Category: Events & Action

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Memorial planned for Halawa defender Boots Matthews

Halawa Valley / H-3 was the site of an epic struggle to protect Native Hawaiian cultural sites and native forest. The H-3 freeway was a military funded highway to link Pearl Harbor with the Kane’ohe Marine Corps Base.  A group of women activists and cultural practitioners occupied the Hale o Papa heiau, a women’s temple dedicated to Papahanaumoku, the earth mother to stop the construction of the freeway.  The freeway was built, but they succeeded in saving the heiau.  Other sites such as the Kukuiolono heiau were destroyed. Senator Inouye exempted the H-3 from the National Environmental Policy Act to expedite its construction and avoid endangered species challenges.  ‘Boots’ and his wife Sweets Matthews were leaders in the efforts to protect Halawa.

Uncle Boots (Robert Matthews) passed away earlier this month. He was curator, cultural practitioner, and educator in North Halawa Valley with the Na Kupuna A Me Na Kako’o O Halawa.

Services for him will be on the last Sunday of March in Halawa from 10 am to 2 pm.

Among many other accomplishments, Uncle Boots taught thousands of participants in the Malama i na ahupua’a/Adopt an ahupua’a service-learning program about Kanaka Maoli culture, history, native rights, and ethnobotany over the last fourteen years. With his wife, Sweet, he gave many participants experiences and knowledge that changed their life. We must continue to malama Halawa and uphold his dream to keep it as a place of education and healing.

In preparation for the Sunday program for him in North Halawa Valley , there will be a work day on Wednesday March 24 from 9 am to 1 pm.  Here’s an announcement for the work day.

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Halawa Valley – HELP URGENTLY NEEDED for Sundays Aloha to Uncle Boots

Date:  Wednesday March 24, 2010

Time:  9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Site: Halawa/Aiea – Under the H3 – mauka of (up behind) Hawaiian Cement on Halawa Valley St .

Our kupuna, Uncle Boots, passed away earlier this month. Over the years, he taught thousands of MINA participants about Halawa, indigenous rights, and Hawaiian culture, medicine, history, and ethnobotany.

Please come and help us honor him by making his site of education in top shape for the services on Sunday, 3/28/10, 10 am to 2 pm – and of course, if you are new, learn about the place.

Directions to the site: From the Moanalua Freeway going west (78), take the Camp Smith exit (1E) and follow Halawa Valley Street . Pass a “No outlet” sign. Immediately after you pass under the H3 freeway, turn left, with the Hawaiian Cement Plant on your right and the H3 freeway up above you on your left (you are actually going through the Hawaiian Cement work area – drive carefully – but continue). Choose the right leg of the road split, turn left and then right back on track along the H3- as to form two sides of a triangle. (If the weather is dry, you can use the “third leg” which follows H3.) Stay close to the H3 up above you (on your left), and continue through the first and second gate. We meet at the third gate at the entrance to the cultural access area.

Find links to maps at http://www2.hawaii.edu/~csssl/pages/sites.html#halawa (use the “Satellite” version). Please notice that there are separate maps for driving and for using public transportation. Alternatively, go directly to: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107851689218305941784.0004709609a2bc25dc33d

Call Ulla (808-330 1276) or Rick (808-330 0096), if you need additional information.

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A report on the March 20, 2010 Hilo Peace Rally

A report from Jim Albertini on the March 20, 2010 Hilo Peace Rally

Aloha Peace Ohana,

More than 60 people gathered on Hilo Bayfront from 10AM till noon today for a peace rally amid a light rain to call for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The rally was organized to mark the 7th anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and to stand in solidarity with thousands around the U.S. organizing similar rallies and marches to end the wars. Many of the signs called for cutting off the war funds and redirecting the money to human needs, such as education, jobs, health care, and stopping foreclosures.

In Hilo people held signs and banners along Kamehameha Ave. for the first hour and continued to do so the 2nd hour when a number of speakers offered insights and gave encouragement to build a movement for justice and peace. It was especially encouraging to have many local youth join the rally. Keana DeCosta spoke for UHH Global HOPE. Eric Orseske, another UHH student also inspired the crowd. Eric served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division both in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2004. Eric said the best way to support the troops is to stop the wars and bring the troops home. Eric called for:

1. withdrawal of all U.S. and foreign troops from Iraq and Afghanistan;

2. Insuring adequate health care for returning veterans and their families;

3. Reparations for the Iraqi and Afghani people who have suffered tremendous losses (1.3 million Iraqi civilians have been slaughtered since the 2003 U.S. invasion);

4 Eric also called for other GI’s to know their rights and he called for investigating Depleted Uranium (munitions and contamination) and the erosion of our Bill of Rights.

Other speakers included Hanako Shibata from Nagasaki, Japan who said “war never again –peace to all!” Local building contractor, Danny Li, spoke on the economic aspects of the wars –trillions of dollars spent on war and Wall Street while human needs and basic government services are cut back. Rosylyn “Bunny” Smith, who lived in Iran and other parts of the world as a U.S. diplomat family, spoke of concern for Palestine and the similar rhetoric today about Iran like we heard prior to the war in Iraq. Lee Bowden encouraged people to not give up, to keep protesting what’s being done in our names and urged people to join the weekly Hilo Peace Vigil on Fridays 3:30-5PM at the down down Hilo Post Office.

A statement was read from Cory Harden who could not attend the rally: Cory urged public hearings for the EIS of the Army’s proposed Join High Speed Vessel (JHSV) –the militarized Superferry. At present no hearings are planned. Cory also summarized the story of depleted uranium in Hawaii and the non-functioning Pohakuloa Community Advisory Group.

I urged people to take and pass on to friends a “Call to Action” flier. The flier (see below) notes three actions:

1. Call Hawaii’s congressional delegation to demand a cut off of the war funds;

2. A Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th roving peace vigil around the island — urging people to join in their local communities for an hour during the weekend;

3. A public form –Sunday, April 25th on Military Depleted Uranium Radiation Contamination on Hawaii island.– 7-9PM at the Keaau Community Center

Following the rally’s scheduled speakers, there was an open microphone for others to come forward and share. Many did, sharing thoughts and even a few songs. The honking horns from passing cars showed widespread opposition to the wars. A lone war supporter (– part of “The gathering of Eagles”) stood in the long line of war opponents, but on this day in history the pro-war message didn’t fly in Hilo. The response was clear. People have had enough of war: Bring the troops home now. Stop the Wars! Ground the Imperial Eagle!

A Call to Action

1. Email/Call Hawaii’s Congressional delegation and demand a cut off of the war funds:

Senator Dan Inouye http:inouye.senate.gov in Washington 202-224-3934, in Hilo 935–0844, in Honolulu 541-2542

Senator Dan Akaka http:akaka.senate.gov in Washington 202-224-6361, in Hilo 935-1114

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono www.hirono.gov in Washington 202-225-4906, in Hilo 935-3756, in Honolulu 808-541-1986.

2. Join and help spread the word about the Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th Roving Peace Vigil around the island with an emphasis on stopping the wars; shifting war funds to education, health care and other human needs; and military clean up not build up in Hawaii.

On Sat. April 10th Vigil sites are:

9-10AM Bayfront Hilo

11-12AM Honoka’a (Hwy by Tex’s Drive In)

1-2PM Waimea — Fronting Parker Ranch Shopping Center (Foodland)

3-4PM Waikoloa Village – Waikoloa Rd and Paniolo Ave. by shopping center

On Sunday, April 11th Vigil sites are:

9-10AM Volcano Hwy 11 Wright Road

11-12 Na’alehu theater

1-2PM Captain Cook –across from Manago Hotel

3-4PM Kailua-Kona – Kailua pier

3. Join, and help pass the word about the forum on Military Depleted Uranium Radiation Contamination on Hawaii Island

Sunday, April 25th from 7-9PM at the Keaau Community Center

Representatives from the military are invited along with citizen representatives to give presentations and field questions from the audience.

Please Answer the Call. Mahalo!

For more information contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box AB Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760. Phone 808-966-7622

email ja@interpac.net Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

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US for OKINAWA and Peace Boat create Study Program to Okinawa!

Peace Boat and US for Okinawa are planning a study program to Okinawa April 1 – 5, 2010. Deadline for applications is March 16, 2010.

http://us-for-okinawa.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-for-okinawa-and-peace-boat-create.html

Thursday, March 4, 2010

US for OKINAWA and Peace Boat create Study Program to Okinawa!

Are you interested in learning more about the U.S. military base issue in Okinawa? Do you want to help prevent the dugong from becoming extinct in Japan? Do you want to hear the reason for local people’s opposition to military bases with your own ears? If you answered yes to any of these questions then please join *US for OKINAWA Peace Action Network* on an active study program of Japan’s subtropical south this April.

US for OKINAWA is joining local residents in Ginowan City, Okinawa in asking the U.S. government to shut down the dangerous Futenma Air Base located right in the middle of their city. The base has endangered the lives of the local residents through military accidents, and lacks a buffer zone around it to protect surrounding schools, homes, hospitals and businesses. The U.S. and Japanese governments have agreed that the base poses an unacceptable safety risk to Ginowan City, but the U.S. government insists that closing Futenma is contingent on constructing–and Japan paying for–a new military facility elsewhere on Okinawa island. Because nearly 20% of Okinawa is already occupied by U.S. military facilities, this demand does nothing to lighten the burden on the local people.

In addition, new construction plans include inundating the environmentally fragile bay around Camp Schwab, the Henoko district, with dirt and concrete to vastly expand the base at the expense of unique coral reefs and the feeding ground of a gentle ocean mammal called the dugong. The U.S. (as well as some Japanese officials) insists that the construction must go through, despite fierce opposition by the majority of residents in Henoko. We want to listen to the voices of the local people and help them be heard both in Washington and mainland Japan.

In cooperation with Peace Boat and local partners in Okinawa, US for OKINAWA is organizing a study program to Okinawa from *April 1st to April 5th*. The goal of the study tour is to witness firsthand what is really happening in Okinawa, and to help raise more awareness of the base issue both in mainland Japan and in the U.S. and other countries.

We will be visiting U.S. military installations in Ginowan, meeting public officials in Ginowan and Henoko, listening to local testimonies, and visiting the beautiful bay of Henoko that is scheduled for destruction.

If you are interested in the study tour please contact Jonathan Yamauchi of US for OKINAWA at: jonathan.yamauchi[a]gmail.com. Please note that this program is not-for-profit, and costs are being kept to a strict minimum. Organisers are now in discussions with local partners to set the price of the programme, and more information will be available soon.

The deadline for applications is *Friday, March 16th*.

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, and for further detailed information about the program.

Niheideburu, thank you!

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56th ‘BRAVO’ Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day

Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day


bravo

March 1, 2010

56th anniversary of the ‘Bravo’ nuclear blast

Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

All are invited to this solemn commemoration of the ‘Bravo’ nuclear test in remembrance of the survivors of the 67 nuclear blasts conducted by the U.S. in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. This occasion marks the 56th year since Marshallese people on Rongelap and Utrok atolls were exposed to radioactive fallout from the U.S. hydrogen bomb test code-named ‘Bravo’. Bravo’ was 1000 times more powerful than the A-bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The radioactive legacy of the U.S. nuclear tests conducted in the Marshall Islands continues to wreak havoc on the health of Marshallese  people and all Micronesians.

Special invited guests include the Honorable Jurelang Zedkaia, President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (to be confirmed) and retired UH Professor Beverly Keever, author of News Zero.  Survivors will tell their stories, and allies will share their thoughts.

Coordinated by RMI Consulate Office and ERUB II (Enewetak, Rongelap, Utrok and Bikini, the 4 atolls that were directly impacted by the U.S. military nuclear test program in 1946-1958).

For more information call the RMI Consulate office 808-545-7767, Gloria Heine 808-953-8807 or ERUB II: 808-224-6402

Download the poster for the 56th Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day

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CEJE: Film screening and discussion of Demilitarization

Join us for a FREE Film Screening & Discussion on De-militarization!

FRIDAY 2/26 * 4:00-5:45pm

SAUNDERS HALL ROOM 637

University of Hawai’i at Manoa

TWO GRASSROOTS DOCUMENTARY SHORTS on the U.S. military presence in Korea and Vieques

followed by discussion with KYLE KAJIHIRO

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED

This is an event organized by the Collective for Equality, Justice & Empowerment

Website:  http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ceje

Email:  ceje@hawaii.edu

Co-sponsors: American Friends Service Committee & DMZ Hawai’i/Aloha ‘Aina

Download the poster here.

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Solidarity Action Against U.S. Military Buildup in Pacific

Please come out and spread the word to make a statement of solidarity of the peoples of the Pacific against the U.S. military buildup in this region. Mahalo.

PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 20, 2010

CONTACTS:

Kyle Kajihiro, American Friends Service Committee and DMZ Hawai‘i/Aloha ‘Aina http://www.dmzhawaii.org/ Tel. 808-542-3668, Email: KKajihiro@afsc.org

Kisha Borja-kicho’cho’, Fight for Guahan, Email: fightforguahan@gmail.com, Website: We Are Guahan www.weareguahan.com <http://www.weareguahan.com>

Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright, Email: microann@yahoo.com Tel. 808-741-1141

NO MILITARY BUILDUP IN THE MARIANA ISLANDS

guam air

WHEN: 9:30AM, Monday, February 22, 2010

WHERE: Main gate of the U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Aiea, Oahu

On Monday, February 22, 2010, at the front gate of Pacific Command Headquarters at Camp Smith, ‘Aiea, Oahu, a delegation from Guam and the Northern Marianas, joined by students from Okinawa and members of the Hawai’i community including American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and DMZ Hawai’i / Aloha ‘Aina, will deliver the message to the U.S. Pacific Command that the people of Guam and the Marianas Islands oppose the catastrophic military expansion in their islands.

University of Hawai’i student Kisha Borja-Kicho’cho’, a coordinator for the local organization “Fight for Guahan,” said, “The grassroots voices of our people are being ignored by the military, U.S. politicians and the mainstream media. So, we came to deliver a message directly to the Commander of the U.S. military in the Pacific that we, the peoples of Guahan, the Northern Marianas, Okinawa and Hawai‘i reject any further military build up in the Pacific. Our islands are not weapons to be used in wars against other peoples and countries. We demand peace.”

She said that the media has misrepresented the level of support for the military buildup by Guam residents: “The truth is that most do NOT want their island’s population to increase by 25% with 8,000 U.S. Marines and 34,000 Marine families and contractors moving to Guam from Okinawa.”

Borja-Kicho’cho’ and other Guam citizens will place at the front gate of the Pacific Command dramatic photos of unique and pristine areas of Guam that will be seized and destroyed by live fire training and other military activities should the U.S. military build-up take place on Guam.

Dr. Hope Cristobal, a psychologist from Guam, who is featured in the PBS documentary “The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands,” premiering 4pm, Sunday, February 21, 2010 commented: “The Department of Defense plans to have 40% of Guam and become the largest landowner on an island where its citizens have no right to vote for President or Congress because it is an Unincorporated Territory-an occupied land and the occupiers are taking more land.” Dr. Cristobal has testified before the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization.

Retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright said, “Across the Pacific – in Okinawa, in Guam, in Hawai‘i – people are saying ‘NO’ to military expansion in our region. We want Admiral Willard to hear this: No Means No. When you force yourself on someone against their will, it’s called rape-rape of the people, the culture and the land. We Americans must stop our government’s military expansion in the Pacific.”

The U.S. wants to move the controversial Futenma military base to a pristine coral reef area of Okinawa and transfer some Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Okinawans nearly unanimously oppose the relocation of the base within Okinawa. The new Japanese administration is also opposed to a base relocation within Okinawa and wants to renegotiate a base relocation agreement negotiated by the previous Japanese administration.

AFSC Hawai‘i Program Director Kyle Kajihiro said, “We’ve been presented with false options. Removing bases and troops from Okinawa, does not require moving them to Guam or Hawai‘i. The military can reduce its overall footprint in the Pacific. Clean up and give back the lands taken from the peoples in Okinawa, Guam and Hawai‘i.”

President Obama will visit Guam in March on his trip to Indonesia and Australia and will be given a petition from tens of thousands of islanders telling the President they do not want more military in the Mariana Islands.

For more information, please see the following websites:

We Are Guahan:   http://www.weareguahan.com

Peace and Justice for Guam and the Pacific:  http://decolonizeguam.blogspot.com/

DMZ-Hawai‘i/Aloha ‘Aina:   www.dmzhawaii.org

US for Okinawa: http://www.us-for-okinawa.blogspot.com/

Insular Empire:   www.theinsularempire.com

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Ann Wright to speak on Violence Against Women in the Military

Violence Against Women in our Military Community

Join retired US Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright as she talks about violence against women in the military, military families and women civilian contractors.

Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30pm

Location: Quaker Meeting House

2426 O’ahu Avenue, Honolulu,  HI 96822-1967

Sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, Kyle Kajihiro, 542-3668

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Makua panel to air on ‘Olelo

ALOHA  this OHA/OLELO production will be shown on Thursday(s) February 17 and 24th at 7:00 p.m. on Channel 53.  You may also pick up the program by going to www.olelo.org a couple of minutes before airtime and clicking on Channel 53.

OHA #158

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

MALAMA MAKUA – LIVE FIRE OVER MAKUA VALLEY

Fred Dodge, Malama Makua

Sparky Rodrigues, Malama Makua

David Henkin, Staff Attorney, Earthjustice

Moderator:  Lynette Cruz, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Hawaii Pacific University

Citizens ask why the Army Need Makua.

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Pohakuloa Picket

Pohakuloa Picket

Military/Politicians/Business interests meet

(Peace groups, Kanaka Maoli organizations, environmental groups, community associations, etc. NOT INVITED!)

Democracy by Invitation Only!

Wednesdy, Feb. 24th

8:30AM Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA)

Main Gate

(car pools leave Hilo bayfront parking lot makai/Hamakua side of Pauahi St. Kamehameha Ave. intersection at 7:30 sharp)

What’s the Army afraid of?

Is it citizen participation in government?

Is it because we might object to military expansion plans on Hawaii Island, continued live-fire amid DU radiation contamination at PTA, new fast-track military superferry plans?

Why hasn’t the Army stopped all live-fire, B-2 bombing missions and other activities that create dust until there is a complete assessment and clean-up of the DU already present as called for in County of Hawaii resolution 639-08? The NRC has not signed off on radiation at PTA.

When will all of the 50-plus present and former military sites, totaling more than 250,000-acres on Hawaii Island, be cleared of unexploded ordnance, toxins, and other hazards?

We Demand Military Clean-up NOT Build-up!

Stop the Wars! Fund Human needs!

We demand an immediate end to all US imperial wars of aggression and occupation, including the ongoing illegal occupation of the independent nation of Hawaii.

Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.

Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org

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