Hawaiians Remember a Day of Infamy.
On Wednesday, January 17, Hawaiians remember a day of infamy.
A few days ago, on Saturday, 13 January 2018, Hawaiians were startled by a mass text alert on their cell phones that a nuclear missile was approaching Hawaii and would be arriving in minutes. Though it turned out to be a false alarm, the confusion and panic that ensued showed that Hawaii is highly susceptible to, and highly nervous about the possibility of a sneak attack. And no wonder. It has happened before…
For Hawaiians, January 17, 1893 was a day of treachery and betrayal. It was the original “day of infamy,” when U.S. Marines landed in Honolulu to back a small group of traders-turned-traitors in their scheme to dethrone Queen Liliuokalani and seize control of the Hawaiian Kingdom government. Why? So the Hawaii sugar barons could get richer by having absolute economic and political control over the islands; and so the United States could grab Pearl Harbor and get strategic control of the Pacific.
The acts of treachery in Honolulu on that day 125 years ago, set the stage for the wrongful takeover of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States. To Hawaiians, that sneak attack against the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States military is the real “day of infamy,” not the one that happened 48 years later on December 7, 1941.
The regime change triggered by the United States’ unwarranted intervention would adversely affect not only ethnic Hawaiians, but all who were subjects and residents of the Hawaiian Kingdom. From that point forward, succeeding generations of Hawaiians lived and suffered under the foreign (U.S.) control of their country.
To have a strong foreign power reach into another country to cause a regime change is by itself a blatant violation of international law. But to suddenly attack a peaceful, friendly, defenseless and trusting country like the Hawaiian Kingdom is an especially heinous act. It not only up-ended the Hawaiian Islands, it created a template for the U.S. to repeatedly interject itself with impunity into the affairs of many foreign countries. Since they got away with such an outrageous act in Hawaii, why not everywhere else?
The lawless behavior of the United States toward the Hawaiian Kingdom over the past 125 years has kept the Hawaiian people in economic and social bondage, and in grave jeopardy for their lives. Pearl Harbor would not have been attacked in 1941 had the U.S. Pacific Fleet not been tantalizingly anchored there. Today, enemies of the United States with nuclear capabilities place a big red X on Hawaii indicating it is a prime target. Should a nuclear conflict erupt, the Hawaiian people — the people of Aloha — and beautiful Hawaiian Islands would be among the very first to be annihilated.
Yes, Hawaii is a paradise. But it is marred by runaway development, unbridled exploitation, subjugation, displacement, and a cost of living relentlessly driven higher by the habits and priorities of foreign interests. Then, there is the ubiquitous presence of the U.S. military bristling with bravado and weapons of mass destruction.
But, because the United States came to be in Hawaii through a series of international wrongful acts, it has no legal or moral basis to claim the Hawaiian Islands as its territory. The fact is, the United States assertion of claim to the Hawaiian Islands is a total fraud. What the U.S. does have in Hawaii is an elaborate cover-up of the treachery, betrayal and criminal activities that began on January 17, 1893, the real “day of infamy.”
Realizing that the United States’ claim is fraudulent and that the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, was never extinguished and, therefore, lawfully still exists, many Hawaiians have been repatriating to their Kingdom, embracing who they are as Hawaiian nationals and mounting a vigorous campaign to Free Hawaii from the illegal U.S. occupation.
The campaign to Free Hawaii exposes the fraud perpetrated by the United States and calls on the United States to comply with its obligation under international law to peacefully end its illegal occupation of the Hawaiian Islands, to gracefully withdraw in an orderly manner and to fully cooperate in the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
The campaign to Free Hawaii welcomes all people in the Hawaiian Islands, to work together to Free Hawaii. Hawaiians call on all Americans to urge their President Trump to Free Hawaii and resume proper, peaceful, friendly relations between the two countries. Hawaiians call on the global community to support their quest to Free Hawaii and invite countries from around the world to honor their existing treaties and agreements with the Hawaiian Kingdom so we can again live in peace with the family of nations.
The time to resolve this on-going violation is now; and Hawaiians believe it can happen. Indeed, they believe it must happen.
The Campaign to Free Hawaii is not just a feel-good slogan for liberation or political justice or entitlement. It is an urgent survival measure for Hawaiians to regain control of their lives, their lands, their safety, their sustenance, their wellbeing and their future. It is an opportunity to show the world that even such a severe, long-running offense, can be met and overcome in the Spirit of Aloha. It is an opportunity to create a new paradigm for Peace.
Thus, we Hawaiian nationals invite the United States to engage with us in making peace between our two nations so we can restore and resume a proper, friendly and mutually beneficial relationship with one another.
Written by:
Leon Kaulahao Siu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands
2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
