Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 6, 1 June 2005 — Bill does not provide justice [ARTICLE]

Bill does not provide justice

The Akaka Bill - will it pass? Likely. A hundred years ago the Congress of the United States of America, deciding there was a need for a foothold in the Pacific, authorized the invasion, occupation and overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Never mind that Hawai'i was a sovereign nation, the U.S. wanted the foothold - and took it - because they could. This action was, and still is, an illegal act whieh begs, and in fact demands, an accounting. The Akaka Bill provides for monetary compensation and a segregated status, whieh, if accepted, could bring a form of legal closure. While acceptance may be eonsidered an eeonomie windfall, like a windfall, it is rotten fruit - and certainly not justice. Justice not served leads to further wrongs, such as the invasion of Iraq, by a country whose Congress now feels a need for a foothold in that part of the world, and, as it did a hundred years ago, pursues its goal - because it ean.

The Akaka Bill will probably pass because the U.S. Congress doesn't often eoneem itself with the world view. However, I say to the people who represent these islands: If you persist in believing that money is more valuable than justice, or that a segregated status is a worthy substitute for nationhood, you are not being true to Hawai'i and, as importantly, and with vastly greater consequences for the future, not true to America. Kelly Greenwell Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i

[?]