Disproving the alleged Liliuokalani Assignment, and the alleged Executive Agreement of Restoration

by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.

If pigs had wings, they could fly. Therefore pigs have aeronautical rights under international treaties. Porky Pua’a, the self-appointed President Pro-tem of the Porcine parliament, with help from his sweet-tempered Attorney General Dextrose Kapua’a, can file accusations of war crimes in the International Criminal Court against Hawaii judges who deny airport landing slots to pigs.

Of course pigs don’t really have wings. But when somebody with lots of time and money starts running around Hawaii and the world making absurd demands based on the claim that pigs have wings, it might be useful to inspect the pigs and show the world their winglessness.

Keanu Sai is an adventurer with a history of highly publicized scams that brought him fame and fortune, including:

☻ Perfect Title
☻ World Court
☻ New round of real estate title insurance claims based on bogus Lili’uokalani Assignment and Executive Agreement
☻ Lawsuit in U.S. federal court demanding fulfillment in 2010 of the alleged Executive Agreement of 1893
☻ Allegations of war crimes against Hawaii judges and prosecutors filed with International Criminal Court
☻ Application filed with International Court of Justice demanding that 45 nations comply with treaty obligations to the Kingdom of Hawaii and the normal ways nations interact in international commerce and law.

Like some other Hawaiian sovereignty activists, Sai has built a crowd of devoted followers who bask in the glow of his charismatic self-assurance. There is never a reality check, because nobody demands accountability or conducts cross-examination. He produces writings and lectures, including a Ph.D. dissertation and academic panel discussions, where nobody is allowed or has the courage to challenge his statements or to present opposing views.

In September, Keanu Sai proudly announced that he was scheduled to make a presentation to a group of retired Swiss diplomats in Zurich on November 11, 2013. Since those diplomats are well-educated and familiar with issues involving diplomatic recognition and treaties, I sent them an essay providing detailed explanations and proof for the following five points, and asking them to cross-examine Mr. Sai:

1. The Hawaiian revolution of January 17, 1893 overthrew the monarchy and replaced it with a revolutionary Provisional Government which was promptly given de facto recognition within a day or two by the local consuls of every nation which had local consuls available in Honolulu at that time. Hawaii continued as an independent nation. Nearly all government officials kept their jobs except the ex-queen and her cabinet ministers. No nations filed protests or removed their diplomats.

2. There was no “Lili’uokalani Assignment” of Hawaii governmental authority to the U.S., contrary to the assertions of Keanu Sai. The ex-queen’s representative delivered her letter of surrender, including her protest about the presence of U.S. peacekeeper troops, directly to the Provisional Government in the Government Building. The surrender/protest was not delivered to any U.S. representative, nor to any local consuls of foreign nations. Regardless if Lili’uokalani thought she was assigning her powers to the U.S., the U.S. never acknowledged nor accepted any such assignment. No other nation conducted business with the U.S. instead of directly with the Provisional Government. The letters of de facto recognition from the other nations were also delivered directly to the Provisional Government and neither to the U.S. nor to Lili’uokalani, indicating that the foreign consuls never heard of the “Lili’uokalani Assignment” or else they rejected it. The “Lili’uokalani Assignment” is a figment of Keanu Sai’s imagination.

3. Contrary to the assertion of Keanu Sai, there was never an “Executive Agreement of Restoration” between President Grover Cleveland and Queen Lili’uokalani whereby Cleveland promised to restore Lili’uokalani to the throne in return for her promise to give amnesty to the members of the Provisional Government. The Hawaiian revolution took place and Lili’uokalani was overthrown on January 17, but Grover Cleveland did not become U.S. President until March 4. They were never both head of state at the same time; thus there could not be any Executive Agreement between them that would be binding on both nations. U.S. Minister Willis made an offer to Lili’uokalani to serve as mediator between Lili’uokalani and President Dole of the Provisional Government, including the outlines of a possible settlement between Dole and Lili’uokalani. But Dole was never informed of the possible mediation, and the U.S. did not have any power or authority to actually force Dole to resign or to restore the monarchy. When Willis sent a letter to Dole essentially ordering Dole to step down, Dole replied with a letter vehemently rejecting that demand.

4. The revolutionary Provisional Government held a Constitutional Convention, which wrote a Constitution for a permanent Republic of Hawaii (incidentally, there are at least 5 native Hawaiian names on the list of con-con delegates, and native Hawaiian John Kaulukou, formerly a supporter of the monarchy, was elected as Speaker of the House for the Republic of Hawaii). During the Fall of 1894, letters were received granting de jure recognition to the Republic, personally signed by Emperors, Kings, Queens, and Presidents of at least 19 nations on 4 continents in 11 languages. One of those letters was signed by the Swiss federal counsel [Attorney General] on behalf of the President of the Swiss Confederation, and also countersigned by the Chancellor of the Swiss Confederation (photo provided). Switzerland (and the other nations) thereby formally recognized the Republic as the rightful government of Hawaii. No foreign nation filed any protest or removed its diplomats. As the internationally recognized de jure government of Hawaii from 1894 to 1898, standing on its own despite initial U.S. efforts to destabilize it, the Republic had full authority to offer and ratify the Treaty of Annexation.

5. In 1897 diplomats for the Republic of Hawaii and the United States met in Washington D.C. and negotiated a Treaty of Annexation which was signed and sealed by the Secretaries of State of both nations. The Senate of the Republic of Hawaii unanimously passed a resolution later that year ratifying the Treaty. In 1898 the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution of the House and Senate ratifying the Treaty, which was signed by President McKinley. Article III, paragraph 2 of the Treaty of Annexation makes clear that all treaties between the nation of Hawaii and other nations were thereby extinguished; and of course that includes the 1864 treaty between Hawaii and Switzerland. None of the nations that had treaties with Hawaii objected; all of them condoned annexation by their continuing relationship with the U.S, thereby continuously acknowledging U.S. sovereignty in Hawaii and condoning the extinguishment of previous international treaties with the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Please see a webpage containing my entire letter to the Swiss diplomat group in Zurich, including detailed explanations and proofs for the points mentioned above:
http://tinyurl.com/lm62n5l

Tags: Executive Agreement of Restoration, Grover Cleveland, Hawaii annexation, Hawaii statehood, Hawaiian revolution, Keanu Sai, Lili'uokalani Assignment, Liliuokalani, overthrow, Perfect Title