Prominent sovereignty groups claim the Kingdom of Hawai’i remains intact because the overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani in 1893 and annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States in 1895 were illegal. Not Henry Noa, prime minister of the Lawful
Prominent sovereignty groups claim the Kingdom of Hawai’i remains intact because the overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani in 1893 and annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States in 1895 were illegal.
Not Henry Noa, prime minister of the Lawful Hawaiian Government Nation.
Noa says the overthrow did occur, but that the kingdom and its laws can be reinstated from recognition by sovereign countries and the establishment of diplomatic ties.
Although those arrangement have not been formalized, 138 countries “have received our documents,” he said. “We are a nation. We have treaties, functioning movement, domestic laws.”
When new treaties are signed and old treaties are activated, the kingdom will become a nation separate from the United States, Noa said. Reinstatement of the kingdom will take between 8 to 10 years, after which taxes will be paid to the kingdom, he said.
His government expects opposition from big businesses, landowners and the state and federal government, Noa said.
“I don’t expect us to be in very polite discussions, even with the federal government,” he said.
Reinstatement of the kingdom does not require the approval of the United States or involvement by an international court presiding over an issue related to the independence movement in Hawai’i, Noa said.
The World Court’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, is hearing a dispute between the Hawaiian Kingdom (a movement separate from Noa’s) and a Big Island resident who claims the kingdom didn’t protect his rights — as a subject of the kingdom — to operate his vehicle on the Big Island without a driver’s license, a license plate, safety check and registration.
Noa said the court did not give any credibility to legal arguments from the Hawaiian Kingdom because it felt the kingdom government is not in operation.
Noa said his independence government is way ahead of any other sovereignty group trying to bring back the nation because it has an executive and legislative branch, with seats for the judicial branch scheduled to be filled soon.
The legislature of his kingdom also has passed a resolution to set up a court system.
Noa said he has been working on the reinstatement of the kingdom for the last seven years, and that the kanaka maoli, the aboriginal people of Hawai’i, also should reject forthcoming federal legislation to establish a relation between the Hawaiians and the federal government.
The law would perpetuate the continuation of about 150 federally funded programs that benefit Hawaiians. But some programs could be eliminated because of constitutional challenges, Noa said. Hawai’i will no longer be a welfare state once it severs its dependence on the federal government to pay for the services, he said.
“It is important to take a stand on inherent sovereignty right as a kanaka, that they are the true owners of the lands in Hawai’i, not the state of Hawai’i or the federal government,” Noa said.
Once recognized as a foreign nation, the kingdom will be able to implement its laws, and will receive federal compensation that now goes to the state, he said.
The United States, Noa said, pays the Philippines government $500 million a year to man Clark Air Force base, Noa said.
“If our people stand together, we can get $5 billion dollars for Pearl Harbor,” Noa said. “We can tell them, ‘You know what, we no longer need your services. We will provide for our own.'”
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
