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Editorials
Wednesday, October 25, 2000Hawaiian autonomy
gets federal supportThe issue: The federal departments of the Interior and Justice have issued a final report recommending that Hawaiians have control over their affairs.
WITH Congress trying to wrap up business and go home to campaign, the bid to win last-minute approval of a Hawaiian autonomy bill has gotten a boost. The departments of the Interior and Justice have jointly issued a final report on the issue of reconciliation of the Hawaiian community with the federal government. It recommends that Hawaiians have control over their affairs within the framework of federal law.
The report has not been changed from a draft released in August but incorporates comments collected after the initial release. Statewide hearings were conducted in December 1999.
The final report comes with the Hawaiian autonomy bill having passed the House by unanimous consent and pending similar action in the Senate. The outcome there is still highly uncertain.
Failure to obtain unanimous consent in the Senate would mean the bill would have to be reintroduced next year. President Clinton is expected to approve the legislation if it is submitted to him but it is unknown whether the next president would.
The bill would establish a framework for recognition of a government-to-government relationship between Washington and a Hawaiian governing body elected by Hawaiians, similar to the relationship with American Indian tribes. Passage of such a measure is recommended in the joint Interior-Justice report.
Jacqueline Agtuca, acting director of the Office of Tribal Justice in the Justice Department, said, "The federal government should honor the unique relationship that exists with native Hawaiians and respond to their needs for more local control."
Supporters of full Hawaiian independence opposed the draft report on the ground that it could conflict with their efforts, but the departments said the report was not intended to have any implications for any rights under international law.
Senator Akaka, the lead sponsor of the Hawaiian autonomy legislation, applauded release of the report, saying it sets the tone for the nation's commitment to address Hawaiian issues.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Rice vs. Cayetano last February, which ruled unconstitutional the Hawaiians-only voting restriction for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee elections on the basis of racial discrimination, gave a sense of urgency to the campaign for Hawaiian autonomy.
The Akaka measure could provide a remedy for the situation created by the high court decision by obtaining federal recognition of Hawaiians as an indigenous people with the right to self-determination. This presumably would include the right to restrict voting in its elections to Hawaiians.
Having the endorsement of the Clinton administration through the Interior-Justice report could come in handy as Hawaii's senators lobby their colleagues for support of the autonomy bill. But much depends on the persuasive powers of Akaka and Inouye.
Soldiers will learn
through the Internet
ALONG with the duffel bag, helmet, canteen, flak jacket and entrenching tool, tomorrow's soldier will be packing a laptop computer. That is the thrust of an Army program aimed at providing educational opportunities to soldiers. The program will require major renovation of Army facilities in Hawaii, but the goal seems to be worth the effort.
Army Secretary Louis Caldera in July announced plans to spend $550 million over the next five years to expand educational programs available to soldiers on the Internet, allowing them to earn technical certificates, high school diplomas and college degrees. The Army also will purchase up to 20,000 laptop computers and provide them to basic-training graduates for use during advanced training.
"They'll sign for it like they do for everything else," said Bill Thompson, chief of education services for the Army in the Pacific, "and if they lose it, they will have to replace it."
None of Hawaii's Army housing is equipped with the fiber-optic cabling needed to handle the Internet. Soldiers will rely initially on the Army's Learning Center at Schofield Barracks, libraries or recreation centers for online connections.
The Army plans to consider installing cable in individual rooms in Schofield's new 500-unit housing complex after the online program is begun in December. Wiring Schofield's eight pre-World War II barracks, or quads, will be a larger challenge.
The number of online courses available to soldiers in Hawaii and the Pacific will increase from 172 last year to more than 400. Enrollment increased from 10,712 last year to 15,282 currently. The Army pays 75 percent of soldiers' tuition costs to the 19 universities and junior colleges participating in the program.
The program is necessary to recruit young people who might otherwise be discouraged from enlisting in the Army if it meant being disconnected from educational opportunities.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert 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
