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Comment by Pomaikaiokalani on August 5, 2010 at 9:10pm

----- Original Message -----
From: Kyle Kajihiro
To: manu.kaiama@hawaii.edu ; mililani.trask@gmail.com
Cc: demilnet_hawaii@yahoogroups.com ; dmz-hawaii@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [demilnet_Hawaii] Fwd: [DMZ-Hawaii] First Friday show / Annelle Amaral - Native Hawaiian Liason to Hawaii Army Garrison Commander



Annelle Amaral has received a contract (W912CN-08-C-0051) from the Army totaling $742,392.00. Her statement of work says:

"(a) Prepare a written Community Relations Plan (CRP) which shall present a clear, comprehensive and responsive program to present and explain the issues of the presence of the Army in Hawaii to the affected communities, neighborhood boards, special interest groups, resource agencies at all levels of government, and interested individuals.
(b) Represent USAG-HI leadership at community meetings with community groups to provide information to community on the Army’s positions, activities, accomplishments as they relate to Native Hawaiian issues and other concerns;
(c) Obtain outside points of view, opinions, or advice of noted community leaders, organizations, or experts to avoid too limited judgment on critical community and transformations issues, and provide feedback to USAG-HI leadership;
(d) Enhance USAG-HI’s understanding of, and develop alternative solutions to, complex community issues, and provide advice on Native Hawaiian issues and concerns, and propose a way-ahead;
(e) Provide training or workshops to USAG-HI or Army personnel on Native Hawaiian issues and concerns.
(f) Attend monthly USAG-HI command and staff meetings or special topic planning meetings. The SP shall attend meetings and serve as the subject matter expert and provide technical and functional advice and assistance on community support and related special project issues. Meetings will be held on the Islands of Oahu and Hawaii."

Was this a congressional earmark or sole source (no-bid) contract? If so, who directed the earmark?

Where is the community relations plan? What did you advise the Army to do to solve it's problem with the Kanaka Maoli?

Her job is primarily to "fix" the Army's community relations problem with Kanaka Maoli. One of the tactics has been to organize a pro-military Kanaka Maoli front via the "Native Hawaiian Covenant" and the Makua community leaders helicopter ride and photo op.

These are the same counterinsurgency methods used in Afghanistan and Iraq to try to win over a segment of the native population present a fig leaf of legitimacy for what is an illegal occupation. As it is true for people around the world, no amount of community relations can change the basic historical truths and the material consequences of imperialism. The Army cannot "P.R." away a peoples' hunger for justice.

We can expect that the line of discourse will be "can't we all get along?". "How can we have a win-win situation?" "Can't we have reconciliation?" We can expect that there will be some acknowledgment of past harm, and an openness to listening and doing things better. We can expect appeals to support the troops, our loved ones in the military who need to train.

But there cannot be a real reconciliation without sincere and just resolution of the historical wrongs or without addressing the immorality of the current policies/wars. As long as the military occupies hundreds of thousands of acres of Hawaiian national land and uses these lands to practice invading and waging wars against other countries, how can anyone seriously believe there can be reconciliation? And the people of Hawai'i did not declare a war or launch an invasion of other peoples' countries. The way to keep our loved ones safe is by keeping them out of the war.

In March, Annelle Amaral was quoted on KITV as saying



"The relationship between Native Hawaiians and the military becomes increasingly hostile as the years progress. Enough already. It's time for us to learn to work on buil

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