Editorials
Friday, December 19, 1997FAILING to persuade judges in civil court with the absurd proposition that current land titles in Hawaii are voided by the alleged illegality of the U.S. annexation of the islands, co-founders of a title-searching company finally face criminal charges. Perfect Title Co. principals David Keanu Sai and Donald A. Lewis were indicted by a state grand jury on charges of attempted theft. The indictment comes more than a year after they began luring homeowners down a path paved in fool's gold. Courts should punish
land title scam artistsAs the Star-Bulletin's Rob Perez reported in August 1996, Sai and Lewis, charging $1,500 for a title search, were able to convince homeowners that their titles were invalid, on the theory that courts established after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893 lacked authority to probate wills and approve transfers of property.
Perfect Title's challenge of the state's ownership of a site for a federal detention center was viewed five months ago by federal Judge David Ezra as "utterly and completely without merit." Ezra added: "I don't like to see the people of Hawaii victimized, and that's what's happening here."
Michael and Carol Simafranca also face attempted theft and burglary charges. The Simafrancas lost possession of their Aiea home through foreclosure, then attempted to regain ownership based on a title search by Perfect Title. They hired a locksmith to gain entry to the house, moved back in and changed the locks to keep out the family that had bought the foreclosed property. The new owners eventually obtained a restraining order against the couple.
Undeterred by defeats in civil court, Perfect Title has continued to cause havoc in the state's real estate industry and untold misery for families that have seen their home investments evaporate. The company has gone so far as to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court that is as half-baked as its underlying premise. Criminal prosecution appears to be the only way to bring an end to this incredible scheme and prevent these people from creating more victims.
NELSON Mandela led South Africa out of the oppressive system of apartheid into multiracial democracy in one of the great victories for nonviolence of the century. But Mandela is now 79, and preparing to turn the nation's leadership over to a younger generation. This week Mandela surrendered the leadership of the ruling African National Congress to Thabo Mbeki, 55. Mbeki will head the party ticket in the 1999 elections and is virtually certain to succeed Mandela as president. Mandela bowing out
Mandela is a world figure, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and a hero to the cause of racial justice. Mbeki is little known, even in South Africa, although he has been running the party and the government since Mandela made him deputy president in 1994. This could be a problem.
Without Mandela's prestige, the government could face challenges. Despite the abolition of apartheid and the election of a black-dominated leadership, blacks have seen little improvement in their economic condition. One-third of them are unemployed and most of South Africa's wealth is still in white hands. Corruption has plagued the regime.
Mandela recently warned that reactionary whites are plotting to discredit the new government and turn the political clock back. That danger seems slim at present but without Mandela at the helm it could grow.
Fortunately for Mbeki and the whole anti-apartheid movement, Mandela's former wife, Winnie, is unlikely to be much of a problem. Her recent appearance before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission destroyed any chance that she might become deputy president. All African National Congress groups withdrew their support for her after hearing how she tortured and murdered black youths.
WHEN President Clinton proposed sending American peacekeepers to Bosnia to enforce the Dayton accords, he vowed they would be there one year, no more. At the end of the first year, he announced a renewed mission, to last 18 months. Now that deadline is also history. This time, Clinton says the troops -- currently about 8,500 -- will be there indefinitely. Bosnia peacekeepers
When the troop commitment was first proposed, Clinton probably knew that the one-year limit was unrealistic, but such an admission would have made it more difficult to win support. Reneging for a second time on a deadline for withdrawal destroys any credibility the president still has on this issue.
At his confirmation hearing last January, Defense Secretary William Cohen assured the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. troops would not remain in Bosnia beyond mid-1998. As a senator, Cohen had criticized Clinton for extending the mission beyond the original deadline of December 1996. He argued that the 1998 deadline would prod European governments into assuming the entire peacekeeping mission.
But Cohen has been forced to fall in line as the administration tears up another pledge and the president talks about staying until "the job is done."
Clinton even refuses to say whether the troops will be out of Bosnia by the end of his term in January 2001. Take that as a pretty good indication that they won't be. It may be left to his successor to decide when enough is enough.
Removal of all peacekeepers next June probably would be premature and risk a resumption of the war. But it's time the Europeans took over the job completely. By prolonging the U.S. mission, Clinton is implicitly admitting that he failed to persuade the Europeans to accept that responsibility.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
