The 174th anniversaries of the national holidays Lā Hoʻihoʻi Eā and Lā Kūʻokoʻa were widely and more intently celebrated throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The events reminded us of the sovereign and equal status attained by the Hawaiian Kingdom among the great powers of the earth.
The celebrations of the life of Queen Lili`uokalani — her 179th birthday in September and the 100th year since her passing in November — both served to emphasize her grace, wisdom and courage, making all the more heinous, the hewa committed against her and the people of her Kingdom. The wrongful taking is coming more into focus to a broader audience and with it, better understanding of the need to Free Hawai`i.
The Kū`e intensified — with actions against the TMT project on Mauna Kea and the solar telescope on Haleakalā; with high profile questions over land titles (particularly on Kaua`i with issues involving Zuckerberg, Wainiha, Coco Palms…); with uncovering judicial abuse of Hawaiian nationals (such as the wrongful detention of Robert Warren Jr.); and so forth.
And social media was ablaze with alerts, calls to action, information and discussions, getting people more maʻa to our condition and more committed to making things pono.
Meanwhile, significant progress was made in arenas not so visible… such as in international legal and diplomatic venues.
2018 Will Be Even Better! A Year Of Breakthroughs…
January 17 is the 125th anniversary of the real "Day of Infamy" in the Hawaiian Islands, when the peaceful Hawaiian Kingdom suffered a sneak attacked by U.S. armed forces in collusion with insurgents to cause a regime change.
This year, 2018, starting with the 125th anniversary of the “overthrow,” is a great opportunity to heighten awareness locally and globally of our situation and our resolve to Free Hawai`i. Besides using ʻOnipa`a Kākou to engage the press, the general public, the visitors, the state legislature (coincidentally opening its 2018 session on the same Day of Infamy) and the media, we will be working to gain coverage by the international press/media of our efforts to Free Hawai`i.
There are many other key dates this year that we plan to utilize to amplify our story, gain exposure and rally support to Free Hawaii.
Also, Hawaiian nationals will be pressuring the "State of Hawai`i” on a number of issues. One is to stop the Stateʻs blatant discrimination in its maltreatment and persecution of Hawaiian nationals due to our national origin. This form of discrimination is strictly prohibited by state, federal and international law. We will be mounting several other challenges to the legitimacy of the State of Hawai`i.
This is also the year we will be projecting our vision forward by discussing and starting in earnest to plan what Hawaii will be like as a sovereign, independent country.
Itʻs going to be a great year! Stay tuned!
Malama pono,
Leon Siu
