Hawaiians seek spotlight, share Third World concerns
| • | Best not to drive near Waikiki during Wednesday's parade |
| • | Special report: ADB in Hawai'i |
By Yasmin Anwar
Advertiser Staff Writer
Native Hawaiian presence will be split between the power elite and the protesters at next week's Asian Development Bank summit.
Seasoned Hawaiian activists are expected to join anti-globalist protesters outside the Hawai'i Convention Center. Others will be inside, representing the Aloha State's "host culture" to delegates of the Manila-based lending institution.
Among the more controversial representatives to the conference is Bumpy Ka-
ahele, once considered among the most militant of Hawaiian sovereignty activists. He was arrested in 1994 for harboring a fugitive and interfering with a federal agent, and served a four-month prison term.
Today, the Nation of Hawai'i leader is featured in TV commercials promoting aloha for the ADB and is discouraging violence at next week's meetings and conference. Wednesday, he will present a seminar on socially responsible investment — a pet issue, as he hopes to establish a community-based bank in the Islands.
Though Native Hawaiians do not stand to benefit financially from the ADB, which makes loans to developing and poor countries, the conference has hit a nerve in their community, which shares some concerns of Third World nations.
"Bumpy's up there advertising for his bank and doing the aloha spirit thing, and Hawaiians are being recruited for the protests. The Hawaiians are being used from all directions," said Lela Hubbard, an activist who plans to attend Monday's alternative teach-in on globalization, presented by the ADBwatch coalition. Hubbard also plans to attend Wednesday's protest march.
Kanahele categorically dismisses charges that he has been recruited as an apologist for the ADB, which has been criticized for financing projects that exacerbate Third World poverty.
He says he remains a staunch advocate for Hawaiian independence with a healthy skepticism of the establishment. As for charges that he is being exploited, he responds that all the players have an agenda.
"Hawaiians are being used by the protest groups, by the ADB and by the state and federal government," he said. "The key thing is to educate people from around the world about Hawaiian issues."
Hubbard, a retired teacher, also sees the conference as a prime opportunity for Hawaiians to share their grievances with the world. However, she thinks the story is better told from the protesters' side, which is guaranteed global TV coverage.
"We need to use this as our forum to get the message out about the theft of our land and the oppression of our people," Hubbard said.
Meanwhile, Kanahele's involvement with the ADB conference has generated rumors that he has been recruited by top-ranking state officials to mitigate Hawaiian resistance to the conference, and is a paid consultant to provide security for the event.
"Absolutely not true," says Seiji Naya, head of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and a member of the ADB-Hawai'i executive committee.
Kanahele and other Hawaiians are involved strictly on a volunteer basis, Naya said, and the state is not bankrolling the conference. Though the ADB is not being charged for its use of the convention center, it is paying for representatives' travel, food and board, he said.
About 3,500 people, including about 600 delegates from the ADB's 59 member nations, will attend the conference of the ADB board of governors.
Law enforcement authorities here are spending several millions of dollars on security and are girding for what anti-ADB protesters estimate will be 2,000 to 5,000 demonstrators for Wednesday's march from Ala Moana Park past the convention center and on to Kapi'olani Park.
Acts of vandalism and sometimes violent conflicts with police marked anti-globalist protests in Seattle and Quebec City. But no matter which side of the summit they're on, Native Hawaiians are united in their conviction that those kinds of disruptions are unwelcome in Honolulu this week.
"I don't think any Hawaiian group will tolerate violence," said Richard Kinney, a longtime Hawaiian activist and member of the newly formed Hawai'i Independence Allegiance. "We're not here to protest against the bankers, but to let them know who we are."
