Councillor Glen-Rhodes calls for renewed focus on security

[Legislators’ Lounge] October 11

Amid heightened tensions stemming from the election, member of the Council on Regional Security (CRS) and candidate for Minister of Foreign Affairs Glen-Rhodes lambasts the current state of affairs and calls for reform of the region’s security apparatus.

In a speech to those gathered in the Legislators Lounge, the Councillor derided the Cabinet’s recent efforts to proscribe threats to regional security.

‘We can't even agree that we should proscribe people who literally messed with our Delegate transition, and have said over and over again that they want to destroy us’, the Councillor lamented, ‘I’m not sure if there are more than 2 people who take threats to us seriously.’

The Councillor underscored a growing security challenge to the Coalition, noting that the Independent Joint Command Coalition (IJCC) was comprised of regions traditionally antagonistic towards The South Pacific, including Balder, Europeia, and The Land of Kings and Emperors, and which could seek to destabilise the Coalition.

Councillor Glen defended the need for more stringent security protocols. In the past, such efforts were watered down due to consensus among legislators that moderation was the most appropriate direction to proceed with.

‘If we lock our region down, become a closed community with strict membership requirements, and kick people out more easily, then maybe we wouldn't need those hard and cold security players. But we don't want a region like that. We want the rainbows and sunshine because it's fun, and just take our security for granted. Europeia and Balder don't care about how much we want to have fun.’

So as to meet this challenge, the Councillor advocated for a greater strategic focus and a more concerted effort to defend the Coalition and its ideals, with proposed reform as the ‘CRS needs to be allowed to protect the region, so that the PM and MoFA can focus on more fun things.’

The candidate for Minister of Foreign Affairs argued that ‘there needs to be people in government who are hard, experienced in the dirty fighting the rest of the game does, and who don't shut down when things get tough.’