Kategorie: Blog

Dec. 12, 2024

At the City Council meeting, Kapua Keliʻikoa Kamae of Waianae gave her testimony in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian Language), then repeated it in English. Right after, Kai Loring, a remote testifier from the North Shore, apparently had not heard the English version of Kapua’s testimony, complained: “I’m not sure what language it was. I’m assuming it was Hawaiian, and that is a dead language, so it would not work on translator.” [Actually, Hawaiian is on Google Translate and others]

Those in the audience immediately took umbrage at her remark; the internet exploded … and City Council members, to their credit, spoke out.

Councilwoman Esther Kiaʻaina quickly responded “It is not a dead language, it is very much alive…and if it wasn’t for the fact that those who helped to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi banned our language, we would be speaking only Hawaiian now!” Councilwoman Andria Tupola said her children attend a Hawaiian immersion school and her family speaks Hawaiian in their home. Council Chair, Tommy Waters, reminded everyone that Hawaiian is an official language of the State of Hawaiʻi.

The public reaction shows how far we have come from 40 years ago when the first Punana Leo program opened quietly in Kekaha, Kauaʻi. At the time, the Hawaiian language was indeed on the brink of extinction with only a few hundred native speakers left. But now, there are well over 24,000 who are fluent in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. And that number is growing every year.

Much has transpired especially over the past decade to assert Hawaiian as an official language. Hawaiian is now used in the courts, government proceedings (like City Council and neighborhood boards meetings), official government forms and documents (like taxes, permits, driver’s licenses), ballots, ATM machines, announcements at the airport, etc., etc.

Some of you may remember that 11 years ago, Rep. Faye Hanohano from Puna was reprimanded by the State House of Representatives for speaking Hawaiian at a session of the House. The only one to speak up in defense of Hanohano’s right to speak in Hawaiian at the legislature was Rep. Gene Ward of Hawaiʻi Kai. Since that incident, the legislature has changed it’s tune. Hawaiian may be spoken on the floor, in public hearings and ceremonial proceedings at the State Legislature.

In many of the confrontations over Aloha ʻĀina issues, Hawaiians are choosing to speak Hawaiian at press conferences, public rallies and court appearances. The point is not that this is a legal right, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is a powerful means of expressing who we are.

ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi embodies our ancestral roots — our origins, cosmology, stories, knowledge, culture, traditions, perceptions, understandings, values and principles that distinguishes who we are as a people. The language is not only a treasure from the past, more importantly, it is our blueprint for the future.
— Aloha ʻĀina —

Link

• Hawaiian Language
• Saving the Hawaiian Language

Fri 29 NovFriday 29 November

Half a world away from France, a city sometimes called „Paris in the Pacific“ is counting the cost of violent unrest.

Months of riots and blockades shook Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, earlier this year, causing 13 deaths and damaging hundreds of businesses.

It was the latest chapter in a decades-old struggle between people who want independence from France and those who want to remain a French territory.

France already spends about 1.5 billion euros ($2.4 billion) a year administering the territory and it’s expected to cost another 4 billion euros ($6.4 billion) to repair the damage.

And experts say the crisis has come at a major reputational cost for France in the region.

„It’s reminded neighbouring countries that France is still a colonial power a quarter of the way through the 21st century,“ journalist Nic Maclellan, who has covered the territory for decades, said.

Most of New Caledonia’s Pacific neighbours gained independence from colonial powers in the 1970s and ’80s.

So why is France holding onto the territory?

What’s in it for France?

More than 150 years after it took over New Caledonia, the territory — about 1,500 kilometres from Queensland’s coast — remains a valuable possession for France.

That’s partly because of what lies underground and in its oceans, experts say.

New Caledonia has large reserves of nickel — a precious commodity for renewable technologies and something President Emmanuel Macron raised on a visit last year.

„He talked about nickel not only as wealth for New Caledonians but as a vital strategic resource for France and for Europe,“ Mr Maclellan said.

France’s overseas territories also give it a massive exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — ocean beyond its own immediate seas where it can explore and use maritime resources.

About 60 per cent of its EEZ is in the Pacific, including about 1.4 million square kilometres of ocean around New Caledonia.

„At a time where people talk of the blue economy, of seabed resources, deep sea oil and gas, fisheries, marine biodiversity — that’s an incredible resource to control,“ Mr Maclellan said.

Experts say France’s Pacific territories also offer something that can’t be underestimated — prestige.

„For centuries, France has always been obsessed with its international status, or what it refers to as its rank,“ Australian National University researcher in French foreign policy Eglantine Staunton said.

„It constantly tries to promote the idea that France is more than a middle-sized power.“

And in recent years under Mr Macron’s presidency, the European nation has turned its gaze on the Indian and Pacific oceans.

„[The French government has] argued that the growing competition between China and the United States, but also the economic growth in the region for the past two decades, and its vulnerability to environmental issues in climate change, make it an area to prioritise,“ Dr Staunton said.

New Caledonia is a hub for the French military in the Pacific. It hosts a naval base home to small and medium vessels, surveillance and transport aircraft, and helicopters with soldiers mostly deployed on rotations from France.

Dr Staunton said France wanted to be seen as a „balancing power“ for the region amid growing competition between China and the US, one that promotes a less confrontational approach to containing China’s ambitions.

„France shares the US’s will to contain China’s influence in the region, but it wants to promote a different pathway than the one proposed by the US and now AUKUS,“ Dr Staunton said.

France released its „Indo-Pacific Strategy“ in 2018, saying it wanted to keep the region „open and inclusive, free of all forms of coercion and founded on multilateralism and the respect of international law“.

As France became more involved with the region, its Pacific territories had a special importance, Dr Staunton said.

„New Caledonia is key to France’s argument that it is an Indo-Pacific nation and a key actor in the region,“ she said.

What do New Caledonians want?

France’s ambassador in the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, said it was not a question of France holding onto New Caledonia.

She said overseas territories were choosing to stay part of France.

„There is a strong attachment to the French Republic, so this is what the Australian public should have in mind. They should reverse the reasoning,“ Ms Roger-Lacan said.

„It’s not that France is hanging onto those territories, but it’s the fact that there are lots of people — actually the majority — who [want to be] in the French Republic.“

Nicole George, a University of Queensland researcher on the Pacific Islands who was in Nouméa when unrest broke out in May, said many people in New Caledonia identified as French.

„The idea that France would give up this territory is hard for a big part of the population to accept,“ she said.

Views on independence are split in New Caledonia.

Today, under the Nouméa Accord reached in 1998, New Caledonia has a locally elected government that controls areas like health, tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and both primary and secondary education.

But France still has power over defence, foreign policy, the justice system, currency, and tertiary education.

Most in New Caledonia’s Indigenous Kanak community want that to change.

„We’ve been pushing for independence for New Caledonia, so that we are able to manage our own affairs, just like in the other independent countries,“ Party of Kanak Liberation representative Jimmy Naouna said.

Another reason for the independence push in New Caledonia is inequality, experts say.

While it has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the Pacific, there are large wealth gaps in the territory.

„That was shown during the crisis in May and June, where young people and not so young, came out of the squatter settlements to attack supermarkets, to burn down the Porsche dealership in Nouméa, to really show that the economic, social, political gulf between communities is very deep,“ Mr Maclellan said.

The divide over independence was reflected over three referendums on the issue.

In 2018, 57 per cent rejected independence, and in 2020 that shrunk to 53 per cent.

But the third referendum in 2021 remains controversial.

Pro-independence groups requested a delay while the Kanak community mourned people who died from COVID.

When France refused, pro-independence supporters boycotted and the referendum returned a 96.5 per cent „no“ vote — a result the independence movement rejected.

The parties have since been unable to agree on a path forward.

Tensions radically escalated when French lawmakers tried to reform the electoral system in May.

For years, only families who had lived in New Caledonia before 1998 could vote in local elections, but Paris wanted to scrap those restrictions, which would add more non-Kanak people to voting rolls.

Independence supporters feared that would skew any future referendum, and people took to the streets.

„Many independence supporters thought we will now never, ever win … because the vote will be immediately slanted towards supporters of continued links with France,“ University of Melbourne expert in New Caledonian history and politics Professor Simon Batterbury said.

The French government has dropped the reforms and after months of violence, there’s a fragile calm now in New Caledonia.

What’s next?

The parties are expected to resume talks over the territory’s political status.

But negotiations will be fraught with uncertainty.

Mr Naouna, from the Party of Kanak Liberation, said it was just a matter of time before New Caledonia achieved independence.

„It’s just a matter of finding the right political agreement between parties in New Caledonia and the French state.“

His party wants to negotiate a fourth referendum on independence to be held in the next five to 10 years.

On the anti-independence side, some argue there should be no pathway to independence after the three referendums.

MS Roger-Lacan said as parties returned to negotiations, it would be up to New Caledonians to agree on a way forward.

„It is not up to the French authorities, it is up to New Caledonians to identify what they want together, what they can agree on,“ she said.

„They have to find something. If it is independence … it cannot be something that will be imposed on people that don’t want it. There is some compromise to be identified somewhere by all of them.“

Mr Maclellan said local elections had been delayed until 2025, giving about a year to resolve the situation.

„And the younger generation has shown over the last six months that they still want a pathway towards independence and sovereignty.

„Can that be done within the French Republic? Time will tell.“

As parties prepare to meet, some experts say France’s status in the Pacific is at stake.

Dr Staunton said France should „proceed extremely carefully“ on the matter of New Caledonia.

„There is still a lot of distrust in the region over France’s colonial past … and it is now more important than ever to act as a responsible power by fulfilling France’s responsibility in terms of decolonisation,“ she said.

„Failing to do so will not only permanently endanger France’s relationship with territories such as New Caledonia, it risks derailing its entire Indo-Pacific Strategy.

„France indeed cannot claim to be an Indo-Pacific power if it does not listen to Indigenous communities.“

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Posted Fri 29 Nov 2024 at 8:42pmFriday 29 Nov 2024 at 8:42pm, updated 59m ago

ABC – News

October 26, 2024

An international case we have been tracking for years is the dispute between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius over the Chagos Islands. It has a parallel to our dispute with the United States… the manipulation of the United Nations’ decolonization process by the “administrative power” (the colonial or occupying nation) to manufacture an outcome in its favor. 
The Chagos Islands is an archipelago that was part of Mauritius, a colony of the UK in the Indian Ocean. When Mauritius gained its independence in 1968 and became the Republic of Mauritius, the UK arbitrarily withheld the Chagos Islands from the new nation saying it was needed for defense purposes. The UK forcibly evacuated the inhabitants (a couple of thousand people) from all the Chagos Islands, then leased the largest island, Diego Garcia, to the United States.
 
The US then built a huge Air Force base on Diego Garcia to assert the United States’ military power in the region, especially in the Middle East. Thus, Diego Garcia was the key forward base for the US Air Force in the Gulf War, the Iraqi War, the Afghan War, the war against al-Qaeda, the war against Isis, and numerous other conflicts in the region. And so it remains…
 
After years, of complaining to the UK and international bodies such as the UN about the illegal withholding of the Chagos Islands from their nation, Mauritius filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice (the ICJ) located at The Hague, Netherlands, asking for an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ regarding the matter.
 
In a 2019 landmark decision, the ICJ opined that the withholding of the Chagos Islands from the Republic of Mauritius, was in violation of the UN’s decolonization procedure and illegal. The ICJ said the United Kingdom had an international obligation to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

When that news broke there was much celebration in Mauritius and among the Chagos descendants living in exile, and those of us hoping for this just and favorable outcome. But the UK made it known it considered the ICJ Opinion as non-binding, and it was not going to return Chagos to Mauritius.
 
This brings up a primary weakness of the International Court of Justice and the World Court system. Many of their rulings are either non-binding or unenforceable. Thus, countries, especially powerful ones, simply ignore rulings they think are bothersome.
 
It looked like this was going to be one of those times. But, amazingly, in August 2024, five years after the ICJ opinion, to their credit, the UK announced in that it would indeed return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Apparently, an agreement was reached to allow the UK/US base at Diego Garcia to remain. And plans are being made for Chagosians to return.
 
What is significant to us in Hawaii, is that the Chagos case was successfully resolved, setting a clear precedence for correcting an error made in a botched UN decolonization process. Thus, because Hawaii’s case is also one of a botched UN decolonization process (the “Statehood Plebiscite”) we could leverage this international precedence to resolve our situation as well.
And so could Alaska… and perhaps, West Papua.

 — Aloha ʻĀina —

Video’s

Hawaii is currently hosting a massive ten-day event called the Pacific Festival of the Arts and Culture (FestPac), bringing together delegations of artists, dancers, musicians and cultural practitioners from 28 Pacific Island nations celebrating the peoples of Moananuiakea (the Pacific Islands), Polynesians, Micronesians, Melanesians and Austronesians.

The prelude to FestPac was the gathering of the famous voyaging canoe, Hōkūleʻa, and dozens of her offspring since being launched at Kualoa 49 years ago. Just as ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’ Hōkūleʻa had a profound impact in awakening not only the voyaging traditions but raising up the strength, skills, spirit and dignity of peoples of the Pacific. That was evident as thousands gathered to welcome and celebrate the crews and builders of these amazing vessels, like those that our ancestors used to shrink the vast reaches of their watery home.

On June 6, the opening ceremonies of FestPac welcomed the most amazing parade of the myriad faces, smiles, sounds, dances and regalia of our Pacific Islands ʻOhana (family).

The festival continues for the next 7 days at the Hawaii Convention Center with presentations, seminars, and discussions of the issues facing Pasifika. Also, in the exhibition hall there is a fantastical village featuring the cultures of the various islands. To register to attend this event go to: www.FestPacHawaii.org

This is the 13th FestPac, and the first time it is being hosted by Hawaii… that is, the “State of Hawaii, USA”. Governor Josh Green is the official host. The huge budget for this massive event comes from the State and its agencies, the US Federal government, US non-profit organizations, American businesses, etc.

The organizers of FestPac fastidiously steered clear of any mention that this is really the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, not the State of Hawaii, USA. As the U.S. presumes to be the gatekeeper to determine who could come and go from our country (the Hawaiian Kingdom), all “foreign” delegations, and participants had to go through stringent U.S. Customs, FBI and Homeland Security clearance to enter the “US State of Hawaii”.

It’s okay, though, because now we have a great template for the next time we have an international celebration of such magnitude — the celebration of the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

— Aloha ʻĀina —

“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani

more Videos and Information:

More Videos about the FestPAC you will find on my Youtube-Channel „Tales of Hawaii“ under „Hawaii Culture“

Webside: FestPAC

Serious unrest in French overseas territory

Indigenous independence supporters are resisting electoral law reform that would give immigrant French people more say.

Contribution from SRF; from Rendez-vous from May 15, 2024 / updated May 16, 2024

Further serious unrest in French overseas territory

Separatist riots broke out in New Caledonia for the third night in a row. So far there have been four deaths.

According to official information, a police officer was also killed in the unrest. Hundreds more people were injured. Local media published photos and videos of looted and completely destroyed supermarkets and gas stations. Since the beginning of the week, independence supporters have repeatedly set fire to shops and cars.

France subsequently declared a state of emergency, which has been in effect since yesterday evening. The state of emergency makes it easier to impose curfews and bans on demonstrations and can give the police and judiciary expanded powers.

The acts of violence are not tolerable and the state will take relentless action to restore order, it was said from the Élysée Palace. Macron called for a resumption of political dialogue and wanted to quickly receive the Caledonian delegations in Paris.

Against electoral law reform from Paris

The separatists in New Caledonia are angry about a planned constitutional reform by the government in Paris. It would give thousands of French voters the right to vote in the island state in the South Pacific with a total of around 270,000 inhabitants.

So far, only those people who lived in New Caledonia in 1968 are entitled to vote. Everyone who has lived there for at least ten years should now have the right to vote. The limited right to vote in New Caledonia was introduced in 1998 – at the time a demand of the Kanak people in New Caledonia, as the members of the South Pacific Kanak people are called.

Independence rejected three times

New Caledonia voted on independence from France three times between 2018 and 2021 – and always rejected it. However, the last of the three votes was boycotted by the Kanaks because it took place in the middle of the pandemic and the date violated Kanak customs.

For Paris, New Caledonia’s independence was no longer an issue after the three votes. The overseas territory should now only receive a certain degree of autonomy within the French state.

And because the restricted voting rights in New Caledonia violate the European Convention on Human Rights, the French government wants all residents to be able to have a say in politics in the future.

Kanaks fear loss of power

“The escalation of violence shows that many Kanaks do not accept the result of the third vote on independence in 2021,” says SRF France correspondent Daniel Voll. The government in Paris now probably has to go over the books again. And in fact, President Emmanuel Macron wants the two political camps in New Caledonia to look for a new solution. “That will be very difficult,” says Voll.

In addition, the indigenous people fear that the planned social equalization reforms of the incumbent government in New Caledonia – which consists of a coalition of separatists – could come to nothing if the people of French origin gain more political weight. “The fear of losing political weight again makes the Kanaks less willing to compromise,” the correspondent notes.

Buildings burned, airport closed

Numerous buildings and cars in the capital Nouméa went up in flames. The main airport, La Tontouta, schools and public facilities remain closed until further notice. Long queues formed in front of many shops due to fears of food shortages.

Interior Minister Darmanin made it clear that one of the people was killed by a bullet, but not by a police officer. The exact circumstances would have to be clarified. There is no information available about the second death.

Police stations attacked with axes

“There should be no violence in a democracy. There must be absolute calm,” demanded Darmanin. He spoke of attacks on police stations with axes and heavy ammunition. According to reports from the broadcaster 1ère Nouvelle-Calédonie, at least 60 police officers were injured. Accordingly, 130 people were arrested.

Rendez-vous, May 15, 2024, 12:30 p.m.; sda/srf/snep;lehl

More Inos

• New Caledonia remains French
• New Caledonia votes to remain part of France for the second time

 Last month, we shared an acronym relating to the meaning of aloha. Each of these words are values that make aloha possible–they are at the root of the aloha you have in your heart for Maui.

          Akahai – kindness expressed with tenderness

          Lokahi – unity

          Oluolu

          Ha‘aha‘a

          Ahonui

We started with akahai, and today, I want to share the meaning of lokahi, which means ‘unity.’ It is something we felt when you and thousands of others from around the world chose to support Maui after the wildfires.

We also saw a powerful expression of unity at the Lele Aloha Hoʻūlu Lahaina Unity March on Maui on January 20, 2024, when the people of Maui came together to love and support Lahaina and the healing and recovery of those affected by the fires.

Archie Kalepa, a Lahaina community leader and the founder of Lele Aloha, a Maui Strong Fund partner that organized the march, addressed the 4,000 plus attendees with an inspiring message:

“What is required of us now? In the aftermath, to continue to walk forward, there are many answers that we do not have today. But I know this deep in my na‘au: we will not get there alone. We need the kind of strength and the kind of power that we can only find in one another. In unity.”

Here are some scenes from the Lele Aloha Hoʻūlu Lahaina Unity March.

Mahalo for recognizing the needs in Maui and for your kindness and generosity to support the healing, recovery, and resilience of our community. Mahalo for joining us in lokahi.

Me ke aloha (with aloha),

Die indigenen Völker der Vereinigten Staaten interssieren sich sehr über die Geschichte und Problematiken des Hawaiin Kingdom. Denn auch sie haben ähnliche oder gleiche Schicksale der Unterdrückung von den Vereinigten Staaten an ihrer eigenen Haut erfahren müssen. Das traurige Schicksal von Hawaii bekommt langsam mehr und mehr Zuhörer von der ganzen Welt über.

So haben Freunde von mir, Peter Schwarzbauer und Gawan Maringer, vom „Arbeitskreis Indiander Nordamerikas“ aus Österreich den Text von meinem hawaiianischen Freund Leon Siu übersetzt und ebenfalls am Januar 21, 2024 veröffentlicht.

Ich möchte euch den spannenden Bericht von Leon nicht vorenthalten:

H.E. Leon Kaulahao Siu
Minister of Foreign Affairs / Außenminister

The Hawaiian Kingdom / Das Königreich Hawaii