WE HAVE MOVED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEW FORUM!

Senator Ayax Semantar, leader of the Liberal Party, opened the debate

Quote:

 

These sorts of scenes are becoming a repetitive pattern that Mundus does not need, we've seen it so many times recently and now we see it again. Once more a single barbaric act could light the touch paper resulting in so many lives being lost. It's been a very long time since something like this has visited the shores of Northern Cotf Aranye and we must not turn a blind eye to events like this when they are happening in for want of a better phrase our own backyard. Will the Consul please inform the Senate what action the government will discuss with the Emperor to address this situation?

Peter's Statement

 

Today we remember those that gave their lives to defend this country in two world wars, we remember those that died defending Gowu from the fury of Su Mai Nekhaga thirty years ago, we remember those that died putting down the Bukan in Toshindai not that long ago, we remember those who died saving lives in Marseilles, in Safraen- twice in fact, those who died saving lives in Seaforth, Revana, Mercia, the Union of Nordic Peoples, Ionia and the last five names on the wall in this garden three servicemen and two women from the Medical Corp killed saving lives in Scordisci. They had courage and determination and their gift to us is the life we have and it is our duty to embrace our life and live it to the full. They gave everything so that people today might live in freedom and peace.

It is unfortunate that this is a sacrifice our armed forces and those of our allies and friends across Mundus are still called upon to make but that they are prepared to do so is a testament to their bravery, to their values and we continue to owe them so much which is why we remember them today, we remember their sacrifice, their deeds, their names and we make our own vow that we will take up their mantle if the call comes we will protect for the next generation what our predecessor's protected for us.

These are our heroes, and we will always remember them

Quote:

 

If this were a court case the Judge would throw it out on the basis of there being no case to answer. The definition is known as "The policy or practice of extending a state's rule over other territories" it is then further defined as "A policy of aggressive behaviour by one state against another". Achkaerin is a member of the Confederation of Independent States and a founding member of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation the respective treaties of these two organisations commit the membership to respecting the national sovereignty of other nations and the upholding of international law. These are principles that have shaped Achkaerinese policy for many years and will continue to do so.

The deployment of Achkaerin's Armed Forces is a matter over which even the influence of the Emperor is limited. It involves a Triple Lock whereby the Crown, the Senate and the Royal Court must all agree, with such checks and balances the very notion that military operations conducted by or contributed to by Achkaerin would amount to any such fancies of Imperialism are nothing short of nonsense. Further there is a standing general policy in Achkaerin of non interference in matters internal to another sovereign state unless our aid is requested, there is an international mandate or if following the policy would be ultra vires. This is a policy established by Empress Djana Azurewind and the very first Senate over three hundred years ago.

It is clear based on the statement made by their ministers that the government of Altuhechis is in dire need of a history lesson. Yes it is true that Achkaerinese Armed Forces have seen more than what can be termed their fair share of action, especially of late, we have over recent times deployed forces to Safraen twice, once on humanitarian grounds and then at the request of the Safraen Government. We have twice come to the aid of our fellow CIS members, firstly in Seaforth and then more recently in Revana as we were obligated as allies to do so. In the time of the CTO Achkaerin has committed forces to the operations in Marseilles and now in the form of policing the DMZ on the Nova Ardia and Ionia border, both by means of international mandate. We have also responded to an international mandate to render aid to the efforts concerning the evacuation of refugee's from the UNP to Nya Aland.

And so to Mercia, let's be clear there was a genocide going on, to not act would have gone against every single principle that Achkaerin stands for as a signatory of the Cultural Exchange Treaty Organisation, Mundus Convention on Universal Rights, the Uppsala Convention and the Confederation of Independent States- the CTO was twiddling its thumbs doing nothing and action was needed before thousands more died. History may call the action undertaken by East Moreland, Achkaerin and Ui Cenneslaig 'Imperialist' but even if it does the conscience of the nations who acted will be clear, because they did the right thing, they saved lives. Let it be remembered that in absolutely none of these incidents and military actions has Achkaerin gained anything, quite the opposite we have lost many many fine men and women in these conflicts and incidents- defending the rights and freedoms of people, defending the national sovereignty of states, saving lives. If the sole objective to a military action is to gain territory in the aftermath then you would behave completely differently to how the forces of Achkaerin behave.

It is also important to remind the government of Altuhechis that much of this year has seen Achkaerin at odds with Rokkenjima over the Andean Genocide, we have seen our own Crown Princess Serenity, the present CTO Secretary General, pursue zealously justice for the victims, against people she is known to be good friends with. This has seen a great deal of tension between our respective nations culminating in the removal from the Rokkenjiman throne of Beatrice Anselmo, and no one takes any pleasure in their role in that. Also when the matter of the Andean Genocide was brought to the CTO the primary movers in holding Rokkenjima accountable were Achkaerin, East Moreland and Dartfordia. So let's dismiss this fantasy concept of an alliance of Imperialists, the actions of the nations speak for themselves and they are in marked contrast to what the accusation implies- just go and ask any of the refugee's and survivors of the conflicts and incidents- people who wouldn't be alive today if action had not been taken, ask them if they think it's imperialist to save lives and defend those who cannot defend themselves. Ask them if it's imperialist to stand up against nations who would slaughter hundreds of thousands of people based on what faith they worship, ask the historians what Mundus would be like if nations had not stood their ground every dark day like those in Mercia, if the soldiers of those nations had not done what needed to be done? Potentially millions of people worldwide would not be alive today.

Call it Imperialism or Imperialist if you wish, but there are plenty of other nations out there who know different and history will remember the good that was done, the lives that were saved.

Quote:

 

Whether we like it or not these things happen, whether it's people coveting power in Academicia, or the circumstances in Tarranova and Nova Ardia that now lead to question marks hanging. One of these is imperialism and is being handled, though I'm sure help can be provided if required, the other may be imperialism depending on the answers to some questions. So naturally the first thing to do before anyone does anything that can't be taken back is to get those answers and get them verified as accurate. Let us judge matters on the full story not on partial stories and half baked truths. It is a time to work together to achieve what is required not to flex muscles, if the truth has been told and we all hope it has, then no one has anything to fear- if the truth has not been told and people have been lied to then it's incumbent on the international community to not waste the effort made and to not let the sacrifices made to get us this far be in the vain. But first let us establish what the truth is based on the facts before we start something that we won't be able to easily stop.

Quote:

 

It's clear that this is a critical situation, this is the one type of enemy that you cannot contain or back into a corner with strategy, the only thing we can do is hang in there. But we are hopeful of positive developments in the areas of treatment and ultimately cure. Until then it is important that we take all reasonable steps not only as a nation but to encourage the international community to take all steps to try and contain this crisis, we urge the nations of Ardia to direct the immediate suspension of all air traffic and the establishment of clear protocols that can be devised and agreed by the international community pertaining to this, we have done this as a community before it is time to do so again. We also encourage Arstotzka and other affected nations to take similar action to try and slow as much as possible the spread of this disease. The more we slow it down the more time we gain to develop the means to fight it.

Quote:

 

Mr Speaker, honorable Senators.

I am not going to speak of the context of the present situation concerning the supposed "Deportation" of Crown Princess Adriana to East Moreland, instead I will speak only to the legal aspects. There exists in family law a common sense guiding principle, that the best interests of the child are paramount, now the question that both the governments in Rokkenjima and East Moreland may want to ask themselves is whether this considered visit is in the Crown Princess's best interests.

However that is most likely a moot point because of another legal point that of parental responsibility, simply put until a child reaches the age of maturity the decision making responsibility rests with those who hold custody of the child, normally this is those who hold parental responsibility which as the name suggests is the parents themselves, so unless Prince Alexander has bail conditions that state that he may not have contact with his children then he holds parental responsibility and it is his decision what happens with regards to his daughter, in the event of the Prince's conviction for the war crimes for which he is charged then custody becomes an issue but let's at least take the approach of crossing that bridge should we get to it.

Christmas Message

 

(National Anthem plays)

Christmas is a time of giving, it's a time when people from different countries come together in peace to celebrate. If you're a Christian like our mother was then there's something more to it. But whatever faith you may be, this is still a time when we celebrate peace and goodwill to all peoples and when through the giving of gifts we show our feelings. This year more than any other we have seen these feelings more clearly than ever before, the courage of our armed forces to put their lives on the line in Revana, in Mercia, in Toshindai, in Ionia to ensure that the freedoms hard won by those nations in conflicts of the past, the values held by those nations were not stripped from them. We have seen the same level of conduct from those deployed to administer aid in Scordisci and the Union of Nordic Peoples. This is something that we must never forget to honor those who won't return for.

It's particularly a poignant moment to remember that since this year 2016 represents thirty years since the end of the first civil war in Toshindai, a moment to be remembered and a cause to be celebrated and it was, despite what may be best described as extenuating circumstances. It was a victory hard fought and many died to stop that nation falling into the dark and now that city stands for something greater than one simple victory, it's a symbol of what can be achieved when peace is given a chance, when those that survive the wars work together.

No one can profess to know what it is the future will bring. But one thing is certain, this world and the people in it are stronger when they are united, we have spent a long time standing our ground, fighting our battles and being persistent to give up when what we've sought for so long is within reach- a stable Mundus, something which a few months ago seemed a fleeting dream is now possible, things have happened, things have changed, promises have been kept. Mundus is going through something of a rebirth and it's something that a lot will be given to in the hopes that when the words 'No More' and 'Never Again' are said that they are meant wholeheartedly.

Quote:

 

Mr Speaker, Honorable Senators.

The situation in Helvetica is concerning for many reasons we have seen a government forcefully removed from office for crimes that seem to have conveniently been only mentioned now, we have seen the new government ride roughshod over the rule of law in this process and initially desire to deny the people a say, such acts are unacceptable which is why this government along with our close friends in East Moreland called for proof that this was the will of the people, we have since seen the Helvetican Government, such as it is, call a referendum for the tenth of February, Achkaerinese personnel drawn from police ranks and other agencies are presently being assembled into teams and will depart for Helvetica before the end of today, these teams shall ensure the safety of whichever result is produced. The Emperor has informed the Government that Celine Tyler is to be placed in charge of Achkaerin's teams in this matter.

These teams will also do another significant job, they will ensure without question that the referendum is legitimate. By this we mean that there will be personnel who shall examine the evidence against the previous regime, a formal report on this evidence has been ordered by the Emperor and this report shall be presented following the referendum result so as to not call into question the fairness of the referendum.

It is important to note two things first if the evidence does not stand up then the referendum is illegal since the people making the decision to grant the referendum would not be considered the legitimate government of Helvetica. However the opposite is also true- if the evidence stands up and it is clear that the previous Helvetican Government was corrupt and that such cooperation was facilitated by a systemically flawed governmental system then things change, then this new regime would be legitimate in terms of being a government that in turn gives them the power to grant the referendum and as a result the outcome of the referendum would have to stand and be respected.

Obviously each nation and relevant organisations will have to decide for themselves on their approach and we encourage nations to think carefully about this and for organisations to debate frankly on this matter.

The Crown Princess shared her views on LISA after the Senate vote (right) the emblem of LISA

Quote:

 

Q: What is actually going to happen on referendum day when the poll's open?

A: Over the last few days each person who has registered to vote in the referendum will have received their confirmation of voter registration, this will tell them where they have to go to cast their vote. Each polling station will have observation personnel inside to ensure that there is no pressure put on voters to cast their vote in a certain way. Each ballot box will be under constant supervision by observers and will be transported to counting stations by those observers.

Q: How is the vote result going to be determined?

A: Each of the Forty three Canton's has a counting station, all the votes from that canton are processed there, each Canton then declares their totals for and against with those totals playing into the overall national result. Once all those Canton's are in we have a final result, though we as observers will know when that result is final because we have the voter registration data. Following all the Canton's declaring the announcement of the final result takes place in the capital.

Q: And afterwards?

A: Afterwards we double check the result, we have a predicted range of results that we expect the result to fall into, if it doesn't then we get worried. We also then deal with any legal challenges that arise and double check that the discarded votes were correctly discarded. If all of that is satisfied and Achkaerinese Intelligence verify's the evidence against the previous Helvetican government then the result will be declared safe.

Abigail Snowden competing in Achkaerin's national trials last month

Statement

 

The Cross Straits Union is undergoing a time of rebirth, following the beating it took both last year both politically and with Darxit it might have seemed like the organisation was ready to crumble. This is not the case, yes we have lessons to learn from Darxit but losing a member does not mean that the entire organisation falls apart - consider the CIS it didn't fall apart when East Moreland left, it only fell apart when Dijel hit a crisis and Seaforth fell which left an inactive organisation. The Cross Straits Union is not like that, Dartfordia may have gone but Achkaerin and Rokkenjima remain and with the new membership additions of Satanica and Meche we have a bright future ahead of us.

I can announce that upon the recommendation of Madison Gayle, Chair of the Council of Head of States, the date of the next Cross Straits Parliament Elections has been set for Monday the 8^th of May.

The Summer's Inquiry into how Cross Straits Union funds came to be used to fund Toshikawa during the Andean Genocide without the knowledge of the majority of the membership of the time is expected to publish its findings in the next few days,
I have not seen a copy of the report yet but whatever the findings and recommendations of the report it is something that the Commission and membership of the Union must take seriously. We are at a time when the shadows that have dogged Mundus for a long time are ready to be put behind us, and this we must do correctly.

My responsibilities as the leader of this Union are to firstly navigate the election cycle and to then determine with my colleagues a response to the Summer's Report. Following that the Cross Straits Union will move forwards stronger and more united than it has been before, the individual commissioners shall review their departmental policies to ensure that they are still up to scratch in today's Mundus. Our first priority is rebuilding after that the sky really is the limit.

(left) Claire Callaghan and (right) girlfriend and daughter of the city's chief councilor Kirsty Tsu

Quote:

 

What do you think of the recent changes in Mercia?

"I don't really have an opinion on them yet. It's still very new and hasn't been put into place yet, all we're seeing at this point is a test of the voting system for the upcoming referendum coupled with a division of what has historically been one persons responsibilities between two people. It's going to take time to see how such a radical new idea works, should the people vote for it. It's also going to be a little interesting because I sit here as someone who lives day to day in a society where when it comes to election time everyone on the electoral register can vote, so to suddenly be part of an electorate where that's tweaked to say the least is going to be worth being part of."

Are you registered to vote?

"Yes. I took an IQ test a couple of days ago and passed the set threshold, I haven't decided which way I will vote in the referendum yet but I will consider all the factors carefully before making my decision."

How do you view the late ruler of Mercia?

"It sounds a horrible thing to say but I'm not sorry he's gone. What he's believed to have been involved in...it's the sort of thing that should never happen and to be frank the overwhelming majority of the international community has a lot to answer for on that. I owe my life to members of the East Moreland military, I owe my safety to the pilots of the Achkaerinese Air Force and my country owes the fact that this didn't get to the darkest extremes to the swift action of the Ui Cenneslaig forces. Even following the Genocide the fact that Rupert was permitted to remain in control of the country with little or no pressure from the vast majority of nations is something I, as a would be victim, find utterly disgraceful. He could and probably should have been stopped sooner and I can only hope the international community has learnt its lesson especially considering the situations presently ongoing in Phuebra and Uppsala."

Speaking of Phuebra we understand you've recently seen some military action there?

"I was involved in what's been described as 'Operation Miracle' the evacuation of Buddhists from the capital city of Khyat while it was effectively under siege from Muslim forces, but let's be clear every pilot involved in that, every sailor involved in that whether from Achkaerin or Vaguzia, every soldier on the ground who held the line deserves credit for ensuring its success."

Can we ask a little about your relationship with Kirsty Tsu?

"She's my best friend, she's the one I love. That pretty much sums us up. We first met playing chess over the internet,
both of us being regarded as prodigy geniuses we were a pair of lonely souls, losing that game to Kirsty was the start of something and we've grown from it. I'm just a little irritated that our first date ended with us running for our lives.
And now we're going to Northfort for Pride."

Statement

 

Yesterday afternoon myself and Amber Duff the Chief Constable of the Mundus Crime Agency signed the documentation that grants priority custody of eight out of the nine defendants in this trial to the Holy Empire of Achkaerin. There is nothing untoward in this action, it is standard practice and is in the interests of justice. The signing of this documentation means that I am now able to pull the trigger on the trial process. The exception to this is the Emperor Emerita of Rokkenjima Alexander Anselmo, he is the exception because he is presently on bail and therefore not in custody but he will be in that courtroom just like the other eight.

The date set for the pre-trial hearings is the 27^th of May^[1]. Given the extensive media interest in this trial one of my staff has brokered a deal with the Achkaerinese Television Corporation that will allow them to broadcast the trial live, the ATC will then cooperate with other interested parties that wish to broadcast the trial.

As everyone can undoubtedly imagine security will be tight both inside the courtroom, throughout the building and outside. We fully expect protests of varying affiliations to occur and we have no problem with that because we respect everyone's right to legitimate protest. But I ask every group that intends to do so to remain peaceful, we have two overarching priorities firstly the security of the trial and all those involved in it, secondly the duty of care to civilians who live in Avalon, we do not want any trouble but that does not mean we will not act to deal with it should it occur.

In advance of yesterday afternoon the judges for the trial were selected as per the process of the Uppsala Convention as Aiko Fujimori of Satanica, Norman Hendry of Vafleon and Commander Melanie Armitage of Achkaerin. These three people have a very tough job to do as do the attorney's in the case and I would ask that they be allowed to do so without hindrance or speculation in the press. I ask the media to report the facts not speculate we owe it to the victims and the survivors to get this right the first time and not present grounds of appeal because of media comments.

Quote:

 

No one ever said Darxit was going to be easy. To be honest I don't think anyone ever really thought Dartfordia would vote for it but they did. One of my primary goals in the immediate future is to finalize the details of the Darxit deal and we have an initial foundation upon which Cross Straits negotiators are building through frequent negotiations with Dartfordian officials.

On the matter of Jenka the basic draft is clear, Jenka is considered sovereign Dartfordian territory and there is at present no credible reason to change that. Darxit means Darxit, the people of Dartfordia voted to leave the Cross Straits Union and that is what will happen. It is true that Jenka voted to remain by a large margin, but to use that as the basis of an argument calling for a second referendum specifically for the city is where I find myself having to urge a great deal of caution on this matter.

What you have is Dartfordia voting to leave but Jenka voting to remain, if Jenka gets a referendum on the present argument then I'm sure people will recognize the danger posed by it - the door would be opened for other cities that voted to remain such as Harchester and Hematite to demand the same. I'm not saying that there aren't issues to be resolved concerning Jenka but it is not a Cross Straits Union matter, we are not involved as it presently stands.

Archive picture of the event from 2009 in Freshwater

Deputy National Security Advisor Saki Ryoko during her speech to the Senate

Saki's Speech

 

Mr Speaker and Honored Senators, I rise as a non voting member of this body but exercising my right to speak during debate.

This is a very complicated and very emotive situation we are concerned with in the matter before us, we have heard many eloquent speeches on both sides of the argument but we have also heard many questions from many members here, these are questions that we do not presently have the answers to simply because it is not Achkaerin that initiated these sanctions but Rokkenjima and they did so unilaterally, they did so without consulting us. In truth according to Rokkenjiman media this consultation is going to be given at the Cross Straits Union, and I note that Ms Caidh the Secretary General of the Union is in attendance here today, it would therefore seem to be premature for this body to take any action without that consultation and to be frank that is the least of Rokkenjima's problems in this.

The situation in Kaitaine is without question complicated as Senator Cheryl Holmes outlined so precisely at the CTO there are two sides in conflict each with their own media which makes it in their best interests to paint the other side as the bad guy. This means there is no clear objectivity in the situation in regards to the gathering of information so therefore the truth of what is going on is significantly obscured and distorted by the vested interests of the two sides involved in the conflict. Rokkenjima's approach has been to forego any basic, courteous or decent diplomatic request for an investigation into the situation and instead proceed directly to application of pressure through sanctions, now I accept that I'm probably the newest person in this chamber to the world of politics but that does strike me as putting the cart before the horse though I may be wrong.

However Honorable Senators I encourage you all to just think for a moment about Rokkenjima's demand for an investigation -such a demand implies that a crime has either been committed or is in progress. What crime? Rokkenjima clearly believes a genocide because after all that is the statement made by the passage of the Genocide Recognition Act by the Imperial Diet quite clearly the Diet is saying "There's a genocide going on in Kaitaine." to make such a claim the Imperial Diet must have a reason to believe that is the case. So here's ultimately the crux of the matter - Where is the evidence? Why has Rokkenjima not produced it? Why has Dartfordia made no mention of it? Even privately there has been no sharing of this.
I commend this Senate for so graciously agreeing to Crown Princess Serenity's request and delaying this debate until after the publication of the explanation in the Rokkenjiman Press Office. I'm sure many of us were as disappointed as the Crown Princess was by the explanation though I note that none of us took to twitter to express our displeasure.

It's also completely reprehensible that these sanctions will affect the nation of Tokulel, a nation that has nothing to do with the situation at hand. I would like to personally commend Severin Constantine the Supreme Chancellor of Bykrestan, Premier Asuka Nakazato of Himeyama and His Majesty King Finley of Ui Cenneslaig for their understanding on this point and I would urge the Achkaerinese government to do whatever it can to ensure that the effects of these sanctions on Tokulel, should they remain in place, are minimized as much as possible.

I remind everyone present that when it was the Andean Genocide no one, not even Rokkenjima, acted until there was independent, objective proof of what was going on. So it is strange is it not that in a situation where there is no proof whatsoever that Rokkenjima does act in this way? Let me put it simply it is now incumbent upon Rokkenjima to make known the evidence upon which this course of action is based because if they cannot then we are most definitely in a situation where we have an unfounded allegation being used as the basis for sanctions and legislation - if there is no genocide provable by Rokkenjiman evidence then the Act falls, if there is no genocide provable by Rokkenjiman evidence then the sanctions fall. I also call on the government to put the wheels in motion at the CTO to ensure that the evidence is made known as soon as possible.

I'm almost done but I want to finish by saying this - Achkaerin is a nation committed to the cause of world peace, it is a lofty and noble goal, we have fallen short of this on occasions, we have done things at times we ought not to have done and this is something we all accept. But you do not achieve peace by taking sides, you achieve peace through coordination, through collaboration, through talking, this is why the cabinet secretary is presently undertaking a foreign policy review, because we've been down this road before too many times and it is well past time that an alternative approach was considered. The national motto of our nation is that "Words are mightier than the keenest blade" I urge the Senate to hold to that when it votes, to give diplomacy and words a chance to find a peaceful solution to a problem before we end up with the young men and women of Mundus going to their deaths. I thank you.

Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright