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Real Time is a weekly panel discussion that gathers prominent participants from the South Pacific and addresses the latest events in the region. This week we are joined by representatives from prominent nations to discuss the Sporaltryan Civil War, the Farengeto Crisis and the Kringalian Nuclear Programme.

Stefano Vannelli: It's good to be back! Welcome to another season of Real Time, the weekly political discussion show and leader in political debate in the South Pacific. It has been quite an eventful month, full of political intrigue and close military encounters, and this week we have our best panelists yet. But first, I am proud to introduce the former Senator from Erantor and current President of Sporaltryus, Ludoviko Johano!

Ludoviko Johano: Hello everyone!

Stefano Vannelli: Mr President, it is a pleasure to have you here.

Ludoviko Johano: It is a pleasure to be here!

Stefano Vannelli: Let's talk about the Consortium. It killed 25 million Sporaltryans, and the Flores Administration simply surrendered. What happened there?

Ludoviko Johano: They stabbed the chest and held a knife to the throat. If Flores hadn't surrendered to them, they would have been crushed in their seats in Castietya. He did negotiate a deal where the government wouldn't have been executed. In fact, he's one of my advisors that I brought with me here to Kringalia, he should be in the front row of the audience.

Stefano Vannelli: Still, why would he surrender? Did the Consortium have any more nuclear warheads?

Ludoviko Johano: The Consortium had the capability of acquiring more warheads, and as their actions have shown, they are more then likely to use them. That being said, the rebel groups that sprung up, and united for Sporaltryus, did try to defend the warhead storage areas the most.

Stefano Vannelli: Yet it was defeated by a coalition of rebel groups. Isn't that at least a little suspicious, as if they only needed temporary control of the government? I mean, surely the government had much more military potential than rebel groups.

Ludoviko Johano: Much of the military switched to the rebel groups, hence why they couldn't really defend against them. When Castietya was retaken, it was the Consortium's 12 leaders that defended their ideals. While they did live, they are being dealt with.

Stefano Vannelli: Why do you think the Consortium didn't use nuclear weapons against the rebels?

Ludoviko Johano: They didn't have access to them, largely.

Stefano Vannelli: How is that?

Ludoviko Johano: If they had access to all the reserves, it is very likely that they would have nuked the country out of existence.

Stefano Vannelli: Right.

Ludoviko Johano: The rebels generally based everything around the nuclear storage areas.

Stefano Vannelli: Well, you are now the President, and there is a great deal of rebuilding to be done. What are your goals for the near future?

Ludoviko Johano: Rebuilding. That is the main one. Securing the reserves is another, along with a compete administrative reformation.

Stefano Vannelli: Naturally. If I may, Mr President, I would like to introduce the rest of our panel.

Ludoviko Johano: By all means!

Stefano Vannelli: He is a graduate from Daonlathas Law School and served as Mayor of Accio, please welcome Wallace Vislerno!

Wallace Vislerno: Hello, I am glad to be here again.

Stefano Vannelli: He is a journalist and author of the upcoming news feature "Perspectives: The President, the General and the Prime Minister", please welcome Cyril Aston!

Cyril Aston: Hello everyone, thank you for the invitation.

Stefano Vannelli: Right then, let's get down to business. President Johano and I were talking about the Consortium and how they were defeated a few days ago. Any thoughts on the matter? I have to admit, I'm still a bit suspicious on how easily they surrendered to rebel groups.

Wallace Vislerno: I celebrate this victory for humanity. I also extend an apology for what Ryccia has done to Sporaltryus, like Operation Affirmed and all those things.

Cyril Aston: It was almost shocking sudden. In a matter of days they went from seemingly absolute control to a complete defeat.

Wallace Vislerno: The Consortium was fragile. With all that unrest in Sporaltryus, they were destined to fall.

Ludoviko Johano: To be fair, they never had complete control. If they had the control that is believed they had, they'd still be in power.

Cyril Aston: Quite so. For a government such as that to maintain that level of control would make them almost unstoppable.

Ludoviko Johano: Therefore, it's rather well that they didn't have it!

Cyril Aston: But with two sudden regime changes so quickly, can we be certain about the stability of this new government?

Stefano Vannelli: That would depend on how much in control President Johano is. Does he enjoy the support of the military, or the political class, or the population?

Ludoviko Johano: No, but then that's why we've not fully come out of our isolation period. The military, are thankful the old government is in power again. The political class have seen me as something of an outsider, but do respect me greatly given what I've done for the Union.

Stefano Vannelli: With Sporaltryus in relative isolation, how does it fit in the international balance of power? I'm thinking of the SCO in particular, and the group of major powers in general.

Ludoviko Johano: And the population do support me, otherwise, I wouldn't have won with over 80% in favor.

Wallace Vislerno: Ryccia expects that the Sporaltryan Union will grow to the nation it was before the incident.

Ludoviko Johano: The Union is not one nation. To answer Mr. Vanelli, we're not in a total isolation, so we will still partake in matters of foreign interest. And to answer Mr. Viserno, I have the long term goal of ensuring that it goes above the old Union.

Stefano Vannelli: Like the Government Island Summit?

Ludoviko Johano: Yes, like with the IOC.

Stefano Vannelli: I'm still skeptical about the prospects of stability for Sporaltryus, but I do think it enjoys strong allies and a willing population. I wish you the best of luck, Mr President.

Ludoviko Johano: Thank you, Mr. Vanelli.

Wallace Vislerno: The best of luck from Ryccia to you.

Ludoviko Johano: Thank you.

Stefano Vannelli: I would like to move on to the events in Farengeto. Cyril here might be able to give us an overview into the Black Sunday events?

Cyril Aston: It was...unexpected. There have been many claims regarding fascism in the Transitional Government, and conspiracy theories that they may have caused it, but these accusations came as a surprise to everyone. And its use a cover for the raids even more so. When combat broke out, no one could figure out what just happened.

Stefano Vannelli: It does seem like different groups are operating on behalf of the major players, but not necessarily with their consent.

Wallace Vislerno: Can I ask Cyril a question? Does the transitional government silence political opposition?

Stefano Vannelli: I know Kringalia will probably back General Rey, but I'm not sure if he is right about Lévêque. I have a feeling it's more of a tactic to take control.

Cyril Aston: Some say the allegations are still wrong and this was cover for a proper dictatorial coup, especially given the ambiguity over casualty statistics. Others claim Leveque is responsible, using his ties from his time as director of our intelligence agency.

Wallace Vislerno: I concur with Vannelli.

Cyril Aston: Though there is a general distrust towards Leveque, given how quickly he rose in politics. MP to Head of Government in a single term.

Stefano Vannelli: Oh sure, Lévêque is probably dirty; especially since he was head of intelligence. He must have bended the law. But I am not sure his corruption is as serious as Rey claimed.

Wallace Vislerno: We just have to wait and see.

Stefano Vannelli: It seems too convenient that pro-Lévêque forces stormed Parliament just as he was making a speech denouncing him. It was the perfect proof, at the perfect time.

Cyril Aston: As for political opposition, most of us are uncertain. He hasn't made blatant attempts but there are questions as the Parliamentary arrests reportedly disproportionately target left-wing parties, for example. It's a very ambiguous situation and many of my colleagues have resorted to hiding their work out of paranoia, even though none of us have been arrested currently.

Wallace Vislerno: That sounds serious.

Stefano Vannelli: Knowing President Walsh, he will stand by Rey, as long as Farengeto keeps its current foreign policy. I am not so sure about other major powers though. Countries like Awesomiasa and Qvait, to name two, might feel uncomfortable with supporting such a regime.

Wallace Vislerno: Ryccia as well.

Cyril Aston: The Transitional Parliament will reportedly continue its sessions and the new constitution is supposedly going to be released soon, but understandably there is a lot of uncertainty after Black Sunday. This uncertainty is what I look into in my report, and we see three drastically different narratives in it.

Stefano Vannelli: I am concerned about how free the drafting of that constitution will actually be. I assume Rey will closely supervise it. Same with the Transitional Parliament.

Cyril Aston: While Leveque's Conservatives are still the minority, some claim its a Parliament of politicians Rey tolerates. Meanwhile the constitutional drafting has been surprisingly closed, despite constant polling and reports showing an apparently large group working on it.

Stefano Vannelli: How has public response been to Black Sunday, Cyril?

Cyril Aston: As I mentioned previously, it's very uncertain. Most people still favour Rey over Leveque but no one really understands what's going on anymore.

Stefano Vannelli: It probably is unlikely, under the current environment, but has there been any polling regarding public opinion on what system of government is preferred?

Cyril Aston: We're also seeing an increase in activity with "President-in-exile" Larue's supporters, with my recent interview confirming that he is alive and free.

Stefano Vannelli: Yes, I saw as much in the introduction to your feature.

Cyril Aston: Though as I have told the government before I do not know where he is currently hiding.

Wallace Vislerno: Ryccians are divided on this issue. According to polls by Allvei, 46% say that Leveque planned it, 46% say Rey planned it, 5% say that the pro-Leveque gunmen planned the attack themselves with no interference from Leveque and 3% are uncertain.

Stefano Vannelli: I am curious if he will attempt a comeback, now that some appear to be noticing Rey's true nature. Granted, not everyone, but some definitely seem to dislike him.

Cyril Aston: The general consensus seems to be a return to democracy under a Third Republic, with some split opinions on the details of its structure. Pro-dictatorship remains a very small minority.

Stefano Vannelli: I want to move on now to a less controversial topic, but one of personal interest to me. I am sure you have heard something of it, though.

Cyril Aston: Larue maintains his claim to be the legitimate leader of Farengeto. He makes some interesting claims regarding his innocence in my report. Though of course none of it has been verified.

Stefano Vannelli: Several reports are coming out of some kind of base being built in Strant, one of the Kringalian states. What do you think the Walsh Administration is doing there?

Wallace Vislerno: I think its either something related to the space programme or a top secret military base.

Cyril Aston: Either something related to the new Kringalian space program, or connected to the controversial Julian Act.

Stefano Vannelli: Yes, it is likely to be one of those two. Yesterday I noticed on Stream that a Strantian farmer commented he saw a double flash over at the secure area.

Wallace Vislerno: Strange.

Stefano Vannelli: I would love to be mistaken, but I do think it might be the Julian Act, as Cyril said. President Walsh used up a lot of political capital with the space programme. He broke campaign promises and angered his Conservative allies. It makes sense he would try to appease them by implementing the Julian Act. Our farmer might have unknowingly reported a nuclear test.

Cyril Aston: With the recent political climate the value of the nuclear deterrent has been made clear to many governments.

Stefano Vannelli: I am sure it will be incredibly frustrating to the United Front, given the recent discussions they have had.

Wallace Vislerno: Global nuclear disarmament is not coming soon, I suppose.

Stefano Vannelli: I see a problem with the disarmament movement: its advocates come from nations who expect their opponents to dismantle their warheads first, instead of engaging in bilateral negotiations.

Cyril Aston: The UF's discussion is curious how most of the incidents that accelerated our nuclear program were escalated by them

Stefano Vannelli: Obviously nobody will disarm first, but that doesn't mean serious negotiations shouldn't take place.

Wallace Vislerno: They should. But not between one or two nations. TSP as a whole needs to be there.

Stefano Vannelli: That looks increasingly unlikely. If Kringalia has indeed developed nuclear weapons, it will be very difficult to convince it to get rid of them.

Cyril Aston: And given what we've seen just in the past few months our government likely sees no value in backing down now, nor can Rey politically afford to back down so early in the program's life.

Stefano Vannelli: It would probably be more effective to negotiate a non-proliferation agreement. I assume government will find it more agreeable for everyone to limit their arsenals, rather than completely eliminate them, and risk someone not doing it.

Cyril Aston: Even liberal politicians that once opposed a Farengeto nuclear program have had second thought.

Wallace Vislerno: Probably because of Rey.

Stefano Vannelli: It's easy to oppose developing nuclear weapons. It's more difficult to oppose getting rid of them; especially once one carefully analyses the international environment.

Cyril Aston: Even non-proliferation seems unlikely until the SCO, SSU and UF can calm relations

Wallace Vislerno: I think the SCO needs to make an IOC for Farengeto if all goes downhill. And considering our tense relations, that is not happening anytime soon.

Stefano Vannelli: I see that as very unlikely. Farengeto may be turning into a dictatorship, but it still enjoys good relations with Sporaltryus and Kringalia.

Stefano Vannelli: Those two may not have a formal veto, but whatever they oppose usually also fails in the Southern Council.

Cyril Aston: That's an overreaction at this point. While there's unanswered questions, things have been rather calm other than Black Sunday. Even during that incident the Black Sunday militants seemed to have numbered less than 100. With many of them scattered nationwide.

Ludoviko Johano: Mr. Vanelli, I have a question directed towards Kringalia.

Stefano Vannelli: Please.

Ludoviko Johano: How close is Kringalis to having an operational nuclear warhead?

Stefano Vannelli: I have no way of knowing, Mr President. I am not involved in the Kringalian Government.

Ludoviko Johano: I hope.

Stefano Vannelli: With that in mind, I do know that even before the Julian Act, development of nuclear weapons was banned, but research was not. I would not be surprised if President Walsh began serious research into nuclear capability long before the Julian Act.

Ludoviko Johano: So there was nuclear research before the Julian Act?

Stefano Vannelli: Connor Walsh is not a stupid man, I'll say that. I forced him to resign because he was intruding into civilian oversight, but he is presidential material, even if I still disagree with his policies.

Cyril Aston: It's been classified, but Farengeto's nuclear program has been worked on for years prior to its first test.

Stefano Vannelli: He will probably announce when and if he has developed nuclear weapons when he sees it benefits Kringalia, and not a moment before.

Ludoviko Johano: That is all.

Stefano Vannelli: Well, this has been a hell of a way to begin our new season. I want to thank Ludoviko Johano, Wallace Vislerno and Cyril Aston for joining this panel, and see you next week in Real Time. Goodnight!

This transcript was edited for ortography and clarity in the flow of the conversation. While some words have slightly different spelling and some interventions have been placed in different order, the core content of the conversation has not been altered. An original copy of the discussion may be provided upon request.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
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Finally Farengeto is relevant in one of these.

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Finally!

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

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Who plays as cyril?

"毎日の小さな努力の積み重ねが歴史を作っていくんだよ。"

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Put a little effort everyday and it will stack up and create a foundation for you.

- Doraemon


Treasure Island Awards Best Roleplay 2020
Treasure Island Awards Best Roleplayer 2020
Cocos Winner for Best Character Writer 2017
Cocos Winner for Best International Event 2017
Cocos Winner for Best Overall RP 2017

Things to know: Medical Intern and Biomedical Scientist from Indonesia, Muslim, 188 metres tall, loves trains

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Farengeto.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

Reply