The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi continues to exist today. That is an assertion by Dr. Keanu Sai, a controversial scholar whose work intersects with the sovereignty movement, though he’s quick to distance himself from what he calls a “political movement.”
Sai argues that the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi maintained its sovereignty following the 1893 overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani, citing international law governing states at war. He contends that the United States should have established a military government to administer the laws of Hawaiʻi, the occupied state, following the overthrow. The U.S. was beholden to administer those laws through the brokering of a treaty of peace. (This was the case in Japan following World War II and Iraq following the ousting of Saddam Hussein.) The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi never entered into a treaty with the U.S. to cede territory or transfer sovereignty. Annexation was passed by joint resolution; and statehood passed without consideration of commonwealth status or independence. Hawaiʻi, Sai argues, is under illegal military occupation under international law, remedied by de-occupation. Further, he claims, the U.S. committed war crimes (usurpation of sovereignty and denationalization) in its 131-year occupation. Watch more Comments are closed.
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