Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Hawaiians stress
unity, nonviolence
in protests
Hawaiian groups meet to
By Suzanne Tswei
discuss political strategies for
the challenging future
Star-Bulletin
There was no screaming, no shouting, no crying, no name-calling. There were differences in opinion. But in the end, the importance of unity was the theme that emerged yesterday from a five-hour-long meeting of about 150 Hawaiian leaders and activists.
Some of those who attended also called for a sleep-in demonstration at the University of Hawaii's Campus Center March 15 to protest against university tuition increases and the "development and desecration of Mauna Kea" related to the Keck Observatory.
"We don't want a confrontation with the police. We just want to get the message out," said Joshua Cooper, who will be conducting a disobedience training session Saturday at the Center for Hawaiian Studies. The group endorsed civil disobedience as one way to gain political clout and educate the public on Hawaiian issues, said Vicky Holt Takamine, kumu hula and president of the 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition.
"There are different ways to protests, and they don't all have to lead to arrests. We want to emphasis the nonviolent part," Takamine said.
Spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that invalidates Hawaiians-only voting for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees and the possibility of the loss of Hawaiian entitlement programs, several Hawaiian groups called the meeting to discuss strategies for the future, including issues of sovereignty, OHA, self-determination and civil disobedience."The sole purpose was to see how we can make the best of a bad situation," Takamine said.
"The idea was to bring a variety of different people together to find some commonality that we can all agree on. What came out of the meeting is the possibility of different people working together."
She said the meeting was civil and productive with "no bursts of emotionalism."
The groups asked the media to leave while they conducted the meeting. Leaders met with the media after the meeting.
Among the groups at the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii yesterday were the Oahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, the 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, Ka Lahui Hawaii and other Hawaiian groups.
Takamine said she has begun paperwork to form a new political party, called Aloha Aina, to provide the community with "better choices" for candidates and legislation. She is looking for the necessary 602 signatures to make the party a reality, Takamine said.
Ira Rohter, a political science professor, was one of the non-Hawaiians to attend yesterday's meeting.
"Usually there's this kind of media portrait of the Hawaiians getting all upset about something. But what I saw was a group of very competent people doing some pretty sophisticated stuff," Rohter said.
Rohter said the call for civil disobedience has been sensationalized in the news media when it may be only a small part of the Hawaiian political planning. He described yesterday's participants as "insightful" and "focused" in their discussion of how to organize their political power and educate the public.
"If I read the paper and watch the TV news, then I get the idea there are these crazed Hawaiian people out there. But what I heard (yesterday) was very sophisticated conversation. There were very astute suggestions and observations, and a lot of laughter, too."
OHA Special
Rice vs. Cayetano arguments
Rice vs. Cayetano decision
