Honourable Members of the Assembly,

This is the second time in recent memory that I have applied for citizenship here, and the first where I have had to address you to appeal a decision made by the Vice Delegate declaring me unsuitable for citizenship due to being a “security risk”. I know it is impossible for this appeal to be made by a unanimous decision. I am far too much of a realist to fall for that illusion. It is my wish that I can convince enough of you over the next couple days that I am not the bogeyman, I am not out to get you, and that I mean no harm.

We should get the nitty-gritty out of the way first. I am a specialist on GCR security, having organized both coups and counter-coups. With the exception of The Empire, all of the coups I have been involved in were due to internal political matters. The Empire, as it was initially referred as, was the organization which brought together a lot of high-profile nations from different fields of the game, and couped The East Pacific in 2008. We did this because of the internal stagnation of the region, because of a wish to prove that a properly developed outside force could take and hold a GCR (not the regular way of couping from the inside), and for many due to boredom. The field was not as busy as it was a few years prior to then for many of us, nor as busy as it is these days. I have no apologies for The Empire, yet I (along with Neenee) get along great with TEP these days, because everyone realizes that was in 2008 and it is 2015 now, and there is no climate of paranoia and fear.

It saddens me to say this, but there is a climate of paranoia and fear here now. It is understandable due to recent incidents. After many years of studying this subject, my advice is to simply state: Stay vigilant, but don’t give in to paranoia. It will weaken you, and make you blind to real threats.

The defence of a region is the main function of any government. Failure to do so is to abdicate responsibility. Use your authority, or lose it. Protecting oneself from legitimate threats is the proper and right thing for a government to do.

I put to the Assembly that in my case, I am not a legitimate “security threat”.

I would like to ask the Cabinet a few questions:

1. Is “The Empire” a Prohibited Organization under TSP Law?
   
2. Under this Cabinet, what defines a “security risk”?
   
3. Between the acceptance of my citizenship request last year and now, have I committed any actions that would be considered a “security risk” to The South Pacific?
   
4. If the Cabinet feels I am a “security risk”, why would the previous Cabinet let me in?
   

My point in this whole appeal is to prove that I am not a security risk to The South Pacific. Yet, I am partially unable to without the ability to refute evidence which claims to state I am a threat to this jurisdiction.

I would like to state this for the record: I have no ambitions at all to seek the Delegacy of The South Pacific, a Cabinet-level position, nor seek any positions regarding board security (such as the Administrator or Moderator level). I would like to contribute to the region when time allows, and if permitted by the Assembly.

I would like to thank you all for considering my introductory post on this subject. This appeal is a process which I don’t think anyone wishes to see. I will happily take questions from Assembly members.