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BREAKING: Caffa Schedules Unsanctioned Independence Referendum
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Sammiches822
Arbiter
CAFFA- The Caffan province of the New Sammichian Empire formally declared its intent to secede from its parent country in a "midnight motion" last night in its provincial Chancellery.
Following High Chancellor Ritz-Khalifa's abandonment last September of her campaign promise to introduce a second Caffan Referendum bill, tensions have been uncharacteristically high within the alleged powder-keg of a city. In the subsequent months, membership swelled of the nationalist group La Nuova Resistenza, the modern-day successor of the fascist Vacarelli-era paramilitary group. In October, the entire first page of General Alfonso Vacarelli's manifesto was spray-painted on the walls of the Emperor's Caffan residence, Castello Barsi. Further unrest flared up after the culprit's consequent capture and arrest.
The illegal referendum was passed by the Provincial Chancellery of Caffa at 1:32 AM, which is commonly known as a "midnight motion" within the Empire. Midnight motions are a popular political tactic in the Empire, in which a controversial piece of legislation is voted upon late at night so as to avoid press coverage, as well as securing a closer majority when many other members of the legislature are at home sleeping. The act is cited as one of the many democratic flaws in the Imperial government; after Ritz-Khalifa and the United Progressive Party (UPP) lobbied for a bill to outlaw the practice, it itself was vetoed in a midnight motion by the Conservative Constitutional Party (CCP).
Ritz-Khalifa's administration has demanded that plans for the illegal referendum to be halted, under the assertion that it violates Article X.V.II of the Imperial Constitution, which states that no Imperial territory may seek or vote upon independence within their provincial Chancelleries. It also appears to violate Article X.V.I, which upholds that no territory may attempt unsanctioned secession, and that the Imperial government retains the right to bring that territory back into the Empire by use of force.
Chancellor Leopardo Sciarra has refused Imperial orders to veto the referendum bill, citing the will of the Caffan people and the need to represent their interests. He has been threatened with removal from office as well as charges of medium to heavy treason. Sciarra has refused a summons to the capital of Fulfwotz; Minister of State Dago Vueres has been dispatched to the Caffan province, and the Emperor plans on traveling to the city tomorrow after a diplomatic mission in Oranjestad.
Under the provisions of the unconstitutional bill, the Referendum will otherwise take place on January 15th.
Can Caffa Stand On Its Own? Analysis by SGN's Vincent Zanesk
At this point, everyone is familiar with the feisty temper and boldness of the Caffan people in the face of Imperial governance. To believe that they would rather rule themselves is a basic fact of life; water is wet. Ice is cold. Caffa wants independence. But a question begs to be asked; If it was ever to achieve the independence it so lustily pursues, would it be able to survive without the nursing of its mother Empire?
In short, no.
The root of the issue lies with the controversial policy of "forced reliance", a doctrine fiercely perpetuated by the 19th and 20th century Kingdom of Fulfwotz, as well as the ensuing Empire. The policy essentially ties otherwise-agitated territories closer to the Empire by ensuring that they have a reason to remain a part of it; that they have something to lose by seceding. It may be safe to say that were it not for this ingenious -- and arguably malicious -- policy, the NSE would have collapsed and fragmented into a confused squalor decades ago.
Instead, we have the confused squalor held together by the schoolchild's glue of an inept Chancellery and pervasive, chilly Emperor.
Despite Caffa's eagerness to assert that the Empire does nothing for them, the truth is that one could say the Empire supports the city to the point of coddling it. Caffa is the NSE's second-largest population center and source of tax and trade revenue. Why would it make any sense to hold such a lucrative territory at arm's length? Say what you want about the Imperial establishment, but they know how to manage money, making vast sums appear and disappear out of seemingly-thin air. These fiscal magic tricks of veteran Minister of Finance Calo Kaving have proved quite beneficial to bailing Caffa out of its two state bankruptcies since 1985. If Caffa was to leave the Empire, they'd have to get their economic act together (and believe me, claims that the Caffan elite purposely bankrupt the government in order to control it may have some shred of truth to it, but it is far more of a pathetic attempt at diverting blame from the government's own monetary mismanagement) or else suffer years of depression and recession.
Then comes the issue of post-secession relations with the NSE. The Empire, with all its diverse and varying territorial needs, is by far Caffa's largest trading partner. The vindictive Empire would undoubtedly impose draconian sanctions on the city, if not an outright embargo. Its further economic importance in the Shire may then compel other close trading partners and allies to follow suit, or else find themselves under the superheated magnifying glass of the New Sammichian Empire. The swaggering lord of the Demmatrodine demands and expects the world to deliver. Caffa would be left to toil and deteriorate in isolation, the pariah of the Shire.
The prosperity of a state depends on the prosperity of economic, political, and social spheres collectively. If one collapses, so do the others, and ultimately, the state. Economically, there is no chance Caffa would survive. Thus, it simply cannot.
I think the real question here is not whether or not it can survive; but rather, how far to the precipice is it willing to dance?
Vincent Zanesk is a top political and economic analyst at SGN.
~SGN Online, helping you act like you care~
COMMENTS
Lorenzo Castoro, Caffa- No this is all wrong #CaffaTiAmo
Dorina Johnson, Mainland- Yeah uhuh. Economic nightmare. I tell you I wouldnt trust a cent of mine in the hands of those goddamn gypsies if my life depended on. it
Lorila Natalephe, Laurelian- I want to know who hurt the NSE so as to make it at the top of my news feed every time I open SGN. Can I blacklist articles about certain topics?
Alex Norfolk, Tomoya- [In Reply to: Lorila Natalephe] yeah I'm with you. seems like every day some territory is on the verge of collapse or some politician fucked a bunch of people over
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Following High Chancellor Ritz-Khalifa's abandonment last September of her campaign promise to introduce a second Caffan Referendum bill, tensions have been uncharacteristically high within the alleged powder-keg of a city. In the subsequent months, membership swelled of the nationalist group La Nuova Resistenza, the modern-day successor of the fascist Vacarelli-era paramilitary group. In October, the entire first page of General Alfonso Vacarelli's manifesto was spray-painted on the walls of the Emperor's Caffan residence, Castello Barsi. Further unrest flared up after the culprit's consequent capture and arrest.
The illegal referendum was passed by the Provincial Chancellery of Caffa at 1:32 AM, which is commonly known as a "midnight motion" within the Empire. Midnight motions are a popular political tactic in the Empire, in which a controversial piece of legislation is voted upon late at night so as to avoid press coverage, as well as securing a closer majority when many other members of the legislature are at home sleeping. The act is cited as one of the many democratic flaws in the Imperial government; after Ritz-Khalifa and the United Progressive Party (UPP) lobbied for a bill to outlaw the practice, it itself was vetoed in a midnight motion by the Conservative Constitutional Party (CCP).
Ritz-Khalifa's administration has demanded that plans for the illegal referendum to be halted, under the assertion that it violates Article X.V.II of the Imperial Constitution, which states that no Imperial territory may seek or vote upon independence within their provincial Chancelleries. It also appears to violate Article X.V.I, which upholds that no territory may attempt unsanctioned secession, and that the Imperial government retains the right to bring that territory back into the Empire by use of force.
Chancellor Leopardo Sciarra has refused Imperial orders to veto the referendum bill, citing the will of the Caffan people and the need to represent their interests. He has been threatened with removal from office as well as charges of medium to heavy treason. Sciarra has refused a summons to the capital of Fulfwotz; Minister of State Dago Vueres has been dispatched to the Caffan province, and the Emperor plans on traveling to the city tomorrow after a diplomatic mission in Oranjestad.
Under the provisions of the unconstitutional bill, the Referendum will otherwise take place on January 15th.
Can Caffa Stand On Its Own? Analysis by SGN's Vincent Zanesk
At this point, everyone is familiar with the feisty temper and boldness of the Caffan people in the face of Imperial governance. To believe that they would rather rule themselves is a basic fact of life; water is wet. Ice is cold. Caffa wants independence. But a question begs to be asked; If it was ever to achieve the independence it so lustily pursues, would it be able to survive without the nursing of its mother Empire?
In short, no.
The root of the issue lies with the controversial policy of "forced reliance", a doctrine fiercely perpetuated by the 19th and 20th century Kingdom of Fulfwotz, as well as the ensuing Empire. The policy essentially ties otherwise-agitated territories closer to the Empire by ensuring that they have a reason to remain a part of it; that they have something to lose by seceding. It may be safe to say that were it not for this ingenious -- and arguably malicious -- policy, the NSE would have collapsed and fragmented into a confused squalor decades ago.
Instead, we have the confused squalor held together by the schoolchild's glue of an inept Chancellery and pervasive, chilly Emperor.
Despite Caffa's eagerness to assert that the Empire does nothing for them, the truth is that one could say the Empire supports the city to the point of coddling it. Caffa is the NSE's second-largest population center and source of tax and trade revenue. Why would it make any sense to hold such a lucrative territory at arm's length? Say what you want about the Imperial establishment, but they know how to manage money, making vast sums appear and disappear out of seemingly-thin air. These fiscal magic tricks of veteran Minister of Finance Calo Kaving have proved quite beneficial to bailing Caffa out of its two state bankruptcies since 1985. If Caffa was to leave the Empire, they'd have to get their economic act together (and believe me, claims that the Caffan elite purposely bankrupt the government in order to control it may have some shred of truth to it, but it is far more of a pathetic attempt at diverting blame from the government's own monetary mismanagement) or else suffer years of depression and recession.
Then comes the issue of post-secession relations with the NSE. The Empire, with all its diverse and varying territorial needs, is by far Caffa's largest trading partner. The vindictive Empire would undoubtedly impose draconian sanctions on the city, if not an outright embargo. Its further economic importance in the Shire may then compel other close trading partners and allies to follow suit, or else find themselves under the superheated magnifying glass of the New Sammichian Empire. The swaggering lord of the Demmatrodine demands and expects the world to deliver. Caffa would be left to toil and deteriorate in isolation, the pariah of the Shire.
The prosperity of a state depends on the prosperity of economic, political, and social spheres collectively. If one collapses, so do the others, and ultimately, the state. Economically, there is no chance Caffa would survive. Thus, it simply cannot.
I think the real question here is not whether or not it can survive; but rather, how far to the precipice is it willing to dance?
Vincent Zanesk is a top political and economic analyst at SGN.
~SGN Online, helping you act like you care~
COMMENTS
Lorenzo Castoro, Caffa- No this is all wrong #CaffaTiAmo
Dorina Johnson, Mainland- Yeah uhuh. Economic nightmare. I tell you I wouldnt trust a cent of mine in the hands of those goddamn gypsies if my life depended on. it
Lorila Natalephe, Laurelian- I want to know who hurt the NSE so as to make it at the top of my news feed every time I open SGN. Can I blacklist articles about certain topics?
Alex Norfolk, Tomoya- [In Reply to: Lorila Natalephe] yeah I'm with you. seems like every day some territory is on the verge of collapse or some politician fucked a bunch of people over
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Comments
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Delet dis-1
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@Crotenis No1
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Gl caffa5
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Riverwood fully supports Caffa and its independence and will supply any and all bricks and Glowstone nessicary for the movement.3
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The Solurian Empire supports a mutual agreement between the two sides of this conflict and hopes it can be resolved peacefully and in short order.1
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Riverwood officially denounces the 4th New Sammichian Empire for its crimes against shirelings0
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The Republic supports the Independence of Caffa. *naval buildup intensifies*1
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Oranjestad stands ready to accept the political refugees from Caffa after they are inevitably ejected from the territory. We also stand ready to extradite the political refugees to a pound-me-in-the-a** prison facility in the Sammichian empire, should they ask.9
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The Laurelian Nation remains neutral in this conflict. As with any Shire conflict between or within nations, Laurelian is prepared to receive refugees on a temporary basis until it is safe for those innocent individuals to return home.
As per instruction from the Kiinthira, Laurelian has designated temporary housing for refugees within the district of Portsmouth. The Laurelian University Teaching Hospital will have designated rooms, equipment and manpower to aid any refugees injured in the conflict.
On a personal note from the Kiinthira of Laurelian, the governing council had this to say:
It is deeply disappointing to, once again, hear that there is conflict in the Shire which will undoubtedly lead to innocent lives and livelihoods being lost. It is our most sacred belief that all disagreements can and should be managed with a sense of decorum and rationality. While we understand that many of the nations (and in this case, Empires) of the Shire are not as evolved as the Laurelii, one cannot help but still feel a sense of loss for progress when events of this nature and scale take place. It has been and always be our hope that the people of the Shire find valuable wisdom from conflicts of past in order to prevent those in the future. It is wasteful and disappointingly inconsiderate to enter into such unnecessary dealings. We strongly advise for this to end swiftly and with as little damage as possible. While our resources are vast, they are finite and it is quite the inconvenience for us to care for the victims of your petty squabbles.3
