copy of letter sent to Hawaii Tribune-Herald, West Hawaii Today and Civil Beat
letters@hawaiitribune-herald.com
Aug. 17, 2021
Letter to the editor:
Mahalo to retired Army Col. Ann Wright for her letter in 8/15/21 Hawaii Tribune-Herald opposing renewal of military leases of public lands in Hawaii. I agree. Hawaiian lands should be in Hawaiian hands, not military hands. Stop Bombing Pohakuloa.
I urge others to speak out against Army leased land renewal in Hawaii. You can email comments to: usarmy.hawaii.nepa@mail.mil or go online to fill in the form at https://home.army.mil/hawaii/ index.php/OahuEIS. Comments may also be mailed to: Oahu ATLR EIS Comments, P.O. Box 3444, Honolulu, HI, 96801-3444.Deadline is Sept. 1, 2021
Here are a few issues you might want to comment on: Unexploded ordinance (UXO) clean up, Depleted Uranium and other toxic contamination of air, land and ground water, invasive species, cultural sites and the cultural significance of Pohakuloa itself. The military controls nearly 133,000-acres at Pohakuloa. 23,000 acres of this is leased from the state for $1 total for 65 years –1964- 2029. These so called “ceded lands” are crown and government lands of the Hawaiian Kingdom before the U.S. overthrow in 1893. These lands are in the ahupua’a of Humu’ula (crown), Kaohe and Pu’uanahulu (government lands). Besides the 23,000 acres of leased lands at PTA, 758 acres were obtained by an executive order of Governor Samuel Wilder King in 1956 and 84,000 acres by a Presidential Executive Order of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. These lands by executive order were turned over to the US military without any compensation. More recently, in the early 2000s, an additional 23,000 acres of land near Waiki’i Ranch was purchased by the military from Parker Ranch. But the Strykers are no longer in Hawaii. They are in Washington state. But guess what the Military is keeping the 23,000-acres Stryker area with no Strykers. Surprise! Surprise!
Our organization, Malu Aina has documented 57 present and former military sites on Hawaii Island alone, totaling more than 250,000-acres that are in need of clean up. The estimated clean up cost is in the Billions of dollars. I am the co-author of the book -“The Dark Side of Paradise” about the military presence in Hawaii. It documents many of the impacts of life under the gun of US militarism throughout all Hawaii. It is available in Hawaii libraries.It’s not just an issue of no further military leases. It’s time for the illegal US military occupation of Hawaii to end. But please clean up your mess before you go. Aloha.
Jim Albertini
-- Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org
