Hawaiian flags flew upside down yesterday during a peaceful demonstration by the pro-sovereignty group Huipu on the Iolani Palace grounds, where Huipu meets several times a month.
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Hundreds Celebrate Queen
Queen Liliuokalani's 170th birthday is met with joy and politics at the palace grounds
The 170th anniversary of Queen Liliuokalani's birth drew hundreds of people yesterday to the Iolani Palace grounds, the queen's last home -- or prison, as some would say -- but it was a celebration tinged with controversy.
"We want to tell the true history of the Hawaiian people," said Mervina Cash-Kaeo, chief executive officer of Alu Like Inc., one of the organizations that helped put on the event. "As Hawaiians we may agree on the events that happened in the past. It's when you take that next step on where we must go that we may have some disagreements."
Liliuokalani, Hawaii's last reigning monarch, was born on Sept. 2, 1838. Her birthday has been widely celebrated, but this was only the second year that a consortium of native Hawaiian groups, called the Hawaii Pono'i Coalition, has collaborated for an all-day event with music, food and tours on the palace grounds.
"We're here to celebrate our queen's birthday and also to remember that her dying wish was to restore the sovereignty of our nation," said Andre Perez, a coordinator of Huipu, a pro-sovereignty group.
Most at the event agreed that this year's celebration was smaller than last year's, perhaps because of recent protests at the palace.In recent months two pro-sovereignty groups have tried to take over the palace, most recently on Statehood Day, when more than 20 people were arrested.
In a quiet protest yesterday, several pro-sovereignty groups gathered in the far end of the palace grounds, removed from the music and food, flying upside-down Hawaiian flags, a signal of distress.
Martha Carvalho of Waipahu said she was glad the protesters stayed away from the main event, while she listened to music from several Hawaiian performers.
"I know the queen loved music. I'm not Hawaiian, but I have a lot of Hawaiian in me," Carvalho said, patting her heart.
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