda have been attacked, vilified, summarily removed and locked out of the process. This coupled with a shocking lack of communication wit h the people and communities has created two clashing factions: those that want to use this WCIP opportunity to put on a good, compliant native kiss-up show to the UN; and those who want to use this WCIP opportunity to drive home hard issues that matter (like control of lands and resources; nation-to-nation relationships under international law, not domestic policies; and self-determination in the form of independence) The plan put forth by the GCG was that, in preparation for the 2014 WCIP (High Level Plenary), each region would: choose two reps to the GCG; hold a regional conference to draft a regional statement by the end of March 2013; submit the regional statement to a meeting in Madrid, Spain in May, 2013 for compilation; send reps to Alta, Norway in June 2013 (this coming weekend) to create a comprehensive global statement for the WCIP. Though the polarization is evident in the seven designated regions, it has been especially rancorous in North America and the Pacific. In both regions, certain people who refuse to go along with the program... were viciously attacked, demeaned, bullied and forced to be quiet or leave. In the Pacific Region, actions by certain leaders to lock out dissidents had the unintended consequence of locking out Hawaii from participating in the drafting of the Pacific Region statement at a prep meeting in Sydney, Australia in March. Aware that Hawaii had not participated, the Sydney organizers called for a special Hawaii consultation meeting in Honolulu in April, to get Hawaiians to sign on to the Pacific Region statement. About 60 Hawaii activists met on April 20 to consider the matter. At the end, those in attendance were reluctant to sign on to the Pacific statement, because 1) we did not participate/contribute to writing it (nor could we amend it) and 2) it did not adequately express Hawaii’s position for independence. It was also decided at the April 20 meeting that this group (now called Ke Kanaka O’iwi) of advocates committed to independence for Hawaii, would send representatives to the upcoming Global Indigenous Preparatory Meeting meeting in Alta, Norway and submit its own statement to make sure that the issue of Hawaii independence is represented in the WCIP process. Ke Kanaka O’iwi decided to send Mr. Dexter Keeaumoku Ka’iama and Ms. Kalama Niheu to the Global Indigenous Preparatory Meeting in Alta, Norway (this weekend) to articulate our position (see attached). The purpose of the Alta conference is to compile the seven regional statements into one global Indigenous Peoples’ statement to be presented at the “High Level Plenary Session” (WCIP) in New York City in September of 2014. Hopefully the Alta prep meeting will receive the Hawaii statement, even though it is not within the protocol (regional statements only) set by the GCG. In the past six months, many have been shut out o f the WCIP process attempting to voice such “rogue” positions as this. Whether or not Keeaumoku and Kalama are successful in getting our Hawaii statement submitted or included will not slow one bit our progress in our push toward independence. The sad thing is that this dysfunctional WCIP process will not provide relief from oppression suffered by many indigenous peoples who are being denied access because they won’t bow to the dictates of the bullies in the UN. Those are the ones that really need the help. Others attending the Alta meeting from Hawaii are: Ms. Mililani Trask, Ms. Malia Nobrega, and Ms. Mehana Hind. Also, Ms. Aliantha Lim-Tepper, Ms. Huaoli Waiau, are representing the Women’s and Youth caucuses from Hawaii. ------ Malama pono, Leon
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:47:53 +0000
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