Union Media Alliance: News from the Tavari Union

[Acronis]

“Long Overdue”—Diet Legalizes Acronian National Anthem, Advances Mobile Payment Legislation with Enormous Margins

NUVRENON— It was a blockbuster day at the National Diet on Tuesday, and an emotional one, after Delegates across the partisan divide voted by overwhelming margins to approve two landmark measures. In one, the Diet granted fast-track status to legislation proposed by the Prime Minister to legalize mobile payment applications, whose illegality has been decried for years as an example of why the Tavari economy seems to lag behind other developed economies in matters of technology. In the second, the Diet voted almost unanimously to overrule a three-century old court ruling forbidding the public performance of a controversial Akronist hymn, “No Line but Akrona,” which in 2022 the newly-established Acronis selected as its national anthem. While not related to one another, the two items both represent major paradigm shifts in Tavari law and society Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar called “long overdue.”

The Banking Modernisation Act of 2024 was brought by the Prime Minister today to, as she said in brief remarks after the day’s first vote, “rectify a 40-year old error that has, unintentionally, hamstrung an entire generation.” In 1984, a law also called the Banking Modernisation Act championed by famed reformer Bežra Išdašt Tovrenar required Tavari banks to cease using the public telephone network for financial transactions and to set up and maintain their own network, at their expense, by quite literally running new wires from bank to bank. Mobile payment apps—like Debby, PrimPay, BAST RecanPass, and Blast!Pay by BajaTech, all common elsewhere on Urth—were unknown at the time the law was passed, but because the law explicitly forbade using phone networks from carrying financial transactions, they have heretofore been illegal in Tavaris. Tuesday’s “fast-track” motion does not immediately change that, but it does mean the bill will spend far less time in the Diet: the stage of committee deliberation has been waived, allowing the bill to proceed directly to the whole Diet for consideration. Both the Prime Minister’s Irínavi Voi! and the official opposition Socialist Green Party for Democracy voted for the measure, which required and well exceeded a two-thirds majority—not a problem with the two largest blocs in the Diet agreeing, as the measure attained 1,000 votes in favor to just 40 opposed. The bill will require two readings before the house, but the third is almost always a formality, and the Prime Minister estimated that the bill could be in front of the Emperor for Royal Assent “in two weeks or less.”

The Banking Modernisation Act of 1984 is widely considered to have been a poor decision on the part of otherwise generally quite popular Bežra Išdašt Tovrenar, was blamed in part for the 1985 collapse of what was then the largest bank in the country, Western Bank and Trust, and its parent conglomerate the Rundra Group, the largest company of any kind in the country. Ms. Išdašt Tovrenar lost an election later that year, largely due to the fallout from the Rundra Group bankruptcy. Prime Minister Nevran Alandar, who cites Ms. Išdašt Tovrenar as one of her primary political role models, named her legislation after the 1984 law deliberately as a way of correcting what she called “a huge mistake.” “Today’s bill represents real modernisation, true modernisation, and rectifies the huge mistake we made forty years ago. Now, we are one step further away from the analog past and one step closer to the digital future,” said the Prime Minister.

But it was the day’s second vote that gathered the most attention and even brought tears to the eyes of many both in the Diet and watching from the gallery. Her Most Esteemed Beneficence Matron Vana Dandreal was watching as the Diet voted by an even greater margin, 1127-25, to overrule the 1713 court ruling that outlawed the hymn “No Line but Akrona,” using a legal mechanism known as “entrenchment” that, with a two-thirds majority of the Diet, requires the courts to treat the law as equivalent in force to the constitution. The 1713 court ruling was made in the days before Tavaris established its modern judicial system in the 19th century, and was in fact issued by the Chief of Oren in the judicial capacity that was then afforded to all the hereditary Chiefs of each Tavari Line. In those days, Chiefs were responsible for matters of law in their jurisdictions and had the power to organize their own judicial systems on their lands and even sit in judgment themselves. The Chiefs of Oren, based in the Motai region since time immemorial, were long known for what would today be called conservative, right-wing, nationalist, and anti-Akronist politics, and in 1713, Chief Gamdi of Oren ruled that a man arrested for attacking and grievously wounding an Akronist who was singing the song to herself on the street had committed no crime because the song was an “incitement to violence” and “treason.”

At that time, appeals to judicial verdicts issued by Chiefs could be made to the entire body of assembled Chiefs and, after that, to the King. It was the common practice at the time for the Chiefs to select a random handful of their own number as “judicial chiefs” to hear appeals, but both the panel so convened in 1713 and King Kanor IV declined to weigh in on the issue, thus permitting the Chief of Oren’s ruling to stand. Still in the early 18th century, and for more than a century afterward, the population of Akronists outside western Tavaris and the colonies was quite small, less than one in twelve, and there was little pressure on authorities to heed calls for expanding Akronist civil rights. On the contrary, Akronism was morally opposed by most in power at the time, and there was little sympathy for the victim in the case due in no small part to the subject matter of the hymn in question, which was and by some still is considered deeply objectionable.

“No Line but Akrona” dates to the year 1495, the peak of a mass Akronist social, political, and religious movement called by some a rebellion or revolution known as Line Akrona. Dating to about two decades before then, the Line Akrona movement called upon Akronists to shun all association with any previous Line or Chief but instead to swear allegiance only to the goddess Akrona. Members cast aside their former identities and preached a message of egalitarianism, with all equal under Akrona. The institution of the Lines and their Chiefs were already well-entrenched in Tavari society, culture, and most relevantly, law by that time—the Chiefs enforced most law, and to defy allegiance to a Chief was to claim immunity from the law and, as many followers of the Tavat Avati saw it, defy religious and cultural norms and stand in opposition to the King and to everything that made the Tavari, the Tavari. Outrage led to brutal violence by agents of many of the Chiefs and the King, with Kings Vonar I and Zaram I sending soldiers to the west on multiple occasions with deliberate instructions to kill Akronists and destroy their homes and temples. The hymn “No Line but Akrona” was written by the movement’s most famed leader, Davras Akrona Retkonar (born Davras Nuvo Retkonar) to be sung in battle with the forces of the King, and while the song’s message of equality under Akrona is deeply meaningful and important to Akronists, this legacy of violent defiance to the King rendered the song outrageous to the Avatidar-dominated society of the time and has been controversial to many ever since.

There was no outrage at the Diet today, but there were many tears. Dozens of Akronist Diet Delegates openly wept as the bill was voted upon. After the measure passed, the Prime Minister again stepped outside to give remarks to the media, herself with misty eyes, alongside not only the Matron but His Esteemed Majesty Emperor Otan IV of the Tavari, who stood side-by-side with the two women and joined them and a crowd of Akronist faithful who gathered around them to sing the song. It was only then, as the King of Tavaris, with a smile on his face and with his whole chest, sang “we have no Line but Akrona,” that the Matron herself began to weep. That the Emperor—who is Spiritual Head of the Tavat Avati Shrine Association—sang along is certain to be controversial to many and enraging to some, but at the Diet on Tuesday, one could almost pretend it wouldn’t be.

A reporter from the right-wing media outlet Chronicle of the Tavari asked the Emperor if he “knew what [he] was doing.” “I am not afraid to sing a song,” the Emperor responded plainly. He continued: “There is nothing wrong with singing an Akronist hymn. There is nothing wrong with Akronism. Tavaris, the Tavari Union, and the entire world are made better by the presence of Akronists and Akronism. My ancestors are part of why our society has failed, for generations, to welcome and honour our Akronist family members, friends, and neighbours. As our Diet has corrected a mistake today, so shall I. I am proud to be a member, and the Chief, of Line Nuvo, but to those whose hearts name Akrona their Chief, I encourage you today, and all days, to sing your truth.”

[Acronis]

BREAKING: EMPEROR OTAN IV SHOT IN THE ROYAL PALACE, RUSHED TO HOSPITAL

NUVRENON– Emperor Otan IV has been shot and wounded, the Silver Court reported Tuesday evening, and has been rushed to the hospital. Information on which hospital, and specific details about the Emperor’s injury and prognosis, were not publicly released.

Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar is “actively following the situation and guiding the government response,” according to the Office of the Prime Minister. The OPM statement indicated “no active shooter is at large” and stressed that “there is no threat to the community from an active shooter at this time.” However, unusually, the Royal Tavari Army—not the Marshalls—have been deployed to Palace Square and assembled a perimeter around the Royal Palace. “The Army has been called to ensure the security of the Silver Court and to address the current situation,” said the OPM statement.

The shooting occurred only hours after the Emperor joined Matron Vana Dandreal and Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar at the National Diet to sing the Acronian national anthem, a controversial Akronist hymn, which the Diet today voted to legalize.

More on this situation as it develops…

[Acronis]

President Shtonar Talakar is Cheating on His Wife—and Using State Resources to Conceal Evidence

ACRUNI– One cannot blame the President of Metradan for feeling stressed these days. It is inarguable that Shtonar Talakar is perhaps the busiest President of Metradan, and the one under the most pressure, since Ontran Vedendi abolished the Marshalls in 1991. In the north, the entire Cescolian community has been stunningly united in a months-long campaign of political and economic resistance, boycotting the use of the Tavari našdsat in a mass movement that no one expected could last as long as it has. Relations with Cescolia, never chummy, are at their lowest point in decades, as the massive increase in demand for the Cescolian Aureo in Metradan has wreaked havoc on the exchange rate and is placing inflationary pressure on Cescolia’s economy. All the while, the Cescolians of Zampanea are ratcheting up public pressure on demands not just for civil rights but for political autonomy within Metradan, said to be the subject of long-running but highly secretive talks between President Talakar and the de facto leader of Metradan’s ethnic Cescolian community, Delegate Niballo Gargiulio, leader of the political party Zampana.

Yet more talks, just as quiet and just as apparently unproductive, have been taking place in presumably smoky rooms at the Tavari Union headquarters in Anarís on such matters as the Tavari Union Postal Service, the Trans-Cerenerian telecommunications cable, and the governance of Metrati Anar, all of which are sorely delayed in their resolution. Because Metradan holds the annually rotating Presidency of the Tavari Union, President Talakar is responsible for setting the agenda of the Union Council, and is the Union’s primary representative in foreign affairs, meaning the President’s time has been taken up by matters like sanctions on places as far flung as Sayyed and East Atalandr, and a trade agreement with Vistaraland that has been hung up for months. And in recent days, there have been unconfirmed but persistent rumours that President Talakar is now involved in negotiations with the Church of Akrona to restore the community of Metradani Akronists into good standing with the mother church of Akronism—a matter even the Packilvanians are beginning to comment on.

According to extensive evidence reviewed by the Daily—paper records, text messages, recorded phone calls, and testimony from whistleblowers, kept anonymous to protect their privacy—President Talakar has been handling his stress in a fashion most unbecoming of the highest office in the land. For nearly a year, Shtonar Talakar has been secretly seeing Balendra Tolovil, the CEO of Avanar, Metradan’s largest phone company, and using state resources—spending government money and diverting the work of government employees—to conceal his activity and to illicitly reward the people who helped him. From trysts in government offices that required cleanup afterward, to diverting flights of the state plane to pick up gifts for his mistress, to lavish dinners and parties paid for with campaign donations, not just the President but several high-level officials in the Akronist Democrats party are implicated in wrongdoing not just immoral but demonstrably illegal.

First round elections for the Presidency are in three days. So are elections for the Diet. Shtonar Talakar and his Akronist Democrats have been solidly in the lead, but today’s revelations have the possibility of blowing the race wide open.

Shtonar Talakar is 61 years old, and he has been married to his wife Bedi for 37 of them. Bedi Mentasi Talakar was a photographer who occasionally modelled in cigarette advertisements when she first met her future husband, a law student at the University of Nezhendris. Bedi stayed at home and raised the couple’s two children while her husband started his legal career, supporting him as he entered politics in the early 1990s—first the Nezhendris Province Legislature in 1992, and then the National Diet in 2004. As First Lady of Metradan, Bedi Talakar has been noted for overseeing a renovation and redecoration of the Presidential Residence widely praised by designers, art critics, and the public, and hailed for hosting successful state visits from Arlavia, the Federation of the Southern Coast, Norgsveldet, Tretrid, Vakrestrender, and Ymirland—a record for the most in a single term. While she has been dutifully at work for her unelected, unpaid job coordinating the household of the head of state, the President has been spending tax nashdat and našdat on a mistress who was not even born when he married his wife.

36-year-old Balendra Tolovil is the youngest CEO in the 125-year history of Avanar, which for the country’s entire independent history has been essentially the only landline telephone company in Metradan. Only in recent decades have mobile phones begun chipping into Avanar’s dominance, and Ms. Tolovil has been praised by investors and industry leaders for turning around Avanar’s declining fortunes by expanding cell phone service offerings and securing more government contracts as an Internet Service Provider—contracts which are now certain to be reviewed for impropriety. She was a guest at the state dinner with King Olav I of Norgsveldet last January (from whose country, incidentally, comes the Jotun phone now exclusively sold by Avanar in Metradan.) However, as one of the country’s largest ISPs, Avanar is highly involved in maintaining the Trans-Cerenerian Cable—and it is through this connection that the relationship definitively began in earnest, according to an anonymous high level staffer of the Akronist Democrats party.

“There was a roundtable with telecom industry leaders last July about the Cable because the Union wants to transfer it to Union ownership along with the former TavariPost as part of a proposed ‘Tavari Communications Union.’ The meeting went terribly but Shtonar and Balendra stayed hours later than everyone else, and then they got dinner, and then I was told that I needed to get a hotel room somewhere at short notice and to use the discretionary account the party has for special events to pay for it,” said the staffer. After “three or four” similar trysts in the weeks after, that fund soon became exhausted. “That was when they told me to start using campaign donations.”

It should be noted that, while marital infidelity is not a crime in Metradan, funds donated to political parties are strictly regulated and can only lawfully be used for the purpose stated by the party when accepting the funds. Using a special events fund for a hotel room for “unexpected overnight negotiations” might exist in a legal grey area, if one has the right lawyer, but using campaign funds for that purpose is unambiguously illegal, especially considering the 2024 campaign season had not officially begun by that point and Shtonar Talakar was not even campaigning for anything. This alone is cause for an investigation and could be grounds for removal from office, but it is only the beginning.

Six different interns and Akronist Democrat staffers report being in the Presidential state car on several occasions when Talakar asked to divert from the planned route to stop at various seemingly random places for an hour or so each time—including hotels, restaurants, and in one case, an office building for the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources that was closed at the time. Each time, President Talakar is said to have said only that he had a “meeting” with an unspecified individual. There are no witnesses to these meetings and no one to say who else may have been at these locations, but at the ENR office building, one staffer reports that President Talakar requested they order a “cleaning crew” and specifically stated “keep it discreet.” Such a cleaning crew can cost thousands of našdat (or hundreds of dollars) and must be paid out of government budgets. This cost, however, pales in comparison to the charge to the state incurred when, in October, President Talakar ordered the Presidential plane to land at Avatan, instead of Acruni as scheduled, to purchase a particular bottle of rum. “Every additional monai in the plane costs the taxpayer thousands of našdat, not to mention the costs of unloading the limo and the motorcade, and then he drives the whole thing to some fancy wine shop to purchase a single bottle of rum that cost 144,000 našdat ($2,793.60 SHD),” said one staffer. “And I’ll say this—the first lady’s birthday is in May and he certainly didn’t make any purchases like that then.”

On the note of gifts, one thing nearly everyone to whom the Daily mentioned repeatedly was the President’s habit of taking people out to very expensive dinners. “One thing Shtonar will always do when he visits a Diet Delegate in their district, which he’s been doing five or six times a week since the first of the year, is take the Delegate out to eat and pay for it out of the party’s fund for legislative outreach. Now, Shtonar doesn’t come from money and used to be he was good for picking an entry-level sit-down place, usually just a slightly fancy pizza joint, for dinners with Delegates. If it’s an opposition party Delegate, he always goes for fish-and-chips. But ever since these mysterious unscheduled ‘meetings’ started, he’s been picking just absolutely out-of-your-mind expensive places, like… dozens of tiny plates with drizzles of sauce for a hundred thousand našdat per plate type places. He’ll get these Delegates two or three bottles of wine, he’ll get two courses of dessert, then he’ll get after-dinner drinks for hours. He’s done this like six, eight times since the first of the year, a couple of times even for Liberals, and he’s always doing it in places where he had these meetings. Couldn’t be more obvious he’s paying back these Delegates for, like, finding him good spots to boink his mistress,” said one anonymous official close to the Office of the President.

Said a second staffer: “In November in Nezhendris, the President had one of those meetings of his at a casino. I’m not gonna say whose casino because I don’t want to sleep with any fishes, but I will say that just last week he took that district’s Delegate out for dinner at the most insanely expensive, like, Mexregionan-Packilvanian fusion place, and then afterward they got coffee at a Qayami place that had solid gold cups where getting milk and sugar costs more than I make in a year. Shtonar used to be smart and not mess around with the mob, but when you get casinos and nice gifts involved, I don’t know what else it can be. It’s a real shame. He was never like this before he met that woman.”

It is not unusual for politicians to meet and discuss business over dinner, and as such it is not necessarily illegal to use funds earmarked for “legislative outreach” for these purposes—as long as that is actually what the funds are being used for. However, using regulated political party funds for “quid-pro-quo” exchanges of favours and calling it legislative outreach when it isn’t is illegal. At the very least, using regulated funds to give gifts to politicians has the appearance of impropriety and places significant doubt on the President’s activities and motivations for them. The Office of the Presidency strenuously denied any impropriety on the part of President Talakar, but notably did not make him available for a direct interview.

“At no time whatsoever has the President ever bribed anyone, ever ordered anyone to bribe anyone, and has never, ever intentionally ordered the illegal expenditure of regulated funds. At no time whatsoever has the President diverted state resources to cover up any sort of secret activity. The Office of the Presidency will not even comment on the salacious rumours [the Daily] is alleging, as they are entirely without merit and entirely baseless gossip. President Talakar is laser-focused on the issues of the day, including outreach with our Cescolian community, outreach to the Tavari Union, modernising our military, combating organised crime, and keeping more money in our nation’s pocketbooks. Gossip like this is nothing but crass politicking of the lowest order,” said a statement from the Office of the Presidency.

“Avanar enjoys its good working relationship with the government of Metradan, and our meetings with government officials including but not limited to the President of Metradan and members of the Council of the Tavari Union are always above-board, always conducted with nothing except the best interest of the Metradani people at heart. We do not illegally influence politicians, we do not arrange shadowy ‘meetings’, and we do not have any knowledge of any sort of affair between our CEO and the President,” said a statement from Avanar’s Chief of Public Relations, Dana Mebemda.

“We take all reports of crimes, including ethical and campaign violations, very seriously, and will as we always do faithfully and carefully investigate these reports. If true, these represent serious accusations,” said a statement from Police Ambulance and Fire District 6 (known by the Tavari acronym “ACAB”), the regional law enforcement agency in Acruni. A request for comment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has responsibility for investigating and sanctioning wrongdoing by high level government officials including the President and members of the Cabinet, was not returned.

With the election only days away, it is certain that no official resolution to any of these questions will be ready before voting begins. With President Talakar having been leading the race, however, opposition politicians clearly smell blood in the water. Del. Niballo Gargiulio came out swinging against the President in a statement, saying “Yet again, term after term, generation after generation, we see the Metradani government show its true colours and engage in disgusting, blatant corruption. We cannot and will not let this stand. Metradani people of all stripes, no matter their language or their species, can smell how bad this stinks. Shtonar Talakar must resign in shame. The people of Metradan should not stand idly by and allow these corrupt politicians funnel their hard-earned tax money into illegal activities and covering up their improper activities. This is an insult to all of us good people. Ordinary working men and women in Metradan don’t go around charging taxpayers thousands to cover up their affairs and take their friends out to lavish dinners. Already we knew our country is a failure. Now there is no excuse for anyone, Tavari or Cescolian, to support this rotting, stinking government.”

“If true, these allegations are immeasurably disappointing and deeply distressing, not just from a religious standpoint but from the standpoint of a citizen,” said Priestess Manda Botoca, a spokeswoman for the Union of Independent Akronist Temples of Metradan. “We are a young organisation with an uncertain future as we are still in negotiations with our mother church, and we have depended on the support of our President to ensure we are able to continue properly serving the needs of our community and providing essential community services such as food banks, health clinics, homeless shelters, and schools. We, like all Metradani, need a government and a President that follow the law and work for good, not for themselves. We pray that, if these allegations are true, Akrona leads everyone involved to a place of goodness, understanding, and love, but most importantly, to justice.”

Del. Gargiulio has announced a rally against corruption in Argiento, and several Akronist temples in major cities are planning candlelight vigils “in prayer for the soul of our country.” At press time, more than twelve Diet Delegates have called upon the President to resign. “#ResignShtonar and #ShtonarItak (a Tavari language term meaning, approximately, “Cancel Shtonar”) is now trending on Pigeon in Metradan. Political corruption and scandal are not necessarily unusual in Metradan, a country that inherited a culture of backroom dealing, quid-pro-quos, and bribery from a Tavari society that inculcated these as values to be celebrated for centuries. What happens from here is anyone’s guess—Metradani politicians have lost their careers for less, and escaped unscathed for more—but some things are certain: in today’s modern, connected age, keeping secrets is hard, news spreads fast, and it’s easier than ever to get others to hear what you have to say. President Talakar has yet to comment himself, but every moment he does not, the people of Metradan are commenting, thinking, and making judgments. Whatever the truth ends up being, one thing is sure: one way or another, the people will have their say.

[Acronis]

Strange Documents Leaked from Ministry of Constitutional Affairs Call For Radical Expansion of Elatana into Federation with Racatrazi, Ilarís

ARKTORÍS- Documents that appear to have been created by staff within the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and the Independence Transition, bearing “working draft” labels dated between December 2022 and January 2024, appear to show that there is under consideration a plan to entirely reorganise and dramatically expand the Kingdom of Elatana to include both Racatrazi and Ilarís in a federation that would “inherit and repatriate every constitutional, treaty, and legal obligation from the Kingdom of Tavaris in the Concordian Ocean region,” including ultimately in UCA membership. The documents appeared Sunday evening on a file-sharing server used by the government to share documents and files with the media and may have been sent inadvertently along with another document from the same ministry, unrelated in nature but with a similar file name, that was sent in response to an Observer freedom of information request. The documents are not marked as classified or secret in any way, nor are there any markings indicating the file is not for public release, and as such, it is entirely legal for the documents to be read and disseminated.

The documents appear to be two drafts of a proposed permanent constitution for Elatana, replacing the provisional constitution in Title II of the Ranat Accords, with the first draft dated December 2022 and the second, substantially similar but with several changes, January 2024. Both drafts are annotated with notes from the author in several places denoting the intent behind various provisions, all of them signed “T.” There is no other indication of authorship. The filenames of the documents imply that they are exhibits submitted to the Constitutional Repatriation Working Group, a committee within the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs tasked with finalising a draft constitution to be brought before voters in a referendum, which Prime Minister Tevri Kantõsi Nolandar has promised “no later than 2027.” The committee did not respond to requests for comment on this article, and according to its website, has not held a scheduled public meeting since February.

One of the most radical proposals appears in both drafts unchanged: the incorporation of Racatrazi into Elatana with the status of “equal subject in federation” with Elatana and North Elatana, the former North Elatana Autonomous Zone consisting of most of Elatana’s ethnic Alkari population. Such a change would end Racatrazi’s more than 116 years of independence. The first draft also includes Greater Ilarís as an equal subject in this federation, which would entail it leaving the Union of Free Cities, but the second draft changes this, leaving Ilarís as a mandate within the UFC but transitioning the holder of the mandate from the monarchy in right of Tavaris to the monarchy in right of Elatana—in other words, making Queen Elarai the Lady Patron of Ilarís. “T” notes that “there are benefits to Ilarís remaining outside the official boundaries,” but does not detail what those benefits are. The annotations are more clear about Racatrazi, with “T” saying “Racatrazi is small and poor, and would benefit from connection to a larger economy, but is simply drowned and overwhelmed by Tavaris. Partnering with Elatana represents the same stability and prospect for generating economic growth as partnering with Tavaris but is small enough that the effects can actually be mutual. We share the same legacy of having been the outermost edges of Tavari colonialism. Our laws, language, and infrastructure were all designed the same way. Elatana, unlike Tavaris, has a long history of respecting the autonomy and sovereignty of the separate nations among our people. There is nothing to lose, and everything to gain.”

“Never in twelve million years will anything even remotely like this ever occur. This proposal is laughable in its ridiculousness and would have been a complete and total waste of my time had I not enjoyed laughing at it so much,” said Korsta Æn, the Chief Administrator of Racatrazi. “The independence, sovereignty, and republican character of Racatrazi are not up for debate.” Political observers also note that the Tavari Union, which is a political and economic bloc far weaker than a federation, is already unpopular in Racatrazi, and as such its population is unlikely to accept integration with Elatana. “The level of integration we have now is already straining Racatrazi’s politics. They are still openly resisting their legal obligation to transition to the Tavari Našdat, and of late there has been debate about Tavari Union fishers in Racatrazi waters—the jaguar’s share of which are Elatanan. Put simply, they want fewer Elatanans around, not more. One can make theoretical arguments all day, but there is simply no appetite in Racatrazi for something like this,” said Dr. Telra Navandri Tõno, a professor of political science at the University of Elatana at Arktorís.

The situation is similar in Ilarís, though it is actually only after the more recent draft was written that the circumstances there have changed so much. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Emperor Otan IV, who is Lord Patron of Ilarís, the government of Greater Ilarís was closely involved in providing security to the Emperor after his previous security staff attempted to assassinate him. In recent months the constitutional relationship Greater Ilarís has with the Tavari monarchy has come to the forefront and, to the surprise of many, public sentiment shows strong favour for Otan personally and for maintaining the territory’s status quo as a self-governing territory within the UFC with a ceremonial figurehead. “In contrast to Racatrazi, where opposition to this sort of ‘pan-Tavarism,’ if you want to call it that, or perhaps ‘Tavari unionism,’ is so strong that it all but precludes even integration with just Elatana, Ilarís’ sudden wave of support for it means that they have no desire to break away from Tavaris for our sake,” said Dr. Navandri Tõno, who leads her university’s Tavari Post-Colonialism Institute. “These leaked drafts imply some sort of common cause between all these former Tavari holdings in the east simply because they are former Tavari holdings, but in reality the situations in Racatrazi and Greater Ilarís are completely different.”

“On the contrary to what these drafts imply, and I must emphasise they do appear to be only drafts that weren’t released intentionally, and I presume this is simply one proposal among many, Ilarís actually has much more in common with its fellow mandates, with whom we share centuries of history and with whom we stood in solidarity during the Great War when the imperialist system that created us resoundingly failed us,” said Hõmora Medoca, the Chief Administrator of Greater Ilarís. “Whoever wrote this certainly had good intentions, I am sure, but this proposal does not reflect reality. Greater Ilarís is not seeking any changes to its constitutional status at this time. And if that ever happens to change, it will be Utopiya who knows first, and the Tavari Union second.”

Both drafts share one major change from current Elatanan law: the “Federation of Elatana” is to have a military. In the Tavari constitutional tradition, the monarch will be entirely removed from the military and the President of the Federation—analogous to a Prime Minister at the federal level—to be the Commander-in-Chief. The annotations in both drafts say that “the eventual goal is for Elatana to assume all former Tavari obligations in the Concordian Ocean region. The UCA was initially conceived as a fundamentally Concordian Ocean-based organisation. It is natural for the Federation of Elatana to work toward assuming Tavari membership in the UCA as a successor state in that respect, assuming military commitments in the region, once our military becomes large enough.”

The Office of the Prime Minister of Tavaris declined comment for this article. However, Sir Antavo Telan Dõvrašta, the Tavari Permanent Representative to the Union of Commonwealth Alliances, issued a written statement saying “In order for Elatana to succeed Tavaris, Tavaris would have to cease. Tavaris remains. Elatana has no military and is neither a member nor observer in the UCA. The populations of Elatana, Greater Ilarís, and Racatrazi combined are less than 11 million, with a total GDP less than 300 billion SHD, which would rank them under Lokania. This is not a serious proposal.”

One group that received much less attention than others in the drafts are the Alkari. Both drafts include identical language describing North Elatana as an “equal subject” in the federation, but annotations also say that “North Elatana” is a “placeholder name, subject to change upon conferral with Autonomous Zone officials.” That the placeholder name appears in both drafts would suggest that even over two years, the author did not ever manage to do so. The proposals appear to primarily carry over the same legal text regarding North Elatana as currently exists. The government of the North Elatana Autonomous Zone replied in an unsigned statement that it “has no comment on this speculative proposal of dubious origin.”

The Elatanan Office of the Prime Minister strongly rebuked the Observer for reporting on the documents at all, saying “these are very obviously unintended for public viewing and represent incomplete and out of context materials being used by the members of the Constitutional Repatriation Working Group in their planning stages,” said the unsigned written statement. “The Government of the Kingdom of Elatana will take all steps to investigate and, if need be, prosecute this leak of non-public data.” When asked how the document could be considered “non-public” if it was not marked as such, the Office did not respond to request for comment. The Office of the Attorney General of Elatana declined to comment when asked what laws shielded these documents from public release.

It is clear that the documents represent only one plan, but it is entirely unclear how popular the idea is within the Constitutional Affairs ministry, or what alternatives to it are being considered. Prime Minister Tevri Kantõsi Nolandar has said in the past that he intends for the process of drafting a new, permanent constitution for Elatana to not be quick, and that he intends to “take the time to do it right.” So far the process has been very opaque, with this apparently accidental release being the public’s only glimpse into what the Constitutional Repatriation Working Group has been considering. Given the resounding disapproval from just about every stakeholder involved, it is extraordinarily unlikely that this plan will move forward, but the government of Elatana has refused to rule it out, saying “This and many other drafts with many other ideas are being considered, and we will not wholesale remove any idea from mere consideration just because it seems unorthodox. Something being placed before the committee to be looked at doesn’t mean it’s a path we will eventually pursue, but it would be irresponsible to close a door before we have even looked at it. Ultimately, it is the people who will decide how we proceed.”

[Acronis]

1 June 2024

Onward… Together? PM Sees Support Implode, But Likely to Retain Top Spot

Results for the National Diet of the Kingdom of Tavaris. Parties are sorted left-to-right in order of total seat count and are not ordered by government or opposition status, which is yet to be determined. Full results are at the bottom of this article.

NUVRENON– If the Tavari people sought decisive answers from Saturday’s election, they will be disappointed, for there are none to be found. Support for Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar’s party Irínavi Voi! (“Onward Together!,” IV) collapsed but still retained the top spot, falling 201 seats to 358, while nearly every other party saw increases, leaving the Diet more evenly divided than ever before in history. IV’s 358 seats is the smallest that the largest party in the Diet has ever been, and there are no fewer than five other parties that reached 96 seats and attained “major party” status, an unprecedented feat. Coalition governments are not unknown in Tavari politics, especially since the Great War, but the diffuse vote means that, for the first time, it will require more than two parties to assemble a majority. What will follow from here is, for Tavaris, uncharted territory.

It is most likely, but not certain, that when the dust settles, Žarís Nevran Alandar will remain Prime Minister. If this occurs, Mrs. Nevran Alandar, who first ascended to the country’s highest political office without a vote as the Deputy Prime Minister when Sir Shano Tuvria resigned, is likely to become the first Tavari Prime Minister in history to be re-elected twice. It must be admitted that this is an accomplishment, as is the fact that she has retained the largest party status at all, but these are small victories—both of the Diets she led lasted 2 years or less, and a Diet as divided as this one offers little guarantee of lasting any longer. Mrs. Nevran Alandar led a campaign quite high on substance but short on style, with her campaign launch video on a hovercraft owned by her ultra-wealthy cousin widely panned as an out-of-touch boondoggle after it led to travel delays for hundreds seeking passage across the Strait of Kings while the videographers demanded retakes and ended up producing a video which showed, as one Pigeon user said, “the Prime Minister boldly sailing away from Nuvrenon, hopefully never to return.” Her promises to boost tourism and economic competitiveness through several government programmes designed to combat “Analogue Tavaris” resonated with her core supporters—young professionals and centrist suburbanites—but appears to have caused the eyes of most in the public to glaze over and seek other parties with flashier messages.

The second largest faction in the Diet will be The Liberals (Vat Vokaσattidari, VV), who are on 178 seats, their best result since 2015. Up 49 seats from the end of the last Diet and 119 since 2021, Tavaris’ oldest political party is on a well-established upswing after merging with breakaway elements of Žarís’ Nevran Alandar’s party and the minor party Republican Alternative as well as electing a new leader. Henda Lanaš Bettõndra, heir to the billionaire Otan Lanaš Bettõndra who owns the Blõ television network and Premier Rugby Tavaris, was only the second non-Diet Delegate ever elected president of The Liberals, but his barnstorming win in Line Lanaš not only gets him in the legislature, it restores a Liberal to the seat held not too long ago by the Communist architect of Acronian secession, Atra Metravar. VV took back several other seats that were long their safe territory but had been lost to other parties in recent years, such as Lines Vidas, Randrar, and Udrovi, but most notably Line Nuvo, which will now be represented in the Diet by the richest man in Tavaris, Toran Nuvo Ranzalar, who “came out” as a Liberal this election after having publicly supported Green Tavaris his entire adult life.

“What we are seeing tonight across Tavaris is a correction, a correction against the powers-that-be, and it is being done through the power of the people,” said Mr. Nuvo Ranzalar, a multi-billionaire who owns the country’s largest auto manufacturer, lithium mining firm, and media company, in a speech to supporters in Nuvrenon. (Ranzalar Holdings is the Union Media Alliance’s parent company.) “Tavari people are standing up and demanding action on national security, demanding a government that stands up for law enforcement rather than in their way, demanding an end to wasteful deficit spending and the constant shovelling of taxpayer money into frivolous vanity projects and namby-pamby feel-good hogwash like diversity initiatives. This is a message to Žarís Nevran Alandar: step back and listen!” Needless to say, The Liberals stand far apart from Irínavi Voi, and building a coalition is expected to present a significant challenge.

Ostensibly, an easier coalition partner is in Ítan Ladrena (For Democracy, ÍL), whose 134 seats represent a 9 seat loss compared to the end of the last Diet. These are the social democrats and most centre-leaning among the centre-left, the rump of what was once the Socialist Green Party for Democracy (ÍLKES), the truly massive-tent leftward mega-coalition formed in the leadup to the 2022 elections when Acronian independence blew a massive hole in the Tavari political left. Žarís Nevran Alandar at times seemed to find it easier to work with ÍLKES than her own confidence-and-supply partners at times, passing a major reform to the Silver Court and introducing legislation to legalise mobile payment services with ÍLKES support. ÍL leader Kolai Šandra Vencrandíl has hinted at being open to a coalition with IV, emphasising often on the campaign trail that she had “proudly worked closely with the Prime Minister many times.” However, IV and ÍL combined hold only 492 seats, 85 short of a majority, and finding those Delegates is a major challenge because of the nature of ÍLKES’ messy divorce.

The two predecessor parties of ÍLKES themselves had plenty of inherent factionalism—before ÍLKES was the Socialist Party for Democracy, a fractious alliance of socialist democrats and democratic socialists that were so prone to infighting they could not even appoint a single leader to serve as Deputy Prime Minister when they were junior partners in a coalition under Shano Tuvria’s Democratic National Party in 2017. The socialists broke apart into those two factions when they broke off ÍLKES, producing Ítan Ladrena and the democratic socialist and labour movement-aligned Kranσazdi Hamobetar (KH), which has alternately translated its name as the Workers’ Party and the Labour Party. But the green half of ÍLKES broke in two as well, with Green Tavaris (Tavarís Etravi, TE), holding itself to be the same exact centrist green party as has governed Tavaris on a handful of occasions since the 1970s, and Urth (Nezonís, NE), an explicitly left-wing environmentalist faction that has also taken a strong pro-nuclear energy stance. These four parties, who as recently as this year were nominally all comrades and compatriots in one party, are now all bitterly opposed to one another after, it would seem, negotiations and discussions with one another as their party collapsed turned personal. As a result, KH has outright refused to work with ÍL, and neither green party will agree to join a coalition with the other.

KH party president Gabradi Novar Etta is not a member of the Diet but serves in the Enaro Tavar Legislative Council representing Good Harbour. He told a crowd of supporters on Saturday “Only one political party in this Diet has the real interests of real workers at heart, and we will not compromise on our vision and our goals. Unless the Prime Minister agrees to stand with us 100%, she will stand against us in opposition.” Of the party’s 126 seats, about 60 are in Lines traditionally associated with the Tavari northeast, a region of the country long associated with economic decline after its industrial capacity was destroyed in the Great War and by and large never rebuilt. KH’s message appears to have resonated strongly among working class voters, and their association with labour unions has placed them at loggerheads with the Prime Minister, who has been no friend of unions in political office. The party also seems to skew Akronist, picking up several Akronist Lines across the country that had been prime targets for Mõzba, the New Communist Party, though like every political party this election, the party took pains to emphasise that it was welcoming of all religious backgrounds and did not plant any flags in traditional political Akronist causes.

The party Urth might otherwise be a good partner for Mrs. Nevran Alandar who, like them, is quite keen on nuclear power. It is led by Del. Devra Šonai Nadevra, who like her predecessor Shano Tuvria is strongly associated with Tavaris Central University, the largest university in the country by undergraduate enrollment, and of the party’s 60 seats, more than half are also strongly associated with universities and other communities dominated by younger people. NE picked up several Lines in the southwest around Dravai that had previously been reliable performers for Irínavi Voi and the Democratic National Party, undercutting some of their urban support, but largely failed in most of their target seats due in large part to the generally staunch Akronist opposition to nuclear power. With only 60 seats, NE is not overly helpful to the Prime Minister in her electoral calculus, and aligning with it would earn her the outright ire of the much larger TE. And NE has sparred with the Prime Minister on a handful of occasions, strongly opposing lithium mining in Nandrat and demanding massive new taxes on aircraft and watercraft fuel that Mrs. Nevran Alandar has called “absolute non-starters.”

Another party that failed to make much inroads is Mõzba, whose emergence onto the political scene last year made waves in Dravai Province but has so far been largely unable to reproduce that success elsewhere. 49 seats is certainly not insignificant, but at that size and with so many other options, it is almost certain that the Communists will not play any role in government talks and are unlikely to be highly influential in the opposition, either. An overwhelming share of their target seats were taken by KH and NE, leaving the Communists with a small core of seats based largely in the Dravai and Nandrat urban areas. “It is clear that the road to rebuilding the Communist movement in Tavaris will take time,” said Mõzba party president and Dravai Province First Councillor Madra Hendrex, who stated to supporters she is “not going anywhere” and “is in it for the long haul to show Tavaris that a better world is possible for Tavari of all faiths and all walks of life.”

The real jaguar in the room for the Prime Minister is the Tavari National Party (Kranσazdi Danvi Tavari, KDT), whose rise to third-largest bloc in the Diet is nothing short of groundbreaking. On 136 seats, up a full 119 from the end of the last Diet, KDT is now a force to be reckoned with. New party president Tazena Oren Inzar, the so-called “Chief of Oren,” has been nothing short of a charismatic firebrand in her campaign, in which she did not hold back at attacking the Prime Minister, despite her party’s nominal two years of alignment with IV in a confidence-and-supply agreement. Ms. Oren Inzar, 40, is the youngest Delegate of Oren ever elected, and her election returns KDT to its historically leading seat—there have been several Diets where the only KDT delegate was that of Line Oren. KDT saw support increase in the northeast, long its secondary bastion outside Motai Province in the south, but also in places it rarely sees support, such as suburban Nuvo Province and the cosmopolitan southeast coast. Deputy Prime Minister Vakar Nelandri Venat lost his delegacy to a KDT cousin, marking the first time Line Nelandri has been held by a party other than IV or its predecessor Democratic National Party since the Great War.

KDT has not explicitly ruled out a coalition with IV, but Ms. Oren Inzar has laid out conditions Mrs. Nevran Alandar will need to meet that would be a tall order for any Prime Minister to accept: “After years of Žarís delaying and ignoring her promises to us, we are going to demand real commitment to real support for Tavari tradition and culture. Not just lip-service on bringing back the Tavari script maybe in a decade, we need to see the entire Seventh Revision of Modern Standard Tavari immediately reversed, we need to see a restoration of government financial support for the Tavat Avati Shrine Association, a total moratorium on new long-term work permits for foreigners, and we need to see an end to all these free trade agreements and a government that supports Tavari businesses in Tavaris.” The Tavari government has never financially supported the Tavat Avati Shrine Association, which was established in 1944, but the far-right governments of Heroes Alliance in the 1930s, after the Great War, did issue grants to the organisation’s predecessor, the Convocation of Spirit-Speakers—which was only one of the innumerable public controversies during the Heroes Alliance governments. Heroes Alliance, which was known for leaning on armed gangs of young supporters as an intimidation tactic, has long been such a third rail in Tavari politics that even its indirect inference had once been a death knell for any campaign. No longer, it would seem, but even so, it is unlikely that Žarís Nevran Alandar will have any desire to inflame the very inter-religious tensions she has dedicated herself to erasing, and beyond that, it is next to impossible that a former Minister of International Trade and Development will want to undo any free trade agreements any time soon. This is not to mention any of Ms. Oren Inzar’s even more extreme proposals—she is known to have called for the restoration of the Chiefs and a return to “some level” of Chief-based governance, a political stance once held only by the outermost radical fringes, and has also called for the immediate expulsion of all Ayaupian and Banian “non-citizen nationals,” each communities of a few thousand descended from refugees, whose legal status depends on a Supreme Constitutional Court decision that has not been, but could at any time be, revoked by the Diet.

So where do we go from here? By virtue of her status as incumbent Prime Minister, Žarís Nevran Alandar will continue serving in the office in a caretaker capacity, as all Prime Ministers do while the Diet is dissolved, and as leader of the largest faction in the Diet, the rules of the Diet grant her the first shot at conducting negotiations to form the government through chairing the standing Committee on Nominations. These rules give her a maximum of 24 days—on the 25th, unless the Diet votes to suspend the rule, the leader of the Diet’s second largest faction will automatically become chair of the Committee on Nominations. Each “major party” in the Diet (legally defined as parties with 96 or more Delegates) will eventually be granted a shot, in descending order of seat count, unless or until a nomination for Prime Minister is passed by an absolute majority of Diet Delegates, or all major parties fail to pass a nomination, in which case there is one last 24-day period for the smaller parties to make an attempt and, failing that, the Diet is automatically dissolved and a new election called. There is no role for Emperor Otan IV to play in the process except to appoint the eventual nominee or issue the writs for election. There are six major parties in the 68th Diet of the Kingdom of Tavaris, more than ever before, meaning that there could be as many as 168 days, more than 5 months, of politicking to determine who will next lead the Tavari government. At this point very little is certain, except for one thing—uncertainty. Tavaris will, as is the only thing it can do, move onward. Whether it does so together is another question altogether, and one yet unanswered.

SEAT RESULTS
All Lines reporting

• Irínavi Voi! (IV, centrist/unionist): 358 seats (-201)
• The Liberals (VV, conservative): 178 seats (+49)
• Tavari National Party (KDT, nationalist): 136 seats (+119)
• Ítan Ladrena (ÍL, social democrat): 134 seats (-9)
• Labour (or Workers’) Party (KH, democratic socialist): 126 seats (+5)
• Green Tavaris (TE, green): 108 seats (+3)
• Urth (NE, green): 60 seats (+3)
• New Tavari Communist Party (Mõzba, communist): 49 seats (+37)
• No Party Affiliation: 3 seats (-6)

[Acronis]

30 July 2024

Don’t Call It a Credit Card: Big Three Banks Announce the “TavariCard”

NUVRENON– “It’s not a credit card, it’s not a debit card, it’s the TavariCard.” A consortium of Tavari businesses and institutions including all three of the country’s major banks, the Tavat Avati Shrine Association, the Steward’s Guild, and several major retailers has announced a new kind of payment card in a major push to increase the adoption of cashless payment among a Tavari public that has so far been notoriously dependent on physical currency. The Tavari Payments Alliance announced on Tuesday the launch of its signature product, the TavariCard, which it says is “a new, convenient method of cashless payment that is certified compliant with the Tavat Avati faith.”

Tavaris, and the other countries of the Tavari Union, have long lagged behind other developed countries in the usage of non-cash forms of payment–not just electronic payment services like smartphone apps but even credit and debit cards, which many Tavari people have shunned for religious reasons. The Tavat Avati faith, which about two-thirds of the Tavari population follows to some degree, includes tenets governing honourable conduct in the transaction of business, known as money honour, which emphasise face-to-face interactions and consider it dishonourable for money to be exchanged out of sight. Credit cards, therefore, have long been shunned by devout Avatidari, because the actual act of exchanging funds does not occur when the card is swiped but days or weeks later when the credit card company settles its accounts. So strong has been the Tavari distrust of credit cards that debit cards have also been shunned simply for their superficial similarity–despite the fact that, unlike credit cards, they do exchange money at the moment the card is used and, as many Tavat Avati shrinemasters have said for years, they do not actually violate money honour.

The TavariCard is a plastic card issued by a bank with a magnetic strip and an embedded radio frequency chip, embossed with a unique number for each card owner. In other words, it certainly looks an awful lot like a credit or debit card. However, it comes with a number of additional features that the Tavari Payments Alliance say make it uniquely suited to customers who seek to follow money honour. Each card is customised to include the officially registered Line and family crest of the card owner, the same as what would be stamped onto a cheque with a traditional name seal. Also like cheques, the name of the card owner is featured in large font. Both of these things are considered pleasing to the ancestral spirits that devout Avatidari believe are always watching over them. It is these reasons that cheques–called “bills of exchange” in the Tavat Avati–are considered honourable to use even though they, like credit cards, also have a delay in when the funds are actually transferred. In fact, the Tavari Payments Alliance calls the TavariCard a “virtual bill of exchange platform,” noting that each and every swipe of a card generates a record at the bank’s central office that is written in the form of a negotiable instrument.

Each bank that issues a TavariCard will have on staff a σanivat tažnažan (a notarial official) tasked with supervising the generation of these negotiable instruments, because each one will include digitally-stamped name seals that the members of the consortium have contractually agreed to recognise as equivalent to physical stamps so long as there is a σanivat tažnažan present in the event an issue of verification arises. This supervision will entail the σanivat being physically present in the server room where the transactions are processed and monitoring the transactions using a computer terminal located underneath a skylight, to maximise visibility to ancestral spirits. Issuing banks will also be regularly inspected and certified by Tavat Avati shrinemasters to ensure compliance with religious dictates. Banks will be required to make copies of the digital negotiable instruments available to either the payor or payee on demand, in paper if requested, though member banks have all said that electronic-only will be the default. Cheques are already mostly handled by the financial system in a very similar way, with points-of-sale actually generating electronic records that are considered equivalent to paper, without having to physically transport the cheque between banks as was once commonplace.

Another feature of the TavariCard is that the back of each card–the surface that comes into contact with the payment terminal, either by swiping or tapping–features a picture of the card owner. This is a way for card users to make “virtual eye contact” during the transaction, which the consortium hopes customers will find sufficient to meet the Tavat Avati’s requirement that eye contact be made when money is exchanged. Tap-to-pay is also intended to make it easier for card owners to make physical eye contact with the cashier or payee when using the card, as many devout Avatidari try to do when making payments. The TavariCard marks the first time that the tap-to-pay system will be in common use in Tavaris, though it will require that retailers have the proper equipment to use it. Some of the country’s largest retailers have signed on to the scheme and have committed to upgrading their equipment to accept tap-to-pay by the end of 2025: supermarkets Avtatóva and Mexitak, coffee shops Royal Rodokan and KokoVoi, international hotel giant Crystal Hoteliers International, discount retailer Kroneby, and the country’s largest party goods and fashion retailer, Ívar Enaro.

“We’re really just so excited to launch this product, which is the result of years of intense planning and negotiation across not just the Tavari business world but all sectors of Tavari society,” said AttaKõvošori CEO Bedri Nevran Toncosel, who is Chair of the Tavari Payments Alliance. “For years, financial institutions like ours have really failed to reach Avatidari where they are, and as a result, the Tavari economy has suffered. Now, finally, it’s truly possible to be observant of the Tavat Avati faith and take advantage of the ease and convenience of cashless, chequeless payments, which are incredibly popular almost everywhere else in the world for a reason.”

The launch of the TavariCard comes as the Tavari government continues to see its efforts in technological advancement stall. Legalisation of mobile payment services—smart phone and web apps that can send and receive money—was unexpectedly halted earlier this year when snap elections were called, and the new coalition government has so far been unable to agree on how to proceed. This puts the Tavari private sector in a position in which it has not been for several years: the leading position in technological advancement. In fact, the Tavari Payments Alliance says that the technology is already capable of seamlessly integrating into mobile payments technology—most modern mobile phones can use the same tap-to-pay technology and communicate with the virtual bill of exchange recordkeeping system, but only after the Tavari government changes the law to permit telephone networks to carry financial transactions. “A piece of Digital Tavaris is here, ready to go. The government just has to get it together and give us the ok,” said Mr. Nevran Toncosel, the consortium chair, who referenced the Prime Minister by saying “The ball is now in my cousin’s court.”

Currently, the TavariCard is only available in Tavaris—but all three of the Big Three Tavari banks, AttaKõvošori, ŽBMardan, and NuvoBank, have affiliate companies in Acronis, Elatana, and Rodoka and the Isles, and the Tavari Payments Alliance expects all three countries to be open for TavariCard by the end of 2024. Metradan, Racatrazi, and Vakani Dalar “are possible, are involved in active negotiations, and we hope to see them in the TavariCard family very soon,” said Mr. Nevran Toncosel. He noted that retailers in any country can accept TavariCard payments even before sign-ups for the cards open in their country, and Elatana-based Mexitak has agreed to do just that even though they do not have stores in Tavaris. The consortium also hopes that involvement from Bjørn Trust-owned companies such as Ívar Enaro and Kroneby will encourage adoption among not just other Bjørn companies but the broader international business community as well.

Avtatóva, the dominating supermarket chain in Tavaris itself, has invested billions of našdat into TavariCard and is including its launch as part of a major modernisation campaign at the company. In addition to accepting TavariCard, Avta is introducing self-checkout terminals at its 1,900 stores Union-wide, making it the first Tavari retailer to include self-checkouts at every location. Avta touts its registers as also being designed with the Avatidar customer in mind: each one will feature a face printed on it and a camera—the machine will be able to make “eye contact” with the customer just like a sapient cashier, the company says. It also plans to include “eye” designs printed on the payment terminals accepting tap-to-pay, so the terminals can make “eye contact” with the photographs on the cards. “Our customers want to know that, when they do business with us, that we respect them, that we honour them and their ancestors, and that we welcome the accountability of conducting business in plain and open sight of the living and the dead. We hope that customers will accept just a little bit of change in order to create a society that is both forward-facing and respectful of the past. It really is possible, we can make it happen, and we hope you will join us,” said Avta CEO Ebna Vidas Bandratti.

The Tavari Payments Alliance have high hopes for the TavariCard, which they say was “overwhelmingly popular” among participants in its marketing focus groups. Of the 300 people who were invited to participate, almost two thirds–187 people–said they would be interested in signing up for the card when it became available. Most notably, according to Mr. Nevran Toncosel, was that “three out four of the 50-and-up participants in the focus groups said they would sign up for TavariCard, which absolutely blew [the consortium] away. It shows that people, all kinds of people, really aren’t afraid of new technology, they just want something that makes sense to them. We really hope people understand that we are doing this because we want people’s lives to be easier, not to force change down people’s throats. This isn’t about analogue or digital, it’s about ease, convenience, and most importantly, about honour.”

Govri Begís Tandratta, 79, of Motazín in Nandrat Province, was the oldest participant in the TavariCard focus groups and resoundingly endorsed it, calling the card “truly monumental.” Noting that he still worked part-time at the phone company as a directory assistance operator, he said “I’ve never been afraid of technology, and I have always, always bitterly resented those people, usually younger people, who insist that old folks like us hate technology, or don’t want new things. All I have ever wanted is to do right by my ancestors and do right by my family. I don’t want to be exchanging money hidden in the dark like some kind of common criminal. With TavariCard, I can handle my money business while handling my spirit business. After all, I expect to be a spirit soon. Until then, though, my hands shake and it can be hard to get the cash out of my wallet, so it’s nice to be able to have the card. Elderly people, and religiously observant people, should not be afraid of TavariCard. We can be digital too.”

[Acronis]

7 August 2024

A New Flag for New Tavaris, and the Promise of New Elections

ABOVE: The new New Tavari flag. The previous flag is shown at the end of this article.

TAŽNATTA, New Tavaris (TavariFax)— The military junta in charge of New Tavaris has announced a new flag for the country, a measure it says forms “the first part of the leadup” to elections now officially planned for “the first half of 2025.” New Tavaris, the smallest of the three countries within the Sovereign League of Vakani Dalar, has been under military governance since February of this year, when the military forces known as the Liberation Coalition entered Tažnatta and the elected government surrendered to General Tebran Vidas Kacora, now the Prime Minister. General Vidas Kacora was all smiles at the ceremony, held at the New Tavaris National Diet building that has been shuttered and unused since a fire broke out within it only hours after the previous government of Lešteren Novar Kenetta signed instruments of surrender there, saying “the future of New Tavaris begins today.”

The new flag features a purple field with a four-pointed Tavari star in the upper left corner, which is the traditional place of honour on flags, and two curved stripes—one white and one black—that slope downward and then upward toward the top right of the flag. It does not require a flag enthusiast to note that this new flag is fundamentally very similar to the previous flag of the country, established in 1996, that featured essentially the same design with four uncurved diagonal stripes alternating white-and-black. There are only three other minor changes: the new shade of purple is slightly darker, the star is located further inward on the flag, and the overall shape of the flag has been changed from a ratio of 3:5 to the historically traditional Tavari ratio of 13:24. Prior to 1996, the national government of New Tavaris had no officially-designated flag at all, though in situations where one was absolutely needed, it tended to use an inverted version of the Tavari flag with white in the upper left compared to black. The 2024 flag, like the 1996 flag, places the white stripe first as a reference to this.

According to General Vidas Kacora, the new stripes represent “the past and future of New Tavaris: we first see a downward slope to represent the challenges of the past, but we then see the slope curve upward, relentlessly and eternally progressing toward the future.” The General noted the new design’s close similarity to the previous design as “a feature, not a bug,” saying the intention was to emphasise continuity and familiarity “while still doing something new for the sake of creating the new future we all desperately seek.” The flag was designed by a committee appointed by the New Tavari cabinet, which consists almost entirely of other generals and high military officials within the upper echelons of the Liberation Coalition. Names and other information on the members of this committee were not made available by the New Tavari government.

In addition to the new flag, General Vidas Kacora announced that the Cabinet had “agreed in principle” to the holding of elections for the National Diet and for the country’s representatives to the confederal legislature of Vakani Dalar, the Common Council, in the first half of 2025. The latter would be a significant change for New Tavaris, where the legislatures of each of the country’s commonwealths have elected the country’s Common Councillors since the establishment of the Sovereign League in 1910—there are 31 of them, six for each Commonwealth within New Tavaris and one for the City of Tažnatta, though Vakani Dalar law states that the entire delegation of councillors from each member country in the League shares only one collective vote. According to the General, a referendum for a constitutional amendment will appear on the ballot at the same time as the elections. No date for the elections has been set.

The crowd in front of the National Diet building was ebullient in cheering for the new flag and new elections. Badi Ovrošt Nakašta, 24, called the new flag “really cool, really stylish” and said that he was “looking forward to elections.” Vedra Tovai Betta, 44, said “Yeah, it’s definitely a nice flag” but declined to comment about elections, as did most of the attendees of the announcement. Soldiers—whose uniforms have already been updated to feature patches with the new flag—were on-hand to give out small flags for attendees to wave. The soldiers were also sure to insist that this reporter take a flag as well, and even stood by to ensure this reporter gave the flag a wave before stepping back to continue observing the attendees as they answered questions from TavariFax. There was only one other news media representative present, a reporter from the Tažnatta Times, who did not appear to conduct interviews with attendees or ask questions of the government officials.

One New Tavari individual who does not care for the new flag is its previous Prime Minister, Lešteren Novar Kenetta, who fled the country after the war and spoke with TavariFax by video call from an undisclosed location in Tavaris. “The capital of New Tavaris is still a smouldering ruin. Hundreds of thousands of people are dead, and tens of thousands are still missing. These thugs, a collection of the most unsavoury people that [the Commonwealths of] New Odai, Tazenai, and Nonevidai have on offer, who decided four years ago to throw a perfectly peaceful country into chaos and violence because they wanted a bigger paycheque, have done absolutely nothing to restore any of the horrific damage they caused, but they do decide to go through the trouble of making a barely new damn flag just so they can tell people things have changed. I’ll tell you what they’ve done, it’s just putting glitter on jaguar [expletive deleted].” When asked about the elections, all Mr. Novar Kenetta did was laugh.

Mr. Novar Kenetta’s own elections, most recently in 2019, had consistently faced allegations of impropriety, including voter intimidation and vote buying. During the war, the Liberation Coalition repeatedly stated its primary goal in the war was the removal of Mr. Novar Kenetta from power because he had allegedly on multiple occasions taken funds from the Ministry of Defence and redirected them to “pet causes” such as a failed casino venture and several disbursements marked as “classified” that the Liberation Coalition stated were actually bribes to friends and creditors of Mr. Novar Kenetta. The Liberation Coalition’s primary bedrock of support came from the rank-and-file of the New Tavari Air Force and about half of the Army, as well as political leadership in the Commonwealths of New Odai—the wealthiest and most populous—and Tazenai and Nonevidai, two generally economically depressed Commonwealths in the country’s south. A majority of the country’s Navy and the political leadership of Tažnatta Commonwealth and neighbouring Etravai Commonwealth were primarily loyal to the Novar Kenetta government, which was supported militarily by Tavaris from the war’s outset until its withdrawal in 2023.

General Vidas Kacora did not respond to requests for comment from TavariFax, while the New Tavari Cabinet Office declined to comment. Also declining comment were officials from the Vakani Dalar confederal government and the leadership of the other two member states in the Sovereign League, President Debra Boimah of the Republic of Xoigovoi and Grand High Brother Ratoni Memza Babasi of Vonatan. The countries within Vakani Dalar have historically been very reticent to involve themselves in the internal affairs of the others, and both Xoigovoi and New Tavaris have seen several military coups and other disruptions of their nominally democratic governmental systems since 1910, none of which have ever been responded to by military or political pressure from the other countries. However, as of press time, the new New Tavari flag could be seen flying above the seat of the Common Council in Xoi and at the main campus of the Sovereign League’s executive government agencies in Tana-Mota, Vonatan. The Vonatani employee raising the flag in Tana-Mota, who declined to be identified, said to TavariFax “Here in Vakani Dalar, it just isn’t our business to meddle in the affairs of other countries. New Tavaris tells us who their government is and what their flag looks like. I’ll put up this one today, and if they send another one tomorrow, I’ll put that one up tomorrow. War, peace, all we can do is carry on. As long as it isn’t the Tavari flag, I reckon we’re doing alright.”

BELOW: The previous New Tavari flag.

[Acronis]

26 August 2024

“We Are So Back”: TavariPost is Dead, Long Live TDT

PHOTO: The new logo of TDT, formerly known as TavariPost, featuring the symbol of the jaguar, historically associated with couriers in Tavaris.

ANARÍS– A year ago, it was all but certain that V.K.V. Toσag-Dórabeti Tavari—which since about the end of the Great War or so had been known by the Staynish trade name “TavariPost”—was moribund, decrepit, and doomed to fail. Once the first and greatest success story of the wave of privatisation in the 2000s, TavariPost was absolutely ravaged by massive expenses when the Liberal-Green governments of the 2010s pushed through a massive pension reform and banned gasoline automobiles—the company was and is the owner of the largest fleet of automobiles in the country and had more pension obligations than any other Tavari private company. In the span of just a few years, what had briefly been a shining star of private sector success crashed to Urth like so much space junk. Bleeding cash after having to replace its entire vehicle fleet and having to shell out billions of našdat per year in pre-funded pension obligations, TavariPost slashed services to the bare legal minimum and proceeded to plead with the government to cut even more. It went bankrupt, was bought out by Phoenixian investors, and then was promptly sold the very minute the company’s revenue exceeded its purchase price, only to immediately resume cratering once the well of foreign investment evaporated. In 2023, Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar had to stop a meeting of the Council of the Tavari Union to nationalise TavariPost, which she called “an actively collapsing corporation with a monopoly on a public service.”

But nevermind all that, says the new CEO of Toσag-Dórabeti Tavari, which as of today will be known by a simpler moniker: TDT. “We’ve heard a lot about the postal service lately, but what I want the Tavari people to know is this: we are so back,” said Filomena Caligari, the stunningly young, bright blonde, high energy new chief executive of what already seems to be a drastically different TavariPost—hence the new name. Ms. Caligari comes to TDT from the Metradani Postal Service, which unlike its Tavari equivalent was never privatised and which has maintained a reputation of competence, reliability, and extremely rarely for Metradan, diversity and inclusion. Ms. Caligari is the youngest ever CEO of the Tavari postal service, the first ever Cescolian, and in fact the first ever human to hold that job. But in Metradan, where she was Director-General of Postal Operations from 2020 to 2024, she was not even the twelfth human to hold the job. Only 32 years old, she achieved the highest non-ministerial job at the Metradani Postal Service only six years out of university, which is absolutely incomprehensible in Tavaris. But as Ms. Caligari is quick to note, “this is no longer just the Tavari postal service. We serve the Union.”

The Metradani Postal Service, along with its counterpart in Racatrazi, are due to be formally merged into TDT—which since the beginning of this year has been lawfully incorporated as a Tavari Union-owned corporation in Anarís—at the start of 2025. Joining them will be the thousands of Acronian couriers who were once the private courier service of the Church of Akrona, who have been serving as Acronis’ de facto postal service since its independence. All said and done, tens of thousands of new employees, new facilities, and new vehicles will be joining TDT, and most notably for Ms. Caligari, millions of new customers. But what excites her most of all is the expansion of services that has already exploded onto the scene to phenomenal financial success—namely, financial services.

“It is absolutely insane, just inconceivable, that the postal service went bankrupt in a country where half of people pay their bills by mailing [expletive deleted] cheques,” said Ms. Caligari. “In many ways, TavariPost did not die, it was murdered by the government. But the loans for all those ethanol mail trucks are paid now, and as a public entity, we are no longer required to pre-pay our pension obligations 72 years ahead of time. This year, we had not just billions of našdat but billions of dollars in newly available money to spend. So what are we spending it on? Simple. Money. We want to be the ones who move your money.”

TavariPost was supposed to launch—technically relaunch, counting the years before the war—financial services such as money orders and small savings accounts in 2022, but those plans were promptly abandoned when 2022 ended up being dominated by certain other issues. Millions of Tavari people use money orders and wire transfers to pay their bills, in a society that is infamously resistant toward adopting credit and debit cards and whose laws literally, and to nearly everyone frustratingly, outright forbid using phones as a method of payment. In many other countries, monthly bills and subscriptions can simply be paid by entering your credit card number into a mobile phone app. In the countries that were once Tavaris, if you don’t want to mail a cheque, you either need to sit down at a computer and enter your bank account number on a website or you can go down the street to the nearest kõvobašdõ (the ubiquitous Tavari convenience store) and hand over the cash to a money courier network, of which—in the grand Tavari tradition of “healthy competition”—there are precisely two: Nevran Financial Services and the Vidas-Tivriš Company. Since the 1980s financial system reform laws required Tavari money movers to establish their own independent physical infrastructure to transmit transactions—the literal wires as referred to in the Staynish term “wire transfer”—the enormous costs pushed everyone else out of the business, but the last two remaining have been quite successful in offering bill payment services in which the money movers take cash from customers and send it along to Nordflix or whomever. They have done so well in this that even Toran Nuvo Ranzalar, the wealthiest man in Tavaris, who once successfully pulled a mobile phone company out of thin air, entirely failed in his effort to break into the market in 1983 because not even he could afford to keep up with Nevran and Vidas-Tivriš.

Suddenly, however, TavariPost—that is, TDT—can. The entry of the surprisingly animated corpse of the Tavari postal service into the financial services sector this January has been nothing short of explosive. This time last year, the only money that the postal system moved was cheques in envelopes, and the only money the system earned in the transaction was the cost of the postage stamp. In just the first half of this year, however, TDT has already conducted more than a billion money transfer transactions, and while a Tavari postage stamp now runs 148ŋ (SHD $2.88)—the cost has more than tripled since privatisation in 2002—TDT charges a base fee for bill payment of 200ŋ ($3.88), more than a third more lucrative than a stamp but still 50ŋ ($0.97) less than its competitors. But TDT hasn’t stopped there—in an incredibly controversial move, it announced in January that it would waive all postage fees entirely for first-class letters posted from the counter of participating kõvobašdõni. Every kõvobašdõ has a post box—literally every single one of the more than 62,000 across the Tavari Union, because the Kõvobašdõ Owners Trade Association mandates the presence of one for a store to use the name “kõvobašdõ”—and just about every Tavari, young or old, visits one multiple times a week. These had heretofore been the province of the money movers Nevran and Vidas-Tivriš, but kõvobašdõ owners across the Union have readily hailed the wave of new business brought by customers seeking cheaper postage just as TDT has hailed the influx of customers who head to the bašdõ seeking to post a cheap letter but decide to shell out an extra few našdat to send the cash paperlessly instead.

The money movers are absolutely furious. Nevran and Vidas-Tivriš have already filed suit against TDT claiming that their move to eliminate postage rates for mail sent from kõvobašdõni represents illegal market manipulation and a violation of the postal service’s universal service obligation. Ms. Caligari of TDT isn’t worried. “You can post a Nevrani money order from a bašdõ for free just as you can a TDT money order. They should be thanking us. If they’re worried about competition, maybe they could lower their fees or provide better service, something neither of the market incumbents have had to worry about doing since approximately 1988 when Toran Nuvo Ranzalar failed. We do not intend to fail. We’re backed by the Union.” Vodri Nevran Toncosel, President and Chairman of Nevran Financial Services parent company Nevrani Court, has called TDT “perfidious government interference in the private marketplace” and vowed to see “the destruction of this blatantly uncompetitive government intervention that seeks to make the State the winner and patriotic businessmen such as myself and the good people of Vidas-Tivriš into bankrupt losers.”

Nevrani Court also owns AttaKõvošori, one of the Big Three Tavari banks, which itself does a fair bit of money transferring for its customers. The Vidas-Tivriš Company is half-owned by the Vidas Group, a market leader in insurance and also the owner of the country’s largest supermarket chain, Avtatóva, which cannot legally be called a bašdõran but which tends to offer all the same services, including Vidas-Tivriš money transfer products. Ms. Caligari notes that “all our competitors have their own built-in networks of physical structures for the purchase and distribution of their products, as do we in our post offices. The kõvobašdõni are, or are supposed to be, a neutral third-party with whom we can all do business. The big money movers are seeking to exclude us from this market because they are afraid of having to actually improve, but we are not afraid. We have survived this long. We aren’t dead yet, or at least we aren’t dead anymore.” Referencing the different ancient symbols that have been used to differentiate couriers of regular messages (who eventually became the postal service) and couriers of money (who became the financial services companies and the kõvobašdõni), she said “Let the boars come. We are jaguars, and we are ready for them. We intend to be here for a long time.”

[Acronis]

2 September 2024

Cannabis Dispensaries Are Here. Is Tavaris Ready?

NANDRAT– The billboards are inescapable. From Anara to Dravai, the T3 motorway seems to be nothing but advertisements for the grand opening of three recreational cannabis dispensaries and smoking lounges in Nandrat on Monday, the first such businesses to ever (legally) open in Tavaris. Officially, cannabis dispensaries are due to begin operation on 1 November, three years after the enactment of the Cannabis Legalisation and Taxation Act, but the Ministry of Commerce issued a waiver to Nandrat Province to allow it to grant licences 60 days ahead of time as a pilot programme. Of the three lucky licensees to be opening early, two are in the City of Nandrat and one is in Ratani, the home of Tavaris Central University and many thousands of presumably excited university students. All three businesses made a big spectacle in their grand openings: the Shano Tuvria Memorial Rugby Team and Sir Shano Tuvria himself made appearances at Kõvodank in Ratani, Sir Shano’s hometown, and Oda Lita stunned the crowd at Green Sky Provisioning Company in Nandrat. There were crowds gathered in tents in the car parks at all three shops as early as Saturday, to the point where the Royal Tavari Marshalls had to clear out the crowd in Ratani on Sunday evening for violations of the fire code—most of the crowd had returned within hours. Needless to say, for fans of cannabis, anticipation was, well, high.

But not everyone, either in Nandrat Province or outside it, is a fan of cannabis. In addition to the eagerly excited and yet suspiciously relaxed crowds of supporters at the dispensaries were crowds of protestors opposing the businesses and cannabis in general. The jaguar’s share of protestors at the dispensaries bore Akronist diamonds and signs with mottos like “Cloud Not the Eyes of Akrona” and “High on Life, not Drugs.” The City of Nandrat exists directly on the border with Acronis, a country whose very existence in many ways was indirectly, if not directly, caused by political consternation over the 2021 referendum that legalised cannabis in Tavaris. Akronist religious doctrine strenuously opposes the consumption of narcotics such as cannabis, stating that doing so weakens one’s connection with the fundamental life force shared between all living things—which Akronists say is Akrona herself. The People’s Communion of Acronis repealed cannabis legalisation on the very first day its post-independence Synod sat, and while initially it remained illegal but decriminalised, an Acronian law reimposing criminal penalties for the possession of cannabis is due to go into effect on 1 November, the very same day cannabis dispensaries can begin operation in Tavaris nationwide. However, it is not only Akronists who oppose legal cannabis—in a case of rather awkward bedfellows, the staunchest Tavari traditionalists and followers of the Tavat Avati also decry drugs such as cannabis and coca as being displeasing to ancestral spirits and damaging the connection to the divine. Several dozen Shrinemasters from Nandrat and Ranat provinces assembled in the street in front of Nancanezo Lounge and Dispensary, temporarily shutting down traffic.

Tevri Šonai Baštambat, 42, is the Shrinemaster at Baštam Shrine in far eastern Nandrat, and travelled to the provincial capital with his entire family, even taking his children out of school for the day, to protest what he called “the creeping degeneracy of the politically correct modern Tavari state.” Holding aloft a sign that said simply “Oppose Degeneracy,” Mr. Šonai Baštambat said “Look at this. Look at this dingy strip-mall storefront plastered with posters of weed leaves and vape pens, everywhere is hazy and smells like dead skunk, and they call themselves ‘Nancanezo’ (a Tavari term meaning roughly “fresh air”). It’s buffoonery of the highest order. Weed turns good people into stupid idiots. We shouldn’t tolerate it. A society that allows this is a society that has chosen to fail.”

Across town at Green Sky Provisioning Company, which sits on the river in sight of the Acronian shore, Akronist protestors were particularly disappointed to see Oda Lita, one of the country’s highest-profile Akronists, join the festivities. “It’s such a terrible shame to see such a lovely role model choose the path of urthly distraction rather than seek the divine,” said Priestess Tamend Vítíbri, 64, of Sacred Waters Parish in Nandrat, of the two-time Urthvision-appearing pop star whose lyrics almost exclusively reference sexuality and romance. The crowd of would-be customers, though, went quite ballistic, many of them dancing along to her latest Urthvision entry, “I Can Blow Your Mind.” Ms. Lita herself said after her performance that she does not personally partake of cannabis, but that “I just wanted to be part of the fun, part of the party. I love the energy here, I love all the love here. I’m so happy to be here.” When asked how she felt about the Akronist protestors, she replied “Yeah, I’m just so happy to be here, I love the energy.”

Despite law enforcement in Nandrat being placed on high alert for the day—”out of an abundance of caution,” according to a statement from the Royal Tavari Marshalls Nandrat Provincial Command—or perhaps because of it, as of press time on Monday there had been no altercations or other incidents between protestors and customers, or between the two opposing crowds of opponents. Nandrat Province First Councilor Antavo Vidas Rembíl, whose Liberal government has come out in full-throated support of the cannabis industry, says he was never worried about interreligious tensions or political opposition to cannabis, noting that even without dispensaries, cannabis itself has been legal for nearly three years. “Akronists and Avatidari alike have both been able to continue practising their faiths and living lifestyles according to their consciences with legal weed around this whole time, and opening a couple cannabis storefronts isn’t going to change that.” He does have some concerns, however, around matters much more mundane. “What keeps me up at night is the Internet. We tried our best to do this right, to set the system up in a digital way. So many of the records, the chain-of-custody on the product, the purity and potency testing results, and not to mention the whole ID verification system, they’re all online. Every ívotemo of cannabis sold has to be tested for potency, verified as pure, and tracked with a unique ID number at every location it stops along the chain, from the farm to the testing lab to the cash register. If any of those systems fail, the product can’t be sold. Everything’s been working so far, but there’s only three shops. Will it keep working with more? Will it work nationwide? Who can say?”

Mr. Vidas Rembíl has made the cannabis industry his top priority since being elected in 2022, noting that the province’s position on the Acronian border makes it “an absolute supermagnet” for cannabis dispensaries seeking to attract business from Acronians seeking a legal high. The Nandrat Province Legislative Council has budgeted millions of našdat for grants to businesses to enhance point-of-sale systems and to establish a province-wide computer-based record keeping system for cannabis testing and sales that has become a model for provincial governments nationwide. Nandrat’s early leadership on the issue—including establishing an agency at the level of the provincial cabinet, the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, and dedicating a team of people to fast-track licencing applications—is precisely why it was selected to be the site of the pilot programme, a fact in which Mr. Vidas Rembíl takes great pride. “We had two of our three dispensaries provisionally certified by this time last year. Nuvrenon, Nuvo, Enaro Tavar [Provinces], those guys still haven’t even issued provisional certifications. We might even have one more open before November. Nandrat is going to be the Tavari cannabis capital, and I am not ashamed of that at all. Nandrat was once the engine of this country’s economy. It’s going to be again.”

Cannabis business-owners in Nandrat are seeking to capitalise on the major city’s position right on the border to make it the capital of the Tavari cannabis industry, though their efforts have earned at least one high-profile opponent in Acronis: the Matron herself, who quipped last month in a temple sermon that “if I have to see one more billboard for Dank House or whatever I’m declaring war [on Tavaris],” a remark for which she later apologised. However, so far Acronian authorities have held off on announcing an increase in law enforcement presence near the border, something Chief Administrator Σavora Lašandri has mentioned as a hypothetical on several occasions during question periods and committee meetings in the Synod. The Office of the Chief Administrator declined comment for this article, but a high level source who requested anonymity because they were unauthorised to speak on the record said “It’s considered too sensitive to put Peacekeepers on the border. Anything that looks like militarising the border, anything that puts an impedance on cross-border movement, is a non-starter right now. There’s fear that it will inflame tensions.” The billboards are especially unpopular, and the Acronian Synod reports that it has received several petitions with “thousands” of signatures in total requesting the national government ban or otherwise restrict the billboards, which the petitions call variously “a dangerous distraction to drivers,” “trashy eyesores,” and “spiritual pollution.” However, traffic on the Queen Adra IV Bridge across the River Nandrat was conspicuously heavy on Monday, even well after normal rush hour, likely indicating that there is certainly Akronist and Acronian interest in legal cannabis.

People in other Tavari provinces are paying close attention to Nandrat. “Not every province has the money Nandrat has to throw around on computer systems and business grants, so we’re waiting to see if all the bells and whistles Nandrat paid for are strictly necessary,” said Ranat Province First Councilor Bedri Evraš Tabatt, a Liberal leading a Liberal-Green coalition. Ranat Province is home to a significant share of Tavaris’ cannabis farms—and has been since long, long before it was legal—and while there has been much interest in expanding the cannabis industry, Ranat’s Liberals are so far much less convinced on the need to raise taxes to pay for it. As a result, Ranat has taken a much slower approach on licencing dispensaries and has in fact not yet opened applications. “The costs of instituting Nandrat’s system up here on the Plateau would be astronomical because we just don’t have the same level of Internet infrastructure. They don’t run fibre-optics up here yet. Plus, Nandrat Province has been paying Tavaris Central University rock-bottom rates to rent out one of their server farms for their software. The national government has never deigned Ranat important enough to have such a facility. So I expect things to go well in Nandrat, but I’m holding my breath elsewhere.”

The leadership in Enaro Tavar Province is much more optimistic. The Labour Party-Ítan Ladrena coalition led by First Councilor Gabradi Novar Etta announced a one percent wealth tax on individuals with a net worth in excess of 6 million našdat (SHD $116,391.85) that is slated to pay for an expansion in fibre-optics, establish a data centre in Good Harbour, and subsidise the cost of computer equipment for schools and hospitals. Ostensibly called the “Digital Endowment Tax” and designed to support the expansion of internet-based systems and technologies in the province, Mr. Novar Etta admitted the current plans for the funds are “almost entirely based around cannabis, which we expect to be the single greatest engine for economic expansion seen in this province since the Great War.” While Nandrat and Good Harbour were both major centres of Tavari industrialisation in the 19th century, unlike Nandrat, Good Harbour’s industrial capacity was almost entirely leveled in the Great War and by and large was never rebuilt. Mr. Novar Etta sees cannabis not just as one potential avenue for padding economic growth but its only opportunity to, as he says, “lift this province out of generational poverty.” “Folks in Nandrat have the luxury of debating whether cannabis is spiritually or morally good. People don’t like trashy billboards, okay, but I’d rather see billboards for open, active businesses rather than decrepit, peeling messes for businesses that closed twelve years ago. People don’t like weed, okay, don’t smoke it. But we can make people entrepreneurs, make people small-business owners, and most importantly for the purpose of government, make people legitimate taxpayers. Tavaris today looks different from Tavaris yesterday. Some people are stressed about that. Me, I think it’s, well, high time for it.”

[Acronis]

23 March 2024

Oda Lita, Reigning Urthvision Champion, Nominated by KDT for Line Rundra Delegacy

DRAVAI–In an absolute stunner of an announcement that promises to entirely upturn the race for Delegate of one of the country’s largest Lines, if not Tavari political life altogether, the award-winning pop superstar and winner of Urthvision XX, Oda Lita, has been nominated by the Tavari National Party (KDT) to stand as candidate for Delegate of Line Rundra. The announcement comes as a surprise, and to many a shock, for Ms. Lita, 28, had not been previously known for taking political stances. The announcement is particularly shocking because Ms. Lita is a devout Akronist, arguably the country’s most famous, and the Tavari National Party has been associated since its inception with far-right anti-Akronism movements. The party’s constitution states “the Tavari state and nation are best served by following the principles of the Tavat Avati faith.” For many Tavari—and likely for fans of every stripe—Ms. Lita’s announcement will be nothing short of a betrayal, but for many others, it will represent a major breakthrough of nationalist ideals into the mainstream. In any case, it is quite certain that Oda Lita has, in fact, blown our minds.

Not only has Line Rundra never once elected a member of the Tavari National Party, there are only two occasions in the party’s 120-year history where the party has even nominated a candidate for Line Rundra at all. Strongly associated with the cultural region once known as Western Tavaris, the Rundras have been predominantly Akronist for as long as the Church of Akrona existed, with the Chief of Rundra donating significant tracts of land holdings to the Church in its early days that are now home to the holiest and most important temple in Akronism, the Temple of the Emergence, which is the seat of the Elders. Line Rundra is one of the twelve Lines called the Most Noble Dealers, an appellation given by King Utor I as a mark of his trust in them as loyal lieutenants of the Chiefs of Nuvo during Tavari unification, and as such is one of the most populous, and one of the few that just about every Tavari person can name off the top of their head. In the last election where a KDT candidate stood in Line Rundra—1966, in the waning years of the Crematorium Crisis—the party received fewer than a thousand votes. Essentially any other KDT candidate would have been dismissed out-of-hand as a non-starter, but essentially no other candidate in Tavari history has had the unmitigated starpower of Oda Lita.

There were thousands gathered at Council Green in Dravai on Saturday morning, for an event Ms. Lita’s invitation had only called a “major, non-musical announcement about the future.” The park, which sits adjacent to the ancient public square that, as have those in every Tavari town and city, served for centuries as the primary forum for interacting with public and civic life in Dravai, is known for its immaculate landscaping and stellar views overlooking Dravai Harbour. Ms. Lita was flanked by fuchsia shrubs and stately mahogany trees, with the sails of a yacht just visible on the distant blue sea behind her, as she walked up to the podium with a broad smile on her face. It took nearly five minutes for the crowd to stop cheering. Ms. Lita is, of course, at the very height of her fame after her victory in Urthvision XX—she isn’t on tour, but she has been holding public events for months since her victory, all of them sold out with jam-packed crowds. Ms. Lita had been in Dravai the evening before, entertaining a VIP crowd at the city’s poshest club, the Panther Room. Dressed in an impeccable—and, perhaps one might say, tellingly conservative—pantsuit in a patriotic shade of deep amethyst purple, it would be easy to already think she was already an elected official, albeit a uniquely young one. When Ms. Lita began speaking, though, the crowd could immediately tell that something was different. Unusually for the boisterous and energetic popstar who is surely no stranger to microphones, Ms. Lita initially spoke very quietly and had to lean into the mic to be heard.

“I hope you’ll forgive me for being nervous, but I’ve never made an announcement like this before.” She offered a smile, demure at first, that slowly broadened as she looked across the crowd. “I’m here today because I want to reintroduce myself. My name is Oda Rundra Lita, I am a citizen of Dravai, Tavaris, and I am running for Delegate to the Diet.”

The crowd went ballistic, but Ms. Lita—Ms. Rundra Lita—still maintained a clear physical hesitance as she fiddled with the papers on her podium while the crowd cheered. “The very first thing I want to say, very first before anything else, is that I totally understand that there are people who will be upset with me for what I am about to say. In my life so far, I have been someone who loves fun, loves entertaining people and bringing joy, happiness… lightness. I haven’t been political before. I know that some people will be disappointed that I am associating myself with divisiveness, when I have been all about bringing people together. But the truth is, there are more important things. Tavaris is changing, important things are at stake, and I want to do what I can to be part of the solution. And so, I am announcing today that I am happy, and proud, and unashamed, to be standing for election for Delegate of Line Rundra as a candidate of the Tavari National Party. KDT wants to be part of the solution.”

There were claps, there were whoops, there were gasps, and there were screams. But there was silence, too—a deafening, heavy silence. The crowd gathered there in Council Green didn’t know how to respond. Ms. Rundra Lita continued on, clutching her notes in her hands. “I know that, in what I have just said, I have lost some fans forever. And I’m sorry to see you go. I love you. I love everyone. I promise, I love everyone. You have every right, everyone in our country has every right, to make decisions on people based on politics. But I hope that you will give me a chance, and I hope that you will have an open mind, because the KDT that I am joining today is a new KDT, a different KDT. And the evidence for that is plain and simple: KDT has chosen to nominate me. Me, an Akronist. Me, a Rundra. The KDT of old would have spat at me if I even looked at them. The old KDT would never willingly attach their name to me, someone who until today didn’t even use their Line name. I bet some of you didn’t even know I was a Rundra. But I’m proud to be a Rundra. And I am proud, I am so, so proud, to be Tavari. I want to help make a Tavaris that we can all, every one of us, be proud of.”

There were more claps, more whoops, and fewer jeers. The smile on the young candidate’s face grew larger, and she continued on. “A few months ago, I had the tremendous honour, just the most incredible opportunity, to stand on the stage of the world’s biggest music festival and be crowned winner of Urthvision XX. On behalf of Tavaris. On behalf of our country that has been through so much. I was so proud to be there, representing all of you. All of us. I was so happy to show the world what Tavari people can do. I want the world to know that it is good to be Tavari, that Tavari people are good people, that Tavari people can and should contribute their talents to the world. There are many countries in the world, and they all have good people in them, but this one is mine. This one is ours. We can, and we should, be proud of our country. I’m standing with KDT because KDT stands with all of us, with every Tavari person, to stand up and say that we are proud to be Tavari, and we want to build a world that does good with Tavari people, for Tavari people.”

It was then that a heckler broke through the still somewhat uncertain murmuring of the crowd, bellowing at the singer before being tackled and removed by private security “The KDT stood in Višara and said that Akronists will never be Tavari! Are you proud? They burned down temples, they blew up schools! Are you proud? Are you proud?”

“Akronists are Tavari, and I am proud to be a Tavari Akronist,” responded Ms. Rundra Lita. “It should go without saying, but I haven’t got any problem saying it: I completely reject hatred and divisiveness, I completely reject terrorism and violence. KDT completely rejects hatred, terrorism, and violence. KDT is for all Tavari people, everywhere. Akronists, Avatidari, atheists, gay or straight, trans or cis. All Tavari people are part of the Tavari nation, and KDT is the party of the Tavari nation. We all deserve to be proud of our ethnicity and where we are from. It has been such an honour to represent the Tavari nation abroad, but I believe that I am better suited to serve the Tavari nation here at home, precisely because of why people are upset at my candidacy: because I want to prove not just to the world but to Tavaris that Akronists belong everywhere. Akronists belong everywhere, even in the National Party, because Akronism is one of the two uniquely Tavari religions, born of Tavari culture, here in Tavaris. I encourage those who are upset with me today to remember that however upset they may be, there are nationalists—the bitter, hateful ones, the ones you think of when you think of the old KDT—who are just as angry, because their hatred is dying out and we’re replacing it with love. It is true that I am a Tavari nationalist. I am a Tavari nationalist, but this is a new nationalism. I love all people, and I want to stand for all people. I want all the Tavari people, here and out there, to know that I love you. I love Tavaris. I’m proud of Tavaris, and I’m proud of us. We can work together to make a better Tavaris, and I hope you will join me. Peace, love, and respect to all.”

And then, in only the way that Oda Lita could do, she offered the crowd a wink, a blown kiss, and a “Mwah.” The crowd cheered again, and if there were any boos, no one could hear them.

“Today is the first day of a new Tavaris,” said Tazena Oren Inzar, First Councilor of Motai Province, who became KDT Party President on Friday with the resignation of Delegate Vadra Movri Kendraníl. “The Tavari National Party welcomes, embraces, and yes, loves Akronists who love Tavaris, and love being Tavari, as Ms. Rundra Lita so clearly does. What a spectacular role model she is, stepping away from the world of pop music to rise up for civic duty. What a brave woman she is, standing up to bigots out there in the world who say that nationalists are scum, who say Akronists don’t belong. Let no one say KDT thinks Akronists don’t belong. From this day forward, no one can say KDT hates Akronists, no one can say KDT thinks Akronists should go away. Akronists can, should, and will be part of our national revitalisation.”

Ms. Oren Inzar, formerly Party Clerk, has been quite popular in Motai Province for several years, but has garnered controversy outside the province for her controversial use of the self-descriptor “Chief of Oren,” a title that no longer has any legal effect but which, under traditional Tavari custom, she would almost certainly hold if chiefdoms were still extant by virtue as the eldest descendant of the direct family line of the last Chief of Oren, Sir Matti Oren Inzar. Line Oren, the only Line other than Nuvo in Tavari history to ever use the title “King” for its head, has long had a reputation for love of Tavari history and culture—and accordingly has been a solidly nationalist seat in the Diet—and Ms. Oren Inzar is widely expected to retake its delegacy. KDT has been rising in the polls throughout their time as confidence-and-supply partners of the Prime Minister’s Irínavi Voi! party and as memories of the Division Crisis begin to fade from the public consciousness. While former leader Del. Vadra Movri Kendaníl was primarily focused with cleaning the national party of lingering elements loyal to the likes of former KDT leader and Motai First Councilor Devran Oren Tavandra, who was arrested and convicted of inciting terrorism for the Višara Parish Temple bombing of December 4th, 2021, Ms. Oren Inzar is focused on policy goals and reacquainting the public with, as she calls it, “good, constructive nationalism.”

“We are not the party of terrorism and bombs, just like Akronism is not a religion of terrorism and bombs just because of the Fist of the Moon. We are the party of the Tavari people, and if you’re a Tavari person, you’re welcome with us. We want to make sure there are good, Tavari jobs for every good Tavari person who wants one. We want to make sure the Tavari people have good schools, good roads, good Internet, and yes, by the way, good music and good fun. We want Akronists to be welcome in Tavaris because Akronism is Tavari culture, too. In the past, our party has made mistakes. In the past, our party has excluded people it should not have. That ends today, because we are now a party of love. We love Tavaris, we love the Tavari, and we’d love to have your vote.” With a wry smile, Ms. Oren Inzar added “Vote KDT on June 1st and I promise, by the end of the next Diet, you’ll be ‘Levitating.’”

[Acronis]

25 March 2024

Tavaris Will Decline to Compete in Urthvision XXI

NUVRENON– The Tavari Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sport announced on Monday that, just as it did for Urthvision XIII in Nuvrenon, Tavaris will not send an entry to the twenty-first edition that it is due to host later this year. “It is a tremendous honour for Tavaris to be hosting Urthvision, one of the world’s truly premier cultural events, for the second time. After consulting with the leadership of Public Broadcasting Tavaris, our country’s broadcasting partner for Urthvision, we have decided as we did for Urthvision XIII for Tavaris to decline to send an entry for the edition of the contest that it is hosting. It is doubtless that Tavaris, the Tavari people, and the Tavari culture will be everywhere during Urthvision XXI, and we believe that with this remarkable opportunity to showcase who we are to the world through designing, organizing, and coordinating the event, it is unnecessary for us to also compete in the event, potentially taking away a spot from another country. We are especially pleased to issue a special welcome to our Novaran friends Volkheim, a country who participated for Urthvision for the very first time in edition XX, who will be taking the Tavari spot as an automatic qualifier for the final. We know that there will be many across the country who will be disappointed that they will not be able to cheer for a Tavari competitor, but rest assured that the Tavari will be well-represented at Urthvision through our sister countries in our Tavari Union, who are more than ready and willing to carry the Tavari banner for all of us,” said a written statement issued by Lemezda Vonarík, Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Sport.

One Tavari person who is certainly disappointed is the winner of Urthvision XX, Oda Rundra Lita, who had surely been looking forward to trying for a repeat victory. “Absolutely gutted x,” posted the popstar on Pigeon shortly after the announcement. The Tavari music world has been thrown upside down since Ms. Rundra Lita’s shock announcement on Saturday that she is seeking election to the National Diet under the Tavari National Party, who are ideologically controversial to say the least. It is undeniably awkward for politics to suddenly come so blazingly close to Urthvision, which is ostensibly meant to rise above politics for the sake of music and togetherness, and the question of whether Ms. Rundra Lita would even be eligible to compete if she were an elected Diet Delegate had been raging since she made her announcement. The rules for the All-Tavaris Songfestival—the contest by which Public Broadcasting Tavaris selects the Tavari entrant—have long banned competitors from publicly identifying with “controversial political causes” during the course of the event. Ms. Rundra Lita and her campaign declined comment for this article.

However, politics are not necessarily the only reason behind Tavaris’ move. Not only is it true that Tavaris declined to send an entrant to the last edition it hosted for precisely this same reason, several high-level sources within the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Internal Affairs (which regulates Public Broadcasting Tavaris) told the News that the actual primary reason for the decision is much more mundane: money. Speaking anonymously because they were not approved to speak on the record, several people with whom the News spoke indicated that the government simply did not have the funds to run both the All-Tavaris Songfestival and Urthvision itself. “The Diet is currently dissolved for the election and the Prime Minister is in caretaker status, meaning no new appropriations can occur. No one knows how the election is going to turn out, and we don’t want to be left holding a bag that the next Prime Minister refuses to fill, so best to just get it out of the way now,” said one. Another individual was more blunt: “The Culture Ministry runs on spare change and pocket lint, especially post-Ranat Accords. If we have to foot the bill for Urthvision, we aren’t footing the bill for anything else.”

Fans across the country are expressing their disappointment on social media. “SO disappointing that Tavari Urthvisions never have Tavari singers! No one else does this!” said Vedra, 24, a Pigeon user from Ratani. “Who the [expletive deleted] is Volkheim? I want Oda Lita!” said Pigeon user @xanivat_devri2. “Tavaris has not won enough Urthvisions to be lording around like New Leganes declaring retirement,” said @NezoNavandri64. And the recent posts of popular Tavari celebrity news blogger @OdaLitaNews are entirely unpublishable for their profanity. While some online spoke of the inability of the Diet to meet during the election to handle event details, many others expressed frustration that the government seemed to be rolling over without trying. “They’ve known since January, they couldn’t have budgeted some money then? They can’t reuse some plans from Urthvision 13?” said Gazna, 31.

At a campaign event on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar did her best to dodge questions about Urthvision. Speaking in front of the headquarters of TavariRail South—coincidentally in Oda Rundra Lita’s hometown of Dravai—she tried to keep reporters focused on her plans to expand fibre-optic internet service by running telecommunications backbone cables along TavariRail rights-of-way. “We already won last time, we’re happy as we are, we want more countries to have a chance. But I tell you, future Urthvisions, no matter where in the world they take place, will be easier and more fun to watch and to stream online once our Digital Tavaris Agenda is enacted,” said the Prime Minister. Later in her remarks, she said “What will really ‘Blow Your Mind’ is how fast the Internet can be with fibre-optics.” The crowd at TavariRail South skewed old and wonky, but by the end of her short address, there was a crowd of teenagers—TavariRail ticket station employees, it would seem, still in their impeccable uniforms—silently gathered in the back with crossed arms and stern expressions. The Prime Minister, who ordinarily waits after events to speak with at least some of those who came to see her, departed the venue from a back door flanked by TavariRail security personnel rather than speak with the scorned youth. Said one young TavariRail employee, who declined to give their name, after she had left: “I used to like her a lot, but she seems out of touch. I would have loved the distraction of rooting for a Tavari person in Urthvision. If I could vote, I don’t think I would vote for her.” Said another “I would much rather be voting for Oda Lita.”

[Acronis]

25 June 2024

“Grand Centre” Coalition Sees The Liberals, Ítan Ladrena Join Government, Nationalists Form Opposition Under Shadow of Constitutional Crisis

See our previous reporting on the 2024 General Election HERE.

The 69th National Diet of the Kingdom of Tavaris, with the government coalition (Irínavi Voi, The Liberals, Ítan Ladrena) on 670 seats on the left, opposition Tavari National Party on 136 seats on the right, and other opposition (New Communists, Unaffiliated, Urth, Green Tavaris, and Labour) on 346 seats in between.

NUVRENON– The Prime Minister’s name seal hit the paper at 11:57 PM on Monday night, just three minutes before the law would have required her to give someone else in the Diet a shot at forming a government, after more than 18 hours of marathon negotiations. Žarís Nevran Alandar, the Light of Peace Award laureate, Aldanic gold medal winner, and once the most popular Prime Minister in Tavari history, will retain the Cabinet’s top spot, but she is certain to be at the least powerful she has ever been. No Tavari Prime Minister save during the Great War unity government has ever before had to share power with two other party leaders, and judging by the broad grins on the faces of The Liberals’ Henda Lanaš Bettõndra and Ítan Ladrena’s Kolai Šandra Vencrandíl compared to the Prime Minister’s dark circles and bloodshot eyes, it is clear that everyone involved agrees that the real power in this political relationship lies not in what Mrs. Nevran Alandar can dictate but in what Mr. Lanaš Bettõndra and Ms. Šandra Vencrandíl can agree on.

“I am proud to announce, finally, a new government for the Tavari people, a historic government, a united government, and a government that is ready to get to work,” the Prime Minister said in a detectably tired voice at a press conference early Tuesday morning. “There has been a Grand West (translator’s note: Avtovat, referencing the Avtovati Isles), a Grand East (Avelat, a Tavari telephone company), and a Grand North (Avanar, a Metradani phone company), but now we have the Grand Centre, a coalition bringing together three parties from across the political spectrum, coming together to set aside partisanship and do good work for the Tavari people.” The Prime Minister’s speech was light on policy specifics, and tellingly, neither of the other two leaders had many specifics to offer either—a sign that, despite the nominal coalition agreement, there is little on which these three parties can find common ground. Mrs. Nevran Alandar promised “real action on restoring economic growth, modernizing and digitizing our technology and our economy, building up Tavari industry, and both strengthening pre-existing international trade relationships and forming new ones.” Mr. Lanaš Bettõndra said “there will be no more deficit spending, no more new nuclear power plants, no more frivolous distractions like useless foreign wars and divisive social engineering. This government will return to a laser-focus on growing the Tavari economy and restoring Tavaris to its true and proper greatness.” Ms. Šandra Vencrandíl pledged that “I will work to end the era of the Tavari military gallivanting around the world, wasting Tavari time, money, blood, and lives for political goals, I will work to finally bring our country into the Digital Age, and I will work to ensure everyone gets a fair shake in our economy and our society.”

The Prime Minister’s Irínavi Voi! (IV, “Onward Together!”) is the largest party in the Diet and, as such, retains the largest share of seats in the Cabinet. One of the major sticking points in negotiations, and apparently one that the Prime Minister finally abandoned toward the end of the night, was that IV sought to keep the shares of Cabinet seats proportionate to each party’s share of Diet seats within the coalition. Mrs. Nevran Alandar was forced to relent, and her party will hold only 8 of the 20 departmental portfolios in the Tavari executive even though, with 358 seats out of the governing coalition’s 670, she might have expected 11. Of the “Entrenched Ministers,” those whose existence is mandated by the text of the Constitution, IV will hold only two: the Prime Minister and the Attorney General. For the first time in Tavari history, the portfolios of Minister for Revenue and Treasury and Minister for the Economy have been split, and the one that holds the seat on the Council of State, Revenue and Treasury, has been granted to The Liberals (VV, “Vat Vokaσattidari). In fact, on the 9-member Council of State—a legal body separate from the Cabinet whose role is to give formal effect to orders of the government and to issue binding advice to the Emperor—the “lead party” in the coalition holds only three seats. If a controversial vote were to fall in precisely the right way, a situation could arise where the Council of State can overrule a decision that was approved by the Cabinet, a constitutional crisis always theoretically envisioned but never before considered possible. Other posts staying with IV include Internal Affairs, Transport, Veterans Affairs, Public Health, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Culture, Tourism, and Sport. Avri Takanaš, once Deputy Prime Minister, rising star, and political darling of Mrs. Nevran Alandar who has served in Cabinet in one place or another since 2021, surely feels the sting of being relegated to Agriculture and Fisheries—a ministry that is less important in recent years considering the bulk of Tavari agriculture and Tavari seafood eaters are now in Acronis, but in one remarkable example of consistency and stability, the rarely talkative but ever-stalwart Žendra Nadria Lentor, still at Veterans Affairs and Public Health, is the last remaining member of Cabinet to have served under Shano Tuvria’s DNP-SPD 2017-2021 coalition.

Del. Henda Lanaš Bettõndra, VV party president, is to be Deputy Prime Minister, a position whose statutory responsibilities are to lead government business in the Diet and to automatically assume the Prime Ministership in the event of a vacancy in the office. With The Liberals now in charge of whipping votes, one of the Prime Minister’s most powerful tools in setting the agenda is now out of her hands and she is far less capable of enforcing her demands on her caucus even than she might have been otherwise. Mr. Lanaš Bettõndra has also taken on the portfolio of Minister for the Intelligence Community, and has announced that he considers the lingering question of Tavari intelligence community reform “a personal project.” The Liberals have also nabbed a number of portfolios that are sure to be key to their own particular interests: in addition to Intelligence and Revenue and Treasury, Liberals now hold Labour, Industry and Commerce, International Trade and Development, and Education. The big tent coalition of the Tavari right will control the country’s fiscal and economic destiny, topics which the Prime Minister—once an economic policy analyst and, like her mother, International Trade Minister—holds dear to her heart. For the Prime Minister, this represents a devastating loss of power in guiding economic policy that her party and its predecessor, the Democratic National Party, have considered paramount and held closely to their chest for seven years. For The Liberals, however, this represents a triumphant return to power in what was once considered their unchallenged political turf as the sole political party of the Tavari economic elite. The past decade or so has been a nadir of political power for The Liberals, which once won 20 elections in a row and governed the Tavari Empire uninterrupted from 1818 to 1887, but the era in which Tavari politics could disregard the whims of the nation’s oldest extant political party is now over.

Del. Kolai Šandra Vencrandíl has held onto the leadership of the country’s leading centre-left party—currently named Ítan Ladrena (ÍL, “For Democracy”)—through both its largest merger and most devastating cleavage in its already tumultuous history, and for her steadfastness she has been rewarded with the Vice Presidency of the Council of State and one of the great offices of state, Minister for External Affairs. She has also taken on the mantle of Minister for the Tavari Union, apparently over strenuous objections from the Prime Minister, who insisted in negotiations that this would violate the spirit of creating a separate ministry for the Union in the first place. Unlike The Liberals, Ítan Ladrena’s cabinet portfolios are less cohesive: in addition to Ms. Šandra Vencrandíl’s positions, the social democrats hold Defence, Environment, and for the first time ever as a standalone portfolio, Equality. The Ministry for Defence has long been considered, at least by convention, to be an apolitical one outside the normal policy process, but Ms. Šandra Vencrandíl’s remarks made quite clear that her party will be a voice against the Prime Minister’s propensity to use the Tavari military, and Defence Minister Del. Tebran Išdašt Batti, a retired Air Force general who is the only former flag officer among Ítan Ladrena’s elected officials, said in a written statement “As Minister for Defence I will follow our Commander-in-Chief, who is our elected Prime Minister, and I will work to ensure that our military will always be used when it is called for and never when it is not.”

With a majority of 94 seats, the Grand Centre coalition is nominally quite stable and theoretically able to absorb a handsome amount of defectors without losing confidence. In reality, however, The Liberals exist as a fractious collection of four competing factions that are enshrined in the party’s constitution and each afforded a significant degree of leeway from whipped votes. Two of the factions represent the two rightward political parties that The Liberals absorbed at the beginning of 2024: Republican Alternative, a collection of various right-leaning politicians united only by their anti-monarchy stance, and Coalition Right, a collection of various neoliberal politicians united only by their disinclination toward military operations and grudge against Žarís Nevran Alandar. The other two factions have long competed with one another for dominance within The Liberals: the core of the party’s support all the way back to the early 19th century has been the Tavari business elite, which has for many years struggled against the ever rising bloc of genuinely right-wing culture warriors with little actual care for classical liberalism as an ideology. Ítan Ladrena is less fractious now than it has been in years with the departure from its ranks of the democratic socialist Labour Party and the two green parties, Green Tavaris and Urth, but is deeply opposed to essentially the entire Liberal economic agenda, and it is almost guaranteed that any Liberal attempts to cut social services will fail in the Diet given that, while they tend to agree on many other things, The Liberals will likely find few if any allies for their agenda among the Tavari National Party (KDT, Kranσazdi Danvi Tavari), whose wave of new support in 2024 came off the back of pledges to expand, not cut back, social services—for Tavari people.

Indeed, KDT is now the angry, giant, purple jaguar in the room as, for the first time in Tavari history, the far right party is now the Official Opposition. Noting the similarity with the rise of the Tavari Communist Party to the same position in 2017, KDT party president Del. Tazena Oren Inzar stated “What we are seeing is a historic movement, just as historic and just as consequential to our country as in 2017, with the people of this country moving to new political parties because the ideologies of old are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of our modern society. Unlike the Akronists, we will not destroy or fracture our beautiful country. Unlike the liberals—which, by the way, includes all three coalition parties—we will stand for a genuinely new economy that truly supports our people and truly gives our people what they need. We will not need to shy away from spending money on our people once we stop spending money on not our people. It is a real shame that Prime Minister Nevran Alandar is a coward who refused to work with us on our goals that we share with Irínavi Voi, such as building nuclear power plants, expanding the nuclear weapons program, growing our military in size, international stature, and effectiveness in war, and, yes, also in fixing our embarrassing national problem with computers and the Internet, and while we are at least relieved that her coalition will prevent the worst of her propensity for forcing social engineering down our throats, the coalition’s shameful adherence to neoliberal economics that has doomed hardworking Tavari orcs while enriching already rich foreign business interests must be broken and our domestic Tavari industries and Tavari working orcs protected and given support.”

Ms. Oren Inzar, who is the direct main line descendant of the last Chief of Oren, has for several years used the nickname “Chief of Oren.” While it is true that, were Line Oren’s ancient laws for selecting its Chief still in force, Ms. Oren Inzar would in fact hold the title, Chiefs have been abolished since 1793, and while it is not illegal to use the title, Constitutional scholars have raised the issue that Ms. Oren Inzar may not be able to take her lawful seat on the Council of State—the body that gives formal legal effect to orders of Cabinet and gives binding advice to the Emperor—because the Chief of Nuvo is all but certain to refuse to enact an order appointing a pretender Chief to the Council, and it is unclear that the government would have the lawful authority to force the monarch to do so. “The constitution is very clear in both text and unwritten convention that the King may act under his own authority on matters dealing with ‘the privileges and dignity of the office of Chief of Nuvo,’ but does not define what dignity means. The Tavari constitutional monarchy is literally defined by the fact that it is the only remaining Tavari Chiefdom, and it is almost inconceivable that any Tavari monarch would consider the recognition of a pretender Chief as anything except an impugnment of that basic source of their legal authority. He may even refuse to permit her to step foot on the grounds of the Royal Palace at all, considering it is spiritually sacred ground whose sacredness the Emperor is obligated to uphold,” said constitutional scholar Dr. Katai Dondru of the University of Nuvrenon, who studies the Tavari monarchy and its roles in relation to the Akronist-Traditionalist political conflict. “Even though the law states that the Leader of the Opposition is one of the eight people given a seat on the Council ex officio, and it is the Prime Minister who issues the oath of office to Councillors, every single Prime Minister, consistently through history, has enacted all appointments to the Council by issuing formal written orders that the monarch approves like any other Order-in-Council. That makes it a convention, which means a judge will have to have the final say, and it’s hard to imagine any jurist in this country ruling contrary to such a basic and fundamental understanding of the Tavari constitution like ‘there is only one Chief.’”

The Silver Court declined to comment for this article. The Office of the Prime Minister, in response to questions regarding the Emperor’s constitutional prerogative to deny an appointment to the Council of State, responded simply “There exists no law permitting a monarch to refuse an appointment to the Council of State.” However, most notably, the Office of the Prime Minister has not yet issued the letters of appointment for the Councillors, as has usually been done on the same day a Cabinet is appointed, and the Office declined to respond to questions about whether or not the letters were forthcoming. Said Dr. Dondru: “If there is a conflict, the Prime Minister is likely to say that Ms. Oren Inzar and the others automatically became members of the Council once the Cabinet was formed. However, the Leader of the Opposition is not an office that is appointed by some letter or action—the Diet rules of procedure simply automatically grant the office to the leader of the largest party faction not in government. Someone, somewhere, is almost certain to have to put something down on paper, and if the Emperor refuses to stamp his seal, ultimately the only option the Prime Minister will have is to hope the courts listen to her or try in the Diet to change who the monarch is. And, somehow, I expect the Chief of Nuvo to last far, far longer than the Chief of Oren.”

[Acronis]

26 July 2024

Show Them Your Anger: Fires and Broken Windows in Lantaž and Sinajärv as “Rodokan Question” becomes “Rodokan Crisis”

SINAJÄRV, Rodoka and the Isles (TavariFax)– Žarís Nevran Alandar, the only Tavari Prime Minister to be fluent in Rodokan, was once beloved in the Rodokan capital where she served her military conscription, but with piles of shattered glass along High Street and char marks on the ground in Jürjo Square, it could not be clearer that the Prime Minister’s proposed answer to “the Rodokan question” has been resoundingly rejected by the Rodokan population not just in Tavaris but Rodoka itself as well. Rodokans were in the streets not within hours but minutes of the Prime Minister’s announcement, late in the working day on a Friday in futile hopes of dodging media attention, that the government’s answer to the total disenfranchisement of ethnic Rodokan Tavari citizens living in the Kingdom of Tavaris by the Ranat Accords—which removed the 20 seats for Rodokan tribes from the National Diet of Tavaris but did not replace them with any other way for Tavari citizens not members of any of the 1,152 traditional Tavari Lines to elect representation in the national legislature—was to create a new Diet Delegate seat for “Resident Rodokans,” as well as another for “Other Union Citizens”, a result that leaves the some 400,000 ethnic Rodokans living in Tavaris with one Delegate while ethnic Tavari enjoy representation at one Delegate for, depending on how one counts, between 30,000 and 60,000 people. Nominally, these changes technically rectify two glaring failures of democracy in Tavaris generated by the conflict between Tavaris’ uncommon tradition of clan-based electoral representation and the Ranat Accords’ mandate that Tavari Union citizens have the right to vote in any Tavari Union country in which they are resident. The reality, however, is that this decision has been unquestionably rejected, as evidenced by the burning rage on the island of a level unseen since the Tavari-Milofite War.

It was not for lack of trying that the Tavari legislature came to settle on what has been nicknamed the “Line Rodoka solution” to the “Rodokan question.” A solution that Rodokans immediately asked for, and which Prime Minister Nevran Alandar initially supported, was to calculate upon each election the average size of a Tavari Line, and then to afford Rodokans in Tavaris a number of Diet Delegates so that the Rodokans enjoyed an equal number of voters per Delegate as ethnic Tavari voters. In theory, the total number of all people in each Tavari Line is always known to the Tavari government through the tašriran family registry system and voter registration numbers, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs publishes official population counts every 6 years and estimates annually. This solution hit a stumbling block very early, however, for one reason: the Diet could not come to an agreement on whether Tavari voters living outside Tavaris ought to be counted for purposes of calculating the average size. There are some 36 million people living in Tavaris, but there are Tavari people living all around the world, especially in Rodoka, Acronis, and Elatana, who are still members of Tavari Lines and who are still eligible to vote in Tavari elections. There are another 35 million people in Rodoka, Acronis, and Elatana, many of whom are in Tavari Lines but, crucially, who no longer participate in the tašriran system and whose numbers are therefore unable to be accurately counted by the government. The Prime Minister and her allies on the question, centre-left Ítan Ladrena, came to support counting only those resident in Tavaris for purposes of representation, which would have given the Rodokans about one Delegate for every 30,000 people, or 14 Delegates. The Liberals were only prepared to use the larger 60,000 number, for half the Delegates, but the green parties and the Tavari National Party both balked—nominally because of the “inherent uncertainty of numbers” as Tavari National Party leader Del. Tazena Oren Inzar stated in Diet debates, but almost certainly more to do with objections over, in the greens’ case Rodokan whaling and, in the nationalists’ case, Rodokan representation at all. Attempts to simply restore the same 20 Rodokan seats as had existed prior to the Ranat Accords failed because this number was higher than the 14 many had already rejected, meanwhile, Rodokan negotiators rejected this and the prior solutions because they viewed the previous count of 20 Delegates too low, noting that the true population of Rodokan tribes included all 6 million Rodokans and, if these numbers were used, Rodokans ought to have not 14 or 20 Delegates but 200.

Several votes over the course of 2023 failed each and every time to reach the requisite ⅔ majority to enact a change. An attempt to create new Diet seats through ordinary statute was ruled unconstitutional in January of 2024, as the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that “the text of the Instruments of Governance clearly and unequivocally states that the National Diet shall consist of one Delegate for each Line ‘and any other members as the Diet may establish by constitutional legislation.’” His Esteemed Majesty’s Government had argued in court that “constitutional legislation” was undefined in the text of the Instruments and therefore not a valid constraint, but the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that, according to the recorded notes of the drafting of the Instruments, the phrase ‘constitutional legislation’ was selected specifically to refer to the Treaty of Sinajärv of 1634, the document which annexed Rodoka into Tavaris and afforded the Rodokans a degree of autonomy and political rights, most crucially that Rodokan tribes would be afforded the same dignity as Tavari Lines. “The legal tradition and political convention throughout the entire history of the written Tavari constitution since 1793 has very clearly been that treaties only carry constitutional force if ratified by a ⅔ vote of the Diet. Furthermore, the Instruments establishes a procedure known as ‘entrenching legislation with constitutional status,’ which the Diet has used for centuries to override court decisions with which it disagrees and enact any number of other legal maneuvers so long as they do not explicitly negate any pre-existing constitutional text. This also requires a ⅔ majority. There is simply no basis for the government’s fantasy that there has never been a definition for ‘constitutional legislation.’”

Any hope the 68th Diet had of coming to a genuine solution went out the window in January when the Prime Minister’s confidence-and-supply partners Republican Alternative merged their party into The Liberals and she therefore lost her effective majority, to say nothing of the political and social crisis caused by the shooting of the Emperor in February. There were protests in Sinajärv and Lantaž in March when the Prime Minister announced that the temporary solution enacted after the Ranat Accords, randomly pairing each of the 20 Rodokan tribes to one of the Tavari Lines (except the 20 largest) for the purposes of electing a Delegate, would carry over to the next general election, which she ended up calling only weeks later. This solution was palatable to Rodokans in that each of these Lines immediately became majority Rodokan—hundreds of thousands of Rodokan voters compared to tens of thousands of Tavari—but, as one could expect, entirely unpalatable to the Tavari citizens in those Lines who complained that they had been disenfranchised. After every single one of the 20 Lines assigned Rodokans went for the Prime Minister’s party in the 2024 election, including historically stalwart Liberal lines like Olóntra and Anandra, The Liberals and the Tavari National Party made clear they would not tolerate this solution being used for another election. Despite The Liberals forming part of the coalition government, they insisted to the Prime Minister they would only accept the option put forward by the nationalist Official Opposition: one Delegate for all Rodokans resident in Tavaris. As a compromise, they offered to also establish one Delegate for all other unlined Tavari Union citizens, a delegacy at least equivalent to the Rodokan one in disproportionality, if not more. This was enough to sway Green Tavaris, and with a total of 420 delegates between them, this meant that the remaining delegates could never attain a ⅔ majority to pass any other solution. Ultimately, the measure establishing the two new delegacies passed by 794-358, with every party except the Prime Minister’s joining together to vote for the bill.

For her part, the Prime Minister came out in fierce opposition to the bill but described her hands as tied. “The Tavari legislature was unable to reach a solution that was fair, just, or equitable. The Tavari legislature made the wrong decision today, one that promises to do nothing except sow further resentment and division in the hearts of a noble people who have been a part of us for four hundred years, but who are now robbed of genuine political representation for no reason at all except the most disgustingly blatant, self-serving politicking this country has ever seen. Being opposed to whaling—something plenty of Tavari do too—is no reason to deny a group equal representation in the legislature. Denying a group equal representation because its members tend to vote for political parties you don’t like is repugnant to democracy and a permanent ugly stain on the Tavari social fabric, and the outright specism on display from the Tavari National Party in denying Rodokans their fair share of seats simply because they feel only Tavari people should vote is so unconscionable it is beyond words. I am so deeply ashamed of my country today, but I must respect the fundamental law in this country that the Diet is sovereign and that it has chosen, with its lawful authority, this deeply wrong path. This law has become part of the Tavari constitution, but I pledge to you today from this day forward to do everything in my power to overturn it and replace it with something just and fair.”

The Presiding Chief of Rodoka and the Isles, Ivi Puna Laar, had long been a stalwart ally and fellow neoliberal spirit of the Prime Minister, but when she stepped out of her office to address the angry crowd gathering in the square named for the last independent High Chief of Rodoka, it became clear that Irínavi Voi’s opposition to the bill was not sufficient and the days of their friendship are over. “April 14th, 2022 was the scariest night of my life. Tavaris, which was my country at the time, stood at the brink of civil war, with Akronist terrorists encircling a Tavari military base and two almost-halves of the country at each other’s throats. Rodoka stood in the middle then, surrounded by fire and rage, trapped and afraid. I knew then, we all learned then, that it was time for us to take charge of our own destiny. But in those first few hours of panicked negotiations, all of us crammed into a tacky hotel conference begging Vana [Dandreal] and Žarís to step back from the cliff, I made a terrible decision. When Žarís Nevran Alandar came up to me, head drooped, voice low, shoulders hunched in shame, and told me that the agreement as written would ‘accidentally’ result in Rodokans living outside Rodoka to lose their Diet representation, I looked out the window, out over the dark shadows of the trees and the mountains, and imagined fire and smoke and blood and war, and I was afraid. When she told me she was afraid the Akronists would reject the whole deal if we had to reopen negotiations, I feared that standing up for Rodoka would mean the end of Rodoka and everywhere else in this Tavari world we were forced to live in. So I relented. I said ‘we’ll give it a few months, and get this settled before the next election.’ I did it for peace. I did it for fear. Well, Rodokans, here we are. It’s been two years. There’s been an election. Their liberals don’t like the parties we vote for, their environmentalists don’t like the whaling we do, and their nationalists don’t like that humans can vote, so their legislature—their legislature, the one they kicked us out of—couldn’t pick an answer that gave us any actual representation. In other words, Rodokans don’t get democracy because it’s inconvenient. Rodoka, Žarís Nevran Alandar called me just now and, in that same low, ashamed voice, asked me to come out here and ‘say something’ to you. She wants me to ask you to calm down and go home, but Rodoka, what I am here to tell you to do is to speak what seems to be the only language the Tavari understand: rage, fire, and fear. Do not calm down and go home, Rodokans. Go out and show them your anger.”

The Rodokans complied.

In Sinajärv, an angry, shouting mob moved down High Street from the square to the waterfront, leaving shattered storefronts and burning refuse in their wake. But the bulk of Rodokans living in Tavaris live in or around Lantaž, and at press time, Lantaž was still burning. Marshalls estimated some 250,000 people in the city center—a third of the population of the Lantaž metropolitan area—before the assembly was declared unlawful and protestors ordered to disperse. The crowd refused to comply and charged at the Marshall position protecting the controversial statue of Akronist Matron Ilara Nevran Lendreaž that Rodokans have been defacing and attempting to destroy for decades. Akronist defenders of the statue attempted to respond with force, which aggravated not just the Rodokans but also Tavari nationalist counter-demonstrators, who very quickly became counter-rioters. Marshalls reported 12 people dead in Lantaž and more than 500 people arrested, but more specific details such as the species or political affiliation of the dead or arrested were unavailable. Citing an “active law enforcement intervention underway as we speak,” Marshalls declined to comment.

Tavari political leaders such as The Liberals party president and Deputy Prime Minister Henda Lanaš Bettõndra placed the blame for the violence squarely on Ms. Puna Laar, saying “Ivi Puna Laar, who is still a Tavari citizen, just stood in front of the world and openly called for outright political violence. This is textbook incitement and if Ivi Puna Laar steps foot on Tavari soil even one more time in her life, she should be and, spirits as my witness will be arrested and thrown in prison for the rest of her life in responsibility for the 12 people who have died today just because a foreign Prime Minister did not like the lawful choice made by our democratically elected legislature.” Del. Kolai Šandra Vencrandíl, party president of Ítan Ladrena, concurred: “It is so deeply irresponsible, so deeply repugnant, for Ivi Puna Laar to deliberately incite political violence in a foreign, allied country. Reasonable people can disagree, but as the head of government of a country, Ivi should know that you can’t put this anger in the hearts of already angry people and hope to get anywhere constructive with it. This will solve nothing and create more problems.”

The Leader of His Esteemed Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, Tavari National Party president Del. Tazena Oren Inzar, has called Ms. Puna Laar’s speech “an outright and deliberate act of terrorism and war” and called for war with Rodoka, an option that is sure to fall on deaf ears with the Rodokan-speaking Commander-in-Chief, but concerningly, Ms. Oren Inzar also said “We will respond to this even if the Prime Minister does not.” It was unclear who “we” refers to in her statement, and the Delegate’s office declined comment for this article. The purple-black-and-white nationalist flag popularised by violent anti-Akronist rioters in the 1960s Crematorium Crisis could be seen flying in Lantaž as well as in apparent solidarity demonstrations in Višara, the known hotbed of Tavari nationalist activity, but also in Good Harbour and Nuvrenon. Demonstrations in the national capital were quickly cleared off the street by forceful Marshall activity, with unconfirmed reports of Marshalls firing their guns in the air toward protestors, but the demonstration in Good Harbour was allowed to proceed and as of press time was reported to remain peaceful. Rodokan National Police officers posted in Palace Square as part of the Emperor’s security detail reportedly withdrew from the street, but a spokesperson for the agency said “the National Police will remain inside the Palace in observation of our treaty agreement with Tavaris to protect our High Chief.”

A high level source within the Silver Court, who TavariFax is keeping anonymous because they were not authorised to speak on the record, said that an offer by Emperor Otan IV to make a speech to Rodokans was refused by Ivi Puna Laar. “She laughed in [the Emperor’s] face and said that it would be useless because ‘you can’t actually do anything anyway.’ The Emperor’s Rodokan has never been great, and he has only visited Rodoka as High Chief maybe three or four times. They don’t care what he has to say. This entire debacle has well and truly destroyed any good will the Rodokans have toward Tavaris and toward Tavari culture.” In an unsigned, written response to the claim, the Silver Court said “While we do not comment on press rumors of hearsay or on the private, constitutionally privileged conversations the High Chief has with his Presiding Chief, the Silver Court states firmly and proudly on the record that Otan IV loves the people of Rodoka and the Isles and wants nothing more than peace on the streets of the Tavari Union. The way to solve our differences, all of our differences, is always through peace and mutual respect.” The Silver Court declined to answer questions on whether the Emperor plans to address the people of Rodoka or the people of Tavaris regarding the riots, referring them to the Office of the Prime Minister, which responded with another unsigned, written statement: “The Kingdom of Tavaris has been made aware that the High Chief of the United Tribes of Rodoka and the Isles has been asked by the Presiding Chief to refrain from commenting on the current situation. We will not interfere.”

The United Tribes of Rodoka and the Isles declined to comment for this article.

[Acronis]

25 June 2024

Shrinemasters Brawl in Palace Square as Royal Family Physically Blocks Tazena Oren Inzar from Entering Palace

NUVRENON– With rifles in their arms and tusks bared in outrage, His Highness the King Emeritus and dozens of Tavat Avati Shrinemasters stood in front of the gate at Palace Square on Tuesday morning and physically prevented Del. Tazena Oren Inzar, president of the Tavari National Party (KDT), from entering the palace grounds. Behind them on the green stood lines of officers of the Public Safety Administration of Greater Ilarís, unarmed but arms interlocked, as the Chief of Nuvo stood back in the distance, in the doorframe of the Royal Palace, holding the seven hundred year old sacred symbol of Tavari state authority, the Blade of Storm. The message was undeniably clear: the so-called “Chief of Oren” is unwelcome in the seat of the Tavari monarchy. Without question, the event has precipitated a constitutional crisis pitting the royal family against the Cabinet as the lawful leader of His Esteemed Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition has been prevented from assuming the office of member of the Council of State which statute says is automatically bestowed on the opposition leader.

The Silver Court issued a written statement signed by Emperor Otan IV, stating “The spirits of every King and Queen of Tavaris still live real lives here on the grounds of this Royal Palace, just as they have every day for seven centuries. Their presence is real, here in our physical world, just silent, invisible, and intangible. I speak for them. I speak for their dignity and for mine, which is the dignity of all Tavaris and the symbol of our unity. There is only one Chief in this country. Since 1793, that has been the fundamental underlying bedrock of our entire system of government. Except for one, kept ceremonially as a symbol, the Chiefs were abolished and their power bestowed in the National Diet. One who claims to be a Chief is taking—stealing—a piece of sovereign power that does not belong to them and using it to make themselves bigger, more prestigious, more intimidating. This is the grossest, most basal kind of dishonour, an insult to the spirits of all the Tavari who have fought and died for our constitutional system of government, and it is an act of spiritual masturbation galling in its obscenity. There could be no greater dishonour to the spirits who walk our sacred Festival Green, who sleep in our sacred catacombs, and who remember their lives here in this house that the Chiefs of Nuvo built. I took an oath as Chief of Nuvo to preserve their honour and yours, and as Chief of Nuvo, I am King of Tavaris and Emperor of the Tavari. If I fail my oath, I fail my country. So long as I live, no one who calls themselves a Chief may cross through my gate unaccosted, and certainly may not sit at my table, whether it be for dinner or for the Council of State.”

A conflict between the Chief of Nuvo and Ms. Oren Inzar was expected, considering the implications on the dignity of the monarchy in even implicitly recognising a pretender Chief in a country where the monarchy is defined as being the only Chief. Ms. Oren Inzar has used the title as a nickname for some 10 years, since she began her political career in Motai Province, and there is not and has never been a law explicitly making such a claim illegal. A physical confrontation, however, was unexpected—at least by the public. Given that Ms. Oren Inzar herself arrived with a cadre of notably large Shrinemasters, it is likely that she might have had an idea of what to expect. The presence of King Emeritus Zaram V was apparently unexpected, however—judging by Ms. Oren Inzar’s bellowed and colourful remarks at him that were stunningly unprintable in a newspaper. In a great embarrassment to Ms. Oren Inzar, the King Emeritus had more Shrinemasters on his side than hers, and all of his were members of the College of Spirit-speakers, the senior-most Shrinemasters in the Tavat Avati faith. Hers, however, were quite bedecked in feathers, and one of the Shrinemasters in the King Emeritus’ retinue dared to pluck one from the headdress of Ms. Oren Inzar.

The roar of the Shrinemasters, the sickening sounds of fists on flesh and bone, and the screams of lookers-on in that single moment tore through the skies and through the hearts of the Tavari. Thankfully, there were never any gunshots, only the clatter of guns thrown down to the ground so their holders could better throw punches. The brawl was brief but powerful, and when it ended, Tazena Oren Inzar stood alone, with a bleeding lip, her entire side fallen onto the ancient paving stones beneath them, while the King Emeritus and eleven of his Shrinemasters formed a sacred dozen defenders still standing, blocking her from the sacred ground. According to several witnesses, the only remarks Ms. Oren Inzar made at the Square were “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Officers of the Rodokan National Police made several arrests after the brawl, including Spirit-speakers Mabran Novar Kancašdi, 44, of Nakaš; Dame Eša Nuvo Gagažtó, 56, of Žakanbana; Šoži Navandri Hababna, 49, of Dobu Township; Rogobi Udrovi Dalažar, 42, of Nuvrenon, and “several individuals who are not yet being named because they are unconscious and have not yet been formally issued their statement of rights or had the opportunity to consult legal counsel.” Neither Ms. Oren Inzar nor the King Emeritus were arrested, though officers of the Rodokan National Police, who are handling security on the Square, were seen taking statements from both. Delegate Tazena Oren Inzar declined comment for this article.

The Prime Minister issued two statements in response—one written and one at a press conference. In her written statement, she explained in a careful tone her disagreement with the Silver Court’s position. “I understand that the Silver Court has significant, deep-seated, religious and spiritual objections to the presence of a pretender Chief on the sacred ground of the Royal Palace and legal objections to the presence of one on the Council of State. Nevertheless, Tazena Oren Inzar is a member of the Council of State. The very second the coalition agreement became effective, Tazena Oren Inzar became the leader of the largest caucus not in government, and by immediate effect of the Rules of Procedure of the Diet, became Leader of the Opposition, and then by immediate effect of statute law, became a member of the Council of State. Previous governments, including mine, have issued written orders confirming these appointments, but upon consultation with the Attorney General, we have determined it is not legally required to do so. Never in our written constitutional system has the monarch ever held discretion on who may be on the Council. It would be as equally unconstitutional for the monarch to deny a pretender chief a Cabinet position or any other office that is appointed by the monarch. However, because it is his family’s home, the monarch has the right to refuse to permit Delegate Oren Inzar to enter the Royal Palace.”

In her press conference held after the brawl, however, Mrs. Nevran Alandar was much less diplomatic. “His Highness the King Emeritus should be ashamed of himself. We don’t need bravado like this. We need brave leaders to call for peace, not Shrinemasters fighting in the streets. Grown adults don’t handle their business in this way. We look to the royal family for inspiration, guidance, and hope. What I saw today was just ugly and embarrassing.” Notedly, however, the Prime Minister made no mention of Emperor Otan’s participation. “The work of our country will continue. Tazena Oren Inzar has the freedom of expression to call herself a Chief. The royal family has the right to forbid her entry to the palace. We will have a Council of State that exists as the law calls for. We will calm down. Things will begin to approach normal, if we do a little work to bring the temperature down.”

However, it is clear that the situation will still be unusual, and almost certainly quite awkward. The Prime Minister stated that the Council will now meet at her office in Government Centre One, but it will meet without the Emperor, who has refused to meet with Ms. Oren Inzar. So too has the King Emeritus, who might otherwise have been asked to stand in for the Emperor. The only other individuals who under current law may fill in for the Emperor in meetings of the Council are Prince Hendrik and the Emperor’s uncle, Dr. Kanor Nuvo Nakrotan. The Imperial Consort regularly has his own duties in Vistaraland to attend to and he may not always be able to be present, leaving the younger brother of King Emeritus Zaram and the father of Queen Elarai as the most likely option. Queen Elarai herself, and anyone else in the line of succession, are lawfully forbidden from exercising royal powers in an acting capacity.

In any case, it is likely the Council will begin to meet less frequently than its usual weekly candor, and while unwritten convention does permit the monarch to delegate authority, there are sure to be doubts about whether there can be a valid “acting Emperor” at the Council while the actual Emperor is still functioning and performing his duties elsewhere. It will be especially difficult if one of the rare examples of a royal prerogative comes to the Council, a question where the monarch may make their own decision without having to follow binding advice from the Council. In such a circumstance, what would occur if Dr. Nuvo Nakrotan made a decision with which Emperor Otan disagreed? “To my knowledge, this has never occurred. We’ll have to figure it out when we get there,” said Tavari constitutional scholar Dr. Katai Dondru of the University of Nuvrenon. “I feel like I’ve been saying things like that a lot lately. It’s supposed to be rare in my field of study. But we live in interesting times, don’t we?”

[Acronis]

23 September 2024

In Groundbreaking Historic Moment, Emperor Creates 20 New Lines for Rodokans

NUVRENON– For seven hundred and twenty years, the entire history of the Kingdom of Tavaris, there have been precisely one thousand, one hundred and fifty two Tavari Lines. Today, for the first time in history, they will be joined by twenty more. His Esteemed Majesty Otan IV, Emperor of the Tavari, High Chief of the United Tribes of Rodoka and the Isles, and Chief of Nuvo, has by decree ordered that each of the twenty Rodokan tribes shall also be Tavari Lines, earning each of them a seat in the National Diet. This is a power that the Tavari monarch has always held but never used, as the pinnacle of the Line system and ultimate arbiter of who stands in which Line. It was Otan IV’s ancestor, King Utor I, the first King of All Tavaris, who finalised and formalised the Lines by ascribing their histories in the sacred religious text he wrote, the Tavat Avati, that forms the basis of the faith of two-thirds of Tavari citizens. In his declaration, Emperor Otan himself penned histories for the twenty Rodokan tribes but noted that they would not be counted among the books of the Tavat Avati, stating that “the history and culture of the Rodokan people is something separate from that of the Tavari, standing alongside it in comradeship, equal in dignity and honour.”

Effective the moment that the silver hammer struck the silver nail pinning the declaration to the teak announcement board in Palace Square, the twenty new Lines are: Hõbesepp, Kalamüüja, Karjakas, Kaupleja, Kivisüda, Koervaat, Lääneli, Laevasepp, Lõunama, Luulõikur, Moenarr, Puna, Puuhoidja, Selano, Silmaring, Vaalaul, Vaim, Vetevahel, Vibuteja, and Viha. Emperor Otan posted the announcement himself, escorted from the doors of the Palace out onto the Square by officers of the Rodokan National Police. Standing beside him was Presiding Chief of Rodoka, Ivi Puna Laar, who donned a ceremonial cape of whale skin and wolf fur for the occasion, with her face painted in the ancient tradition of Rodokan whale hunters.

“Since time immemorial, the Tavari people have divided themselves into clans we call Lines—literal lines of people, spirit and living, ancestors and descendants standing one behind another stretching back into our storied past and infinitely into our collective future. As Chief of Nuvo and Chief-of-Chiefs, I stand at the junction of all our Lines, the pinnacle and arbiter of this system, upon which we built our civilization, our country, and our democracy. It is my job to lead, guide, and safekeep these Lines, just as it is my job to guarantee our constitution and perpetuate our society. Never before has a Chief of Nuvo used this power, but each and every one of them since Utor I has held it, long acknowledged as one of the theoretical reserve powers of the Tavari monarchy that the authors of our written constitution in the late 18th century deliberately and explicitly avoided placing in the hands of the legislature. Today, in order to correct a grave injustice, in order to fulfil my obligation to uphold and guarantee the tenets and principles of the Tavari constitution and ensure the continuance of the Tavari state, I use my ancient and sacred power to create 20 new Lines, one for each Rodokan tribe,” said the Emperor in remarks in the Square.

The creation of the new Lines is the Emperor’s answer to the Rodokan Question that has roiled Tavari politics for two years but reached a new height of tension two months ago, when riots broke out in the streets of the island of Rodoka’s major cities in response to the Tavari National Diet’s passage of legislation that granted Rodokans resident in Tavaris only one Delegate, where for nearly 400 years prior to 2022 they had held twenty, one for each tribe. The Diet had tried and failed for over a year to come up with a solution that could reach the requisite two-thirds majority needed to enact constitutionally entrenched legislation, in what Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar called “the most disgustingly blatant, self-serving politicking this country has ever seen,” with various political parties in the Diet taking the opportunity to enforce their own policy goals with Rodokan representation in the national legislature on the line. In the past two months, Rodokan rights activists in Tavaris and Rodoka have been discussing ending the personal union between Tavaris and Rodoka and even withdrawing from the Tavari Union entirely. Today, however, Emperor Otan announced to the world that he takes his role as High Chief of Rodoka seriously, and his plan has earned the imprimatur of his Presiding Chief, the Rodokan head of government.

“This is not the solution anyone wanted. This is not the solution that is the most fair, the most equitable, or the most respectful. This does not erase the utter failure of the Tavari legislature’s complete and total abdication of duty in failing to stand up for the democratic ideals enshrined in its constitution and allowing petty politics to result in the repugnant disenfranchisement of an entire people. But it does, at the very least, restore the prior status quo and grant a modicum of better representation for Rodokan citizens of the Kingdom of Tavaris in the national legislature,” said Presiding Chief Puna Laar. “Rodokan tribes are not Tavari Lines. They never have been. Our tribes come from our history and our tradition, separated from Tavaris by millennia of time and an entire ocean of space. The fact that we are forced to accept this designation in order to gain this still unequal representation is just one more example of Tavari imperialism, forcing us to fit into Tavari boxes so we can fairly advocate for ourselves in the legislature of this country we helped build and which hundreds of thousands of Rodokans chose and continue to choose to reside in. Nevertheless, it is better than what Žarís Nevran Alandar could do, and we thank our High Chief for doing what he can to stand up for what is right.”

In order to satisfy unwritten constitutional conventions that are considered to proscribe general “blanket” declarations, Emperor Otan had to individually name the members of each new Line—hundreds of thousands in each, taken from the voter registry rolls of the past two general elections. The Emperor acknowledged that these lists are “almost certainly incomplete” and announced that the Silver Court would be coordinating with the Rodokan government to create a method by which Rodokans can self-identify with one of the twenty Lines and, where necessary, be issued individual declarations by the Chief of Nuvo to attain proper registration. The full text of the declaration was thicker than a phone book and could not be posted to the announcement board, and instead—in another first—the posted announcement included a QR code to direct readers to the full text of the declaration on the Silver Court’s website, vta.gov.ta. In the meantime, only the individually named people will be able to register to vote in the elections for the Lines’ first Delegates. The Tavari government will need to schedule a date for those elections, which will almost certainly be after the elections for the “Rodokans Resident in Tavaris” delegate, created by the recent legislation, which is set for this Sunday, the 29th. This delegate seat is unaffected by the Emperor’s declaration, meaning that the Rodokans will have 21 seats in the Diet—one for each tribe/Line and one essentially “at-large.”

Rodokan civil society groups are not necessarily satisfied with the arrangement, and some noted that things like an end to the personal union and to Tavari Union membership are not off the table. “We now return to the still inherently unequal system of one Rodokan vote for 200,000 people compared to one Tavari vote for 20,000. The Tavari system of ethnic representation in the legislature is an inherent flaw in democracy and affront to sapient rights, it always has been, and for so long as it continues to stand, it always will be,” said Lennart Hõbesepp Piip, chairman of the Council for Tavari-Rodokan Advancement. “This will not quell all the calls for Rodoka to pull away from Tavaris, though it will at the very least bring down the intensity.” The Council for Tavari-Rodokan Advancement, like many Rodokan rights groups, has long called for the total replacement of Line-based representation in the Diet with geographic constituencies as used in essentially every other democracy on Urth, which the Rodoka Native Tribal Association used for its twenty seats in the National Diet from 1992 until the 2022 Ranat Accords repealed the Treaty of Sinajärv which had granted the Rodokans their separately-counted representation in the Tavari legislature.

The Emperor’s announcement was greeted with cautious optimism by many Rodokans on social media, as well as by many Tavari people, but a number of right-wing Tavari groups are outraged at what they see as a violation of ancient Tavari tradition and just one more example of “social engineering” foisted upon them from on high. Jaak Moenarr Vähi, the Rodokan ambassador to the International Forum who once held that same job for Tavaris, posted on Pigeon that “I am proud to see High Chief Otan stand up and use his power to correct this injustice. There were 1,172 chairs in the Tavari Diet from its very inception until 2022, there is no reason there cannot be again.” (Editor’s note: the Tavari Diet now consists of 1,174 seats.) Delegate Tazena Oren Inzar, Leader of the Opposition and president of the Tavari National Party, was far less pleased, posting “This is social engineering at its most disgusting. Without any public deliberation, without any discussion with anyone, the King has forced this change upon us and literally changed the very definition of who the Tavari are. Our identity has been taken from us. We have been violated.”

In expectation of high political passions, the Tavari Ministry of Defence has already declared a police action at Palace Square, meaning that no permits for demonstration can be issued and no gatherings are permitted. “Demonstration zones” have been established several blocks from the centres of Tavari government at Queen Melora Park and the King Zaram IV Exposition Centre in Nuvrenon, and several blocks of High Street in Lantaž, capital of Tavaris’ Rodoka Province, have been cordoned off for demonstrations well away from the municipal buildings. Aside from a written, unsigned statement from the Defence Ministry, the Tavari government and Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar have been entirely silent in regard to the announcement. The Office of the Prime Minister stated that “no statement is immediately forthcoming.” Already at press time, crowds had gathered at the aforementioned demonstration zones, with people at each pressing up against the barricades and demanding closer access to the Square. Several major businesses in the central business district, such as Ranzalar Holdings, Zandria, KokoVoi, NuvoBank, and Avtatóva, announced early closures, all citing concern for the safety of their employees. At NuvoBank, workers could be seen putting plywood over the windows on the ground floor, while Zandria—the largest weapons manufacturer in Tavaris—armed guards were posted at the doors.

Emperor Otan seemed to anticipate opposition in his remarks in the Square. “For many people, I know this will be just one more change. Change is difficult, especially a change of something that is held so closely to the heart—to the very soul—for millions of Tavari people. But we have not always counted 1,152 Lines. Before the unification of Tavaris, the Lines and their Chiefs were ever changing, even uncountable. Several of my predecessors in office have considered making or even unmaking Lines in the past, and Queen Melora the Brave herself once considered taking the very same action I have taken today. I have done today what must be done for fairness and justice, which have always been Tavari values from the very moment King Utor I first set pen to paper in writing the Tavat Avati that tells us how Chiefs must mete justice ‘in the interest first and foremost of what is fair to the spirits and the people involved.’ Our country today looks different than it has in the past, but I beseech all my people everywhere to take a moment and reflect on what is the same. We have stood next to the Rodokans for four hundred years. These are our friends and our allies. They built our country with us. They deserve fair representation. Everyone in this country, everyone who takes part in the building of our society, deserves fair representation.”

In that last remark, other activists have dared to find hope. Ulyon Naast, chairperson of the Ayaupian rights and civilian police advocacy group Demilitarise NOW, posted on Pigeon “It is not only Rodokans who take part in the building of our society but have no voice in the legislature. If the Emperor can do this for them, I hope he can do this for us, for the Banians, for all of the non-citizen nationals. We are here. We are waiting. Please, do not hear only the anger. Please hear us.”

[Acronis]

23 September 2024

48 Dead, Reserve Bank Headquarters Burns in Riots in Nuvrenon

NUVRENON (TavariFax)– Forty-eight people are dead and the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of the Tavari Union are burning to the ground after a massive crowd of angry rioters burst through police cordons and onto Palace Square in response to the Emperor’s announcement today of the creation of 20 new Tavari Lines for the Rodokan tribes. The Royal Tavari Army—not the Royal Tavari Marshalls, the military branch ordinarily charged with maintaining civil order—announced that it had “several dozen” people in custody, while the Rodokan National Police and the Nuvrenon Police Department both announced they had been overrun by rioters and unable to prevent the onslaught. Both agencies reported having officers fall in the line of duty, as did the Nuvrenon Fire Department and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sport’s Bureau of Heritage Sites Protection, which has never before had an officer lose their life in the line of duty. Rioters burst through barricades erected in three places in Nuvrenon’s central business district, and witnesses at each site reported apparent surrenders by Royal Tavari Marshalls, leaving the angry demonstrators to run through with little resistance. Only at the boundary of the Square did the crowds meet true opposition from the Army and the Rodokan National Police, who have been responsible for security in the Square since February’s attempted assassination of the Emperor by a soldier of the Marshalls.

The headquarters of the Reserve Bank of the Tavari Union, which sits directly on the Square opposite Government Centre One and next to the gate to the Royal Palace, were closed for regular business by the time of the riot but had apparently been occupied by at least a few remaining employees when angry rioters set fire to it at around 6:30PM, not long after pushing their way onto the Square. The Nuvrenon Fire Department reports that “about 10” people were evacuated from the building, but that “6 people tragically lost their lives in the fire.” As of press time, the fire was still burning and the Nuvrenon Fire Department was still engaged in efforts to bring it under control. A spokesperson for the Fire Department stated that “at least the bottom two storeys of the building are a total loss.”

Rioters were unable to breach Government Centre One, home to the office of the Prime Minister and various government agencies, due to the Army presence there, nor were they able to breach the gate to the Palace, protected by a multi-agency task force of the Nuvrenon Police Department, the Rodokan National Police, and the Public Safety Administration of Greater Ilarís. Speaking jointly on behalf of all the agencies present, Rodokan National Police spokesperson Cpt. Toomas Selano Rüütel said “At approximately quarter past six this evening, a crowd of rioters, estimated around two to three hundred people, forced their way into Palace Square and immediately attacked the law enforcement presence there. In addition to setting a fire at the Reserve Bank building, they attacked the positions at the Palace gate and Government Centre One. Fourteen officers of our various agencies have died in the line of duty tonight, many of them trampled to death. Deployment of non-lethal countermeasures failed due to many of the rioters wearing gas masks, and lethal measures were deployed. Twenty-seven rioters were killed, and several dozen were arrested by various agencies.”

In addition to the riot at Palace Square, violent demonstrations broke out at Queen Melora Park and the King Zaram IV Exposition Centre—the so-called “demonstration zones” that had been established as the officially sanctioned place for citizens to protest against the Emperor’s announcement. At Queen Melora Park, a civilian officer of the Bureau of Heritage Sites Protection died after being assaulted by a rioter, who was heard by several witnesses to shout “Death to Otan!” and who called the Emperor a “traitor to Tavaris.” One witness at Queen Melora Park, who gave their name as Vedra, said “A crowd of them poured out of a van and just swarmed everyone in a uniform they saw, it was the most violent thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Emperor Otan and Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar, who have been relocated to an “undisclosed, secure location in the capital,” issued a joint statement condemning the violence and calling for peace. “We cannot let this senseless rage to overtake us. We cannot allow this disgusting violence to entrench itself in our society and our hearts. None of this was necessary. No one had to die. All of these people should be at home, safe, with their families. Dozens of families are broken forever tonight, as are hearts and souls across our country and across the world. This is not the way to express discontent. Know that violence is unacceptable, and our officers of law enforcement will use the full extent of their authority and capability to stop violence and seek out and apprehend those who would use violence for political aims. This is entirely unacceptable, and the perpetrators of this violence have scarred our society and our hearts for a generation, if not forever. We implore the people of Tavaris to return to their homes and be safe.”

The Prime Minister has declared a “national security event” in Nuvrenon, deploying the Royal Tavari Army to the streets of the city and even scrambling aircraft in the skies. An immediate curfew has been declared, and hovercraft ferry service between the capital and Nakaš across the Strait of Kings has been suspended, as have all flights in and out of King Kanor Intercontinental Airport and all local train services. Several hundred people are gathered at commuter train stations across Nuvrenon Province, unable to return to their homes as ordered by the curfew, with the Nuvrenon Police Department reporting that “individuals at train stations unable to return home will not be arrested for violation of the curfew but will be asked to remain at the train station until limited runs of trains can be arranged securely to get them home.” People at various train stations across the city report chaos, panic, and fear. Tevri Qovani Merelda, 27, at Subittai Station, said “There’s two hundred people packed into this lobby that could fit maybe fifty, no food, no water, kettled in here by police officers with rifles and helmets, we have no idea when we’ll be able to get home, everyone is crying, there’s people in the corners having panic attacks. It’s mass hysteria.”

At Nevrani Pier, docking point for the Nevrani Court Ferry Company running hovercraft between the capital and Nakaš, several hundred residents of Nakaš and other southeastern coast cities are stranded, unable to return to their homes but also prevented from seeking hotel lodgings in Nuvrenon by soldiers of the Royal Tavari Army. One Nakaš resident, Golda, said “There seems to be a lack of communication between the Army and the police. One police officer wanted to let us go across the street and get some hotel rooms but a soldier just about shot us when took one step forward.” Another person who declined to give their name said “For a minute, we heard some chanting—they were chanting ‘One Thousand, One Hundred, and Fifty Two’—and the entire place burst into a panic, soldiers included. Now if anyone so much as coughs, the soldiers start pointing their guns. It’s absolute madness here.”

It is clear that the violence is being perpetrated by nationalist opponents of the Emperor’s announcement today declaring that the twenty ancient Rodokan tribes will now hold the status of Tavari Lines, granting them representation in the Tavari National Diet. The purple-black-and-white tricolour flag used by nationalists was seen flying at Palace Square, Queen Melora Park, and the Exposition Centre. One witness from the Exposition Centre who declined to be named said “I saw a crowd of people yelling ‘death to Otan’ run at a crowd of Marshalls at a barricade, and I swear, I saw the Marshalls shout it back. Then they just stood back and let the blokes with the nationalist flag run through their line and up toward the Square. Not until the day I die will I forget that sight. They just let them through.”

Maj. Kendra Oren Vabandra, a spokesperson for the Royal Tavari Marshalls, vehemently denied any cooperation between Marshalls and rioters. “The Royal Tavari Marshalls are brave warriors who put their lives on the line today and all days to preserve order and protect the people of Tavaris, as we have done since the Fourth Banian War. We are apolitical, and we certainly do not join in protests, nor do we surrender to charging rioters. We understand that violence is traumatic and during chaotic times, it can be easy to misunderstand what you are seeing. It is true that, in the face of unprecedented coordination of terrorist activity, Marshalls were at some points required to tactically advance backward in order to better secure their positions. It is also tragically true that at some locations, rioters were able to break through Marshall positions. We want to assure the Tavari people that we will investigate these lapses, but we are 144-per-gross committed to ensuring the safety of Nuvrenon and all the Tavari people.”

The Royal Tavari Army, in a written unsigned statement, said that “We are currently attempting to coordinate either a limited launch of ferries, possibly in coordination with the Navy, or to permit travellers stranded at the ferry docks to seek accommodation at hotels in Nuvrenon. However, it is unclear whether there are enough rooms available for all those who would seek one, and our primary goal is in securing the safety and security of the City and Province of Nuvrenon. It may be the case that some people may be asked to handle an evening of discomfort in the name of the security of all, and for that sacrifice, we thank the people who are cooperating with us today.” The Royal Tavari Navy did not respond to requests for comment.

At press time, there was also significant Tavari military presence in Lantaž, Rodoka, but no reported violence. Over Rodoka, Air Force jets and helicopters have been seen in the skies, and a curfew was declared at 7:30 PM local time (8:30 PM Tavari Mainland Time). Rodokan Presiding Chief Ivi Puna Laar issued a brief statement indicating she “had arrived in Sinajärv safety” and stating “With a broken heart, I condemn this violence and pray for the safety of Nuvrenon and all its people. All of us seek a world where we can live in fairness, in recognition of our ideals, values, and traditions. This violence will do nothing except beget more violence. I pray that our broken society finds healing, and I pray that it happens soon. All of our lives, no matter our political affiliation, depend on it.”

[Acronis]

1 October 2024

In Massive Shift, Rodoka Drops Tavari Military for Côtois Defense Deal, Will Pursue Economic Ties with Federation, Bana, Tangrland

SINAJÄRV– In a surprise move that comes as a tremendous shock to Tavari Union foreign policy, the United Tribes of Rodoka and the Isles announced Tuesday that it will reject Royal Tavari Armed Forces protection and has arranged for a defense deal with one of Tavaris’ leading geopolitical rivals, the Federation of Lapérouse. In addition, Rodoka will pursue a series of mutual investment deals with firms in the Federation as well as the Federation’s primary allies on Gondwana, Bana, and Tangrland. The deal means that Tavaris will need to vacate its air and naval bases in Sinajärv as well as the joint defence facility on Kanor Minor, which is the largest Tavari military facility in the world. This comes as a major blow to Tavari defence and foreign policy and is sure to ruffle feathers in Nuvrenon as well as across Novaris.

“It has become abundantly clear that we cannot depend on Tavaris for our defence if its military cannot maintain order inside their own borders, let alone outside them. When swarms of terrorists attacked the Tavari capital—because the Emperor gave us representation in the Diet, I remind you—we all watched as Tavari Marshalls stood back and let them through. We cannot be beholden to the Tavari defence establishment,” said Ivi Puna Laar, Presiding Chief of Rodoka. “It is true that our peoples have been closely connected for four hundred years. It is true that our economies are tightly interlinked and we depend on free movement of goods and people with Tavaris and the rest of the Union. And it is true that Otan IV, our High Chief, has shown himself to stand up for us when it counts. But we plainly cannot solely depend on Tavaris. It is time for us, as an independent country, to truly pursue an independent path.”

The Vice-Directing Chair of the Federation and current commander of Côtois-Novari theater, Admiral Raphaëlle Blanchet gave a statement about the opening of the new base. “While the addition of a new peacekeeping and defense position will no doubt raise eyebrows among some of the more skeptical members of the international community. I will reaffirm with my authority that the Côtois presence on Novaris is not one of an oppressor or as a new master but as a big sister, lending a helping hand when wanted and a defensive posture if need be. The Côtois has not once in its history has ever tried to conceal or misdirect the fact that we want to spread socialism, but not at the point of a gun but from the point of logic and reason. As our Founding Parents stated, we aim to provide that the socialist way of life is better in all metrics that matter and it is only reasonable for everyone to become a socialist. Our commitment to modernization of agriculture and aquaculture alongside our partner in Bana, is a highlight of our aims. While the majority of the funds have been marked for assisting with Tangrland and Rodoka agriculture and aquaculture workers. The Federation has marked a part of the funds for establishing new worker cooperatives in the joint-foodstuff production field. The new naval base will benefit Rodoka in more ways than defense. As we fully attend to massively overhaul the base, which will bring on new, well-paying jobs for the Rodokan people. May this be the first treaty of many with Rodokan people, and our collective futures shine ever brighter.”

The military arrangement between Rodoka and the Côtois government will see the Federation assume defensive responsibility for Rodoka and entirely renovate the military facilities across the country. While the Federation and the Tavari Union have seen a degree of cooperation in recent years, especially as the Côtois have helped negotiate a rapprochement between Tavaris and Bana, the Federation has also played the role of opponent to Tavari geopolitical interests—especially since the height of tensions with Rodoka. In September, the Côtois military joined with the Banian military in conducting “freedom of navigation manoeuvres” in the Strait of Vultuca along the Tavari border, and Côtois aircraft have been reported in the skies near the joint Côtois-Banian military base in North Lanu. Côtois nuclear submarines have also been seen near Racatrazi and Elatana in the last week, moves that have placed the Tavari military on edge.

In addition to the military deal, Rodoka has entered into a wide ranging mutual foreign direct investment deal with the Federation as well as two of the Federation’s major allies on Gondwana: Bana, the historic Tavari rival, and Tangrland, who has been making moves toward the Federation in recent years and who has been fiercely opposed to close Tavari ally Vistaraland, who is also a rival of the Federation. Rodoka’s membership in the Tavari Union means that it cannot make unilateral trade deals—such matters are required to be harmonised across the entire Union—but the deal announced today escapes these limitations by working through Rodoka’s sovereign wealth fund, the Rodokan Separate Treasury, a portfolio of investments Rodoka has been carefully maintaining since long before their independence. The Rodokan Separate Treasury will make investments in firms in the Federation, Bana, and Tangrland, and in exchange the three countries have pledged to make investments in Rodoka with an aim to support Rodokan agriculture and help modernise Rodokan internet and telecommunications infrastructure, a noted Tavari weakness.

The Banian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oluwakanyinsola Olannia, spoke about the agreement on Pigeon. “Our country is privileged to join this opportunity to bring our know-how and ability to this partnership. While the Federation is our steadfast ally, we look forward to deepening our partnership with Rodoka and Tangrland. Our investments will not only bring others out of poverty, but establish beneficial partnerships that will only serve to bring benefit to all partners.”

The Tangrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asya Asyadatur, issued a statement saying “We are proud to stand in solidarity with Rodoka as a fellow newly independent country. In the face of a harshly competitive global economy, the most important thing developing nations can do is stand together in cooperation. We hope that this will be the beginning of a beneficial partnership between all the countries involved, and look forward to growing together with Rodoka as well as with Bana and the Federation.”

It has been expected for Rodoka to take steps away from Tavaris ever since the Tavari National Diet in July rejected plans to restore the 20 Rodokan delegates that were removed from the legislature by the Ranat Accords that granted Rodoka independence. The move outraged the Rodokan government and the Rodokan populace at large, and there had been widespread calls for Rodokan withdrawal from personal union with Tavaris and even withdrawal from the Tavari Union. While Emperor Otan’s move to create 20 new Lines for the Rodokan tribes has quelled talks of ending the personal union, it has failed to end calls for pulling Rodoka away from Tavaris. The Tavari military depends heavily on Rodoka, and it will surely cost billions of našdat to relocate the thousands of Tavari troops and their air and naval assets to Lantaž and Anarís at a time when the Tavari military budget is more constrained than it has ever been in the modern era.

“There is almost no way to spin this as anything except a colossal blow to Tavari influence. It’s technically true that this isn’t as bad as it might have been, given Rodoka has kept Otan IV on the throne and hasn’t left the Tavari Union, but the loss of Tavari military bases in Rodoka is nothing short of a catastrophe for the Royal Tavari Armed Forces. And, really, this is just a massive bruising of the Tavari ego and a plain demonstration that Tavaris’ ability to project power is weaker than it ever has been,” said Tavari defence analyst Kašra Oren Baštandi of the Nuvrenon Defence Policy Institute. Dr. Vedra Zakani Solondra, chair of the economics faculty at the University of Lantaž, opined that Rodoka’s continued Tavari Union membership shouldn’t be considered certain. “Rodoka may consider their economy too dependent on Tavaris to leave the Union now, but this is obviously the first step to changing that, and the Red Crown Economic Union is certainly salivating at the chance to expand their reach. Unless things change between Tavaris and Rodoka, it could only be a matter of years before Rodoka decides they don’t need Tavaris after all.”

The Tavari Minister for External Affairs, Kolai Šandra Vencrandíl, issued a statement emphasising Tavari-Rodokan friendship and taking an unusually pointed jab at the Federation. “The United Tribes of Rodoka and the Isles is a valued and beloved Tavari ally and friend, and we could not be more proud of our shared history, our shared head of state, and our deep and unshakeable economic and cultural ties. We respect their sovereign right to decide what is best for their defence, even when we disagree, and we will begin the orderly process of withdrawing our military assets from Rodoka. That said, we question the intentions of the Federation, who spent considerable time and political capital in helping negotiate a stand-down between Tavaris and Bana only to follow it with a foolhardy, obviously politically motivated set of manoeuvres designed to take advantage of heightened internal Tavari tensions that, we would be remiss not to add, Bana has a proven record of taking advantage of for their own aims. Will the Federation truly commit to Rodoka, or will they cast them aside once they can no longer use them to score political points in their global campaign of ideological domination? Only time will tell. We have stood with Rodoka for four hundred years, and we will still be here even after Rodoka no longer earns the Federation media headlines and propaganda opportunities.”

Chief Raivo Hõbesepp Kark, Rodokan Minister for Foreign Affairs, issued an optimistic and forward-looking statement that hinted at even more integration with the Federation and its allies. “We could not be more eager to begin this relationship with the Federation, Tangrland, and Bana. It is long past time for us to pursue our own path in the world, and we are especially excited to form new relationships outside our continent. This is only the beginning of our new relationship with these noble, admirable countries, and we look forward to forging even closer ties in the future.” When asked to comment on the continued Rodokan membership in the Tavari Union and ties to the Tavari monarchy, Chief Hõbesepp Kark’s office said only “We believe the Presiding Chief’s comments on these matters speak for themselves.”

Response from the Rodokan public at large has been largely favourable to the deal. “I think this is definitely a step in the right direction. Tavaris can only drag us downward, and given how much work it took them just to give us back the Diet Delegates we already had, I think they deserve to be knocked down a peg or two,” said Maido Lääneli Lepmets, 41, of Maapagulin. “The Federation is so cool, I love their commitment to worker-owned companies, and they’re obviously a much smarter investment than Tavaris. I wish Rodoka could stand on its own, but until we can, we’re much better off with them than with Tavaris,” said Ulla Koervaat Jalakas, 29, of Sinajärv. Helge, 36, of Vaalsadam, said “As long as they help us out down here in Vaalsaar too, I’m all for it. We could use the investment and I doubt the Tavari can afford to offer us a better deal.” Paavo Puna Mõttus, 75, of Sinajärv, responded to the question with a shrug. “Federation, Tavaris, whatever. As long as the sun comes up tomorrow, it’ll be a good day. As long as my grandkids can still hear whale songs and the call of the sea, that’s what matters. Politics, alliances, that’s all temporary. ”

[Acronis]

9 October 2024

Crossing the “Crisis Line:” Prime Minister Attempts Positivity in Face of Grim Economic Indicators

IMAGE: A chart of the monthly average Tavari Našdat-Standard Hawking Dollar exchange rate from January 2020 to September 2024.

ANARÍS, The Tavari Union– For the first time since the crisis surrounding Acronian independence and only the fourth time since the end of the Great War, the exchange rate of the Tavari Našdat (TAN) to the Standard Hawking Dollar (SHD) has surpassed 60 TAN to the SHD, but Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar had a smile on her face as she stepped out of the Tavari Union Administrative Secretariat building in Anarís—the temporary headquarters for the Reserve Bank of the Tavari Union since the former one burned down in riots last month. “Visitors for Urthvision tomorrow will enjoy the most advantageous exchange rate in years!” It is a valiant, if transparent, attempt to put a spin on the numbers announced by the Reserve Bank Board of Administrators on Wednesday, but for those who keep a close eye on the financial exchange markets, the numbers mean only one thing: a time of crisis is here again.

“After the Great War, the Tavari government set a target exchange rate of 48 našdat to the dollar. Historically, the currency has been pretty stable since then, but on four occasions the monthly average has risen past 60ŋ: during the riots that brought down the Heroes Alliance government in 1940, the peak of the Crematorium Crisis in 1962, the height of the Division Crisis in 2022, and this past month. Unofficially, we call that the Crisis Line” said market analyst Vatai Qovani Avrandar, principal analyst at ŽBMardan. “Of course the Prime Minister has to try to stay upbeat, but this is an obvious sign that investors want their money out of Tavaris. People smell fire, and it isn’t just the burning cinders at Palace Square.” The monthly average TAN-SHD exchange rate was 60.61ŋ to the dollar in September 2024, the highest monthly average since June of 2022, when Žarís Nevran Alandar’s re-election brought it down 11% from the previous month to 61.12ŋ, welcome relief from Division Crisis highs.

In January of 2023, the government admitted that returning to 48ŋ to the dollar was unlikely and established a new target of 51.55ŋ, and managed a decent job maintaining that level throughout 2023—it reached a post-Division Crisis low of 51.02ŋ in August that year on the news of the South Hills nuclear deal, but the last time the rate was below target was in January 2024, when talks with Bana in Lapérouse produced a major rapprochement whose tempering effect rapidly evaporated after the boycott of the našdat by ethnic Cescolians in Metradan began to spook the market. The shooting of Emperor Otan in February and the rise of tensions among the Rodokan community in the summer only exacerbated the issue, but it was the violent attacks against law enforcement in Palace Square that finally sent the rate over the so-called Crisis Line, and analysts don’t expect the rise to stop any time soon.

“Even if some people stay for a long weekend, which I wouldn’t count on, Urthvision tourism isn’t going to meaningfully move the needle. And even with the currency boycott over, [Metradani President] Tobran Xancazil’s insistence on keeping troops on the border is really beginning to upset the Cescolians as well as the Lapinumbians. There are whispers of sanctions coming from Vecitania, which raises the fear of Tretrid to follow. Ever-rising labour costs in Acronis have pushed Tavari Union cocoa and sugar prices to their highest on record, and sales are down. Auto manufacturers like Monata might otherwise be enjoying the high exchange rate, which makes exporting easier, but there have been shortages of specialised components like computers because these parts are imported from other countries and imports are now comparatively more expensive. In short, there’s very little to look forward to,” said Qovani Avrandar.

Vedra Idon Navandai, analyst at AttaKõvošori, noted “the only sector of the Tavari economy slated to grow at all in the coming months is the arms manufacturing industry, which might soothe some investors but may actually scare away more than it attracts because of the implications why. We simply aren’t seeing foreign currency flow into the Tavari economy, which makes the Tavari currency less in demand and therefore less valuable. The Tavari Union’s single harmonized market was supposed to protect the economy by keeping it able to function in unison, but that’s of little help when everyone is struggling. The Acronian government keeps pushing for flashy leftward policies that increase labour costs and disincentivise investment, which means that Acronis can’t pick up the slack as the Tavari economy falters. Elatana’s economy is too small to carry the Union even if its manufacturers could source supplies. Species relations in Metradan are at their worst in decades and most investors won’t touch it with a twelve-nai pole. And Rodoka just signed up for billions in investments in Red Krones. If the rate ticks back below 60 at all next year, I’ll be surprised.”

A tactic the Reserve Bank of the Tavari Union might use to bring the exchange rate down is to raise interest rates, because higher interest rates encourage investors to park their money in Tavari banks. Interest rates were brought down to near zero to stimulate spending and economic growth after the Division Crisis, as low as 0.25% in June of 2022, since raised slightly to 0.5%. But rising interest rates push down consumer spending and raise housing costs, and consumer confidence indices and retail industry projections for the New Years’ shopping season are already grim—analysts at all three major Tavari banks agree that the Reserve Bank will be hesitant to further jeopardise spending. All of the Big Three banks expect the Tavari economy to enter recession when fourth quarter results are announced in January—the Tavari economy grew at a rate of -0.2% in the quarter ending September 30th, and none of the banks are projecting a decrease of less than 0.8% in the next quarter. It is typical in a recession to lower, not raise, interest rates, and a recession is likely to even further discourage investment in the Tavari economy.

The Prime Minister did not linger outside the Tavari Union Administrative Secretariat to answer media questions on Wednesday, saying she had to get back on a plane quickly to visit Nandrat in advance of Urthvision tomorrow. Minister for the Economy Nitai Lavra Endošti of the Prime Minister’s Irínavi Voi! party said “the currency exchange rate is only one indicator of the economy, and while the našdat is currently over the target, there are advantages to a lower-valued currency. Tourism is a huge part of our economy, and tourists love when their dollars and kiribs can buy more goods and services denominated in našdat. Tavari minerals like copper, nickel, and cobalt are used all over the world in high-demand markets like the tech industry and green energy, and a low exchange rate makes these goods even more attractive to foreign buyers. Famous Tavari agricultural goods like coffee will see a similar bump. When they tell you we’ve crossed a ‘Crisis Line,’ don’t listen. The Tavari economy is well-equipped to weather a bump in the road, especially considering Tavaris has ample supply of the best, most valuable resource of all: the Tavari people.”

Members of the public did not seem to be overly convinced by the government’s optimism. “I’m happy for the tourists, but I had to cancel my holiday to Axdel this summer because I got laid off from my job at the car dealership,” said Tela Omantar Vandravíl, 41, of Dravai. “And I’d have gotten shafted at the currency exchange counter anyway, wouldn’t I?” “To narasq with Urthvision, to narasq with tourists. What tourists, anyway? Everything’s on bloody fire, nobody’s coming here. I wouldn’t,” said Otan Vantor Mendaž, 58, of Ranat. “Everything at the shops has gotten more expensive. Clothing, toys for my kids, my favourite hobstiberry tea. I haven’t been able to buy a decent pair of shoes in months. I wanted to bake a cake to cheer myself up and sugar’s a thousand našdat for a two temo bag! ($6.28 per kg) Even a quarter of that would be outrageous,” said Hendra Nokrai Bobašand, 39, of Nuvrenon. There was only one person the News spoke to who had something positive to say about the news: Šanda Telan Hodranan, 51, of Lansai, who said “It’s actually quite good to have a so-called weak currency, I hope it stays around this level.” Mr. Telan Hodranan is the owner of Tavaris’ largest cobalt refinery.