Post by Okwes on May 11, 2006 13:02:02 GMT -5
Abuses (politics)
the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/May/05/ln/FP605050353.html
The Honolulu Advertiser Friday, May 5, 2006
Three sovereignty groups claim U.S. abuses
By Gordon Y.K. Pang Advertiser Staff Writer
Three Hawaiian sovereignty groups are calling for the United Nations to
demand that the United States respond to allegations of human rights
violations against Native Hawaiians that the groups have detailed in a
report.
They also took the opportunity to slam the Akaka bill even as supporters
of
the measure, which seeks to create a federally recognized government
entity,
rally for it to be heard in the U.S. Senate.
The report was submitted earlier this year to the U.N.'s Human Rights
Committee by Mililani Trask, convenor of Na Koa Ikaika O Ka Lahui
Hawai'i,
Kai'opua Fife of the Koani Foundation and Kekuni Blaisdell, chairman of
the
Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike.
The groups are seeking the removal of the U.S. government from the
Hawaiian
Islands.
Trask, Fife and Blaisdell appeared at a news conference yesterday in
front
of 'Iolani Palace, where Queen Liliu'okalani was overthrown in 1893 by
businessmen with the backing of U.S. troops.
Trask said the report she drafted was in response to a 2005 submittal to
the
U.N. by the Bush administration in which it claimed the U.S. was in
compliance with its human rights obligations under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a human rights treaty.
The U.S. has been in violation of the treaty by failing to provide
Native
Hawaiians their right to self-determination and stealing their lands,
Trask
said. "The United States has failed to provide justice and the right of
self-determination to the Native Hawaiian peoples." Trask noted that
former
President Bill Clinton, in 1993, signed the Apology Bill that
acknowledges
the U.S. role in the overthrow and subsequent injustices.
"There, in fact, has not been any justice or redress," she said.
The goal of the report is "to shame the United States for its theft of
our
nation, theft of our government, the taking of our land," Blaisdell
said.
The report is one of thousands alleging human rights violations by the
U.S.
that will be taken up by the Human Rights Committee in Geneva in July,
Fife
said.
Fife said the Akaka bill would not go far enough in addressing the
concerns
of Native Hawaiians. The bill is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
"Because the Hawaiian peoples never directly relinquished their claims
to
their lands, the differences between the USA and Hawai'i can only be
settled
under international law," Fife said. "The Akaka bill, a domestic law if
enacted by the U.S., could not apply."
Said Trask: "I think we all admit that this Akaka bill is nothing more
than
a failure. It's going nowhere, and frankly, it doesn't address any of
the
issues in the apology. It doesn't address any of the needs here, whether
housing, education or employment. The (Akaka) bill is simply too little,
too
late. We really need to look for redress somewhere else."
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.
the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/May/05/ln/FP605050353.html
The Honolulu Advertiser Friday, May 5, 2006
Three sovereignty groups claim U.S. abuses
By Gordon Y.K. Pang Advertiser Staff Writer
Three Hawaiian sovereignty groups are calling for the United Nations to
demand that the United States respond to allegations of human rights
violations against Native Hawaiians that the groups have detailed in a
report.
They also took the opportunity to slam the Akaka bill even as supporters
of
the measure, which seeks to create a federally recognized government
entity,
rally for it to be heard in the U.S. Senate.
The report was submitted earlier this year to the U.N.'s Human Rights
Committee by Mililani Trask, convenor of Na Koa Ikaika O Ka Lahui
Hawai'i,
Kai'opua Fife of the Koani Foundation and Kekuni Blaisdell, chairman of
the
Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike.
The groups are seeking the removal of the U.S. government from the
Hawaiian
Islands.
Trask, Fife and Blaisdell appeared at a news conference yesterday in
front
of 'Iolani Palace, where Queen Liliu'okalani was overthrown in 1893 by
businessmen with the backing of U.S. troops.
Trask said the report she drafted was in response to a 2005 submittal to
the
U.N. by the Bush administration in which it claimed the U.S. was in
compliance with its human rights obligations under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a human rights treaty.
The U.S. has been in violation of the treaty by failing to provide
Native
Hawaiians their right to self-determination and stealing their lands,
Trask
said. "The United States has failed to provide justice and the right of
self-determination to the Native Hawaiian peoples." Trask noted that
former
President Bill Clinton, in 1993, signed the Apology Bill that
acknowledges
the U.S. role in the overthrow and subsequent injustices.
"There, in fact, has not been any justice or redress," she said.
The goal of the report is "to shame the United States for its theft of
our
nation, theft of our government, the taking of our land," Blaisdell
said.
The report is one of thousands alleging human rights violations by the
U.S.
that will be taken up by the Human Rights Committee in Geneva in July,
Fife
said.
Fife said the Akaka bill would not go far enough in addressing the
concerns
of Native Hawaiians. The bill is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
"Because the Hawaiian peoples never directly relinquished their claims
to
their lands, the differences between the USA and Hawai'i can only be
settled
under international law," Fife said. "The Akaka bill, a domestic law if
enacted by the U.S., could not apply."
Said Trask: "I think we all admit that this Akaka bill is nothing more
than
a failure. It's going nowhere, and frankly, it doesn't address any of
the
issues in the apology. It doesn't address any of the needs here, whether
housing, education or employment. The (Akaka) bill is simply too little,
too
late. We really need to look for redress somewhere else."
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.