This is a discussion thread regarding our statement of changed opinion on the region of Lazarus. After some talks in the private Cabinet discord channel, we have unanimously agreed that Lazarus, despite our disagreement with how it's start was handled, has shaped into a wonderful and legitimate region and as such deserves to be recognized as that. This is coupled with the behavior of Imkitopia in recent months. She has acted in good faith and proven herself to be a capable leader that our Cabinet can trust will responsibly manage Lazarus as the free region that it now is.

With all of this in mind, I propose the following rough draft for a statement that we can supply to Lazarus and possibly even release publicly. I was unable to find exact dates for the events pertaining to Lazarus's growth these last months after digging around so if any of the other Cabinet members have them on hand, please toss them into this rough draft for us, thank you and here we go:

Last year Lazarus saw some huge changes that have affected the face of the region to this day. These changes were precluded by a coup that shook the NationStates world. After many months of fighting, the illegal government was removed from power and Imkitopia was installed as the new delegate of the region. Many large organizations and regional governments fought together to regain Lazarus's Independence and The South Pacific was by no means a small name in the effort. _______________ was written by the organizations that restored Lazarus to independence in an effort to protect the citizens from the likelihood of another coup in the future while simultaneously giving Lazarus the opportunity to try a more democratic system then they had previously had. Unfortunately, after some time, this document was discarded by Imkitopia in order to give herself more freedom to reconstruct the region in a new way. 

The South Pacific released a statement expressing its displeasure with that move to the relevant parties at the time and while we still believe that those actions were inappropriate, we cannot disregard the positive growth that Lazarus has seen in the past months. Imkitopia and her self appointed team have built a truly wonderful community with a strong theme and a powerful message. Lazarus has been open and friendly in regards to Foreign Affairs pursuits and Imkitopia has been professional with both our government and our citizens. In light of recent dealings we have had with Lazarus, The Cabinet of The South Pacific has unanimously agreed that it is time to recognize Lazcorp as a legitimate foreign power. We are open to any further diplomatic endeavors that they are comfortable with undergoing in light of this change of stance.

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This is the first draft and as such is pretty rough. I'd like to see dates and names included at the very least. I do not have those dates and names and was unfortunately unable to find them. I would like to ask, would we like this to be an official public announcement, or do we want to just pass it to Lazarus and possibly the other regions in which we have Embassies? I'd like to see this released to the tsp public at the very least .

Greetings, I am The Serres Republic.

Currently 'The Future Greatest and Most Splendid General of All TSP.'

I know you all look forward to when I complete my grand quest ;P.

Official ‘Most Dedicated Raider’ in all of TSP. Look at me all evil and shtuff ;P

Heck I was MoFA, Now Im PM. I must be loved owo

(This post was last modified: 10-30-2019, 12:12 AM by Amerion.)

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Last year Lazarus saw some huge changes that have affected the face of the region to this day. These changes were precluded by a coup that shook the NationStates world. After many months of fighting, the illegal government was removed from power and Imkitopia was installed as the new delegate of the region. Many large organizations and regional governments fought together to regain Lazarus's Independence and The South Pacific was by no means a small name in the effort. _______________ was written by the organizations that restored Lazarus to independence in an effort to protect the citizens from the likelihood of another coup in the future while simultaneously giving Lazarus the opportunity to try a more democratic system then they had previously had. Unfortunately, after some time, this document was discarded by Imkitopia in order to give herself more freedom to reconstruct the region in a new way. 

The South Pacific released a statement expressing its displeasure with that move to the relevant parties at the time and while we still believe that those actions were inappropriate, we cannot disregard the positive growth that Lazarus has seen in the past months. Imkitopia and her self appointed team have built a truly wonderful community with a strong theme and a powerful message. Lazarus has been open and friendly in regards to Foreign Affairs pursuits and Imkitopia has been professional with both our government and our citizens. In light of recent dealings we have had with Lazarus, The Cabinet of The South Pacific has unanimously agreed that it is time to recognize Lazcorp as a legitimate foreign power. We are open to any further diplomatic endeavors that they are comfortable with undergoing in light of this change of stance.

Rewrote a bit. I've put some outstanding things to add in green.
 

Last year, the region of Lazarus saw several major upheavals and changes to its government. These changes came in the aftermath of a year-long coup that shook the NationStates world. After many months of fighting, Imkitopia counter-couped the illegal government and allowed the formation of a constitutional convention to set up a new, stable, and democratically-decided system for Lazarus's future. The Peacekeeper Agreement was written by the organizations, including the South Pacific, which helped restore Lazarus to independence in an effort to protect the citizens of Lazarus from the likelihood of another coup in the future and support a stable and thoughtful constitutional convention to its resolution. Unfortunately, after some time, Imkitopia grew frustrated with the Constitutional Convention and discarded this document in order to give herself more freedom to reconstruct the region as she thought best. 

The South Pacific expressed its displeasure with that move at the time [I don't think we ever released a formal statement], and we still are disappointed at her sudden termination of the Convention and installation of a less democratic alternative. However, we cannot disregard the positive growth that has occurred in Lazarus in the past months. Imkitopia and her appointed team have built a strong and increasingly stable community without any major conflicts, and even Lazarene citizens who were previously sceptical of Imkitopia's rule have near-universally stood by the Mandate 12 government post-Convention. [Line about specific things the M12 govt. has done which indicate a progression towards democracy?] The Mandate 12 government of Lazarus has acted nothing but friendly in our informal interactions, and Imkitopia has been professional with both our government and our citizens. In light of recent dealings we have had with Lazarus and the progress we have seen made by the new government, the Cabinet of the South Pacific has unanimously agreed to extend diplomatic recognition to the Corporation of Lazarus under Mandate 12 as the legitimate ruling government of Lazarus. We hope that Lazarus continues to thrive and are open to any further diplomatic endeavors between our two regions.

 

This is the first draft and as such is pretty rough. I'd like to see dates and names included at the very least. I do not have those dates and names and was unfortunately unable to find them. I would like to ask, would we like this to be an official public announcement, or do we want to just pass it to Lazarus and possibly the other regions in which we have Embassies? I'd like to see this released to the tsp public at the very least .

I think, given this is a statement involving another region which we heretofore have had no formal contact with, it would be appropriate to post publically.

~ Aumeltopia ~

Raccoons are bandits! First they steal your food . . . and then your heart/identity!

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Looking back on the history, we never actually posted a statement on this at all. It was drafted and then forgotten in the Timscadian madness that was the last Cabinet term. This means a change of approach.

This is what was drafted.

I propose this alternative draft which is based in part on the Glen Draft #2 from the above document, and in part on what Serres/Somy already put together, plus I added some details where Somy marked it.

In the last few years, Lazarus was subject to several major upheavals and crises. In early 2017, Lazarus fell into civil war. Soon after, the region was subjected to the iron fist of the illegitimate Undead Dominion of Lazarus, which purged dissidents with impunity; in early 2018, the Khanate was instated by those same autocrats who had since turned the senseless banishment of Lazarenes into a recreational sport. Finally, in April of last year, Imkiville forcibly took over the region, prompting an unprecedented pact between six of the remaining eight major GCRs, with the South Pacific in a leading role. The Coalition of The South Pacific’s goals for our involvement in Lazarus was always to help the region realize “a new Lazarus by Lazarenes for Lazarenes,” as envisioned in the Peacekeeper Agreement of April 2018. The Cabinet signed the agreement in the hopes that a constitutional convention would result in a popular government, and that the process would be protected from outside interference by an interim caretaker Delegate.

Unfortunately, the convention did not succeed for many reasons. We sympathize with the frustration at the lack of progress, having gone through a constitutional convention ourselves following a coup. However, we were concerned by Imkiville's decision to put her own constitution in place, without consulting with signatories of the Peacekeeper Agreement prior to her actions. We believe it is important to keep the promises one makes in inter-regional diplomacy, and breaking the Peacekeeper Agreement, in letter or in spirit, instilled doubts about the Delegate’s commitment to diplomacy. As the oldest democracy in NationStates, and given our role and interests in the peacekeeping experiment, we found ourselves in an unenviable position. We decided to withhold judgement on Mandate 12 and the new regime’s ability to garner popular support amongst natives, and instead monitor the developments in Lazarus and reassess our position at a later date.

To our great delight, we have found that our reservations were unfounded, and are seeing positive growth in Lazarus in the past months. Imkiville and her appointed team have built a strong and increasingly stable community without any major conflicts, and even Lazarene citizens who were previously sceptical of Imkiville's rule have come to near-universally stand by the Mandate 12 government. Imkiville has eschewed full rule by fiat in favor of encouraging and prompting healthy debate and democratic decision-making. Rather than appointing personal associates, Imkiville chose to tap into the pool of Lazarenes both old and new, without consideration for their allegiance under previous systems. All of this is consistent with the guiding principle of "a new Lazarus by Lazarenes for Lazarenes", fully in the spirit of the original Peacekeeper Agreement. Furthermore, the government of Lazarus has acted nothing but friendly in our informal interactions, and Imkiville has been both professional and courteous with both our government and our citizens.

In light of recent dealings we have had with Lazarus and the progress we have seen made by the new government, the Cabinet of the South Pacific has unanimously agreed to extend diplomatic recognition to the Corporation of Lazarus under Mandate 12 as the legitimate ruling government of Lazarus. We hope that the future continues to be bright for Lazarus and our long relationship with each other.

(This post was last modified: 01-13-2019, 12:07 AM by Roavin.)

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Thanks for digging through that stuff Roavin!

This is a fantastic expansion of my original post and I can’t really see anything I would change about it from my first read through. I am going to do a more thorough dig once I get home tonight, first impression is really good though.

Greetings, I am The Serres Republic.

Currently 'The Future Greatest and Most Splendid General of All TSP.'

I know you all look forward to when I complete my grand quest ;P.

Official ‘Most Dedicated Raider’ in all of TSP. Look at me all evil and shtuff ;P

Heck I was MoFA, Now Im PM. I must be loved owo

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Since this is based largely on a statement I wrote, I feel the need to write my disagreement for the record.

I would not say our concerns were “unfounded.” They absolutely were founded— Imki couped, and has a history with coups and seeking unlimited power. She says she likes coups, as long as she’s the one doing it. She violated the agreement that allowed her to stay in power in the first place, and she still has ultimate legal authority and flirts with “rule by fiat.” Our concerns were legitimate, and saying they were unfounded means saying TSP was wrong to not recognize Mandate 12 out of the gate. We weren’t wrong and we shouldn’t be saying we were. Her constitution also is not in line with the Peacekeeper Agreement, either in letter or spirit. Why are we shutting on that, too?

This reads like a self-flagellating love letter more than an sober diplomatic statement. We are not friends with Lazarus. Imki hates us. She openly says she hates us. Don’t write a love letter to her, ffs. And definitely don’t write one that shits on the past year of TSP’s FA program. That’s just embarrassing.

This was supposed to be a matter-of-fact statement that Mandate 12 wasn’t going anywhere, and thus regardless of our own feelings on its origin, we would recognize it out of diplomatic pragmatism. What on earth happened to that???

(This post was last modified: 01-13-2019, 06:59 AM by sandaoguo.)

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In the last few years, Lazarus was subject to several major upheavals and crises. In early 2017, Lazarus fell into civil war. Soon after, the region was subjected to the iron fist of the illegitimate Undead Dominion of Lazarus, which purged dissidents with impunity; in early 2018, the Khanate was instated by those same autocrats. Finally, in April of last year, Imkiville forcibly took over the region, prompting an unprecedented pact between six of the remaining eight major GCRs, with the South Pacific in a leading role. The Coalition of the South Pacific’s goals for our involvement in Lazarus was always to help the region realize “a new Lazarus by Lazarenes for Lazarenes,” as envisioned in the Peacekeeper Agreement of April 2018. The Cabinet signed the agreement in the hopes that a constitutional convention would result in a popular government, and that the process would be protected from outside interference by an interim caretaker Delegate.

Unfortunately, the convention did not succeed for many reasons. We sympathize with the frustration at the lack of progress, having gone through a constitutional convention ourselves following a coup. However, we were concerned by Imkiville's decision to put her own constitution in place, without consulting with signatories of the Peacekeeper Agreement prior to her actions. We believe it is important to keep the promises one makes in inter-regional diplomacy, and breaking the Peacekeeper Agreement, in letter or in spirit, instilled doubts about the Delegate’s commitment to diplomacy. As the oldest democracy in NationStates, and given our role and interests in the peacekeeping experiment, we found ourselves in an unenviable position. We decided to withhold judgement on Mandate 12 and the new regime’s ability to garner popular support amongst natives, and instead monitor the developments in Lazarus and reassess our position at a later date.

While we remain disappointed at Imkiville's sudden termination of the democratic Convention, at this point we can no longer ignore the positive growth we are seeing in Lazarus. Imkiville and her appointed team have built a strong and increasingly stable community without any major conflicts, and even Lazarene citizens who were previously sceptical of Imkiville's rule have come to near-universally stand by the Mandate 12 government. Imkiville has eschewed full rule by fiat in favor of encouraging and prompting healthy debate and democratic decision-making. Rather than appointing personal associates, Imkiville chose to tap into the pool of Lazarenes both old and new, without consideration for their allegiance under previous systems. All of this is consistent with the guiding principle of "a new Lazarus by Lazarenes for Lazarenes", fully in the spirit of the original Peacekeeper Agreement. Furthermore, the government of Lazarus has acted nothing but friendly in our informal interactions, and Imkiville has been both professional and courteous with both our government and our citizens.

In light of recent dealings we have had with Lazarus and the progress we have seen made by the new government, the Cabinet of the South Pacific has unanimously agreed to extend diplomatic recognition to the Corporation of Lazarus under Mandate 12 as the legitimate ruling government of Lazarus. We hope that the future continues to be bright for Lazarus and our long relationship with each other.

I made a few edits. This good for a final draft?

~ Aumeltopia ~

Raccoons are bandits! First they steal your food . . . and then your heart/identity!

(This post was last modified: 01-15-2019, 08:50 PM by Somyrion.)

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This is a very good redraft Somy, I can't spot any issues myself after going over it a few times so let me clean it up a bit and give it the cabinet stamp treatment. Please vote here now cabinet members for if this draft of the statement should be released as is. Also, I fixed up a few spelling/punctuation errors.

Greetings, I am The Serres Republic.

Currently 'The Future Greatest and Most Splendid General of All TSP.'

I know you all look forward to when I complete my grand quest ;P.

Official ‘Most Dedicated Raider’ in all of TSP. Look at me all evil and shtuff ;P

Heck I was MoFA, Now Im PM. I must be loved owo

(This post was last modified: 01-16-2019, 02:56 AM by The Serres Republic.)

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The following is a message from The Cabinet of The South Pacific

 

In the last few years, Lazarus was subject to several major upheavals and crises. In early 2017, Lazarus fell into civil war. Soon after, the region was subjected to the iron fist of the illegitimate Undead Dominion of Lazarus, which purged dissidents with impunity; in early 2018, the Khanate was instated by those same autocrats. Finally, in April of last year, Imkiville forcibly took over the region, prompting an unprecedented pact between six of the remaining eight major GCRs, with the South Pacific in a leading role. The Coalition of the South Pacific’s goals for our involvement in Lazarus was always to help the region realize “a new Lazarus by Lazarenes for Lazarenes,” as envisioned in the Peacekeeper Agreement of April 2018. The Cabinet signed the agreement in the hopes that a constitutional convention would result in a popular government, and that the process would be protected from outside interference by an interim caretaker Delegate.

Unfortunately, the convention did not succeed for many reasons. We sympathize with the frustration at the lack of progress, having gone through a constitutional convention ourselves following a coup. However, we were concerned by Imkiville's decision to put her own constitution in place, without consulting with signatories of the Peacekeeper Agreement prior to her actions. We believe it is important to keep the promises one makes in inter-regional diplomacy, and breaking the Peacekeeper Agreement, in letter or in spirit, instilled doubts about the Delegate’s commitment to diplomacy. As the oldest democracy in NationStates, and given our role and interests in the peacekeeping experiment, we found ourselves in an unenviable position. We decided to withhold judgment on Mandate 12 and the new regime’s ability to garner popular support amongst natives, and instead monitor the developments in Lazarus and reassess our position at a later date.

While we remain disappointed at Imkiville's sudden termination of the Democratic Convention, at this point we can no longer ignore the positive growth we are seeing in Lazarus. Imkiville and her appointed team have built a strong and increasingly stable community without any major conflicts, and even Lazarene citizens who were previously skeptical of Imkiville's rule have come to near-universally stand by the Mandate 12 government. Imkiville has eschewed full rule by fiat in favor of encouraging and promoting healthy debate and democratic decision-making. Rather than appointing personal associates, Imkiville chose to tap into the pool of Lazarenes both old and new, without consideration for their allegiance under previous systems. All of this is consistent with the guiding principle of "a new Lazarus by Lazarenes for Lazarenes", fully in the spirit of the original Peacekeeper Agreement. Furthermore, the government of Lazarus has acted nothing but friendly in our informal interactions, and Imkiville has been both professional and courteous with both our government and our citizens.

In light of recent dealings, we have had with Lazarus and the progress we have seen made by the new government, the Cabinet of the South Pacific has unanimously agreed to extend diplomatic recognition to the Corporation of Lazarus under Mandate 12 as the legitimate ruling government of Lazarus. We hope that the future continues to be bright for Lazarus and our long relationship with each other.

Sincerely, The Cabinet of The South Pacific.

Greetings, I am The Serres Republic.

Currently 'The Future Greatest and Most Splendid General of All TSP.'

I know you all look forward to when I complete my grand quest ;P.

Official ‘Most Dedicated Raider’ in all of TSP. Look at me all evil and shtuff ;P

Heck I was MoFA, Now Im PM. I must be loved owo

(This post was last modified: 01-16-2019, 04:41 AM by The Serres Republic.)

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Pedantic Amerion: Please place a paragraph space between the graphic, the title, and the body of text.

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