Do You Hear The People Sing?
25 June 2023
People of Aivintis! Many of you have seen the news. Many of you know of the communications failures in the Templar District of Greater Asluagh. Many of you know the police evacuated the district and, later, the army marched into the Imperial Palace. Now, I have come to tell you that the danger has passed. The actions I took on this day were completely safe. No one was harmed in the temporary silence I brought unto the district. No civilians were harmed in the storming of the palace. The only people to have lost their lives today were armed combatants who refused to surrender. I have taken great care in ensuring the safety of all involved, and now I am here to announce that I will now be charged with ensuring the safety of all of Aivintis.
The raid I conducted on the Imperial Palace was a procedural operation carried out by the military in order to arrest Regent, Chief Minister, and Chief Justice Eduard Stoker for high crimes against the state. The evidence I uncovered of his crimes, due to the nature of this raid, have now been made publicly available in the name of transparency and accountability. Eduard Stoker has been arrested and, now, he has resigned from all offices and transferred power into my hands. As the new Regent of Aivintis, I promise to prosecute Mr Stoker for his innumerable crimes.
I am Regent now, but know that I will not be Regent for long. I hold this office not because I desire it, but because it is necessary for what I truly desire. I will not be the kind of leader Eduard Stoker was. I will not be the kind of leader George Whitcher was. I will do my best not to rule, but to serve. To serve the people of Aivintis, and your wishes for our future. To serve the memory of Empress Mariana Radu, and what she would have wanted for her homeland. To serve the ideals of justice, peace, and freedom that I live by.
Effective immediately, I am reorganising the government of the Aivintian Empire and authorising, through the emergency powers granted to me by the state of emergency we have found ourselves in for the past ten years, the establishment of democracy in Aivintis. I hereby issue an executive order reforming the Senate of Aivintis. Free and fair elections will take place as soon as candidates can prepare themselves and their campaigns for public scrutiny. Furthermore, while I will continue to hold the Office of Regent for as long as it takes to transition into a democratic nation, I will resign from office as soon as I am physically able so that elections may be held, for the first time in Aivintian history, for the Chief Executive office of the nation.
These are big promises, I know. After our history of false promises, illegitimate regimes, and widespread oppression, I understand you may be hesitant to accept that I mean our country the best. However, these are not just promises. You will see, in time, that my actions will speak louder than my words. I will do all I say and more. I will lead by example, I will bow to the will of the people, and I will dedicate my every waking moment to the betterment of our society. My second act to this end, following the re-establishment of the Senate, is to reinstate ALL rights and freedoms afforded by the Constitution. No more will freedom of speech be suspended. No more will the rights of the accused be trampled upon. We will have liberty in our time.
Our country has suffered more than most in the past decade. While our closest allies have enjoyed freedom, we have known only oppression. While the rich and powerful elites of the country have ruled with no regard for the wellbeing of the Aivintian citizen, that Aivintian citizen has suffered poverty, crime, and a lack of faith in their government. Many have left our country seeking greener fields. Most of you stayed, determined to not let their corruption, their WEAKNESS, tear you from the land of your ancestors. I see your bravery and your faith, and it will be rewarded with a brighter day.
We have gone through cycles in our history. The unification of our country under the United Kingdom of Aivintis was followed by the moral depravity and religious extremist fanatics of the Aeternal Empire. The rise of the Radu Dynasty in opposition to this evil was followed by the domination of the Order of Enlightenment of our everyday life. The rise of the Empire, under Emperor Thaddeus, and the freedoms he brought with him, were followed by the Kritarchy, and the selfish acts of our current government. It seems that our past is cyclical. If that is the case, then now is the time for a regime that cares for its people, and protects them and their rights. Yet even still, as history melts into the present Aivintis has trended towards more open and fair governments. I am confident that the Aivintis I will build will be built to last.
The Aivintis of my dreams will be one where all people live free and equal. Without the oppression of the government. I dream of an Aivintis which protects all its people in every way. An Aivintis with a government that does not overreach its authority. An Aivintis with a government that listens to its people. That changes when the people want change. An Aivintis where popular sovereignty is maintained. An Aivintis of democracy and freedom. I dream of an Aivintis which Aivintians can be proud of. I will respect Aivintian business and Aivintian cultural tradition. I will respect the personal freedoms of every person in the nation, and the collective freedoms of minority groups. I will create a nation where competition is encouraged in business and in elections.
Aivintis is changing for the better. Our future is bright, and we need only to work towards it to reach it. We are entering uncharted territory but we are entering it cautiously and gladly, because it is a frontier of freedom. We do it with the spirit of Aivintis in our hearts, with our eyes pointed towards the horizon. And we do it because we must. Because someone has to secure our future. Because someone has to defend our rights. Because someone has to build a better world for ourselves, for our neighbours, and for our children. We must work together because only together can we undo this past decade of misrule and corruption.
The government of Aivintis is unified on this. The most loyal supporters of Chief Justice Stoker, those who cannot bear to see freedom and democracy for our people, have been or will be arrested. Those who have shared in the crimes and sins of the Kritarchy will face justice. Those who stole from our country and murdered our people will face justice. It will not be the justice of the Kritarchy, with its bailouts, half-measures, kangaroo courts, and privileged immunity. It will be true justice. Blind justice. Fair justice. The kind of justice our nation was meant to hold in our hearts and minds as we ruled.
I have spoken to the governors. I have spoken to the Chief Ambassadors. I have spoken to the Trade Councillors. I have spoken to high officials in every part of our government. We agree that it is the time for change. That it is the time for democracy. This is not the declaration of a civil war. This is not the beginning of a revolution. This is the end of one. This is our final result. Today, we have proven that the social contract can still be upheld, that the will of the people can lead to change in the ruling class. We have proven this to ourselves and to the world. Aivintis is a nation of progress.
Enough of words. It is time for action. With the full support of the Aivintian government and people, and with the power granted to me by my office, I hereby declare the end of the Aivintian Empire and the formation of the Greater Republic of Aivintis! Long may our glorious Republic last! Democracy now! Freedom for all! True justice for our people! Thank you all. Now, I must get to work.