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Disturbances Hawaii's congressional delegation reiterated this morning the need for common courtesy during the joint U.S. Senate-House hearings in Honolulu after disruptions the past two days.
trouble hearings
on Akaka bill
Hecklers supporting the return
and restoration of the Hawaiian
kingdom disrupt congressional
hearings at the Blaisdell CenterBy Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin"Everyone will be heard in good order," said U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who serves as acting chairman of the House Resources Committee for these hearings.
"Good order will be maintained at these hearings," he said.
Nevertheless, the heckling continued this morning with the first witness to testify, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairman Clayton Hee, and continued during and in between testifiers.
At one point late yesterday morning, the outbursts became so disruptive that U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye had to plead with a handful of hecklers waving large signs to quiet down so he could address the audience.
"I have been extremely patient the last few days," said Inouye, who heads the joint panel. "We have listened to your statements. We have permitted you to demonstrate. The police department is here to take you on, but I said no. We want you to stay here. But the least you can do is to permit those who wish to testify to testify without interruption."You speak of aloha. You speak of democracy. Let's speak of that," he said.
Paul Cardus, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, said disruptions of this sort do not occur at congressional hearings held in Washington, D.C., where troublemakers are immediately removed from hearings.
The disruptions -- caused by those who support the return and restoration of the Hawaiian kingdom -- peaked yesterday when Marion G.A. Kelly, an associate professor of ethnic studies, testified that the proposed bill granting federal recognition to native Hawaiians was flawed and called it a "traitor's document" that continues to colonize the Hawaiian people.
Kelly said the U.S. government, through the 1993 apology resolution, has acknowledged its wrongful actions, and that it is time for the ceded lands to be returned to Hawaiians and for Hawaiians to be left alone to decide how they want to govern themselves.
"Seven years later, we are still living in a colony," Kelly said. "Now they tell us to jump through another hoop. Do you believe that?"
Non-Hawaiians also opposed the bill. Robert Booth, who has lived in Hawaii for 16 years, said that as a non-Hawaiian he, too, has a vested interest in this legislation. He called on the United States to do the right thing: return these islands to Hawaiians.
"If something ain't ours, we don't keep it," he said.
Nevertheless, most who testified yesterday favored the Akaka bill. Na'u Kinau, a member of the Native Hawaiian Working Group, which helped draft the proposal over the summer, said it is overwhelmingly clear that things are not pono (right) in the Hawaiian community and that the United States has an obligation as part of its trust relationship to help make it right.
Former state Circuit Judge Thomas K. Kaulukukui Jr., now a trustee for the Queen Liliuokalani Trust, also believes the Akaka bill can help save federal programs for Hawaiians.
"We cannot do the things we need to do alone," he said.
Mahealani Kamauu, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said the threat of litigation against such programs has made it necessary to speed up this legislation. She suggested amendments to the bill to give the proposed Native Hawaiian Governing Body the power to hold lands in trust with full sovereign powers.
State Rep. Sol Kahoohalahala (D, Lanai) said while the state Legislature supports actions that better conditions for Hawaiians, the state is really not the best body to determine Hawaiian self-governance. That is why passage of the Akaka bill is so important, he said.
The hearings continue through Friday. The Hawaii delegation hopes to gain congressional approval of the bill before session ends in early October.