.

WARREN A. PERRIN*

1. INTRODUCTION

Early in the seventeenth century, France founded a colony in North America called Acadie.(1) While the colonies, called Acadians, prospered and developed their own culture on the fertile marshlands for over one hundred and fifty years,(2) France and Britain vied for control of the region. Britain won sovereignty over Acadie; it was renamed Nova Scotia in 1713. Four decades later, prior to the start of the "Seven Years' War," British officials deported many Acadians.(3) France and England settled the war in the 1763 Treaty of Paris. (4) However, the Acadians were prohibited from returning to their lands; their exile was continued in effect.(5)

After being exiled, imprisoned and scattered about, some Acadian refugees (6) found refuge in south Louisiana. (7) As their settlements (8) spread across bayous and prairies, their English speaking neighbors shortened the French term "Acadien" to "Cadien" then to the present-day "Cajun." (9)

In 1990, the Petition was commenced to officially declare an end to the Acadian exile because it was carried out in violation of English and international law; therefore, the British government and Crown have a moral obligation to acknowledge that a wrong occurred: the Acadians should not have been exiled (10) as criminals. (11)

II. SUMMARY OF THE PETITION

A. Background

For the last two hundred and fifty years, the Acadians have been trying to overcome the sudden and irrevocable loss of their land, the destruction of their communities and separation of their families. As a direct result of the deportation, the request for an apology on behalf of all Acadians constitutes a modest initiative, in the same spirit as the efforts deployed for an extensive time by the Acadians, in order to lift themselves up from the unjust stripping away of their dignity and their autonomy.

The Petition avers representation of a class of similarly situated Acadians seeking redress against the British government and the Queen of England as representative of the Crown. The Petition was delivered on January 5, 1990 to then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Queen of England, wherein the following six issues were set forth:

1. Restoration of the status of "French neutrals;" (12)

2. An inquiry into the deportation by a fair panel; (13)

3. Officially ending the Acadian exile by a declaration annulling the Order of Deportation; (14)

4. An acknowledgment that tragedies occurred; (15)

5. An acknowledgment that the action occurred contrary to existing international and/or English law; and

6. A symbolic gesture of good will by the erection of a monument to memorialize the "end of the exile." (16)

The Petition has not, as of yet, been filed in a court of law, and it does not seek compensation for the Acadians.

B. Pleadings submitted

The Petition contains the same six issues that were presented to the King of England in 1760 by the Acadians exiled to Pennsylvania. (17) Four Acadians who spoke English fluently were sent to London to deliver the petition to King George II. However, the messengers were received contemptuously; the King refused to have it read or considered. (18) Therefore, the Petition is actually an Amending Petition which, by law, relates back to the original date of filing, 1760.

Appendant hereto is a proposed "Apology to the Acadians by the Crown;" it is substantively based upon the actual apology rendered by Queen Elizabeth II to the Maori people of New Zealand in July, 1995. (19)

III. FACTS

A. Historical Background (20)

The first French colony in the New World was established in Acadie in 1604 by settlers from the provinces of northern France, Brittany, Normandy, Picardy and Poitou.

During Queen Anne's War, the English won control of Acadia. According to the Treaty of Utrecht of April 13, 1713, the Acadians were to enjoy the free exercise of their religion, the choice either to remain in the country, keeping the ownership of all they possessed, or to leave the country, taking away with them all their movable goods and also the proceeds of the sale of their immovable property. (21)

Despite the apparent freedom of choice the British granted the French colonists, the governors were actually quite reluctant to permit the Acadians to settle in any other part of Canada, for they feared that the influx of a substantial number of Acadians into another part of the country would create a concentration of Frenchmen potentially dangerous to the New England Colony. (22) Also, the British rulers took a sterner stand in their official demands; they insisted that either the Acadians take an unrestricted oath of allegiance to the British crown or leave Acadia without taking their possessions. Although the Acadians refused to take an unrestricted oath, the English did not begin to "dig their claws" into the settlers until Richard Phillips came to Annapolis in 1720 to take over as governor. Almost at once Phillips ordered the settlers to take the oath of allegiance without any reservations or to leave the country within four months without being able either to sell their possessions or to transport them. When the Acadians took him at his word and began arranging for their departure, Phillips expressed his annoyance at their refusal to take the oath by doing everything he could to prevent their leaving.

Although Phillips finally accepted a restricted oath of allegiance (23) which would exempt the Acadians from bearing arms against their own countrymen and Indian allies, the British government, when it was expedient to do so, declared the oath invalid (this was not communicated to the Acadians) (24) on the technicality that Parliament had not given its consent. The oath was actually unqualified, but Phillips gave verbal assurances that, in the event of war, the Acadians would not have to bear arms against either the British, French or the indians.

Prior to the war, Lawrence, the Lieutenant-Governor of Acadia, plotted secretly to exile the Acadians from their ancestral homelands and to take their productive lands.(25) Since the British had brought over twenty-five hundred settlers from England in 1748 and established the city of Halifax in 1749, the government decided that the Acadians had outlived their usefulness to the empire. Lawrence insisted that the inhabitants take an unqualified oath of allegiance to the English crown, swearing loyalty forever to England and agreeing to bear arms against her enemies. (26)

When most of the Acadians refused, as expected, on September 5, 1755 Lawrence summoned all males of Grand Pré over ten years of age to the village church. There, Colonel John Winslow (a Colonial Army Officer of Massachusetts) read to them "the King's instructions" that on "Orders of His Majesty all French be removed .... " (27) As soon as the other Acadians had been driven from their farms, Winslow, on orders from Lawrence, ordered that all their buildings be burned to the ground, often before the eyes of their agonized owners.

The Seven Years War was officially declared on May 18, 1756. During the war, the British continued to deport Acadians. (28) Some eight thousand of them were deported. (29) Four thousand died of smallpox and other related diseases during their exile. (30) At Beaubassin and Port Royal some of the Acadians "took to the woods;" (31) therefore, Lawrence ordered a merciless manhunt resulting in the death of many Acadians. (32) The precise tally of Acadians affected cannot be ascertained because the Halifax archives were "sanitized." (33) The surviving exiles were scattered widely to New Haven, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah. There was no advance notice to the governors. (34) Predictably, they were not well-received, for the governor of Virginia sheltered them through the winter, but sent them to England in the spring. (35) Philadelphia received them reluctantly. (36) Governor Reynolds of Georgia banished them as soon as they arrived because of a statute which forbade the settling of Catholics.

The deportees were placed in concentrated groups and assigned to various towns during the Seven Years' War. (37) In an attempt to have them assimilated, they were prevented from traveling. (38) Edmond Burke, an English historian, wrote a concise assessment of the Acadian expulsion:

We did, in my opinion, most inhumanely and upon pretenses that, in the eye of an honest man are not worth a farthing, root out this poor, innocent, deserving people, whom our utter inability to govern, or to reconcile, gave us no sort of right to extirpate.

When the British home government learned of the deportation, William Pitt, British Secretary of State, addressed parliament and denounced it as an outrageous act and a "violation of the human rights and liberties of the Acadians." (39)

The deportation provoked international outrage. (40) The death toll was so great and suffering so universal, that it led to a formal charge of genocide being alleged by France against England. (41)

B. Legal Background (42)

English control over Acadia under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 should have established England's title to the colony through conquest and cession. This would have had the effect of instituting English public law in the colony although the existing private law was to remain in force to the extent it was acceptable under principles of civilization recognized in England. This rule of British constitutional law, which established a fundamental distinction between conquered and colonized territory, was based upon a simple principle of natural justice; the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar system of law would disturb civil institutions, particularly if it was written in a different language and would be liable to cause grave injustices. (43)

In 1774, the British Attorney General, referring to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, confirmed that application in Acadia. (44) Britain had indeed regarded Acadia as an uninhabited territory and had introduced the whole of English law there in 1719, when the first royal commissions were granted. (45)

The date 1713 is significant because it marked the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht which established individual rights for the conquered subjects. England treated Nova Scotia as property that always belonged to the Crown of England (by discovery and ancient possession) and a military governor was established locally. Nevertheless, the Treaty of Utrecht had laid down certain rights for Acadians, to-wit:

1. To "sue for and obtain their rights, pretensions and actions according to the laws of each Kingdom;"

2. To "remove themselves within a year to any other place ... together with movable effects;"

3. To "enjoy the free exercise of their religion according to the usage of the Church of Rome so far as the laws of Great Britain do allow same."

These rights were expanded by Queen Anne's Edict, issued on June 23, 1713, which stipulated that the Acadians could "keep their lands and enjoy them without any obstacle or hindrance and as fully and freely as the others our subjects do and own their land and goods or sell them if they prefer to go live elsewhere." (46)

Until 1749, it seems there was no indication that the provisions of the treaty would not be respected, there was a military administration, and even the Acadians' refusal to take the oath of unconditional allegiance was tolerated. (47)

In 1720 an advisory counsel was created for Nova Scotia and six Acadian delegates were called to it. Governor Phillips obtained Acadian allegiance to the Crown in 1730, but only after agreeing to Acadian neutrality in the event of any conflict with France (48). However, after the royal instructions to Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749, the problem of changes in the law which had existed since 1713 was squarely raised, even though before that date refusal to comply with Queen Anne's orders had to be viewed as abuse of power: the Queen's letter, as well as the oath, was an act of Royal Prerogative administered by personal representative of the Crown, and therefore an official act and binding upon the Governors of Nova Scotia. (49)

C. Assumptions

The Acadians were held to be British subjects (50) by the memorandum of Judge Jonathan Belcher (51), Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, issued on July 28, 1755 and accepted by the Council, to wit, "... whose subjects they became by virtue of the Cession of the Province and the Inhabitants of it under that Treaty." (52) As subjects, the Acadians were guaranteed basic rights under English laws. (53)

Inasmuch as many documents are unavailable, historians have been unable to agree as to whether the exile was specifically ordered by the home government. (54) On August 1, 1754, Lawrence wrote to London:

"As they possess the best and largest tracts of land in this Province ... 1 cannot help being of the opinion that it would be much better ... that they were away." (55)

The Secretary of State's response shows that the British authorities in London were clearly alarmed by such drastic measures advocated by Lawrence, "...we over-emphasize our recommendations to you to make use of the greatest precaution and of the greatest prudence in your dealings with those [French] neutrals...that they may remain in the tranquil possession of their land, under a suitable legislation." (56) On September 17, 1754, Lawrence was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. (57)

Therefore, the Petition assumes that the Acadians were British subjects, the British home government did not order the exile and the exile was undertaken by local government officials under the direction of Lieutenant-Governor Charles Lawrence. (58) Having made this latter assumption, it therefore follows that the British government would be vicariously liable under British laws for Lawrence's illegal actions under the legal doctrines of respondeat superior and/or agency. (59)

IV. ARGUMENT AND LAW

Looking over the history of civilization, it can be seen that one of the most difficult things for human beings to do has been to remain loyal to human decency. In the comfort of one's home it is easy to take a stand against brutality and deprivation of liberty. Ask anyone if they condone these things and the answer would be "no", but the ugly fact is that they often do. Most often they commit treason against human decency when a cause or an ideology seduces them.

Once it is believed that a group of people is the cause of a problem, it logically follows that a solution to that problem is to eliminate the people. Sadly, ethnic "cleansing" goes on today. (60) The expulsion of the Acadians was a similar effort. Lawrence's paranoia over the Acadians' presence in Nova Scotia did not excuse the actions taken in order to promote British colonial expansion in the region. (61) It was wrong because decent ends do not justify indecent means.

A. The Exile Began During a Time of Peace

On September 1, 1755, during a time of peace, Lawrence sent out his instructions to his troops. All Acadian lands, tenements, cattle and livestock were to be forfeited with all other effects. (62) All French inhabitants of Nova Scotia were to be removed. The trap was set. The Acadians were ordered to assemble at their churches (63) to hear an important proclamation by the English government. (64) They were immediately made prisoners to await the arrival of ships. Acadians were loaded into overcrowded ships without sufficient provisions, and sent to unfriendly lands, the British thirteen Anglo-American Colonies.

Although there were initial skirmishes between the French and the British prior to the Seven Years' War (as early as May of 1754) in the Ohio River Valley, the official declaration of war did not take place until May 18, 1756, long after the exile had begun. Accordingly, under international law, their property could not be confiscated as it might have been during a time of war. During peacetime, rights of these subjects should have been honored. (65)

The exile of the Acadians during a time of peace is unprecedented in history. (66) Therefore, the Acadians' rights should have been respected for there was no factual support for disregarding them especially in view of the high burden imposed upon the officials under British law. (67)

B. There was No Law Providing for the Penalty Inflicted:

Even if we are to assume that some of the Acadians engaged in political crimes and acts of treason, under neither English nor international law were there provisions for the confiscation of the properties of a father of a family, or the punishment of his wife and children, for an offense that could have been committed by the father. Although the law provided severe sanctions for political crimes, there were no provisions for the confiscation of lands or any other possessions of a group of persons and their banishment for any reason whatsoever. (68)

As a consequence of the Treaty of Utrecht and Queen Anne's Edict, the Acadians had a right to abide in their lands and not be driven from it unless by the "sentence of the law." (69) The King indeed, by his Royal Prerogative, could have issued out his writ re exeat regno and prevented any of his subjects from going into foreign ports without a license (70). Only authority of parliament could send a subject of England "out of the land" against his will (even a criminal). Exile and transportation were punishments unknown to the customary law and, whenever the latter was inflicted, it was either by the choice of the criminal himself to escape a capital punishment, or it was imposed by the express direction of some modern act of parliament. To this purpose, the Great Charter and the Petition of Right of 1620 declared that no free man shall be banished or exiled "unless by the judgment of his peers or by the law of the land." (71)

C. Royal Prerogative Was Ignored by Lawrence:

Queen Anne's Edict expanded upon the rights of the Acadians pursuant to the Treaty of Utrecht. Her pronunciation was Royal Prerogative which could not be ignored or overruled by a government official. (72) The refusal to comply with Queen Anne's orders, which had allowed the Acadians to keep their lands and enjoy them without any obstacle or hindrance as fully and freely as the other British subjects did on their land, must be viewed as an abuse of power by Lawrence and a violation of basic British law existing at that time. (73)

In 1746, the Acadians suspected that the "Conventions of 1730" may not be respected by Governor Mascarene. On May 30, 1747, the Duke of Newcastle, speaking for the King, issued an official response which stated that the Acadians' rights would be maintained and that they would be allowed to remain in quiet and peaceful possession of "their respective habitation, and that they shall continue to enjoy their free exercise of their religion." (74) Clearly, all actions taken by Lawrence which were contrary to Queen Anne's Edict and the proclamation of King George were irregular and voidable. (75)

D. Lieutenant- Governor Lawrence Lacked the Authority to Act

At the time of the exile, Peregrine Hopson was Governor. In November of 1753 he left for England due to illness. Colonel Charles Lawrence, who had been in the Colony since 1741 and who had become a member of the Advisory Council of the Governor, was soon elevated and appointed Lieutenant-Governor. Shortly thereafter, he illegally changed Governor Hopson's orders. (76) He was named Governor on December 24, 1755. (77) Under English law, Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence had no authority, to change the policies, which had been in effect since 1713. (78) Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence, acting without direct authorization of superiors and contrary to existing British law, ordered unmerciful punishment for all the Acadians, treating them as rebels and criminals. (79) However, he lacked authority to so act. (80)

1. A summary of the accusations made by Lawrence (81)

a. That the Acadians secretly assisted the native Indians.

For the preceding five years most of the native Indians had not resided in the peninsula or in the neighborhood of the Acadians. (82) Because Cornwallis had set a price on their heads, they were living mostly on the French side at Fort Beausejour from which most of the Acadian settlements were separated by long distances. Mr. Provost, writing to the Minister on the 27th of September, 1750 stated, "The Indians want to molest them, but the Acadians will not allow it." Although there were some exceptions, the Acadians did not act to incite the Indians against the British. (83)

b. That the Acadians failed to give "timely intelligence."

Although it seems as though their position as "French neutrals" would be interpreted as reliving them from the duty of informing the British of such actions; nevertheless, they did give valuable information to the British on many occasions, for example, the French attack on Grand Pré. (84)

To find pretexts Lawrence was obliged to go back to the years 1744-1748 and condemn the behavior of the Acadians when the actions of most Acadians had been repeatedly praised by Governor Masscarene (85) (the few culprits were denounced by the Acadians themselves).

c. That many had appeared in arms against His Majesty.

This accusation referred to the Acadians who had been taken at the surrender of Fort Beausejour in June, 1755. However, they had been pardoned by Monckton because they had taken up arms only under penalty of death by the French. Also, these Acadians were living in what was considered by them to be French territories.(86) Therefore, this charge had nothing to do with the Acadian delegates (who clearly resided on British lands) appearing before Lawrence at this time.

d. That they had been "indolent and idle" on their lands.

For forty years they had taken up new homesteads and produced more than was needed for the whole province. Governor Cornwallis stated, "Your hands, produce grain and nourish cattle sufficient for the whole Colony. We are well aware of your industry and your temperance..." Winslow (87) stated, "a fine country and full of inhabitants, a beautiful church, an abundance of the goods of this world, and provisions of all kinds in great plenty." Further, we know that after the English colonists claimed the Acadian lands, they begged the Governor to allow them to employ the Acadian prisoners in order to rebuild the dikes, which they could not do themselves. (88)

e. That they had been "most insolent" in their petition.

The petition submitted by the Acadians was quite humble and respectful; to-wit, "Besides, the arms we carry are a feeble surety for our fidelity. It is not a gun that an inhabitant possesses, which will lead him to revolt, nor the depriving him of that gun that will make him more faithful, but his conscience alone ought to engage him to maintain his oath." (89) According to Lawrence, this language was "most insolent". Contrarily, it is but one of the many examples of how strikingly the Acadians valued their oath of fidelity.

f. That they refused to take an unqualified oath.

The requirement of an unqualified oath, as a condition for being subjects, was not a provision of either the Utrecht Treaty or the two subsequent royal proclamations (of 1713 and 1747). It appears that the oath was but a pretext and that the true motive for the deportation was some tangible advantage to be gained by having the Acadians removed from their lands. Most convincingly, however, is the fact that even those Acadians who did take the unconditional oath of allegiance (Yarmouth and Shelbume Counties, Nova Scotia the area known as Pubnico) were, likewise, deported. (90)

g. That the Acadians were a potential danger.

Query: How could the Acadians be so feared now that they had been deprived of their arms and boats? The French had been expelled from all their strongholds on the coast. The argument that there was a threat posed by the Acadians is belied by the fact that the relation of the population was some two hundred British to one Acadian (91) and they had remained neutral even in time of war.

Their neutrality was tested in time of war and not found wanting. The irony is that the Acadians were deported in a time of peace. The Acadians should not be "lumped" with Frenchmen who had settled in the Quebec area and other parts of Canada. (92) The Acadians occupied all of the good farming lands in Nova Scotia. The deportation made these lands available for the New England and Halifax colonies. (93) Therefore, it was merely a sham for Lawrence to claim that the Acadians posed a security risk (94) to British interests in North America. (95)

2. An analogy with the United States Affair Known as "Iran-contra" that occurred in the 1980

We may analogize between the actions of Lawrence and the actions of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and his actions with respect to the scandal commonly referred to as "Iran-contra" (while Regan was president the U. S. illegally sold arms to Iran in exchange for money used to arm the anti-Communist Contras in Nicaragua). Both were illegal operations by government officials acting without proper authorization seeking to achieve a military objective.

E. Genocide

Genocide is the systematic destruction of a whole nation or ethnic group. (96) By systematically dividing the Acadians into small groups, forcing them to the thirteen Anglo-American colonies and refusing to allow them to travel, the British engaged in genocide. (97) The Acadians were treated as though they were prisoners of war, (98) but they were not treated with such basic respect. (99)

It has been observed many times that the greatest challenge to constitutional law comes during troubled times; in support of their scheme, British officials also clearly violated British criminal and international law: (100)

1. Illegal exile: By both British and customary international law in effect at the time, the exile of the Acadians was a criminal wrong.

2. Dispossession: According to British law, the Acadians were illegally dispossessed of their homes, lands and tenements as a result of the exile. (101)

3. Murder: Those Acadians scalped and killed by the orders of Lawrence had not been found guilty of any crimes warranting capital punishment; thus, their deaths constituted murder. (102)

4. Violation of customary international law regarding treatment of prisoners of war: If we assume that the Acadians were French-subjects, the British violated the then existing customary international law regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. (103)

5. Illegal confinement: If we assume that the Acadians were British subjects, then by restricting their movement in the various towns of confinement (both in the Colonies and in England), the British violated the constitutional protections of personal liberty and locomotion. (104)

Francis Parkman, an American historian, wrote in the 1890's that the Acadians refused the oath "in full view of the consequences." However, Lawrence led them to believe that if they refused to take the unqualified oath they could simply abandon their lands and they concluded, justifiably so, that they could moue into Canada and join their French counterparts. Accordingly, the Acadians could draw but one conclusion - that in case they refused, they would have to give up their lands, but they could go wherever they pleased. In this case, history would have been silent as to their fate. There would have been cruelty, injustice, bad faith, violation of a treaty and of solemn engagements; but this fact would have been similar to some others that are forgotten by reason of the lime period in which they occurred or of the frequency of their occurrence. (105) However, no one imagined the cruel intentions of Lawrence which was to exile them to the British colonies and not allow them to return to their lands. (106)

The policy of genocide succeeded in that it destroyed the grand Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, (107) but not the Acadian identity. (108) This division of the Acadians can be seen as characteristic of the deportation.

It was conceived as a military strategy and designed to mean the end of the Acadian community. (109) However, it is clear that the policy failed to destroy the Acadian community. (110) Further, in the very circumstances of its failure, it provided the Acadians with one of the foundations of their unique identity (111) in the centuries to come. (112)

F. Acadians Granted the Status of "French Neutrals"

Following the Treaty of Utrecht and the Queen's Edict of 1713, the Acadians were granted the status of "French neutrals" by the British. (113) The deportation order of July 28, 1755 was irregular. (114) This seems to be confirmed by the fact that British lawyers challenged the validity of any legislation made by Cornwallis in the absence of an assembly. (115)

Professor Naomi Griffiths states, "The extent to which the Acadians remained strictly neutral in these years has been hotly debated. In my view, there is no doubt that the bulk of the Acadians adhered to the policy. There is no evidence of a major rejection of British ride throughout the Acadian Settlements." (116)

G. Violation of Human Rights and Due Process

The activities of the officials of the British government clearly violated two provisions of the 1948 European Convention on Human Rights:

1. Article 4 of the Fourth Protocol, stating, "Collective expulsion of aliens is prohibited."

2. Article 1 of the Seventh Protocol, stating: "An alien lawfully resident in the territory of a state shah not be expelled there-from except in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall be allowed

a. to submit reasons against his expulsion,

b. to have his case reviewed, and

c. to be represented before the competent authority." (117)

H. Statute of Limitations / Latches / Liberative Prescription

The British government has publicly stated that it is too late to raise these issues. The following is submitted in opposition to that argument:

1. The Petition filed by the Acadians in 1760 interrupted the tolling of prescription; the amending Petition filed in 1990 relates back to the initial filing because the issues raised in the initial Petition were never addressed or resolved. (118)

2. The Order of Deportation is still in effect to this day. Therefore, it is a contemporary issue, (119) which may be raised presently because it is an ongoing tort and violation of Acadians' rights. (120) The parties responsible in 1755 (government and Crown) still exist as viable entities today (121) and are, therefore, answerable for the wrongs committed in the past.

3. Under criminal law, there are no statutes of limitation for genocide, murder, or crimes against humanity because these crimes are against Natural Law principles. It has always been the law, and thus, there can be no true retroactivity problem.

I. Precedents - It Is Never Too Late To "Right A Wrong"

Most countries with "big" histories have to wrench themselves into gazing into the darker chasms of their past: Americans about slavery and the near-genocide of their indigenous peoples; Spaniards and Italians about fratricidal war and fascism; the French about collaboration and cowardice; Germans, the Holocaust.

1. Some examples of apologies

a. In 1988, Japanese-Americans obtained reparations and an apology from the United States government for their internment during World War II.

b. In 1990, Canada apologized to Canadian-Italians for the "unspeakable" treatment during World War II.

c. In December, 1991, North and South Korea signed a Treaty of Reconciliation ending the Korean War 28 years after the hostilities ceased.

d. In January, 1992, Japan offered an apology for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as prostitutes during World War II.

e. On July 15, 1998, during the re-burial of Czar Nicholas II, President Yeltsin of Russia apologized to the Russian people for the eighty years of "sins of communism."

f. In March, 1998, U.S. President Clinton apologized to descendants of Africans who were victims of slavery and in October, 1992 to native Hawaiians for the U.S. government's involvement in the overthrow of their Island kingdom in 1893.

2. Some examples of recent apologies by Britain

a. On January 30, 1998, after years of Catholic demands, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a new judicial inquiry into "Bloody Sunday," the January 30, 1972, killing of 13 Catholic protesters by British soldiers in Northern Ireland. (Note: the event occurred 26 years ago.)

b. On April 3, 1998 Britain apologized to Israelis for confiscation of Jewish bank accounts and withholding of those funds since World War II (Note: the event occurred 55 years ago).

c. In October, 1992, Queen Elizabeth II issued an apology and sought reconciliation with the citizens of Dresden, Germany, for the World War II firebombing of the City (as an appeasement by Churchill to Stalin) by an insubordinate British Commander, Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris. (Note: the event occurred 56 years ago).

d. In October, 1997, Queen Elizabeth II symbolically apologized to the Indian people for the killing of 379 civilians by British forces in 1919 in the City of Amritsar, India (Note: the event occurred approximately 80 years ago).

e. In June, 1995, Queen Elizabeth II personally apologized and signed a document of reconciliation to the Maoris people of New Zealand for taking the Island of New Zealand from their ancestors in the mid-1800's (Note: the event occurred approximately 150 years ago).

f. In October, 1997 Prime Minister Tony Blair issued an apology to the Irish people for the British government's actions during the Irish "potato famine" in the early 1800's (Note: the event occurred approximately 150 years ago).

Finally, and significantly, in 1951, Britain sought and obtained an apology from Japan on behalf of the British soldiers who suffered mistreatment while held captive by the Japanese during World War. (122) (Note: the event occurred approximately 50 years ago).

V. RELIEF SOUGHT

Securing a repudiation of the exile will help to put the tragedy to rest, much as the family of a murder victim seeks to relieve its suffering by seeing the murderer express an act of contrition for the crime. History incorrectly judges the Acadians as corrupt people who refused to cooperate and honor their oath. A reconciliation should help to restore the good name of the Acadian people. (123)

If these matters are not settled by negotiation or arbitration, (124) the Petition will be filed in an appropriate venue. Some options would include the International War Crimes Tribunal, created by the United Nations in 1998, (125) the European Court of Human Rights or a United States Federal District Court, pursuant to the Alien Tort Act of 1795. (126)

These days of world peace moue leaders of nations to reckon with their history. This is important, if nations are not to repeat the errors of the past. No one has apologized to the Acadians and it is time that Great Britain does so; thereafter, Acadians will forgive because forgiveness does not precede acknowledgment of wrongdoing. National contrition teaches an important lesson to all and, thus, may help prevent future horrors. (127)

VI. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Some encouraging and supportive developments for the Petition include: public debate, (128) lectures, (129) resolutions, (130) interviews, (131) honors and awards, (132) documentaries, (133) editorials, (134) legal publications, (135) and articles in Louisiana, (136) the U.S., (137) France, (138) Belgium, (139) Nova Scotia, (140) New Brunswick, (141) Québec, (142) England, (143) Vietnam, (144) Luxembourg, (145) Switzerland (146) and Germany. (147)

The Petition has received support from throughout the world: the 1993 World Human Rights Conference (148) in Caen, France, the 1994 Congrès Mondial Acadien (149) in New Brunswick, Canada and the Convention de l'Association des Juristes d'Expression Francaise du Canada on June 14, 1993. By letter dated September 7, 1993, Damien R. Leader, Chargé d'Affaires, Embassy of the United States to the Holy See, Rome, Italy, expressed official support for the Petition: "Your efforts to obtain a declaration of the end of the Acadian Exile are commendable." Moreover, the Louisiana Legislature unanimously approved the Petition by "Resolution of the Louisiana Legislature", regular session, 1993, pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 159 and signed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives. By order of the Senate President, the Resolution requesting the apology was personally delivered by Ann Johnson, Director of Administrative Services Division, Louisiana Senate, to the Prime Minister of England by hand-delivering the document in June, 1994 to Mark R. Turner, Desk Officer, North American Department, London, England.

During the Congrès Mondial Acadien-Louisiane 1999 a Mock Trial was sponsored by the 9th Annual Judge Allen M. Babineaux Comparative International Law Symposium. The event was sponsored by the American Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association and Lafayette Parish Bar Association. An overflow crowd of people attended the "trial" which was held in U. S. Federal District Court in Lafayette before a panel of Louisiana judges representing the Louisiana Supreme Court, Third Circuit Court of Appeal and District Judges. After hearing arguments concerning various issues raised in the Petition, the 15 judge panel unanimously ruled that the Petition should proceed, for it is not preempted by various exceptions.

VII. RESULTS SOUGHT

Achieving the goals of the Petition should give the Acadian people dynamic encouragement to continue their cultural development. (150) For over one hundred and fifty years, the symbol of the Acadian people has been "Evangeline," an imaginary archetypal Acadian character created by the American poet, Longfellow, in his classic poem "Evangeline," whose memory is embodied in an oak tree, a statue and other monuments throughout the world. However, the story of "Evangeline" has no factual basis; it is even held in contempt and ridiculed by some members of the Acadian population. (151) Thus, our only shrine is based on a myth. (152) It is respectfully submitted that there is a need for a tangible symbol of the Acadians' history which all Acadians will respect. (153)

The general impression one has of the deportation and years of exile is of the misery and distress of the Acadians.(154) The entry for 8 October, 1755, in the diary of Colonel Winslow, reads:

[B]egan to embark the inhabitants who went off very solitarily and unwillingly, the women in great distress carrying off their children in their arms, others carrying their decrepit parents in their carts and all their goods moving in great confusion and it appeared a scene of woe and distress. (155)

Winslow's words are vivid; he is reporting a scene of human suffering accurately. But, these words are utterly inadequate as a summary of Acadian reaction to what occurred. After all, the Acadians survived deportation and exile. (156)

Treason against human decency is not some phenomenon that occurred only in the past. It is happening today; (157) the leftist will justify leftist indecency; the rightist, rightist indecency; the nationalist, nationalist indecency; the religious, religious indecency. One can see evidence of similar thinking today. By repudiating the exile, the Crown will send a clear message that such thinking is wrong.

VIII. CHANGES IN BRITISH ATTITUDE

Britain now appears less reticent to rectify historical mistakes than it did when the Petition was presented to it for reconsideration in 1990. Recent apologies by the British government and Crown, discussed hereinabove, strengthen the arguments in favor of officially ending the expulsion of the Acadians, thus making symbolic amends for the deportation. From January, 1990 until July, 1998, the official British position was as follows:

"While there have in the past been contacts between HM's [Her Majesty] Consul General's Honorary Legal Adviser and Mr. Perrin, the UK [United Kingdom] Government has not been involved in negotiations of any kind. Nova Scotia is now part of Canada and accordingly any question concerning its history should be referred to the Canadian Government." (158)

However, as a result of a lecture on the Petition at the Comparative International Law Seminar at the Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, on August 13, 1998, a journalist, in researching an article, interviewed Mark Norton, spokesman for the British High Commission in Ottawa, stated, "While Britain has been acknowledging facts from its colonial past [and] while some imperial actions seem quite questionable and some of them are deplorable by modem standards, they may have appeared to be necessary at the time." (159)

Presently, efforts are ongoing to obtain a reconciliation and symbolic apology with the British government and Crown. (160) Although the details of those efforts remain confidential, a newspaper article which was published in England (161) is enlightening. A spokesman for the British government acknowledged publicly, for the first tune, that offers of compromise of the Petition had been proposed, to wit, "A British diplomat in New York stated that an offer of academic grants for the study of Acadian history had been made in exchange for dropping the suit and public silence thereafter."

Likewise, favorable developments have occurred in the British media. Articles in a major British publication (162) with international circulation called upon Britain to confront its past. This sparked interest of the Petition in the British media, resulting in the article by Ed Vulliamy, a journalist who produced a documentary on Bosnian war crimes. (163) The article exhibited clear parallels between the Acadian deportation and other contemporary human rights violations in the world. As a result, the British Broadcast Corporation became interested in the Petition, sent a film crew to Louisiana and produced a three-part documentary. The producer of the British documentary, Pete McCarthy, after learning more about the Petition, said, "I agree with him. Perrin's campaign has attracted a great deal of sympathy and interest worldwide." (164) Thereafter, the respected British publication, The Economist, called upon Britain, and other nations, to reconcile its past; it called the transgressions of Britain "racial arrogance and cruel excesses of Empire. " (165)

IX. CONCLUSION

In order for the British government to have a respected voice in the area of international human rights, it should use this Petition as an opportunity to change its image as one of the violators in the history of modem civilization. It should set an example for the world to follow and admit past mistakes.(166) Primarily, because there exists a phenomenology of taint -- the notion that there is a persistent sense of incompleteness that impacts the psychologies of both victims and victimizers when terrible crimes go unresolved. Past atrocities need the ritualistic tune and space of adjudication, of some sort, in order to break away from the victimization cycle and wash away the feelings of incompleteness that flow from wounds unmended by justice. In both the interest of Great Britain, and in the world community, this dispute should receive closure. Secondly, because the integrity of the Crown and English Constitution would be well served by an inquiry.

The history of the diaspora is such that it reveals several instances, as noted hereinabove, of apparently severe breaches of fundamental British law. Finally, the International Law's concepts for crimes against humanity, especially genocide, demand that the parties act to put an end to the exile and reconcile with each other. (167) It is submitted that to do so would close a sad chapter in the New World's history and transform Acadians' collective sense of shame into a more positive self-image.

In a tune of peace, there has never been a tragedy with more unnecessary human suffering than the Acadian exile. Longfellow, in his poem "Evangeline", wrote that it was an "exile without end." It is now tune to declare an end to the Acadian exile.

APPENDIX

PROPOSED APOLOGY CONCERNING DEPORTATION OF THE

ACADIANS

1. The Crown recognizes that the Acadian people have made a significant contribution to the development of the Commonwealth and, as a result thereof, the Crown has derived substantial benefits from the Acadian people.

2. The Crown acknowledges that its representatives and advisers acted unjustly and in breach of the Petition of Right (1628), the Treaty of Utrecht (April 13, 1713), and Queen Anne's Edict (June 23, 1713) in its dealings with the Acadians, by sending its forces to Nova Scotia (Acadie) in August, 1755, and by unfairly labeling the Acadians as "perfidious and treacherous rebels to His Majesty" (July 28, 1755).

3. The Crown expresses its profound regret and apologues unreservedly for the loss of lives because of the circumstances arising from the deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia (Acadie) and of the resultant devastation of property and social life.

4. The Crown acknowledges that on September 5, 1755, it was a tine of peace in Nova Scotia and, therefore, inappropriate for Lieutenant-Governor Charles Lawrence to order Colonel John Winslow to state to the Acadians: "on orders of His Majesty all French should be removed...that your lands and tenements; cattle of all kinds and live stock of all sorts are forfeited to the Crown with all your effects, saving your money and household goods; and yourselves to be removed from this province."

5. The Crown acknowledges that the deportation of the Acadians was a violation of the basic liberties and human rights of the Acadians and, further, that there was no law in effect at that tune providing for the penalty which was inflicted upon them.

6. The Crown expresses regret that its representatives and advisors ignored the Crown's Royal Prerogative contained in both Queen Ann's Edict of 1713 and King Georges Edict of 1747, thereby abusing its power.

7. The Crown acknowledges that Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence lacked the authority to act with respect to the deportation of the Acadians and, therefore, his orders were irregular and are repudiated.

8. The Crown acknowledges that the Acadians were treated cruelly, unjustly and in bad faith, in violation of prior treaties and solemn engagements; that the representatives and advisors of the Crown acted, in concert, in a designed effort to end the Acadian culture and community.

9. The Crown expresses its profound regret that the expulsion occurred without the Acadians being accorded due process of rights or having their cases reviewed by competent authorities.

10. The Crown acknowledges that the deportation of the Acadians was wrongful, and that it causes the Acadians to suffer, even to the present tune, wretched and a profound sadness in relation to their lost lands, akin to those of orphans. Moreover, the exile has had a crippling and adverse impact on their welfare, culture, economy and development as a people.

11. The Crown appreciates that this sense of grief, the justices of which has remained unrecognized, has given rise to the principle that an acknowledgment by the Crown is due and a reconciliation needs to be extended to the Acadian people.

12. Accordingly, the Crown seeks, on behalf of all Acadians, to atone for these acknowledged injustices, insofar as that is now possible, and, declare forthwith an end of the Acadian exile and an acknowledgment that the exclusion of the Acadian people from the Articles of Capitulation of the Treaty of Paris of 1763 was wrong, and, that therefore, in order to continue the process of healing, a reconciliation is hereby declared between the Crown and the Acadian people.

* J.D., Louisiana State University School of Law, B.S., University of Louisiana at Lafayette; The author is an attorney with the Lafayette/Erath law firm of Perrin, Landry, deLaunay & Durand, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a member of the board of directors of the Congrès Mondial Acadien - Louisiane 1999, President of the Lt. Governor's Task Force of FrancoFête'99, founder of the Acadian Museum of Erath and, since 1994, President of CODOFIL, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana.

1. JOHN QUINPOOL, FIRST THINGS IN ACADIA 11 (First Things Publishers Ltd., 1936). A region which consisted of present-day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and part of the state of Maine.

2. The opinion of Roach v. Dresser Industrial Valve and Instrument Division, 494 F. Supp. 215 (W.D. La. 1980) was written by Judge Edwin Hunter, Sr. of Lake Charles and contains an exposition on the Acadian culture (the only opinion to develop wholly within North America aside from the native people). The recitation of Acadian history in the opinion was made necessary because the plaintiff sought relief as an Acadian seeking protection against discrimination (use of the pejorative term coonass in the workplace) pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which made it unlawful for employers to discriminate against any individual because of such individual's national origin. The Judge concluded that Acadians were protected inasmuch as Acadie was the "place of origin"; that is, the requirements of the Act did not necessarily equate "place of origin" with sovereignty. As a result, the case was settled out of court in favor of the Cajun employee. See also Cajuns Can Claim Status Under Equal Job Act, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, Aug. 10, 1980. In Reid v. Hazel O'Leary, Secretary, U. S. Department of Energy, Docket No. 96-0401-GK, the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the terra "coonass" may be a racially derogatory term if directed to, or perceived to be referring to, one of African-American descent, and therefore in violation of 42 U.S.C.§ 2000(e) et seq. (citing THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY (1991), 213).

3. DUDLEY J. LEBLANC, THE ACADIAN MIRACLE 139 (Evangeline Publishing Company, 1966). England wanted the deportation to have the "color of legality". See also Mason Wade, The Acadian Background in STEEPLES AND SMOKESTACKS 20-24 (Claire Quintal ed., 1996).

4. DR. CARL A. BRASSEAUX, ACADIAN TO CAJUN: TRANSFORMATION OF A PEOPLE 1803-1877, 30-31 (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1992). In the treaty, Louisiana was transferred by France to Spain. The number of inhabitants in Louisiana increased from 7,500 in 1762 to over 50,000 in 1803.

5. WILLIAM F. RUSHTON, THE CAJUNS 319 (New York, 1979). In March, 1764 Lord Halifax refused to permit the return of refugees to Québec or Acadia: "the safety of this Province depends on the total expulsion of the French Acadians." Nova Scotian Archives, 4 Council, 24 Mar., 1764, at B 13. Nevertheless, some Acadians did return to Nova Scotia resulting in a de facto end of the exile for those who returned. However, they were not allowed to reoccupy their former lands (and placed under restrictions); they settled on lands (limited to 40 acres per family) in the northern and western extremities of Nova Scotia which the British considered undesirable. Today, Acadians make up approximately five percent of the population of Nova Scotia.

6. BRASSEAUX, supra note 4 at 100-103. Inasmuch as the Acadian refugees did not come to Louisiana directly from Europe, they were excluded from the Creole society of Louisiana. ARNOLD R. HIRSCH & JOSEPH LOGSDON, CREOLE NEW ORLEANS - RACE AND AMERICANIZATION 132 (L.S.U. Press, 1992). However, there were some notable exceptions such as Alexander Mouton and Paul O. Hebert.

7. MILBURN CALHOUN, LOUISIANA ALMANAC 1995-96 112 (Pelican Publishing, 1995). The first official documentation that Acadians were migrating to Louisiana occurred on April 4, 1764 when the Governor of Louisiana. D'Abbadie, noted in his diary that 20 Acadians had arrived from New York, 106. In Louisiana Acadians found acceptance, a place where they could rebuild their lives. Many of the early settlements developed along the Mississippi River in St. James and Ascension Parishes; by 1770, these parishes were known as the "Acadia Coast." BRENDA MELANCON, THE HISTORY OF SORRENTO 15-16 (Franklin Press, Inc., 1996).

8. JESSIE POESCH & BARBARA SORELLE BACOT, LOUISIANA BUILDINGS 1720-1794 (L.S.U. Press 1997). The Acadians developed an architecture that combined their own French and Canadian traditions with local Creole elements. Id at 27. Today, south central Louisiana is home to the descendants of Acadians; it had been known as "the Evangeline Country," but now is called the "Acadian Triangle," an area composed of 22 parishes which was officially designated "Acadiana" by the Louisiana Legislature in 1971. See Jim Bradshaw, "Acadiana" replaced "Evangeline", THE ADVERTISER, Oct. 4, 1998. This area has the largest French-speaking population in the United States. Yvon Gauvin, What We Had Were Myths, TIMES-TRANSCRIPT, Jan. 19, 1998.

9. Jacques Henry, From Acadien to Cajun to Cadien: Ethnic Labelization and Construction of Identity, 17 JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ETHNIC HISTORY (Summer 1998). An analysis of the written occurrences of the labels used to describe the descendants of the Acadian exiles in Louisiana, especially Cajun / Cadien. See also, LAUREN C. POST, CAJUN SKETCHES 3 (L.S.U. Press, 1962).

10. Records of individual family histories are, with a few exceptions, unavailable. JOSEPH LE SAGE TRISCH, FRENCH IN LOUISIANA (A.F. Laborde and Sons, New Orleans, 1959). But see Albert Leonce Dupon, The Career of Paul Octave Hebert, Governor of Louisiana 1853-1856, XXXI LOUISIANA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY 491-492.

11. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 125. "These people must now appear guilty of the crime of the high treason."

12. PETER L. MCCREATH & JOHN G. LEEFE, A HISTORY OF EARLY NOVA SCOTIA 232 (Four East Publications, 1982). Subsequent to the Accords of 1730 (the Acadians pledged allegiance to the British not to take up arms against either France or England), the Acadians were referred to as "French Neutrals." NAOMI E. S. GRIFFITHS, THE ACADIANS: CREATION OF A PEOPLE 27 (McGraw Hill Ryerson, 1973). See also LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 73.

13. There is recent precedent: On January 30, 1998 British Prime Minister Tony Blair created a Commission of Inquiry into the 1972 killing of 13 Catholics by British soldiers in Northern Ireland. See THE ADVOCATE, Jan. 30, 1998. In July, 1791, an English army officer, Brook Watson, who had served as Commissary-General in Nova Scotia before and during the expulsion, wrote about his personal recollections of the Acadians to Reverend Dr. Brown who was collecting material for a history of Nova Scotia. The honest description of the deportation by Watson provides very compelling evidence (admission against interest) in support of the Petition. Letter from Hon. Brook Watson, to Reverend Dr. Brown (July 1, 1791) (in Papers Relating to Nova Scotia, DR. ANDREW BROWN COLLECTIONS, on file with the British Museum, London, add. 19, 071). For additional quotes from Watson, see ARSENAULT, infra note 21 at 94.

14. REV. OSCAR W. WINZERLING, ACADIAN ODYSSEY (L.S.U. Press, 1955). In the Articles of Capitulations of Montreal in the Treaty of Paris, the Acadians are excluded from the concessions granted to the French (which allowed them to return to their homelands). Amherst, the British General, wrote: "Agreed, except as regards the Acadians" (39th and 54th Articles). In 1763, due to the intercession of King Louis XV, the Acadians were granted the sole concession of repatriation to France by an amendment to the Articles. ANTOINE BERNARD, LE DRAME ACADIEN (Montreal, 1925). However, the majority of Acadians who were repatriated to France were those who had been held in prisons in England during the war.

15. Pierre Arsenault, (Professor, L'Ecole de Droit Unversité de Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick), Emerging Human Rights in the Twenty-First Century, The Judge Allen M. Babineaux International Civil Law Symposium, Lafayette, Louisiana, Sept. 19, 1997, (stating "The 21st century will reflect new rights of people seen as citizens of planet earth.") LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 3-22. For an excellent discussion of the many uncanny parallels between the Acadian and Irish diasporas, Human Rights: The Irish Experience paper presented by Patrick O'Keefe at the The 8th Annual Judge Allen M. Babineaux Comparative International Law Symposium on September 18, 1998, in Lafayette, Louisiana. Regarding the wrongs done to the Irish by the British, Charles Carroll of Maryland, a signer of The Declaration of Independence and one of the nations first Irish Catholics, said to his brethren, "We must remember and forgive."

16. Diane F. Orentlicher, Settling Accounts: The Duty to Prosecute Human Rights Violations of a Prior Regime, 100 YALE L. J. 2537. "A complete failure of enforcement [of human rights laws] vitiates the authority of law itself, sapping its power to deter proscribed conduct." Id at 2541. The Grand Pré National Historic Site, operated by Parks Canada, has become the unofficial shrine for Acadians (it houses a memorial church [blessed on August 16, 1922], a statue of "Evangeline" [dedicated July 29, 1920], the Deportation Cross [unveiled on August 19, 1924] and gardens). Recent events occurred which will cause a change: Parks Canada agreed to transfer all operations to the Société Nationale de l'Acadie in an arrangement which will allow Acadians of the world to bring improvements which will evoke feelings of ancestral connections to the roots of Acadian society which existed in the area (so emotionally portrayed by Longfellow in the poem "Evangeline"). This task will be particularly difficult inasmuch as the British so efficiently destroyed all vestiges of the then-flourishing settlement of Grand Pré (over 600 houses were burned). It is fervently hoped that the re-development of the pack will become a fitting tribute to the re-emergence of Acadian pride as exemplified by the Congrès Mondial Acadien. In September, 1996, Grand Pré National Historic Site was "twinned" with Louisiana's Evangeline Oak Park at St. Martinville, Louisiana. Barbara LeBlanc, president of Federation Acadienne de la Nouvelle Ecosse, said this act united Acadians from the north and south; further, it reminded everyone of three questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?" CHRONICLE-HERALD, Sept. 14, 1996.

17. Jeremy Travis, Rethinking Sovereign Immunity After Bivens, 57 N.Y.U.L. REV. 597 (1982). The English right to petition can be traced from the Magna Carta to the English Bill of Rights and consists of two types: (1) petition of Grace (2) petition of Right. The latter was used to address tortuous wrongs by the "King's agents" or to contest wrongful dispossession. The Acadians' Petition should have been referred to the Court of the Kings' Bench and classified as a Petition of Right.

18. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 216.

19. A. H. REED, THE STORY OF NEW ZEALAND 119-130 (Peninsula Press Ltd. 1945). The apology stems from the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi between the Maori chiefs and the Crown, by which Maori sovereignty over New Zealand was given up in return for guarantees of ownership over lands, forest and fisheries. Queen to Say Sorry to the Maori People, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, July 2, 1995; "Deed of Settlement, the Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 1995," Office of the Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Charles Fergusson Building, Bowen Street, P. O. Box 919, Wellington, New Zealand. The Crown's apology was criticized in one article: Never Apologize, Never Explain, LONDON OBSERVER, July 25, 1995. The Queen's oath is set forth in THE CORONATION OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II: THE FORM AND ORDER OF SERVICE (Oxford Univ. Press, 1953) and provides: "Archbishop, “Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain...according to their respective laws and customs?” Queen, “I solemnly promise so to do so.' Archbishop, “Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?' Queen. 1 will."

20. DR. CARL A. BRASSEAUX, THE FOUNDING OF NEW ACADIA: THE BEGINNINGS OF ACADIAN LIFE IN LOUISIANA, 1765-1803 (L.S.U. Press, 1987). This scholarly work was one of the author's inspirations for presenting the Petition; therefore, it is used as a general historical reference for this section.

21. BONA ARSENAULT, HISTORY OF THE ACADIANS 75 (Ottawa 1988). Reviewing the Petition in 1989, Mr. Arsenault, a noted author, historian, genealogist, ex-minister and member of Parliament, agreed with the legal arguments contained therein and urged its filing forthwith. For a view that France and England never properly fixed a border for Acadia (as per Article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht) and, therefore, the expulsion did not occur on sovereign British soil, see Mark Haynes, "Acadia Still Exists," unpublished manuscript, Mar., 1995.

22. ARTHUR G. DOUGHTY, THE ACADIAN EXILES 69 (Toronto, 1920).

23. SALLY ROSS & ALPHONSE DEVEAU, THE ACADIANS OF NOVA SCOTIA: PAST AND PRESENT 57-60 (Nimbus Publishing, 1992). BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 89. Further, on January 3, 1730 Phillips wrote to London authorities that he had received the submission of all of the inhabitants of Port Royal over the age of 16 years of age. On November 26, 1730, he informed authorities in London that all Acadians "of all parishes have taken the oath of allegiance." ARSENAULT, supra note 21 at 85.

24. According to Professor Roger Paradis, University of Maine at Fort Kent, there is no "technicality" either in British law or tradition, that the consent of the Parliament is necessary for the Crown, or its appointed officials, to administer an oath of allegiance, either to an individual or a group of people.

25. Robert G. LeBlanc, The Acadian Migration, 81 CANADIAN GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL 118 (1970). In June of 1760, the first contingent of 650 families from Boston and Rhode Island arrived to take up the vacated Acadian lands. J. B. BREBNER, NEW ENGLAND OUTPOST: ACADIA BEFORE THE CONQUEST OF CANADA (New York, 1927). By 1763, 12,500 New Englanders had been settled on Acadian lands, known as the most fertile in North America.

26. See LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 11. "The character of Governor Charles Lawrence had much to do with the ultimate expulsion of the Acadians. Unlike his predecessors, Lawrence was as suspicions as he was treacherous and ambitions." See also DR. ANDREW BROWN COLLECTION, Papers Relating to Nova Scotia, in, British Museum, London, Add. 19072f30. DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 155 "Two documents in the Colonial Office Records raise more than a suspicion that Lawrence had been by no means an exemplary public servant ...grave misconduct of Lawrence in many stated particulars, including the release from goal before trial of prisoners...as well as misapplication of public funds." Lawrence died on October 19, 1760. Because he was found to have died at night and outdoors in the snow, some have said that the circumstances of his death were mysterious. He was interred in St. Paul's Church in Halifax, where a monument in his honor disappeared during restorations to the building in 1768. King George II died six days after Lawrence; King George III ascended to the throne a week later, but the deportation order was not rescinded. In 1762, hundreds of refugees were sent into exile over the protests of General Amherst, Governor-General of British North America.

27. GEORGES AR$ENAULT, THE ISLAND ACADIANS 1720-1980, 33 (1989). Actually, this was untrue; the order of exile [most historians opine] was never issued by the King. After the fall of Fort Beau Sejour, Colonel Winslow wrote that the Acadians occupy "one of the best soils of the world" and "if they could be banished from Nova Scotia it would be one of the greatest deeds the English ever achieved because we could place some good farmers on their homesteads."

28. RENÉ BABINEAU, BRIEF HISTORY OF ACADIA 1604-1988 6-7, 8-9, 32-33 (1988) (citing a list of Acadian settlements, a chronology of significant dates, and a compilation of families at the time of deportation respectively).

29. LEONIE COMEAU POIRIER, MY ACADIAN HERITAGE (1989). This was the first systematic attempt at genocide in North America against Caucasian people. Incredibly, some Acadians were deported twice.

30. JEAN-MARC LÉGER, La Francophonie a Moncton, New Brunswick: Un Certain Malaise, LA PRESSE, Sept. 12, 1998, states: "The Acadians were the victims of a real genocide; exiled and exterminated in large numbers, villages burned, land confiscated and families dispersed throughout the British colonies."

31. DANIEL N. PAUL, WE WERE NOT SAVAGES: A MICMAC PERSPECTIVE ON THE COLLISION OF EUROPEAN AND ABORIGINAL CIVILIZATION 142 (1993). "The Micmac faithfully stuck by their Acadian allies to the bitter end. Some of the Acadians tried to escape and were aided and protected by the Micmac to the best of their ability...Many Acadians went into hiding among the Micmac and remained with them until the British and French ended their hostilities in 1763."

32. FATHER ANSELME CHAISSON, CHÉTICAMP: HISTORY AND ACADIAN TRADITIONS 14 (1986). RANDY KRAFT, NEW YORK'S JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM, The Allentown Morning Call, Mar., 1998. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the Acadian population died during their exile, which is the same percentage of the Jewish population killed during their Holocaust. "By slaughtering six million Jews, Hitler reduced the world's Jewish population by one-third."

33. JOHN FREDERIC HERBIN, THE HISTORY OF GRAND-PRÉ 84 (1991). The Nova Scotian Legislature gave archivist Thomas Akins the job of publishing a collection of documents concerning the period between 1713 and 1768; unfaithfully, his 755-page work excluded certain significant documents, even though they were available at the time. See ATKINS, SELECTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS OF THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA (1869).

34. DR. CARL A. BRASSEAUX, SCATTERED TO THE WIND: DISPERSAL AND WANDERINGS OF THE ACADIANS, 1755-1809 (1991).

35. On July 9, 1756, a special act was passed to empower the Justices to "bind out" Acadian children under 21 years, for service from 3-12 weeks. DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 139.

36. LEBLANC, supra note 25 at 146, "It is remarkable that only twenty years after the deportation of the Acadians the New England colonies rose in revolt, and finally severed their connections with the mother country." Ron Delhomme, The Queen on Trial: Perrin Tells England to Stop Being a Bully, DAILY ADVERTISER, Aug. 12, 1999; Ron Delhomme, Mock Trial of Acadians vs. Crown Draws Crowd, DAILY ADVERTISER, Aug. 14, 1999.

37. PIERRE DAIGLE, TEARS, LOVE AND LAUGHTER: THE STORY OF THE CAJUNS 49-50 (1987) (stating "Many of the Acadians, particularly the children, were sold into slavery.")

38. CÉCILE CHEVRIER, ACADIE: SKETCHES OF A JOURNEY 65 (1994).

39. Documentary film, Against the Wind, Against the Tide (Acadie Liberté, 1993 (A co-production of the Dept. of the Interior National Park Service, USA and Les Production du Phare-Est, Inc., Canada)). Due to the work of Zachary Richard, a collaborative project between Louisiana and Canada has produced a sequel as a television documentary dealing with the history of the Cajun community of Louisiana. The title is (Contre Vents et Marées); it was directed by Pat Mire.

40. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 343-345.

41. NAOMI E.S. GRIFFHTHS, The Acadians of the British Sea-Port, 67-84 ACADIENSIS 4 (1976).

42. J. E. Cote, The Reception of English Law, 15 ALTA LAw REVIEw, 29-55 (1977). Much of the material in this section was obtained from the excellent article by Supreme Court Judge Michel Bastarache (the first Acadian named to the Canadian Supreme Court in Sept., 1997). Acadian Language and Cultural Rights from 1713 to the Present Day, THE ACADIANS OF THE MARITIMES: THEMATIC STUDIES, 341-381 (Jean Daigle ed. 1982).

43. CHAISSON, supra note 32; LEBLANC, supra note 25.

44. W. C. Conklin, Constitutional Ideology, Language Rights and Political Disunity in Canada, 28 UNB LAW JOURNAL 39, 52 (1979).

45. ANGER AND HONSBERGER, op. cit., note 1, 5; MACGREGOR, DAWSON, R., THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA 6 (U. of Toronto Press, 4th ed. 1966); Clement, W.H.D., THE LAW OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION 276 (Toronto, 3rd ed. 1916).

46. Political Correspondence, England, Vol. 246, f 23. In an important case, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled on September 17, 1999 that rights granted to aboriginal people, pursuant to a treaty signed in 1760 (ironically, by Charles Lawrence), were still valid, thereby re-affirming the validity of old treaties. Donald John Marshall, Jr. v. Her Majesty The Queen and the Attorney General for New Brunswick, The West Nova Fisherman's Coalition, The Native Council of Nova Scotia and The Union of New Brunswick Indians. In response to this decision, Prime minister Jean Chretien of Canada said: 'treaties signed centuries ago have meaning and must be respected. See also PAUL, infra note 82 and accompanying text.

47. GLADYS TRENHOLM, A HISTORY OF FORT LAWRENCE 32 (1985).

48. ROSS, supra note 23 at 57-60.

49. JEAN DAIGLE, THE ACADIANS OF THE MARITIMES: THEMATIC STUDIES (Univ. of Moncton, 1982), 344 - 346. Governor Cornwallis took the untenable position that the right to leave did not imply the right to sell one's property and that the property of those who left could be confiscated. Judge Michel Bastarache, former Dean of the l'Ecole de Droit, Universtité de Moncton and now a Judge on the Canadian Supreme Court, writes: "This position clearly contradicts the Queen's [Ann's] letter referred to above..." Id at 344.

50. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 122. France was trying to create a French Acadia in what is now New Brunswick. France forced Acadians to emigrate from Beaubassin (north of the Missaquash River), the nominal border between French and English claims, required them to swear allegiance and exaggerated the Indian threat to insure their adhesion to French policy; Ross supra note 23 at 44. "It is worth noting that authorities in New France forced Acadians who had taken refuge near Fort Beauséjour to bear arms under pain of deportation." John B. Brenner, Canadian Policy Towards the Acadians in 1751, 12 CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW 284-287 (1931); Conklin, supra note 44 at 49. As opposed to those Acadians who had removed themselves to French territory, those who remained on the peninsula of Nova Scotia were considered British subjects.

51. A. W. SAVARY, SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ANNAPOLIS 33 (William Briggs, 1913). "Judge Belcher...got 100,000 acres [of Acadian lands] at “Shedebobec in 1765." The judicial opinion of Judge Belcher is described as "astonishing...with which Lawrence fortified himself before inaugurating his ruthless policy." DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 115. "He [Belcher] does not appear to have examined the official correspondence between the years 1713 and 1755, or even the Minutes of Council. At any rate, he presented a document ill-founded in fact and contemptible in argument."

52. 56 A NOVA SCOTIA STATE PAPERS 76; 2 Canadian Archives (1905) 63.

53. Ross, supra note 49 at 344-345. See also ARSENAULT, supra note 21 at 76. "Acadians who decided to live in Acadia indefinitely, under English rule, were guaranteed equal rights with other subjects of the British Crown." See DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 89.

54. Roger Paradis, "Papers of Prudent L. Mercure" "Histoire du Madawaska" (Madawaska Historical Society, 1998), xiii. "In all matters of foreign policy the buck stopped at the Court of St. James [the King]." Suffice it to say most historians subscribed to the traditional view that Governor Lawrence made the decision without approval of the British government. Some authors have not accepted political expediency as the cause for expulsion, but rather point to the greed of Governor Lawrence. But see DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 118.

55. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 125. Lawrence had obviously prejudged the Acadians; that is, whether the unconditional oath was taken or not by the delegates, they were all to be deported: "In both cases I [Lawrence] shall deport them."

56. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 136 (citing records at the British Museum at C. O. 5, Vol. 16, fol. 12.).

57. LEBLANC, supra note 3. The infamous Lawrence was a soldier, bold and active, keen, intelligent, but ambitious, unscrupulous to the highest degree, haughty and disdainful in manner. Id at 84. Lawrence and the chief agents received twenty thousand acres of Acadian land along with proceeds from the sales of the Acadians' livestock. Id. at 125-126. But cf. NAOMI E. S. GRIFFITHS, THE ACADIANS: CREATION OF A PEGPLE 74 (McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1973) "It has been conclusively proved that Lawrence himself derived no financial benefit from the tragedy."

58. WINZERLING, supra note 14 (citing Nova Scotian Documents, 389). In 1754, Massachusetts Governor William Shirley agreed with the decision and promised full and vigorous cooperation.

59. LEBLANC, supra note 50 at 33. "If the petitions of the Acadians [filed in 1760] with their presentations of the facts could really have reached the throne; if they could have secured the active sympathy of one or more strong members of the British Parliament, and a leading Barrister to bring their case fully before the Government and the highest Courts of Great Britain, the result might have been fatal to Belcher's position.".

60. Nicole Winfield, Yugoslavia Warned of Possible Action, THE ADVOCATE, Sept. 23, 1998. "Yugoslav President Milosevic received a stern warning to loosen his grip on the separatist province of Kosovo or face military action by NATO. German Foreign Minister Klause Kinkel and his Austrian counterpart, Wolfgang Schussel, both condemned the fighting that has killed hundreds of people and uprooted over 250,000 since Serb forces began a crackdown in February on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo." Adam Brown, Serbs Accused of Butchery, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, Sept. 30, 1998. "They lay scattered on the floor of a pine forest: men, women and children, or what remained of them. Some were carved up with knives, limbs hacked off. All had been shot in the back of the head. Ethnic Albanians say the victims were slaughtered Sunday after a Serb attack against the Kosovo Liberation Army, which is fighting for independence for this majority Albanian province." "Accusing the security forces of trying to wipe out ethnic Albanians in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, Britain called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to condemn the killings. In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair lent his unqualified support. It is clear that the diplomatic solution alone will not work. We have to send the strongest possible message to Milosevic that we will not tolerate any more of these atrocities." Massacre Probe Sought, THE ADVERTISER, Oct. 1, 1998. Ironically, the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) deployed to Bosnia is led by a US-French command cooperation, those nations having the largest contingents in place. Also, the top SFOR legal advisor is Colonel Michael B. Neveu, a Louisianian of French ancestry. William F. Ridlon II, (unpublished letter) (Oct. 19, 1998).

61. PAMELA JEKEL, BAYOU 16 (Kensington Publishing Co., 1991). "Exiled French-Canadians, were banished from Nova Scotia by the British in a fit of tyrannical paranoia."

62. BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 136.

63. DAIGLE, supra note 37 at 79. The parish register of Saint-Charles-Aux-Mines Church in Grand Pré was carried to Louisiana by the deportees, a unique witness to the journey of the prisoners who were held a month in the Grand Pré Church awaiting the boats of the deportation. These records of births, baptisms and marriages cover the years 1707-1748 and are presently in the possession of the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, Department of the Archives, P. O. Box 2028, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70821-2028. THE ADVOCATE, Aug. 9, 1998.

64. CHAISSON, supra note 33 at 111. "Winslow had a table placed in the center of the church...he took his place to deliver His Majesty's "final resolution" to the Acadians." This terminology sounds hauntingly similar to Hitler's policy termed the "final resolution" of the Jewish "problem".

65. ROSS, supra note 23 at 348. Inhabitants of the colony had the same rights and privileges as English citizens.

66. GEORGE FREDERICK CLARK, EXPULSION OF THE ACADIANS (Brunswick Press, 1955). The deportation of the Palestinians by Israel, arguably, also occurred during peace time. HENRI-DOMINIQUE PARETTE, PEOPLES OF THE MARITIMES: ACADIANS (Nimbus Publishing, 1999) supports the Petition and states at p. 41, "They were deported while England and France were not officially at war - one of the reasons Louisiana Lawyer Warren Perrin petitions the Queen of England today is to definitely rescind Expulsion orders."

67. MATTI PELONPAA, EXPULSION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW 51 (1984). But cf. JAMES HANNAY, HISTORY OF ACADIA 430 (J. & J. McMillan, 1879). Where the Acadians are called "obstinate people."

68. ARSENAULT, supra note 21 at 122; See also THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC QUARTERLY REVIEW, OCT., 1885; BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 23. "Lawrence lacked...legal justification for driving thousands of nominally British subjects from their traditional homeland." PARADIS supra note 54 at 271. "Justice Belcher provided Lawrence with the legal falsity for the deportation of the Acadians." One fails to see the justice of laying the acts of a few renegade Frenchmen at the doors of thousands of law-abiding population, any more than pronouncing a whole community guilty when a burglary has been committed in their midst.

69. DR. CARL A. BRASSEAUX, QUEST FOR THE PROMISED LAND 1 (USL Center for La. Studies, 1989). "Their judges were also their prosecutors." For a transcript of the judicial proceedings authorizing the dispersal; See also THOMAS B. AIKENS, ED., ACADIAN AND NOVA SCOTIA: DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE ACADIAN FRENCH AND THE FIRST BRITISH COLONIZATION OF THE PROVINCE, 1714-1758 (2nd ed. 1972), 247-267. PARADIS, supra note 54, xvii: "Condemning an entire population for the actions of a few is reminiscent [of the mass execution of civilians by German soldiers, a crime against humanity] of St. Ours, France, during World War II."

70. ROSS, supra note 23 at 28: In order to understand the home government's position with respect to Lawrence's recommendation for exile, consider the British Secretary of State Sir Thomas Robinson's reply to Lawrence on August 13, 1755: "In regard to the Acadians of the Peninsula, it would be depriving Great Britain of a very considerable number of useful subjects..." Moreover, this shows that the home government acknowledged the status of the Acadians as British subjects.

71 EDWARD A. BROGM, HERBERT, & HADLEY, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAWS OF ENGLAND 162 (William Maxwell & Son, Henry Sweet, and Stevens & Sons, 1869).

72. ROSS supra note 23 at 347. Creation of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia did not occur until 1758, 3 years after the order of exile had been issued, albeit, without proper authorization or legal basis.

73. ROSS, supra note 23 at 346-347. "...subsequent decisions laid down the principle that neither the appointment of a governor, nor the approval given to his decisions, made them valid. This meant, in sum, that confiscation of the Acadians' boats and weapons, and the restrictions placed upon their movements, were illegal. The order to take the oath of fidelity imposed in 1755 had no legal basis either ..."

74. ARSENAULT, supra note 21 at 107.

75. ROSS, supra note 23 at 347 and DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 114. The council at Halifax had no power to enact laws. Its action was limited to the authority vested in the governor by his commission and his instructions.

76. DAIGLE, supra note 49 at 23. THOMAS C. HALIBURTON, AN HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF NOVA SCOTIA (J. Howe, 1829). See also RICHARD, infra note 81. It argues that Lawrence was trying to provoke the Acadians into acts of subordination so that lie might have a plausible excuse for the deportation.

77. ANDREW HILL CLARK, ACADIA: THE GEOGRAPHY OF EARLY NOVA SCOTIA TO 1760 362 (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1968). The suggested motives [of Lawrence] for the deportation...vengeance...calculated chicanery...to profit...are not supported by adequate evidence. Rather, it was the result of a number of converging developments: (1) bitterness (2) immigration of thousands of Acadians to French territories (3) intransigence of remaining Acadians to take the oath (4) undermining of British confidence by military reversals (5) increasing resentment by New Englanders and (6) the impatience of an injudicial temperament of Lawrence. Some have argued that Lawrence's appointment as governor was an official, tacit acknowledgment by the Crown that he had properly followed government orders to deport the Acadians.

78. DAIGLE, supra note 49 at 345-349. "Now, constitutional custom is laid down by constant usage over a long period of time, which would establish the situation stipulated in the initial constitutional document as arising from rule of law."

79. BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 24. "Lawrence's decision to rid the colony of its perfidious [definition: one who violates faith, trust, or allegiance] subjects was vindicated by the colonial council's decree...[based upon] rampart francophobia..." See also LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 133-143.

80. ROSS, supra note 23 at 348. "English law - statues and common law - was the law of the colony of Nova Scotia to the extent that it was applicable and was not amended by local legislation." A compelling argument is made by Doughty that Lawrence lacked authority. DOUGHTY, supra note 22.

81. EDOUARD RICHARD, ACADIA: MISSING LINKS OF A CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY (Montreal, 1895), Vol. II, Chapters 26 and 27, 1-55.

82. PAUL, supra note 31 at 335-340. The Micmac aboriginal people had developed a civilization of a free and independent people forming a society based upon the principles of mutual support and respect. By treaties, proclamations and terrorism, the British dispossessed the Micmac of their lands. The Micmac and the Acadians were long-term allies and, sadly, both were victims of British genocidal policies. Recent decisions have supported the Micmacs hunting, fishing and land claims; see The Queen v. Sparrow, 1 S. CI. 1075 (1990).

83. JOHN CHANCE WEBSTER, ACADIA AT THE END OF THE 17TH CENTURY 211-221 (Tribune Press, 1934).

84. 2 BEAMISH MURDOCK, A HISTORY OF NOVA SCOTIA OR ACADIE, 106, 133, 138, 147, 152, 155, 157, 177-183 (James Barnes, 1865).

85. DR. WILLIAM ARCENEAUX, NO SPARK OF MALLICE 52 (L.S.U. Press, 1999). Mascarene acknowledged that much of his success was due to the conduct of the French Acadians, who, with a few exceptions, gave no willing aid to the enemy.

86. BRONCHEUR, FORT BEAUSÉJOUR NATIONAL HISTORICAL SITE (Parks Canada, 1966). See also BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 23. Star-shaped Fort Beauséjour, overlooking the Bay of Fundy, was built by the French in 1751 to defend their interests in the isthmus of Chignecto. The Acadians, who resided in the area behind the French fort, believed that they were on the French side of the border. Lawrence, with the military support of Governor Shirley of Boston, capitalized upon this situation, for he resurrected the previously settled issue of the oath in an attempt to justify the deportation.

87. Colonel Winslow was ordered by Lawrence to carry out the deportation of the Acadians at Grand Pré. His campaign was extremely efficient and successful, culminating in the burning of over 600 buildings in that area. This campaign provided the historical backdrop for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" written in 1847.

88. BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 31. Despite being destitute, some Acadians (who have evaded exile and were made prisoners) negotiated with the authorities to provide their skilled labor (operation and repair of [Acadian] dykes) in exchange for "high wages," thereby providing the funding for about 600 refugees, "at their own expense" to make the voyage to Louisiana in 1764, thus the beginning of Acadian's cultural transplantation. Id at 34.

89. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 123.

90. D'Entremont, The Baronnie de Pombcoup and the Acadians, THE YARMOUTH HERALD-TELEGRAM, 1931 and Père Clarence d'Entremont Histoire de Pubnico in LES RÉGIONS ACADIENNES DE LA NOUVELLE-ÉCOSSE, (Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne, 1982).

91. Charles J. d'Entremont, Joseph Brossard (Broussard) dit Beausoleil, in DICTIONNAIRE BIOGRAPHIQUE DU CANADA 92-93, eds. George W. Brown et al. (10 vols.; Quebec, 1966-72). In his lecture on April 23, 1992, at the Festival Internationale de Louisiane in Lafayette, Louisiana, Paul Surette, a New Brunswick historian, stated that many Acadians had established settlements along the Petcoudiac River in what is now New Brunswick Province. These territories were viewed as French territory; nevertheless, after the fall of Fort Beauséjour in June, 1755, the British authorities attempted to deport those Acadians. This campaign was mainly unsuccessful. The Acadians, led by Joseph "Beausoleil" Broussard, (aided by his four sons and other Acadians along the Petitcodiac River) waged a successful military campaign against the British until 1761. Broussard emerged from the period as the only Acadian folk hero. He spoke the Micmac language and was an expert marksman. Upon his arrival in Louisiana, he was named Commandant of the Attakapas militia on April 8, 1765, by the Spanish governor. He died on September 4, 1765, at the age of 63 and was interred the following day at "le denier Camp d'en bas." Sadly, it is not known exactly were he is buried, but it is believed to be near the town of Loreauville, Louisiana according to the register of St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church" at St. Martinville, Louisiana. Pro-British historians have referred to Broussard as "an indefatigable foe who lead an Indian attack resulting in the massacre of four settlers and scalping of three British soldiers." In 1996, remains were located of one of the British warships that was sunk in 1759 during a battle with the Acadian Resistence. University of New Brunswick scientists are studying the wreck with a view toward salvaging the ship. "Ship Sunk by Acadians," Montreal Gazette, Oct. 22, 1996. "Beausoleil," whose name was adopted by a Louisiana folk-rock Cajun band and who appears in many historical novels like Antoine Maillet's, "Pélagie-la-Charrette" (Doubleday & Co. Inc. 1979), is a mesmerizing figure in Acadian history. In support of the Congrès Mondial Acadien Louisiane 1999, the Broussards incorporated (as did approximately 85 other Acadian families) on the 10th day of December, 1996, as "Famille 'Beausoleil' Association." (Its first president was Errol B. Broussard).

92. Placide Gaudet, Les origines françaises de Moncton, in L'ÉVANGÉLINE, Vol. 12 (13), no. 16, Sept. 1, 1927.

93. MARCEL GIRAUD, A HISTORY OF FRENCH LGUISIANA (L.S.U. Press, 1958), contains a discussion of how the French dealt with Protestants who were already established in their [French] colony 35.

94. Id. The Acadians complied with Lawrence's order of June 4, 1755: "every Acadian must surrender whatever weapons he might possess," (citing Nova Scotia Documents 247-255, 267-268 and 278).

95. PAUL SURETTE, PETCOUDIAC: COLONISATION ET DESTRUCTION 1731-1755 (1988).

96. Gilbert Gendron, The British Genocide of the Acadian People, THE BARNES REVIEW, Vol. III, No. 10, Oct., 1997, 11-14. The Genocide Convention, ratified by the United States in 1988, includes in its definition of genocide "causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of [a national, ethnical, racial or religious] group [as such]." Accordingly, the British Crown's 18th century mass deportation of thousands of ethnic French from their Acadian homeland, renamed `Nova Scotia' by the British, certainly fits this definition. In 1949, the United Nations established a definition for genocide. David E. Stannard, AMERICAN HOLOCAUST: COLUMBUS AND THE CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD (Oxford Univ. Press, 1992), 280-281. Article III (e) of the Conventions on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, sets forth the requirements for the crime of complicity to genocide. DOCUMENTARY SUPPLEMENT TO CASES AND MATERIALS ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL SYSTEM (Foundation Press, 1995), 79. By refusing to repudiate the exile, Great Britain is violating the spirit of this section, i.e. implicitly condoning the brutality of its past. Such a violation of a treaty, to which one is a party, is itself a violation of International Law. Article 18, "The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" (U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 39/27), 289. Similarly, on June 19, 1998, Amnesty International reported that, since 1988, five million people in the world were killed as a result of genocide by either governments or internal groups within nations experiencing civil unrest and revolution.

97. Article II of the 1949 U. N. Convention defines genocide as: (a) killing members of the group (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or part (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. See LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 139-151 and PARADIS, supra note 54 at 16. They could not be assimilated, therefore, they were eliminated. The hope was entertained that in the thirteen colonies, they would be absorbed by the general population and cease to exist as a people. The word for this, I believe, is genocide.

98. EMILE LAUVRIERE, LA TRAGEDIE D'UN PEUPLE (Paris, 1922), Vol. I at 451. The 1763 Treaty of Paris granted deportees in British territories eighteen months to depart for a French colony to either Antilles, Louisiana (but it had been ceded to Spain) or Guiana. GLENN R. CONRAD, THE CAJUNS: ESSAYS ON THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE, (USL Center for La. Studies 1978) 26, 27.

99. PHILLIP H. SMITH, ACADIA, A LOST CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY 234 (New York 1884). See also, NAOMI E. S. GRIFFITHS, THE CONTEXTS OF ACADIAN HISTORY 1686-1784 (McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1976). The death toll was so great, about 25 percent, that it lead to a charge of genocide by France against England.

100. Michael L. Closen, The Decade of Supreme Court Avoidance Aids: Denial of Certiorari in HIV-AIDS Cases and Its Adverse Effects on Human Rights, 61 ALB. L. REV. 897 (1998) citing Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n., 489 U.S. 602, 635 (1989) (Marshall, J., dissenting) ("History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure."). It might be argued that the Acadians were not exiled "out of the realm," but were merely transferred from one part to another. Yet, this argument fails to take cognizance of the fact that the King could not even do this without the person's consent. Gale J. LuQuette, Remarks on "The Acadian Exile: A Discussion of Contemporary Human Rights and International Law Violations," Louisiana State University Law School, International Human Rights Law Seminar, (Fall, 1995) citing, WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAW OF ENGLAND (Rees and Welsh, 1902). Gale J. LuQuette, Remarks on "The Acadian Exile: A Discussion of Contemporary Human Rights and International Law Violations," Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, International Human Rights Law Seminar, (1995).

101. DAIGLE, supra note 49 at 349. In 1759, the Assembly passed an "Act for quieting of possessions to the Protestant grantees of the Lands formerly occupied by the French Inhabitants" which declared that the Acadians had always merely been tolerated in their occupation of British lands [and all rights they may have acquired] were extinguished because of their treason."

102. PAUL, supra note 31, 143. Micmacs and Acadians were both victims of British governors' scalping proclamations of 1749, 1752 and 1756. DANIEL N. PAUL, THE CONFRONTATION OF MICMAC AND EUROPEAN CIVILIZATIONS 34 (Truro, 1993). "His Majesty's Council do promise a reward of ten guineas for every scalp." See also STEPHEN A. DAVIS, MICMAC (Four East Publications, 1990) and PARADIS, supra note 54.

103. JAMES LORIMER, THE INSTITUTES OF THE LAW OF NATIONS (William Blackwood and Sons, 1884), 72-73. "The French in New England, Acadia and Québec," publication of a conference sponsored by the New England - Atlantic Provinces - Québec Center at the University of Maine, Orono, May 1-2, 1972. See also SMITH, supra note 99 at 234 stating "[t]hey had committed no overt act making them amenable to the civil law, and consequently, could be held only as prisoners of war, and as such were entitled, by the laws of war, to be maintained at the expense of the government so holding them; if they were not prisoners of war, then on what grounds were they denied the liberty to depart, agreeably to their request?" Accord LUQUETTE, supra note 100, stating "Then applicable minimum standards for treatment of prisoners of war were: (1) providing necessities of life (2) of the same character of maintenance as that of the troops of the captor."

104. Shane P. Landry, "Justice Pour L'Acadie," International Law Seminar, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, (1997). At the end of the hostilities in 1763 there were only 1019 Acadians left in Nova Scotia (according to a letter written by Joseph "Beausoleil" Broussard and presented to the Council at Halifax on August 18, 1763). A group of about 600 Acadians, led by "Beausoleil," departed Halifax in November, 1764, for Saint-Domingue where they changed ships and sailed for Louisiana. See also Public Archives of Canada. For graphic evidence of the horrible death toll in the internment camps, sec the recollections of the survivors in Mathé Allain, translations, "The Records of Belle Isle-en-Mer," in the Attakapas Gazette, XVI (1981), 165-172; XVII (1982), 36-45, 76-83, 123-131, 183-192.

105. JAMES E. CONDOW, THE DEPORTATION OF THE ACADIANS 6-9 (Parks Canada, 1986). The deportation of the Acadians was unusual because: (1) so many were sent, not to their motherland or another French colony, but to British possessions, and (2) the event occurred so long after the actual conquest of Acadia. It is pitiful to see the treatment of the Acadians (who were not involved in the war) compared with the spoliation of the Loyalists' treatment from America following the American Revolution. Loyalists (who waged war) were allowed to return to Canada and England. The cases would have been more nearly parallel if the Loyalists had been made prisoners and dispersed arbitrarily in groups throughout Louisiana and the French West Indies.

106. ALPHONSE DEVEAU, TWO BEGINNINGS: A BRIEF ACADIAN HISTORY 116 (Lescarbot Publications, 1992). In defiance of the order of exile some Acadian families attempted to re-settle lands on the St. John River (in New Brunswick), but after the American Revolution Loyalists arrived and Acadians were forced to leave. In 1764 some Acadians were given permission to return to Nova Scotia provided they took the unconditional oath of allegiance and "settle [in small groups] in distant parts of the colony." For an example of the oaths the Acadians swore on their return see 8 Les Cahiers, (Société Historique Acadienne) 198 (Dec. 1977) Acadians could only settle in "small groups. In general, Acadians who returned to the Maritimes avoided resettlement of their former land because it was now occupied by English colonists. Acadians could not vote until 1789 and they were not allowed to sit in the Legislature until 1830. DAIGLE, supra note 49. Until 1783 Catholics were prohibited from owning land. In 1766, Governor Wilmot prohibited Acadians remaining in Nova Scotia; therefore, many relocated to Québec.

107. CHAISSON, supra note 32 at 11. The memory of the Acadians is kept only by scattered willows and apple trees, cellar excavations and disused dykes. Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz survivor and Nobel laureate, says that to forget a holocaust is to kill twice. Commentary, THE ADVOCATE, Feb. 19, 199, at B11.

108. NAOMI E. S. GRIFFITHS, THE CONTEXTS OF ACADIAN HISTORY 1686-1784 96 (Toronto, 1992).

109. BRASSEAUX, supra note 34 at 1. It is estimated that there are about two million Acadians in the world today.

110. DR. BARRY ANCELET AND ELMORE MORGAN, JR., THE MAKERS OF CAJUN MUSIC 31 (Univ. of Texas Press, 1984). The Acadians spoke the "old French" of the sixteenth century because after the departure of most colonists for Acadia, Cardinal Richelieu of France created the Académie Francaise (1635) which produced a definitive dictionary and became the ultimate authority in matters concerning the French language. LAROUSSE DICTIONARY 6 (Paris, 1993). As a result, the French language in France became "standardized", while the Acadians' French evolved, shaped by the new linguistic influences of North America. The Acadians absorbed into their language whatever foreign words they found useful. The words Cajun and Acadian do not have the same meaning: "Cajun" applies only to those whose Acadian ancestors came to Louisiana, whereas the broader term "Acadian" applies to all the descendants of the original Acadians, regardless of where they now live. Thus, all Cajuns are Acadians, but not all Acadians are Cajuns. HENRY, supra note 9 at 51-52. During the early part of the twentieth century the Louisiana Acadians were shamed for speaking "bad French." The Cajun language developed within Louisiana, therefore, it is not a "foreign language", but Louisiana's only native tongue. REV. MSGR. JULES O. DAIGLE, A DICTIONARY OF THE CAJUN LANGUAGE (Edwards Bros., Inc. 1984). In the 1916 Compulsory School Act and 1921 Louisiana Constitution, speaking French in school was prohibited. In the 1960's the term Cajun took on a positive connotation. In 1968 (pursuant to Act Number 409, La.R.S.25:651 et seq.), under the leadership of James Domengeaux, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) was established as a state agency to promote Louisiana French "for the cultural, economic and touristic benefit of the state." (as well as teach French in elementary and secondary schools pursuant to La.R.S.17:272) CODOFIL represented an official endorsement of what became known as the Louisiana French Renaissance movement. By 1969, Cajuns had adopted a (Louisiana Acadian) flag. In 1974, the Louisiana Constitution was re-written with two significant changes: (1) the prohibition on teaching French in school was eliminated, and (2) Art. XII, Section 4 provided, "the right of the people to preserve and promote their cultural and linguistic origins is recognized." According to the 1990 U.S. Census, 261,678 Louisianians indicated that they spoke French on a daily basis and 25% of 4.2 million citizens (1,069,558) claimed French/Acadian ancestry. In 1998, David Cheramie, Director of CODOFIL, reported that approximately 600 teachers (220 from foreign countries) taught French to over 92,000 students in Louisiana schools; additionally, there were 25 French Immersion programs. In the 18th century, Breton, as well as and other regional languages of France, was cast as a primitive tool of the uneducated; but, like French in Louisiana, during the 1960's it returned to favor and is now taught in French schools. Regional Roots, Languages Grow, THE ADVOCATE, Oct. 8, 1998.

111. Frank DeCard, Land Picturesque and Fertile: Cajun Country, in LOUISIANA SOJOURNS 273-315 (L.S.U. Press, 1998). See also R. E. Chandler, End Of An Odyssey: Acadians Arrive In St. Gabriel, Louisiana, in LOUISIANA HISTORY XIV 69-87 (1974); CHARLES REGAN WILSON AND WILLIAM FERRIS, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SOUTHERN CULTURE 770 (U.N.C. ' Press, 1989); ANN ALLEN SAVOY, CAJUN MUSIC: A REFLECTION OF A PEOPLE (Bluebird Press, 1984). Cajun culture and music, once found only in the backwoods of Louisiana, has now made a prominent place for itself in America. By the 1980's, the terra Cajun was de-stigmatized, to designate: race, Acadian origin, French language, religion, the maintenance of particular folkways and a Cajun ethos stereotyped by the much used formula Laissez les bons temps rouler, HENRY, supra note 9 at 55. The 1990 Census added "Acadian - Cajun" to the list of ancestry groups that can be reported; thus, the U. S. Census Bureau followed the advice of scholars who wanted more information on groups that were geographically isolated, but culturally important. "Cajuns get new respect from Bureau," THE DAILY ADVERISTER, Aug., 1995.

112. GRIFFITHS, supra note 108 at 127. At the Acadian conventions of August 16, 1881, and August 15, 1884, at Memramcook and Miscouche, the Acadians selected the Feast of the Assumption as their patron feast day (August 15) and adopted their flag: red, white and blue with a gold star in the blue.

113. JOHN BARTLET BREBNER, NEW ENGLAND'S OUTPOST 181(Columbia Univ. Press, 1927). The author makes a persuasive argument that Lawrence acted without proper authorization from the Board of Trade. Therefore, his actions were illegal.

114. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 139-140, "Lawrence lacked the means and a legal motive for driving from Nova Scotia thousands of ... British subjects." Professor Roger Paradis has written that there was legal means for deporting the Acadians, rebellion! However, the evidence is clear that the Acadians remained neutral with the exception of the Beausejour Acadians who had been officially pardoned prior to the deportation. PARADIS, supra note 34 at 4.

115. W.P.M. KENNEDY, THE COMMISSION OF CANADA 1534-1937 80 (Russell & Russell, New York, 1973). Nova Scotia Documents, op. cit., note 16, 709-722 and 732-742; it appears that all the governor's acts and a copy of the English statutes were submitted to the Legislative Assembly on Oct. 3, 1758 for ratification by resolution.

116. CHARLES D. MAHAFFIE, JR., A LAND OF DISCORD ALWAYS: ACADIA FROM ITS BEGINNINGS TO THE EXPULSION OF ITS PEOPLE, 1604-1755 200-205 (Down East Books, 1995). Acadians honored their commitment to neutrality during inter-colonial warfare despite French-Canadian attempts to incite Bay of Fundy area settlers to revolt. See also PARADIS, supra note 54. "The Law of Nations, which is also the law of nature, recognizes the right of a people to remain neutral in time of war for reason of consanguinity. This right was later accorded to New England settlers as a condition of their settling on vacant Acadian lands."

117. BRASSEAUX, supra note 34 at 5, "Lawrence was quick to exploit his advantage. In late June, 1755, he ordered all Acadian settlements in Nova Scotia to send delegates to the colonial capital ostensibly to discuss the possible return of confiscated Acadian firearms. When the delegation, representing the Mines area (the most heavily populated Acadian settlement in the Bay of Fundy Basin), appeared before him on July 3, however, Lawrence demanded that they accept, on behalf of their constituents, an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. The Acadian delegates stubbornly refused to concede their neutral status and consequently were summarily imprisoned to serve as an example to their equally recalcitrant constituents." BREBNER, supra note 113 at 240. "Instead of docile and ignorant Acadians, it [the Council] had to deal with men who knew, had been promised, and now clamored for 'the rights of Englishmen'."

118. LEBLANC, supra note 3 at 216, DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 139 and RICHARD, supra note 81 at 371 (providing a reprint of the 1760 petition).

119. JOSEPH DAINOW, CIVIL CODE OF LOUISIANA, preface (West Publishing Co., 1961). The French of Canada insisted that all of the ancient treaties and rights and obligations thereto be continued in effect; this was insured by the Québec Act of 1774 (which had the result of reviving the old French Empire destroyed in 1763 and allowed Québec to retain her distinctiveness) that preserved the French Civil Code and Catholic religion. Shediac, New Brunswick, lawyer and historian Alonzo LeBlanc says that the Treaty of Utrecht is as valid today as it was in 1713. Yvon Gauvin, Kouchibouguac Expropriates Seek Funds, The Times- Transcript, Sept. 3, 1992. Today, Louisiana is the only state in the U. S. that has a civil law system based upon the French Napoleonic Code. French is an official language in Louisiana based upon La.R.S.1:51 which provides: "Any act or contract made or executed in the French language is as legal and binding upon the parties as if it had been made or executed in the English language." David Marcantel, The Legal Status of French in Louisiana, REVUE DES PARLEMENTAIRES DE LANGUE FRANÇAISE 34, (Fall, 1994), translated by Alan Brown, CODOFIL, Sept., 1998. See also Roger K. Ward, The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem 57 Louisiana Law Review 1283 (1997).

120. R. JAMES COUGLE, NOT BY CHOICE: THE TRUE STORY OF THE FRENCH-ENGLISH STRUGGLE (Fredericton, 1992). Compared to the Acadians, the French were treated fairly well: "Never in the history of mankind has a conquered people been used better than the French Canadians under British ride." If a meaning can be ascribed to what befell the Acadians, it seems that the British had to perpetrate the atrocity in order to realize that deporting the rest of New France's population was a tall order and a truly unpalatable proposition. There were four times more French Canadians in the St. Lawrence Valley than there were Acadians in and around Nova Scotia. Thus, what is recalled as the `Big Disturbance' probably prevented French Canada from disappearing altogether in the aftermath of British victories in Québec City (1759) and Montréal (1760). Is it an exaggeration to say that today's Québec is terribly indebted to the Acadians? If not for their sacrifice, French culture would certainly not be as lively as it is in modem Canada." PARADIS, supra note 54. "The deportation of the Acadians was just another stroke in its quest for a British North America. The [French] Canadiens would likely have suffered a similar fate except that they were too numerous, and the cost of the Acadian deportation far exceeded the expectation of the British Court." Québec was, by the Québec Act of 1774, recognized as a unique society: the French culture protected. The Confederation of Canada was signed on July 1, 1867; however, nationalistic Québec has urged separatism and challenged the arrangement. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled in August 20, 1998, that if a clear majority of Quebeckers no longer wished to remain in Canada, then Canada would have to negotiate in good faith the terms of separation. Québec Update, Newsletter, Vol. XXI, No. 6, Sept., 1998.

121. Leslie Shepherd, Anti-Monarchy Sentiment on the Upswing in Britain, THE ADVOCATE, May 28, 1993. Although Queen Elizabeth personally remains popular, the British peoples' opinion of the Crown has changed in recent years. On Sept. 6, 1998, a "think-tank" report was issued calling for a public referendum on the role of the next monarch that could open the way for people to vote in favor of Britain becoming a Republic. Think-Tank Seeks Vote on Role of Monarchy, THE ADVOCATE, Sept. 8, 1998. Under plans unveiled in October, Britain's 700 hereditary peers in the House of Lords are about to come to an end. Lord Jeffery Archer said, "The idea of noble blond is anachronism that most of us would willingly ditch as we enter a new millennium." TIME, Oct. 26, 1998.

122. The incident was the subject of and dramatized in the movie Bridge on the River Kwai. In response to a statement of apology by Japanese Emperor Akihito during a visit to Britain in 1998, Queen Elizabeth II replied: "while the memories of that time still cause pain today, they have also acted as a spur to reconciliation." Maureen Johnson, British Vets Boo Japan's Emperor POW Survivors demand Apology for Wartime Treatment, THE ADVOCATE, May 27, 1998, at A2.

123. TRENHOLM, supra note 47, 84. "They must be considered as rebels..." In 1829, the historian Thomas Haliburton gave the Acadians a brief, but quite sympathetic, treatment; see also BRASSEAUX, supra note 20 at 85, 89; DOUGHTY, supra note 22 at 69. However, his colleague Beamish Murdoch in his HISTORY OF NOVA SCOTIA (James Barnes, 1865), treated the deportation as a "necessary evil." Maligning of the Acadians continues to this day; See, e.g., what the historical article in the playbill for Andrew Lloyd Webber's play Whistle Down the Wind (opened in London, July, 1998) says: "Cajun country, populated by the French-speaking descendants of people who fled British rule in Canada."

124. Lawrence W. Newman, International Arbitration Hearings: Showdown or Dénouement? 5 TUL. J. INT'L & COMP. L. 393 (1997). This article proposes another option: international arbitration, which presents fertile ground for cultural conflict resolution by bringing together parties with different customs, practices and legal systems.

125. Christopher L. Blakesley, J. Y. Sanders, Obstacles to the Creation of a Permanent War Crimes Tribunal, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 18 LA. L. REV. 2, 79 (1994). 2 M. CHÉRIF BASSIOUMI, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: Extraterritorial Jurisdication. Jurisidiction as Legal Protection Against Terrorism. 19 CONN. L. REV, 4, 895 (1987). Because Acadians came to Louisiana, jurisdiction could be based upon "passive personality." If the offenses constitute genocide, then universal jurisdiction would obtain, in which case any nation could take jurisdiction, i.e. universal and "passive personality" would give jurisdiction to a U.S. Court. However, if the sovereign acts occurred on British territory, the British could argue "Act of State" immunity. The world's first permanent tribunal to try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity began operations in 1999. The first person convicted was Dusan Tadic, a Bosnian Serb policeman, who tortured and murdered Muslims and Croats. Deportation of any civil population committed during armed conflict is a crime that may be prosecuted in this court. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said: "Its aim is to put an end to the global culture of impunity -- the culture in which it has been easier to bring someone to justice for killing one person than for killing 100,000." Nicole Winfield, U.N. Head Touts War Crimes Court, THE ADVOCATE, Sept. 8, 1998. Several European attorneys experienced in handling matters before these courts, have offered their assistance in support of the Petition.

126. Doe v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232 (tnd Cir. 1995). In a suit filed against the Bosnian Serb leader, Radavan Karadzic, jurisdiction was approved in U.S. federal courts for torts committed against U. S. citizens by foreigners. However, 28 USCS § 1604 provides immunity of a "foreign state" from jurisdiction of the courts of the United States and of the States...

127. JOSEPH G. TREGLE, JR., THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA 125 (L.S.U. Press, 1977). Despots, like Hitler, showed the world the thinness of the veneer of civilization. DAIGLE, supra note 48 at 518. Following the exile, Acadians were preoccupied with survival; yet, it is surprising to note that their oral literature, which is so rich in other respects, contains very few traces of the deportation or years in exile. Those themes were first dealt with by foreign writers who created the literary myth of Acadia, paradise lost, of a martyred people who are resigned and faithful. National syndicated columnist Clarence Page wrote about America apologizing for slavery: "We African-Americans also must remember and forgive. The memory is painful, but it gives us strength and guidance. Forgiveness is even more painful, but ultimately it is also necessary, or our painful past shall forever blind us from the brightness of our future. That's a touchy subject to today's Americans, as illustrated by last year's fuss over whether the nation should apologize for slavery. Yet, if we don't deal candidly with the horrors and the banality of racism in this nations past, we can only move blindfolded into this nations future." THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Mar., 1998. THE ADVERTISER, Oct. 22, 1998 at 3D. For a discussion on recent U. N. efforts to fight war crimes see: Brian T. Hildreth, Hunting the Hunters: The United Nations Unleashes Its Latest Weapons in the Fight Against Fugitive War Crimes Suspects, 6 TUL. J. INT'L & COMP. L. 499-524 (1998).

128. Public Debate on the Petition between Keith Dow, legislator and historian from New Brunswick and Warren A. Perrin (C.B. C. Radio, Canada August 14, 1994). In conjunction with the Congrès Mondial Acadien-Louisiane 1999. The 9th Annual Judge Allen M. Babineaux Comparative International Law Symposium Comparative International Law Symposium Mock Trial, of the Petition was held on August 13, 1999 in the Federal Courthouse in Lafayette, La.; Mock Trial of Acadians vs. Crown Draws Crowd, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, Aug. 14, 1999, at A1; Victoire: Mock Court Rules Acadians Can Sue British, THE ADVOCATE, August 14, 1999.

129. Warren Perrin, Fier ambassadeur de la Louisiane ...et des Acadiens, Le Phare de la Pointe (Sept. 26, 1996); Address before the University of Moncton School of Law and Centre Internationale de la common law en francais, Conférence on The History and Development of the Civil Code in Louisiana, Moncton, New Brunswick, (Nov. 1, 1991); INTERNATIONAL LAW SECTION, LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION (Mar., 1993); FRENCH BAR ASSOCIATION, Association des juristes d'Expression française, du Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada, Annual Convention, Caraquet, New Brunswick, (June 12, 1993), Symposium on Cajun culture, Cajun Culture Themes and Variations, France-Louisiane, New York (June 14, 1996).

130. Derouen-Moss Post # 279 American Legion, Feb. 9, 1995; Town of Erath, Nov. 14, 1994; Congrès Mondial Acadien, S. Con. Res. 159, Reg. Sess. (La. 1993).

131. Interview with Keith Simon, WEEKEND EDITION: LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE ACADIAN EXILE (national Public radio, Feb. 24, 1990); Lester Gauthier, LAW TALK: PETITION FILED AGAINST ENGLAND BY ACADIANS ( Acadian Open Channel, July 30, 1990); René Guilbeau, NOVEAU ACADIEN: CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND THE ACADIAN EXILE, (Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Aug. 14, 1990); Tim Radford of U. S. National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, DOCUMENTARY ON ACADIAN HISTORY (Apr. 1991); Jim Althoff, NATIVE BORN AMERICANS AND THE EQUALITY IDEAL (King Radio, Apr. 22, 1992); Emamanuel Braquet, CONNAISSANCE DU MONDE, Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, France, (May 12, 1994); Le Courrier du Vietnam, "En Louisiane, Nous Sommes Fiers D'Étre Francophones" (Nov. 24, 1997).

132. 1990 - Cajun of the Year, CODOFIL, La Gazette de Louisiane 11-17, THE TIMES OF ACADIANA (1991); National Cajun French Music Association, Board of Directors "Special Award of French Culture and Heritage," July 15, 1991; University of Moncton School of Law and CICLEF," Special Award for Contributions in the Support of the Promotion of French and Acadian Culture," presented at the 10th Annual Banquet of the Francophone Bar Association of New Brunswick, Canada, and the University of Moncton School of Law, Nov. 1, 1991; International Human Rights Conference, "Concours International de plaidoiries a Caen", Caen, Normandie, France, "The Memorial to Peace", representing the United States, April lst and 2nd, 1993; French-Louisiana Twinning between the French Federation of Veterans and the Louisiana Veterans in honor of René Cassin, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1968. Feb. 22, 1997; United States Representative, World Francophone Summit, Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov. 13, 1997 and Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, Sept. 2-6, 1999; CFMA "Heritage Award," Aug. 15, 1998; Times of Acadiana "1999 Business Person of the Year," and the French National Order of Merit from the French government on June 18, 1999, et al.

133. In August, 1998 the National Film Board of Canada approved the making of a documentary Le Pardon by Acadian film director from Montréal, Philip Comeau. The filming is scheduled to take place between Mar. and May, 1999 for the one-hour documentary which will focus on three themes: 1) the Petition, 2) Lawrence's motives and misdeeds and 3) the benefits to be derived from an apology and reconciliation. Others documentaries include: First Business Cajun Lawyer, (U.S.A. Television Network, Dec. 29, 1994); Cajun Challenges British (French TV 5 North America, Feb. 21, 1990); Petition vs. British, (C.B.C. Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mar. 31, 1998); Down Home Acadiana with Agnes Derouen (TV 3, Lafayette, Louisiana, May 7, 1997); British Broadcasting Corporation House Llandoff Cardiff, documentary by Janet Phillips, (BBC Wales Aug. 1998).

134. EDITORIAL COMMENTARY, Il Suffirait De Quelques Mots..., (WWL Television, Feb. 2, 1998) Nelson Landry, L'Acadie Nouvelle, (Feb. 9, 1995); La Reine S'Excuse Auprès Des Maoris, Danielle Match and Loïc Vennin, Ven'd'est, Autumn 1995; Roland de Courson, Grand-Dérangement La Grande-Bretagne Doit-elle s'exuser?, Ven'd'est (Autumn 1994; Henri Motte, Une Dette D'honneur Qui Date De L'an 1755, L'Acadie Nouvelle, (June 14, 1993); Mitch Conover, Acadian History Program Could Educate Students, THE ADVERTISER (Opinions Thursday), Aug. 6, 1998; See also SURETTE, supra note 95; Richard Baudouin, Time to End the Exile, TIMES OF ACADIANA, Feb. 14, 1990.

135. Huguette Young, Les Déportés de lAcadie: Le Dossier n'est pas clos.., 5 NATIONAL CANADIAN BAR ASSOCIATION 7 (Nov./Dec., 1996); Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association Member Fights to Clear Acadians' Name, LOUISIANA ADVOCATE, May, 1991; Michel Beauparlent, Faire Lever l'Order de Déporation des Acadiens, 38 LOUISIANA BAR JOURNAL 4 (1994); Acadia Revisited: Louisiana Delegation Attends CLE Seminar, THE PROMULGATOR (June, 1990); Perrin Coordinates Human Rights Conférence, 42 LOUISIANA BAR JOURNAL 2 (1994); The Promulgator, Acadia Revisited: CLE Seminar, June, 1990.

136. Dunstan Prial, Erath Man Wants England to Apologize to Cajuns, DAILY ADVERTISER, July 6, 1993; Bernard Chaillot, Erath Man Seeks Formal Apology for Acadian Exile, THE DAILY IBERIAN, July 3, 1995; Richard Baudouin, Vengéance pour la Déportation des Acadians, LOUISIANA LIFE, Spring 1995; Bruce Schultz, Attorney Seeks Redress for Acadians' Illegal Exile, MORNING ADVOCATE, Apr. 22, 1994; Bill Grady, Proud Lawyer Fights British Over Old Law, TIMES PICAYUNE, Apr. 19, 1993; Christopher Rose, Cajun Holds Ancient Grudge Against British, TIMES PICAYUNE, June 4, 1990; Ron Delhomme Perrin: Britain Must Apologize, DAILY ADVERTISER, Jan. 14, 1999; Ron Delhomme, Who Ordered Acadians Exiled?, DAILY ADVERTISER, Jan. 24, 1999, et al.

137. Jim Yardley, Rematch: A Cajun vs. The Brits, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL, July 4, 1995; Cajun Activist Grids for Battle Royal Over Queen's Treatment of Forebears, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, Apr. 5, 1995; Eric Lawlor, The One Man Acadian Liberation Front, LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE, Sept. 4, 1994; Griffin Smith, Jr., The Cajuns: Still Loving Life, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, Oct., 1990; Jim Yardley, Cajuns Aim: Close Book on Acadians' Exile, THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, Aug. 7, 1995; Louise McKinney, Louisiana, USA TODAY, 1995; Perrin's Petition: Redressing the British Expulsion of Acadians from Canada, THE WORLD & I, Sept., 1995; Christopher Dafoe, Are We to Blame for History?, READERS' DIGEST, Oct., 1995, et al.

138. P. F., La Croisade de Warren Perrin,, LA MONDE, June 25, 1994; Michel Doucet, "Un Louisianais Interpelle La Reine d'Angleterre, France-Louisiane, Sept. 1991; Jean-Louis Turlin, La Louisiane à la Reconquête du Français, J. L. T., Oct. 1996; Joël Le Guillou, Acadie: Un Plaidoyer, 240 Ans Après, QUEST FRANCE, Sept. 22, 1994; Concour International de Plaidoiries, LIBERTÉ, Mar. 12, 1993; Plaidoiries Pour les Droits de l'Homme, QUEST FRANCE, Apr. 2, 1993.

139.Warren Perrin, Dix Minutes D'Entretiebns, REVUE DU BUREAU WALLONES - BRUXELLES EN LOUISIANE, Dec., 1997; Philippe Gustin, Le Grand Dérangement à Caen, LOUISIANE, July, 1993.

140. Danielle Match, Warren Perrin est Encouragé par l'Excuse Royale, LE COURRIER, Sept. 1, 1995; Danielle March, Warren Perrin: Le Cajun Enragé, LE COURRIER, June 2, 1995; Lawyer Wants Britain to Apologize for Moving Acadians, THE DAILY GLEANER, Feb. 21, 1992; Louise McKinney, Fighting the Good Fight - 240 Years Later, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Aug. 20, 1994; Sara Holland, Louisiana Man Asks U. K. to Heal Expulsion Wounds, HALIFAX MAIL STAR, Apr. 18, 1990, et al.

141. Jacques Poitras, Lawyer Continues Fight for Queen to End Expulsion, NEW BRUNSWICK TELEGRAPH JOURNAL, Aug. 18, 1998; Alexandre Sirois, La Résistance des Bayous, VEN'D'EST, August-September, 1998; Michel Doucet, Pour en Finir Avec la Déportation, VEN'D'EST, September-October, 1990; Dave Francis, "Expulsion Apology Still Being Sought," THE TIMES-TRANSCRIPT, May 3, 1994; Warren Perrin Veut la Fin de la Déportation, Daniel Chrétien, L'ACADIE NOUVELLE, Aug. 14, 1991; Andre Veniot, Fighting for an End to Exile, L'ACADIE NOUVELLE, July 30, 1994; Marie Fournier, Les Juristes d'Expression Française Visent l'Égalité Linguistique en Droit, L'ACADIE NOUVELLE, June 14, 1993; André Veniot, A Couple of Cajuns Get Cozy With Chrétien, NEW BRUNSWICK TELEGRAPH JOURNAL, Sept. 6, 1999, et al.

142. Jean-François Nadeau, Un Avocat Louisianais Poursuit La Reine D'Angleterre, Quartier Libre, Jan., 1996; Yvon Laprade, Des Efforts Pour Reprendre Le Terrain Perdu, LE JOURNAL, July 26, 1997; Claude Lévesque, Le Grand Dérangement, LE DEVOIR, Feb. 7-8, 1998; Un Acadien Veiut Des Excuses Pour la Déportation, LA PRESSE, Feb., 19, 1992.

143. Ed Vulliamy, Fire in the Blood on the Bayou, LONDON GUARDIAN OBSERVER, Feb. 13, 1998; Jonathan Ledgard, An Old British Crime: Cajuns' Belated Counter-Attack, THE ECONOMIST, Jan. 31, 1998, et al.

144. En Louisiane, Nous Sommes Fiers d'être Francophones, LE COURRIER DU VIETNAM, Nov. 24, 1997; Laurence Olknine, Warren Perrin: La Lutte Contre l'Homogénéité, FRANCE-AMERIQUE, Jan., 1998. Dragon Tales, VIETNAM NEWS, Feb. 4, 1998.

145. Dépôt de Fleurs à la Gëlle Fra, LUXEMBURGER WORT, June 2, 1994.

146. Pierre Ruetschi, En Louisiane, le Français est Moribond Mais la Culture Cajun est «very hot», TRIBUNE DE GENEVE, Aug. 15-16, 1998.

147. Ole Helmhausen, Flotte Rhythmen Aus Dem Sumpt, RHEINISHCHER MERKUR, June 26, 1998.

148. Dessins d'Emmanuel Chaunu, La Defense Des Droits De L'homme: Concours Internationale De Plaidoiries 119-140 (Mémorial De Caen, 1993); Warren A. Perrin, L'Exil Des Acadiens. Ever since its inauguration, the Memorial of Caen, bas been participating in the building of world peace by its "Museum for the Peace" which offers a unique journey through history. The memorial organizes important manifestations on the conflicts in the world. The City of Caen, the Memorial, the Bar of Caen, with the support of the "Conférence des Bâtonniers," the Bar of Paris, the Lawyers' International Union and the French Association of Young Lawyers, have come together in order to offer to the lawyers of the world the possibility to denounce the violation of Human Rights which they have witnessed.

149. Michel Doucette, Le Congrès Mondial Acadien (Les Editions d'Acadie, 1996), 47. This major event was held in New Brunswick and attracted 300,000 Acadians from throughout the world. Then United Nations Secretary Butros Butros-Ghali opened the academic conferences at the Congrès Mondial Acadien saying that the Acadians are an example the world can look to in its pursuits of peace, finding in them the kind of tolerance that can inspire the world -, "You are the perfect incarnation of this idea. This atmosphere of affection and fraternity is in the spirit of the francophone community you embody with your spirit. The world has heard you...the world has need of people like the Acadians." The second such event, Congrès Mondial Acadien - Louisiane 1999, was held in Louisiana August 1-15, 1999 as part of FrancoFête `99, the state's tricentennial celebration of the founding of the French colony of Louisiana by Iberville in 1699. Lt. Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said, "We're the only state with significant French influence ...we have a culture that after 300 years is still living, breathing and unique." Editorial, THE ADVOCATE, Oct. 8, 1998. CLIVE DOUCET, NOTES FROM EXILE: ON BEING ACADIAN (McClelland & Stewart, Inc., 1999) (citing the Petition as an example of the struggle between the conquerors and conquered to reconcile themselves to one another).

150. DR. BARRY JEAN ANCELET, JAY EDWARDS AND GLEN PITRE, CAJUN COUNTRY (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1991). Ralph Rinzler and Dewey Balfa worked with the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana to create the 1974 Tribute to Cajun Music Festival, the first of its kind to publicly display the French music of the Cajuns. This annual event has become the major cultural celebration for Louisiana Acadians; it is held in Lafayette and is now called Festival Acadiens. It is composed of Festival de Musique Acadienne, the Native and Contemporary Crafts Festival, La Vie Cadienne (Wetlands Folklife Festival) and Festival de Cuisine du Bayou (Bayou Food Festival), XXI.

151. DR. CARL A. BRASSEAUX, IN SEARCH OF EVANGELINE: ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF THE EVANGELINE MYTH (1989).

152. LEONA MARTIN GUIRARD, ST. MARTINVILLE - THE LAND OF EVANGELINE IN PICTURE STORY (1950). "Emmeline Labiche (Evangeline) and Louis Arceneaux (Gabriel) were put on different ships, (showing how the personages of the poem attained the statute of historical beings). In 1997, Deborah Robichaud, Musée Acadian de Université de Moncton conservatrice invitée, assembled the mort comprehensive exhibition on "Evangeline" ever undertaken entitled, Evangeline's Odyssey; (July 6, 1997 - Dec., 2000) it brings together artifacts from throughout the world, including three from the Acadian Museum of Erath. On September 18, 1998, the old Evangeline Theater in New Iberia reopened as the new Silman Theater for the Performing Arts. Thomas Buckley, Historical Main Street Building Comes to Life, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, Sept. 16, 1998.

153. James H. Domengeaux, Native-Born Acadians And The Equality Ideal, 46 LA. L. REV., 1151 (1986).

154. Ross, supra note 23 at 54-70.

155. COLLECTIONS OF THE NOVA SCOTIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 3 WINSLOW'S JOURNALS 166.

156. GRIFFIITHS, supra note 41.

157. Editorial, THE ADVOCATE May 8, 1998. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Rwandan people that the United Nations and the world had failed them by not preventing the 1994 genocide and that the world must deeply repent for this failure; Editorial, THE ADVOCATE, Mar. 17, 1998. The Vatican expressed remorse for the cowardice of some Christians during World War II in a document entitled: We Remember: A Reflection on the Holocaust. "[T]he document will indeed help to heal the wounds of past misunderstandings and injustices." (Statement of Pope John Paul II); George F. Will, Breaking a Sinister Silence, WASHINGTON POST, Feb. 18, 1998 ("[J]ustice delayed is not necessarily justice denied. Indeed, delayed justice can be especially luminous when rendered at a historical distance, leaving a fruitful impress on mankind's memory.") The Bible is filled with exhortations on reconciliation such as the Lords Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." The Other examples of Church apologies include: (1) In 1992, the Catholic Church ended 350 years condemnation of Galileo (2) in 1993, the Catholic Church apologized for its support of the enslavement of Africans 400 years ago (3) in 1995, the Southern Baptist Church apologized to African-Americans for condoning slavery and racism (4) in 1997, the Archbishop of Canterbury appealed for reconciliation among all Christians going back 1400 years (5) In 1997, the Lutheran Church ended 400 years of condemnation of the Catholic Church and (6) in 1997, the Ecumenical Body Churches in England apologized for supporting slavery and racism. Editorial, THE INDEPENDENT, July 2, 1997.

158. Letter from Helen Mann, British Vice Consul, (Nov. 17, 1994). Inasmuch as Canadian confederation was not accomplished until July 1, 1867, obviously Canada is not responsible. However, "According to media reports, in April of 1990, Warren Perrin of Louisiana petitioned Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to acknowledge the “tragedy of 1755” and reinstate the dignity of the “still-exiled” Acadien people. Mr. Perrin said it was time for Great Britain to admit that the Acadiens were banished illegally from their lands over 200 years ego. Many Nova Scotians of Acadien descent know the facts surrounding the historic events related to the expulsion of the Acadien people. It may be that Mr. Perrin's request should be given serious consideration and this cloud over Nova Scotia removed." (statement by Howard Crosby of Halifax, a member of Canadian Parliament in support of the petition), Parliamentary Report (1990). The Honorable Gerald Comeau, Canadien senator from Nova Scotia, also supports the Petition stating that "the errors committed during the exile should have been corrected years ago because it is important to alter the improper impression that Acadiens had been guilty of illegal acts which justified their punishment. The Acadiens did not commit any wrongs, so they are seeking no pardon. The Acadiens committed no illegal acts, therefore, they do not seek a pardon." Supra note 135-136 and accompanying text; National Canadien Bar Association. In a speech before the Canadien Senate, Senator Comeau eloquently stated the reasons why he supports the petition for an apology. Significantly, on October 27, 1999, Stephane Bergeron, "whip" of the Bloc Quebecois, introduced a resolution in the Canadien parliament for the government to urge the Queen of England to issue an apology to the Acadiens. According to Carleton University historian Naomi S. Griffith, the exile order came to a de facto end "when some Acadiens were allowed to return to Nova Scotia in 1764," Supra note 135-136 and accompanying text. De facto defined in Black's Law Dictionary as: in fact, in deed, actually - is used to characterize a past action or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. Thus, an officer de facto is one who is in actual possession of the office, but by usurpation, or without lawful title." Therefore, the exile was never lawfully or legitimately terminated, and is, accordingly, still in effect today. See McLeod v. United States, 229 U.S. 416, 33 S.Ct. 955, 57 L.Ed. 1260 and Wheatley v. Consolidated Lumber Co., 167 Cal. 441, 139 P. 1057, 1059. Other exemples of de facto state of affairs which were rectified, include: (1) in February, 1995, the State of Mississippi officially abolished slavery 130 years after the rest of the country. THE ADVOCATE, Feb. 16, 1995 (2) In 1997, the Parliament of Portugal declared an annulment of the Edict of 1495, which provided for the exile of Jews, VEN'D'EST, Autumn, 1994 (3) in 1992, King Carlos of Spain abrogated the exile of Jews from Spain which had been in effect for 500 years (4) in 1992, Mexico restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which had been severed 125 years ego (5) in 1994, Jordan and Israel signed a peace accord officially ending the conflict which occurred 50 years ago (6) by Act of Parliament in 1775, the MacGregor Clan of Scotland was allowed to resume their name which had been proscribed in 1603 (7) in 1989, the Netherlands officially ended its 18^th century war with the Isles Scilly (a British possession), TIMES PICAYUNE, June 4, 1990, (8) In 1991, the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society abolished their archaic mandatory requirement that lawyers pledge allegiance to the Queen in order to be admitted to the Bar. Marc Belliveau, Nova Scotian attorney, (unpublished letter, June 20, 1993).

159. Jacques Poitras, Lawyer Continues Fight For Queen To End Expulsion, NEW BRUNSWICK TELEGRAPH JOURNAL, Aug. 18, 1998. Blakesley, supra note 125 at 89 ("Certain offenses, even not committed during armed conflict, are established as international crimes against humanity in customary international law...").

160. After receiving the Petition in 1990, the British requested that it not be filed in a court of law and retained attorneys to represent their interests. According to agreement, details of the negotiations remain confidential.

161. See Vulliamy, supra note 143.

162. Jonathan Ledgard, An Old British Crime: Cajuns' Belated Counter-Attack, THE ECONOMIST, Jan. 31, 1998 at 56 - 57; Not a Foreign County THE ECONOMIST, Apr. 30, 1994 at 20 (stating "Britons should tell their children candidly about the ill-treatment of Irish and Colonial peoples,"). For a contrary view see Peter Beaumont, "Okay, so we're very sorry for being British," THE INDEPENDENT, (London) Aug., 1996.

163. Ed Vulliamy, Front Line, (National Public Television Apr., 1998). Mr. Vulliamy testified in the war crimes trial that convicted Radavan Karadzic. With regard to jurisdiction, it was encouraging that on October 17, 1998, British police, responding to a Spanish extradition warrant, arrested former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet in London for questioning about allegations that he murdered Spaniards in Chile between 1973 and 1983. His 17-year rule was marked by severe human rights abuses (murder, torture and genocide). Amnesty International seeks to have him prosecuted in Britain because Britions and Chileans now live in Britain. Rights Group Pushing Pinochet's Prosecution, THE ADVOCATE, Oct. 21, 1998. Responding to Chilean claims of diplomatic immunity, Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said it was "a matter for the magistrates and the police." Sue Leeman, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Pinochet Arrested, THE ADVOCATE, Oct. 18, 1998 page 14A. The British High Court ruled that Pinochet had no diplomatic immunity but he will not be prosecuted because of his poor health. Brook Larmer, in an article entitled What's a Tyrant to Do? stated: "now there is a more determined effort to hold individuals responsible for such “universal crimes” as genocide, torture and terrorism." NEWSWEEK, NOV. 2, I998.

164. Cajun Country (British Broadcast Company, Aug. 1998); Bernard Chaillot, British Broadcasting Crew Swings Through Vermillion Parish, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, May 18, 1998.

165. Sorry Isn't Enough, THE ECONOMIST, July 25, 1998, at 21. Gary Willis, On the Mechanics of Blame, THE ADVOCATE, Nov. 2, 1997 (stating that in his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said the nation as a whole was responsible for slavery and would have to bear the blame for it; he called the Civil War a "woe due to those by whom the offense came.").

166. Deborah Tannen, Why Sorry Seems the Hardest Word to Say, TIME, Sept. 14, 1998(statement of Georgetown professor of linguistics and author, of The Argument Culture,) ("[A]pologizing affirms a sense of reality and justice,"). Since 1989, 140 national apologies have been documented. See also Joe Queenan, Who's Sorry Now, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Jan., 1998. "An apology is not the same as begging for forgiveness, but to retrieve the power that was lost," said John Rosemond, columnist, THE ADVERTISER, Jan., 1998. A genuine apology contains at least four elements: apology, acknowledgment, forgiveness and repentance. Genuine Apology More than “I'm Sorry”, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, Oct. 23, 1998. In February, 1998, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced construction of Britain's vaunted Millennium Dome, a $1.2 billion project envisioned as a venue for national celebrations of the new century, a boost for national prestige and a reminder of Britain's former glories. Blair Unveils Contents of Millennium Dome, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, Feb. 26, 1998. The dome was opened on January 1, 2000. It is submitted that this would be an excellent venue for England to confront its past and admit " the cruel excesses of Empire."

167. Michael Ignatieff, Truth, Justice and Reconciliation, 5 NATIONAL CANADIAN BAR ASSOCIATION 31, 37 (1997) (discussing the complex issues of a nation coming to terms with its past transgressions, the benefits of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (used in South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Germany) and the healing effects of public gestures of atonement. "Truth, justice and reconciliation are linked together in rebuilding societies." "Individuals with public authority can have an enormous impact on the mysterious process by which citizens come to terms with their society's past."). For a recent example of problems caused by allowing an archaic law to remain "on the books," consider in the dark era of the 1950's, at the height of Senator Joe McCarthy's "witch hunts" about communist infiltration, many states, including Louisiana, enacted laws requiring government employees to take oaths pledging their loyalty to governmental entities. A similar law in Arizona was declared unconstitutional by the U. S. Supreme Court; yet, this oppressive law is still in effect in Lafayette Parish and some demanded its enforcement. An editorial urging legislators to annul the law, stated: "The bottom line is that there is a potential threat, albeit small, from a law that is essentially outdated and useless." State Legislature Should Repeal Loyalty Oath, THE DAILY ADVERTISER, Oct. 18, 1998. When author James Joyce has Stephen Dedalus said, in the opening pages of Ulysses, that the past was a nightmare from which the Irish people were struggling to awake, he meant to say that the past continues to torment because it is not actually the past, but a continuous mass of fantasies, distortions, myths and lies which continue into the present. See also W. Michael Reisman, Stopping Wars and Making Peace: Reflections on the Ideology and Practice of Conflict Termination in Contemporary World Politics, 6 TUL. INT'L AND COMP. L. J. 5-56 (1998). An Acadian reconciliation with the British should help to put the past to rest.