June 24, 2023
For the past week I have been in Switzerland, first in Zürich to speak at an event, then Bern, to visit the Swiss Federal Archives and now in Geneva to attend the 53rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council. The United Nations has several headquarters: the main one in New York wih which most people are familiar; the much larger one is in Geneva, the location of the Human Rights mechanisms as well as the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Properties Organization, the International Labor Organization and numerous others. Then there are headquarters in Vienna and in Nairobi. I found out something interesting. This year, Switzerland is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its 1848 Constitution, which is the official start of the current, modern-day Swiss Confederation. That means the Hawaiian Kingdom became a constitutional government eight years before Switzerland did, and the Hawaiian Kingdom was officially recognized as a modern sovereign state by the Anglo-Franco Proclamation of 1843, five years before Switzerland. In talking about the Hawaiian Kingdom as a recognized sovereign state, we often refer to the treaties that our Kingdom had with the principal nations of the world, particularly those of Europe. The reason I went to the city of Bern, which is the seat of the Swiss government, was to view the documents pertaining to the Swiss-Hawaiian Kingdom Treaty of 1864. It’s one thing to cite that we have a treaty and to show an image of the treaty. It is quite another thing to see the thick file of original, hand-written documents pertaining to the drafting, correspondence, discussions and ratification of the treaty. The huge files of supporting materials leading up to the treaty from the Swiss side are all there. It is profoundly validating to know there are real documents from real people from a real country who made a real treaty with the real Hawaiian Kingdom. And that there are corresponding treaty-documents like these in the archives of other European capitals. Not only that, if one were to dig further, one would find trade records and diplomatic communications from the 137 Hawaiian Kingdom embassies and consulates from all over the world. But, what is not in the Swiss Confederation file on the Hawaiian Kingdom Treaty is a document of notification terminating the treaty. And it would be safe to say, no such terminating document exists in the possession of any of our other treaty partners’ archives. When we say the Hawaiian Kingdom Treaties were never terminated, abrogated, repealed, revoked, rescinded, retracted, annulled, abolished… it’s really true. The Hawaiian Kingdom actually exists in the indelible records of its treaties. And the one treaty upon which the United States stakes it claim to Hawaii… does not exist! The so-called, “Treaty of Annexation”. “Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani --------- Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty (life) of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. ------ For the latest news about our progress at the United Nations and other international venues, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 6 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53. ----- – And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice a month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media. ------- PLEASE KŌKUA… Your kōkua, large or small, is vital to this effort... To contribute, go to: • GoFundMe – CAMPAIGN TO FREE HAWAII • PayPal – Go to PayPal and send $ to: info@HawaiianKingdom.net • Other – To contribute in other ways (airline miles, travel vouchers, volunteer services, etc...) email us at: info@HawaiianKingdom.net ------- Get Free Hawaii T Shirts and other Merch! http://www.robkajiwara.com/store/c28/Hawaii All proceeds are used to help advance the cause. MAHALO! Malama Pono, Leon Siu Hawaiian National
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June 9 2023
June Celebrations in the Hawaiian Kingdom One way to assert the Hawaiian Kingdom still lives is to remember and celebrate important days in our history. Here are three significant days to remember in the month of June. June 11 – Kamehameha Day On December 22, 1871, King Kamehameha V proclaimed a national holiday to honor and celebrate his grandfather, King Kamehameha the Great, the founder of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Originally, Hawaiian subjects wanted to mark the legacy of Lot Kapūaiwa (Kamehameha V) on his birthday, December 11. But in humility he opted to honor his grandfather instead, choosing a date as far away from his (Lot’s) birthday as possible, hence the date of June 11. Since 1872 the June 11 King Kamehameha Day celebration has steadfastly endured. Even through the upheavals of insurgency, usurpation, regime changes, occupation, “annexation” and “statehood”, the one constant has been Kamehameha Day. And rightly so. Through his life, Kamehameha Ekolu transitioned from fierce warrior to conqueror to unifier and founding father to peace maker to human rights advocate (The Law of the splintered paddle) to statesman. June 7, 1839 The Hawaiian Kingdom Declaration of Rights Issued by Kamehameha III, the king’s Declaration of Rights profoundly improved on the American Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights from which it was fashioned. The Hawaiian Kingdom Declaration of Rights is written from a distinctly Hawaiian perspective. For instance, the American declaration famously says, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal...” (but “equal” was not meant to include blacks, native Americans, Asians, etc.). In contrast, the Declaration of Kamehameha III says, "God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth, in unity and blessedness.” Wow! The Hawaiian Declaration says we not only have equal rights, but that we are all related by blood! We are all family, meant to dwell in unity and blessedness... Our declaration says we must treat each other not just “equally” as defined in legal terms, but with aloha, as we would treat our relatives. From the highest to the lowliest, we are all ʻOhana. June 17, 1897 The Kūʻē Petition is delivered to the U.S. Senate Queen Liliʻuokalani went to Washington, DC to lobby against the ratification of the McKinley Treaty of Annexation. To show their support for their Queen and country, Hawaiian patriots conducted massive petition drives throughout the Islands. One of them, with 21,000 signatures, was hand-delivered to the U.S. Senate by James Kaulia (president of Hui Aloha ʻĀina), David Kalauokalani (president of Hui Kālaiʻāina), William Auld, and John Richardson. Their mission succeeded in defeating ratification of the treaty. Because of this, still today, there is no treaty annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. “Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani Correction: In the May 27, 2023 issue of Ke Aupuni Update I stated that hearing the case of Larsen vs. Hawaiian Kingdom at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in 2000, constituted recognition by the court of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a State (sovereign country). It did not. The case was accepted by the PCA under rules that did not require one party to be a recognized State. Mahalo to renown international lawyer, Curtis F. Doebbler for that clarification. --------- Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty (life) of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. ------ For the latest news about our progress at the United Nations and other international venues, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 6 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53. ----- – And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice a month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media. ------- PLEASE KŌKUA… Your kōkua, large or small, is vital to this effort... To contribute, go to: • GoFundMe – CAMPAIGN TO FREE HAWAII • PayPal – Go to PayPal and send $ to: info@HawaiianKingdom.net • Other – To contribute in other ways (airline miles, travel vouchers, volunteer services, etc...) email us at: info@HawaiianKingdom.net ------- Get Free Hawaii T Shirts and other Merch! http://www.robkajiwara.com/store/c28/Hawaii All proceeds are used to help advance the cause. MAHALO! Malama Pono, Leon Siu Hawaiian National Copyright © 2021 Hawaiian Kingdom, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Hawaiian Kingdom PO Box 23055 Makiki Station • Makiki Oahu • Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands H.I. |
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