Group Locks Gates At 'Iolani Palace
Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of the Friends of 'Iolani Palace, said he and other staff members were 'in lockdown' in the palace and a nearby administration building, including the woman who was assaulted. She suffered scrapes but was not seriously injured, he said.
'These guys are threatening to go in the palace,' said Chu, reached by phone. 'There's about 25 of them. They've got a king and the king wants to sit on the throne.
'This is pretty serious, it's pretty intense here.'
He said he understood a police officer standing nearby did nothing as his staff member was being assaulted, despite her request for help. 'I thought they took an oath to protect the public,' Chu said.
The notices were posted by about a dozen men wearing red Polo shirts with yellow lettering stenciled with 'security' on the back.
One of the men, who declined to give his name, told The Advertiser: 'We're going to be here for a while. Four days, five days, a week. A while. As long as it takes.'
The group was allowing people inside to get their cars.
About 6:50 p.m., the group allowed reporters inside the gates.
On the King Street side of the palace, the gates are locked with a chain and a sign that reads 'This is Royal Property of the Kingdom and is off limits to all unauthorized personnel. Only those with special passes may enter these grounds. All others must acquire permit of passage. Signed by order of the King Akahi Nui. Alfred Love.'
At one point, witnesseses said, three men shoved aside a palace employee as she attempted to allow someone onto the grounds. The incident occurred near the diamondhead side gate.
A witness, attorney James Wright, said the men struck the employee and slammed her into a gate in front of a Honolulu police officer. All the officer said is 'this is not HPD jurisdiction,' Wright said.
'We're going to contact the state officers who have jurisdiction on the palace grounds, they are going to come down here, and I'm going to ask them to talk to the lady,' officer Y. Chan said.
No one with the group would speak to The Advertiser, but a member of the group gave a reporter a printed statement titled 'Iolani Palace occupation public information bulletin.'
It reads:
'Majesty Akahi Nui, the King of Hawaii, has now reoccupied the throne of Hawaii. The Kingdom of Hawaii is now reenacted.
'The Iolani Palace is a federally protected area. Any conversation may be recorded and submitted to the U.S. Congressional record for investigation purposes. The King and Queen of Hawaii, and the Kingdom of Hawaii, is now under a condition of federal protective custody.
'The State of Hawaii, and all persons thereof, is now under a condition of federal arrest. Under no circumstances shall they, nor anyone else, violate the protective custody order. There shall be no action which may harm or endanger the welfare of the Kingdom or the people of either the Kingdom of Hawaii or the United States.
'No persons shall be admitted onto the Iolani Palace grounds without authorized consent from the Royal Marshal or the King.
'All special requests shall be done in writing, and hand delivered to the King by the Marshal.
'By Order of The Provost'
'Order of The Provost'
About 6:40 p.m. a group of six men raised a flag on the armory flagpole. It was a
white, red and blue striped flag with a coat of arms in the middle.
The Hawaiian flag remained flying over the palace.
Comments
DLNR IS A USA PROGRAM AGAIN TO SHOVE USA'S ILLEGAL OCCUPATION DOWN THE KANAKA MAOLI'S THROAT & TO ILLEGAL ENFORCE THIER LAWS . what they have done with their law is to turn 'Iolani Palace into usa's Trophy of Genocide of the Hawaiian Sovereign, Culture & Race.
http://hawaiiankingdom.org Tell s truth
mahalo: Vance...what a goddamned circus™
Date: Aug 17, 2008 3:26 PM
Hawaiian palace occupied anew; 22 arrested
19 hours ago
HONOLULU (AP) — A group of Native Hawaiians claiming to be the state's legitimate rulers occupied the grounds of a historic palace for two hours before being arrested by state officers in the second recent takeover of its kind.
A staff member of the Iolani Palace said she was assaulted and slightly injured during the takeover Friday night, then snubbed by city police who claimed they didn't have jurisdiction. Gov. Linda Lingle said Saturday that there would be an investigation into the police response to the takeover.
A group of men, wearing red shirts with "security" stenciled in yellow on the back, took over the grounds by chaining the gates of the palace next to the State Capitol and posted signs saying: "Property of the Kingdom of Hawaiian Trust."
Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of the Friends of Iolani Palace, said he and other staff members were locked down in the palace and a nearby administration building during the takeover.
"They've got a king, and the king wants to sit on the throne," de Alba Chu said.
State law officers climbed over the fence a couple of hours after the takeover began and made 22 arrests. Fourteen were charged with criminal trespassing and were released after posting $50 bail. Eight were being held on charges of burglary for allegedly forcing their way into the palace.
The palace, normally open to tours, will remain closed during the weekend to assess any damage and to ensure its security, police said.
Ah Yuen, an Iolani Palace employee, said she was assaulted by protesters and called for help from a Honolulu police officer, who told her the palace grounds were not under city police jurisdiction.
Witnesses said the confrontation started when Yuen went to the palace gate and talked with the protesters, who locked the gate with a chain and then forced their way into the palace itself before officers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources came to arrest them.
The governor promised an investigation and said the people who invaded the palace "have to be shown it's not going to be acceptable."
"This is one of the most cherished sites in our state," Lingle said. "We always have to try to strike a balance between public access and security for the building and for the people there."
Laura H. Thielen, director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which oversees the palace, condemned the takeover.
"We intend to charge them to the fullest extent of the law," Thielen said.
The pro-sovereignty group identified its leader as King Akahi Nui, who was among those arrested. An "occupation public information bulletin" distributed by a member of the group began: "Majesty Akahi Nui, the King of Hawaii, has now reoccupied the throne of Hawaii. The Kingdom of Hawaii is now re-enacted."
Akahi Nui claims to have been coronated in 1998.
The takeover of the palace — built in 1882 when the islands were ruled by a monarchy — came on Admission Day, a state holiday marking Hawaii's admission to the United States on Aug. 21, 1959.
Several Native Hawaiian organizations have rival claims to sovereignty over the islands. Another group calling itself the Hawaiian Kingdom Government occupied the palace grounds April 30 and has been getting permits to set up on the grounds each week since then. That group claims to be operating a functioning government from the palace grounds.
The ornate palace is operated as a museum of Hawaiian royalty. King Kalakaua built it, and it also served as the residence for his sister and successor, Queen Liliuokalani, the islands' last ruling monarch. Liliuokalani was imprisoned in the palace after the 1893 U.S.-supported overthrow of the monarchy.
After falling into disrepair, the palace was restored in the 1970s as a National Historic Landmark. It now includes a gift shop and is open for school groups and offers tours.
Hawaiian activists have long used the site for protests against the U.S. control of the islands.
Two men, who would not give their names, chained the gate in front of Iolani Palace yesterday evening.
Palace takeover
Several protesters are arrested after a sovereignty group locks up Iolani Palace
STORY SUMMARY | READ THE FULL STORYA native Hawaiian sovereignty group briefly took control of the grounds of Iolani Palace last night, leading to the arrest of at least 22 protesters.
Palace officials closed the historic site "until further notice" to assess any possible damage.
About 25 members of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation, with its self-proclaimed king Akahi Nui, began locking the gates at about 5:30 p.m. One palace employee was allegedly assaulted at the palace gates.
The takeover occurred on the Statehood Day holiday, which commemorates Hawaii becoming a state. It was the second time since late April that a Hawaiian sovereignty group took over the grounds of the historic site.
A group of men hoisted a new flag at Iolani Palace yesterday evening after a group claiming to have royal heritage advised the media that they were assuming control of the palace.
FULL STORY »
lfujimori@starbulletin.com
rshikina@starbulletin.com
State officers arrested 22 protesters last night after a Hawaiian sovereignty group chained the gates of the Iolani Palace grounds, broke into the palace -- reportedly intending to put its king on the throne -- and hoisted its flag on Statehood Day.
Some members of the group calling itself the Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation, allegedly assaulted a palace employee during the takeover.
After the arrests, palace officials issued a statement saying the historic site would be closed so they can assess the damage.
"Until further notice, Iolani Palace will be closed to the public due to a break-in ... by a group calling itself the Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation. Until it is possible for us to assess any damage and to ensure that the palace doors are secure, it is necessary for us to restrict public access," the statement said.
About 25 group members with its king, Akahi Nui, began locking the gates at about 5:30 p.m., said Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of Friends of Iolani Palace.
"The king, they said, is going to sit on the throne," de Alba Chu recalled a man saying. "They also said we need to open the palace doors or they are going to break them down."
"Alarms are going off at the palace and the barracks building," said Noelani Ah Yuen, facilities manager at Iolani Palace, by phone from the Kanaina Building on the palace grounds during the takeover. "We don't have any law enforcement here helping us."
The group had about 15 to 20 guards wearing red shirts who refused to allow people inside the gates.
"The king of Hawaii has returned to his throne, and the state of Hawaii is under a state of arrest by a federal marshal to ensure the interests of the USA," said a written statement handed out to the media.
It was the second time a sovereignty group locked the palace gates this year. About 70 members of a separate group, the Hawaiian Kingdom Government, occupied the grounds on April 30.
"We don't have any information on this group (Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation)," said de Alba Chu. "We never heard of them before.
"Other sovereignty groups are very upset with this," he said.
"It's ridiculous," he added. "We are preserving Hawaii's history and culture -- that's why we don't want any damage to happen to the building or its contents. That's why we're asking all groups to respect the palace grounds."
He said, "We're extremely frustrated, and we feel betrayed by the Honolulu Police Department. Our personal safety was at risk, and the officer just left. It's like we can't even count on the Police Department when our safety is in jeopardy. It's atrocious."
A Department of Land and Natural Resources officer hauled away a man wearing a "Security" shirt.
Three of the group's members began slamming the gate on her, trying to push her out, she said.
She called out for help to a nearby police officer, who told her it was not his jurisdiction, she said.
The palace is on state grounds, outside of HPD jurisdiction. State Department of Land and Natural Resources officers arrived later in the evening and started making arrests.
After Ah Yuen pushed her way back onto the palace grounds, the guards let her go and she went into the administration building.
"I got a few scrapes, my neck is kind of sore, my back is kind of sore," she said. "We have an obligation to the people of Hawaii, to the nation, to protect and preserve the palace, and that's our main concern."
She was later taken to the Queen's Medical Center by an official with the Friends of Iolani Palace.
Alfred Love, a group member who contended he was a federal marshal, denied that anyone had been manhandled at a side gate.
The group's leaders -- King Akahi Nui and Queen Akahi Wahine -- were on the palace grounds but did not speak to the media.
Akahi Nui claims he descends from King Kamehameha I and is the heir to the crown.
The protesters initially allowed the media onto the grounds, but asked reporters and photographers to leave at about 7:30 p.m.
Love said he would escort the king to the throne. Love "placed the king of Hawaii and his kingdom under federal protective custody and arrested the state of Hawaii from doing anything that would harm or endanger the kingdom, or threaten the treaties of the USA by armed force" against the Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation, the group's statement read.
Also present was Delano Muller, a man wearing a black suit and tie, who claimed to be a U.N. ambassador for the Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation, and an observer for a human rights organization.
"I'm here as an observer," Muller said.
Muller and Patrick McCormick, special adviser to Akahi Nui and Akahi Wahine, said they were at the palace as observers because the king had been arrested and wrongly imprisoned for five months in 2002 for trespassing in Ulupalakua on property that had belonged to his great-great-grandmother.
Elton Gushiken said he is brother of the queen and the only relative on the grounds. He said the king is from Wailuku and that the queen is from Kauai.
Other native Hawaiians began showing up and asking questions at the gates, saying they received word by e-mail of the takeover.
One Hawaiian man told a Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation, guard that Hawaiian sovereignty groups needed to unite, otherwise they will eventually fade away. "If we fight in small groups, nothing is going to be done," he said.
This Akahi Nui is from Mau'i; another political entity with its own platform in an attempt to gain recognition of their group. There are several political entities that are trying to get U.S. to take them and us seriously and standing up for our rights.
People say Hawaiians aren't together with all these groups. Ask them, "Are you Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, Home Rule OR U.S. American or U.S. citizen?" They will think it a foolish question, wouldn't they? It's the same for the Hawaii national. We have a variety of Hawaii citizens that have their platform and ALL of them recognize that they are Hawai'i nationals/citizens of the still existing Kingdom of Hawai'i.
I must say that I am shocked that their security men allegedly would have physically pushed a woman to the fence. No different than the U.S. police behave today; nonetheless, that shouldn't excuse them. That is not pono; but we don't know all that happened. It's bound to get people testy after their backs are being pushed to the wall; they will come out fighting. Hawaii nationals are beginning to stand up and won't back down.
Throughout the world, the freedom fighters are confronting their unlawful belligerent occupiers. Things are bound to boil over especially when they are being disrespected and flippantly dismissed. We know the Christian manifest destiny is an aberration and people are no longer accepting it as appropriate behaviour. This racist attitude is no longer acceptable; the occupiers just have to face it and back off if they want to be respected.
The U.S. created this because they will not honestly face it and are not willing to resolve it.
Tane
20 held in palace takeover attempt
Group occupies 'Iolani grounds, allegedly assaults staffer on Statehood Day
Advertiser Staff Writers
'Police ... did nothing'
Previous occupation