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Qwert · 08-31-2018, 05:40 PM

Issue XXIII - Friday, 31 August 2018

Peace on the horizon?
By Isaki Kurenai

In a shocking turn of events the Worker’s Party of Reizen (WPR) has accepted the Sedunnic offer to mediate an end to the Reizen Civil War. In response to the WPR’s actions, the Reizen Independence Movement (RIM) has called the WPR a traitor to the cause of a free and independent Reizen Republic and has started an internal purge of all suspected WPR officials within RIM occupied lands.

With the defection of the WPR, three out of the four major factions fighting in the Reizen Civil War have agreed to accept the Sedunnic invitation and have imposed unilateral ceasefires. The Frost Empire, and the Reizen Democratic Party (RDC) have called the WPR’s decision a step in the right direction and have also accepted the Sedunnic invitation. Due to security concerns all three factions declined to state who they were sending to represent their own interests. Meanwhile the RIM and its affiliates have sworn that they will unleash hell upon the Empire until Reizen is free from the clutches of the Empire.

Opinion: The Silent Struggle
By Michael Kiverssan, of the Ryccian Bulletin

Despite the lack of recognition in the public by the politicians, if you look closer, I'd argue that there is a giant struggle in Ryccian politics that has transcended party lines, and has been hushed for the most part.

This came as a result of the Bruuman War in Sereva, where lawmakers from both sides were unsure on how to proceed from there. In the days that followed, an aggressive Prime Minister was deposed by Parliament, and, in an odd twist for a parliamentary republic, the President, a mere figurehead, has been rising in prominence ever since as one of the key leaders of the pacifist movement.

Although trying to feign an outer appearance of unity in the coalition government, it cannot hide a recent purge of ministers and some lawmakers from the halls of power. Reported as something minor and only as a routine Cabinet reshuffling, this never made global headlines, as this is a normal thing to do for governments in order to be flexible and give ministers other jobs that they are more capable of doing if the country needs it. But this one was an interesting, subtle move by the pacifists, demoting interventionist ministers to minor offices and promoting pacifist ministers to offices of great political influence.

Who are the pacifists?

The pacifists, sometimes called internationalists, are one of the unofficial major factions in Congress that rose from the Serevan War, transcending party lines. Most of them are from the coalition government, but there are some from the right-wing opposition as well, crucially some from the religious right, as well as from other minor parties that are not in the coalition.

The pacifists believe in an idea that has two paths that reach it: that Ryccia, either to increase its influence or just to do good in the world, must cooperate with the world to achieve global stability. It cannot be aggressive, it just needs to be a collaborator with other countries in platforms such as the World Forum.

This faction opposes war, and wishes peace. It refuses intervention, as Ryccia getting involved in any conflict militarily is in the way of their goals of Ryccia joining the world stage as a peacekeeper. Furthermore, it refuses any attempts at militarization, believing that the global power can only be unlocked by a peaceful world community, working together to solve issues via diplomacy and such.

Of course, since the pacifists are just one faction, there are others. There are two, but we will only focus on one.

Wait, what are these factions?

First of all, there is a tiny isolationist faction in Congress, which is really just mostly irrelevant and sometimes used as a tool by the pacifists. However, the other major faction is called the interventionists.

The interventionists are a faction in Congress, and although their ideals had existed since the days of the monarchy, they were unspoken, ungathered, and unorganized. It was just a point of view. However, they began to act in a coordinated fashion in reaction to the rise of the pacifists, after the President, a rising star of the newly-forged, unofficial pacifist faction, managed to oust the Prime Minister of the Serevan War. Most of their members are nationalists, generally right-wing, centrists, or, in some cases, centre-left politicians.

The interventionists are different from their rivals. Instead of merely cooperating with the world, they believe that, in order to either increase Ryccian power or because it is their duty, Ryccia must take a leading role in Pacifica, by acts of influence or by military might if need be. Ryccia must rise as a power to be respected, or to be feared.

You might've seen the machinations of the interventionists fairly recently. Don't believe me? Hmm, why did a Ryccian fleet sail from port for a "military exercise"?

Leaked reports suggest that this fleet was not headed for military drills, (and it is only doing them now "as planned") but to blockade Qaweritoyu for their legalization of slavery. With such a public outrage, the interventionists could press the matter at Congress, and they did, proposing military action to be taken. This became extremely popular in the country, as slavery is intolerable for Ryccians. This came as a result of the illegalization of slavery in the mid-Middle Ages, and more so when, in the civil wars, some civilians were taken as human shields or hard labour by some military factions to either protect their units, or make them dig trenches and the like.

Sources say that they threatened pacifist lawmakers with a smear campaign if they did not act now, as the approval for such action against Qaweritoyu was colossal, so much that it could not be ignored. If the pacifists even attempted to conduct a rebuttal against such thing, their power and influence could wane, as their respective political parties could distance themselves from their "renegade" legislators. And thus, they yielded, in a monumental victory for the interventionists. Their moment, however, was foiled, when Qaweritoyu made slavery illegal again, and their momentum was stolen by Harmakmis and Gordista anyway, as they instituted a blockade first.

What has happened between these two? Are there any events that have transpired?

Some say that the Global Games was, partially, a subtle political move by the President, as the games and his speech on them focused on peace and cooperation. This was a blow to the interventionist cause, and what was insult to injury was the initiation of investigations on Ryccia's role in the Serevan War.

A brief resurgence regarding interventionist influence came later, when it was proposed that 10,000 peacekeeping troops were to be sent to the Reizen Civil War, but nothing materialized. Then came the 10,000% tariffs on all Bruuman goods in the Global Games, and the President lambasted Congress for passing this "politically incendiary" tax.

That was not the end of it, either. After this, Congress passed a bill to authorize a military parade. Some pacifists actually voted with the interventionists, as anti-Brumman sentiment is rife in Ryccia, which is why the 10,000% tariffs were voted into being in the first place.

This might seem that the interventionists were riding on a wave of political power, but this is not true. I'd say that these measures were only possible because of the anti-Brumman feeling in Ryccia, and due to anti-communist sentiment as a minor reason. At this time, the pacifists' joyful honeymoon of political influence was brought to a halt, but instead of becoming the opposition, there was a standoff between the two factions, where none could gain any significant ground against the other.

The big chance for the interventionists came in the Qaweritoyan Slavery Crisis. Suddenly, they had a chance to show off Ryccian might and leadership against a nation that was acting horribly. Indeed, if the blockade had gone ahead, the interventionists would've had the same political clout the pacifists had at the immediate aftermath of the Serevan War, if not, more. However, the covert stalling of the pacifists, their momentum being stolen and Qaweritoyu retracting quashed such thing. And, with that, we have returned to the standoff between the two, with none being the truly dominant force.

Of course, there are Congressmen who are independent from any faction, and they are often pawns on the games of the factions for this. One faction might try to sway this independent, another could attempt to convince another, and so on. Others often abstain, however, and these are truly nothing in the political stage, although you have to watch them from time to time. They are, in many cases, what decides a fight over some issue between the factions, so just because they’re unaffiliated does not mean that they do not count. Far from it, actually, they are one of the crucial points in this ideological clash for the soul of the nation.

Why hasn't it been reported in the media?

Both the coalition and the opposition vehemently deny any allegations that there are two factions. Admitting that both sides are split in such a way undermines any semblance of unity, and could cause chaos if the divisions are allowed to spread further. The media does not report on it due to it being a silent struggle behind the curtains of power; this is left to shows detailing politics, comedy shows, and opinion pieces such as this one.

Certainly this does not appear your usual editorial. But the fact that I have detailed the factions in such a way is an opinion. Some deny that the divisions are this deep, others may tell you that I am a complete liar, and that these are just tiny differences that are not manifested into factions (as in, they do not exist), and that they are not a threat to the unity of the coalition and the opposition. And it is my opinion that it is. Thus, merely shedding light on how severe this is might be strange to foreigners, but it is a hotly-contested issue here.

OOC: RP Digest

What is going on in Treasure Island right now? Here's a selection.

Return of the Republic of Eultiver? - Eultiver is a NS nation, and you can RP as members of the government of the republic to answer issues that confront the nation on the NS site.
Should the regional map be expanded? And how? - Discussion found here.
... and much more.

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Contributors
@Imperial Frost Federation: Peace on the horizon?
@Ryccia: Opinion: The Silent Struggle
@Qwert: Editor

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The Treasure Island Report (TIR) is a monthly newspaper from the role-playing community with in-character and out-of-character articles about role-play, as well as other community related news.

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