APwire ~ Affiliated Press News Agency

[Hesperia]

Diwan of Foreign Affairs

The Diwan of the Interior has not been able to find records of the perported Hajri citizenship of Ibrahim Radwan. We can, therefore, only conclude that Wazistan is fabricating this supposed "evidence" in order to clamp down further on its oppressed minorities, so that the Persian elite may further entrench its power.

The Ijad regime would do well not to attempt to bring the Sultanate into its convoluted plots to try and strengthen its hold on the nation. Further such moves will not be appreciated in the least.

 

[Batavië]

Batavian Borders Sealed Including Airport
AP, Målmöholm

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Batavian Ground Force armoured personnel carriers at the border with Scania

The Batavian authorities have completely sealed the country's borders today barring all people from entering or leaving the country. Diplomats from foreign countries are immune from such members but must fill out proper paperwork at the airport in Vlaanderen in order to depart. Meanwhile the national police force has been making rounds at hotels ordering foreigners to return home on the soonest flights, apparently in an effort to weed out foreign spies but also to limit foreign casualties in what the government believes to be an imminent war threat.

The country's roads leading to the short border with Scania have been shut for non-military traffic. Lorries full of troops and supplies, as well as APCs and tanks have been travelling east towards the border for days. Undercover reporters have been risking their lives to smuggle out photographs and film footage of the military movements. One reporter managed to get on tape a Batavian MiG flying very close to the Scanian border apparently taking reconnaissance photographs.

With all sectors of the country gearing for war, there is little else on people's minds in the country. Many have quietly criticised the preparations and mobilisations citing the fact that besides a few open threats, the Scanian government has not officially announced hostile intent towards Batavië.

 

[Confederal Republics]

Anbati National Airlines

At the request of President Zureiq and the Ministry of External Affairs we have begun arranging return flights for Anbati diplomats and other nationals and would like to request the cooperation of the Batavian authorities in this matter.

 

[Batavië]

Comissariaat Buitenlandse Zaken | CoBuZa (Commissariat for Foreign Affairs)

Diplomats and Anbati nationals may purchase tickets on the next KLM Airways flights leaving for Anbat. Service will continue on that route until Wednesday. Otherwise, Anbati airlines still operating Batavian routes may also be utilised. For security purposes we are only authorising bearers of diplomatic passports to exit the country on foreign chartered flights. Foreign nationals are asked to contact the Commissariat for Transportation to arrange last-minute travel home.

 

[Wazistan]

Main opposition bloc backs participation in February vote
AP International

The top body of Wazistan's main opposition alliance has endorsed the participation of its members to take part in the upcoming parliamentary election, boosting the likelihood that opposition parties will challenge the ruling Revolutionary Democratic Party, according to senior party officials. The alliance, the Wazi People's Democratic Organization, has been sharply divided over whether to participate in the upcoming elections that many see as merely a show by the Islamic establishment to cement the control of its proxies in the RDP.

The WPDO's largest member, the Wazistan Islamic National Movement, has strongly opposed taking part in the elections. Its deputy leader, Ibrahim Radwan, was recently detained by the authorities on charge of lying to parliament about his citizenship status.

During today's vote, all five party members are said to have voted against taking part in the elections, the only members of the 18-member committee to do so.

Opposition leader Jamal Bishara, who heads the executive committee of the WPDO that made today's decision, is said to have cautioned members that boycotting the elections could be counterproductive to the opposition's campaign. However, in a gesture towards opponents, Bishara backed a revised resolution that condemned the arrests of opposition activists and called for charges the the country's election laws.

Bishara, an independent unaligned to any political party, is not expected to seek a parliamentary seat.

 

[Confederal Republics]

Deposed Governor to go to trial in March, say anonymous sources
AP Phezzan

Former governor of the Anbati area of Qamar, Fouad Moukattaf, is to be tried by the Anbati Supreme Court in March according to anonymous Phezzan sources. Moukattaf, arrested earlier this month by officials of the Anbati Ministry of Justice, will reportedly face charges for corruption and tax evasion which may warrant a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Moukattaf is presently being held at the Al-Hirmil Maximum Security Prison, a facility jointly maintained by the Republican Police of Anbat and the Anbati Ministry of Intelligence, and has been remanded into investigative custody by the Anbati Supreme Court. Anbati law states that a person charged with any offense which may warrant imprisonment may be held in custody until the conclusion of the trial if there is a risk that they may flee, commit further crimes or intimidate witnesses.

Phezzan insiders say that Moukattaf's trial will not commence earlier, even though the Chief Prosecutor's Bureau has already prepared its evidence, as the central government is worried about triggering further unrest in Qamar. It is also claimed that the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security, which is conducting the investigation into the allegations of corruption surrounding Fouad Moukattaf and several of his family members, might request to make portions of the trial secret appealing to "sensitivity of its investigative methods and sources".

The circumstances surrounding the Moukattaf investigation have alarmed some opposition activists and human rights advocates in Anbat. For one, Al-Hirmil Prison where Moukattaf is being detained under Ministry of Intelligence supervision has a shady reputation as a site of claimed torture and suspicious deaths, and Moukattaf supporters claim that prison officials have denied him the right to see any people outside of his lawyer. Further shadows are cast upon the case by claims that the trials of the case may be conducted in secrecy.

 

[Hesperia]

Hajr tests medium-range missiles
AP Al A'raf

Amongst growing tensions in the South, the Sultanate of Hajr announced the successful testing of its most advanced missile, the Saad-II, a locally modified version of the Oikawan ST (Seion Taiki) medium-range missile that the Sultanate has been using since the late seventies. It is believed that the Saad-II missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, putting the capital of unfriendly neighbor Kediri, Karaj, within range of the Hajri military.

Coming in the wake of missile tests by Hajr's regional rival, Wazistan, earlier this month, analysts describe the move by the Sultanate as a direct response to the Wazi show of force. Wazistan and Hajr have recently been locked in an increasingly bitter diplomatic conflict, a new escalation of a conflict that has been simmering between the two regional rivals since Wazistan overthrew its monarchy in an Islamic revolution in the seventies. Military experts tell AP that there was little military rationale behind testing a missile that has been in service with the Royal Hajri Armed Forces since the early nineties.

The Diwan of War was not available for commentary. Wazi authorities have not yet reacted to the missile test.

Hajr and Wazistan both accuse each other of supporting separatist movements within each other's borders, as well as attempting to destabilize the region. International observers fear the heightened tensions between the two rivals could produce greater conflict across the South if other nations in the region become involved.

 

[Confederal Republics]

Opposition members demonstrate against Anbati electoral block
AP Phezzan

Members of the Anbati political opposition have held a demonstration in Phezzan against the continuation of an electoral block against a number of political movements by the Anbati Ministry of Justice, in anticipation of this year's general election. Several Deputies from the Democratic Party and the Anbati Social Workers' Party, along with members of smaller unrepresented groups, took part in the demonstration held by the Committee of Anbati Democracy outside the Ministry of Justice offices.

The laws allowing the Ministry of Justice to block a political organization from taking part in national, regional and municipal elections date from the 1980s, when the Abdelsalib Presidency banned the Islamic Brotherhood in Anbat after several Brotherhood members were linked with the activities of the former Islamist Movement of Holy War in Anbat. Anbati political dissidents insist that President Dawud Zureiq is using Article 165 to combat his political opponents. In addition, members of political groups subject to the electoral block have frequently faced sedition arrests and charges on behalf of the Anbati authorities. Electoral blocks may be challenged before the Supreme Court, but during the 20 years of Article 165's existence not a single electoral block has been turned down.

Aside from the Islamic Brotherhood and several affiliated movements including the Anbati Islamic Party, the electoral block affects the Communist Party of Anbat, the National Revolutionary Party of Anbat, the Southern Freedom Party and a number of smaller movements have been subjected to the electoral block. Both Minister of Justice Mr. Suleyman Khoury and President Zureiq have defended the practice, citing its necessity to safeguard the Anbati society against "infiltration into Anbati society by political extremists suspectible to the use of violence to meet their goals".

Several hundred people were involved in today's demonstration. Policemen made several arrests during the demonstration for what the Phezzan Police described as disorderly behavior.

Anbat is due to hold general elections for the Assembly of Deputies, the country's eight gubernatorial seats and a number of municipal assemblies this year.

 

[Wazistan]

Aide: Bishara to call opposition conference after Feb. vote
AP International

Wazistan's main opposition leader Jamal Bishara will call a meeting of his Wazi People's Democratic Organization after parliamentary elections to discuss changes to the alliance's top institutions, an aide to the opposition leader has told the AP. It would be the first time that the country's main opposition bloc has held a full national conference since 1998 and the first under Bishara's chairmanship. The aide, Ahmad Mohammad Reza, says Bishara has already began consulting with senior party leaders and that a formal decision will likely be taken at the next meeting of the WPDO executive committee on February 1st.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Wazistan and the Movement for Democratic Reform, the two most reform-minded parties within the WPDO, welcomed the news in a joint statement posted on the opposition Nawaz website.

Analysts say Bishara, who has come under criticism from conservative parties in recent months, will likely use the conference to clear the old guard from the organization's top decision-making bodies: the WPDO National Council and the Central Committee, which elects the powerful executive committee. Both bodies, currently dominated by hardliners, have often clashed with Bishara over policy and largely blocked his reforms.

The reaction from some of Bishara's internal critics to Reza's remarks has been muted.

 

[Austurland]

Deputy Prime Minister Gjord Pettersson Dies of Heart Attack
AP Dalerna

BREAKING NEWS! Deputy Prime Minister of Austurland, Gjord Pettersson, died today suffering a massive heart attack. Deputy PM Pettersson was rushed to the hospital in downtown Dalerna, where he stopped breathing. After all efforts to resuscitate the politician failled he was pronounced dead at the age of 68. Mr. Petterson had been complaining of chest pains throughout the morning when he suddenly collapsed during a routine cabinent meeting.

Gjord Pettersson, had been a standard bearer of the Conservative Party since the 80s serving as an elector for twenty years. Following a failed Prime Minstrial bid he joined the ticket of Nikolay Raev to defeat their progressive opponents. Hailing for the far-right of Austurlander politics Mr. Pettersson was a regular fighter against the spread of socialism in Austurland.

Mr. Pettersson was serving as acting Prime Minister while PM Raev was away in the Union of Scanian States for the AGE meeting and the funeral and coronation of the Scanian King. Now PM Raev will be hurrying home for his second's funeral and the begining of the process of sppointing a replacement. this appointment process has already gotten the parties gearing up for a fight in the House of Electors over who will succed Gjord Pettersson.

 

[Thaumantica]

CoN Ambassador Hit With DUI Charges
AP Zjadnboro
Border Guards in West Sangemuntenia charged a Pukovnik, specifically the sole Union Ambassador to the Council of Nations, Bratislav Štimac with driving under the influence of alcohol (above the legal limit). According to the arrest report, Štimac rear-ended a stopped vehicle on the Union side of the border, and preceded to take a nap, while parked on the side of the road moments later after. He failed five field sobriety tests and registered a blood-alcohol content of .34%, a little over two times the .15% legal limit for DUI in Sangemuntenia. The occupant of the other car was not injured.

Pukovnik Štimac denied having a drinking problem and expressed he was not sorry, saying "It was an accident in the line of duty" and citing this was "within the parameters of my position" following a diplomatic trip to Augsburg, Wiese.

A spokesperson with the Herald's Office said the episode is a personal matter of the Pukovnik's, and declined to comment to any extent. He is expected to receive standard punishment for the crime, i.e. potential dock of pay for a period of time. While demotion is unlikely; promotion may now be out of the question for the aging Pukovnik, who not only qualified, but was in consideration for promotion until now.

 

[Batavië]

Rebel Outcasts Call for CoN to Discuss Batavian-Scanian Tensions
AP, Augsburg

Outcast members of the Batavian Republican Army have travelled to Wiese to call on the CoN Security Council to discuss the growing tensions between Batavië and Scania. War between the two states is declared as imminent by many people closely following the chain of events that have led to the rift. It began with an alleged Batavian intelligence agency assassination of a Scanian mayor and has continued with full mobilisations on the Batavian side of the border.

'We have come here to Augsburg to get the Security Council to discuss the imminent war in Scandinavia. They have opened debate on the Meribian nuclear issue, but that is minor compared to a possible war. People will die very soon if tensions are not calmed.' stated one member leading the special delegation.

There has been no confirmation as to whether or not the CoN Security Council will discuss the matter. Debate on the Meribian nuclear crisis has only just started today and many CoN analysts don't believe that the CoN has the ability to debate two separate issues at once, given its current capacity.

In the meantime, Batavian Ground Force troops and Armoured Personnel Carriers have been seen taking up strategic defensive positions along the border with Scania.

 

[Batavië]

Execution of Family Members Occurs After Asylum Scandal in Belmont
AP, Målmöholm

Following a lead from a trustworthy contact in Batavië, an undercover AP reporter arrived to a grim scene Saturday evening. In a slum neighbourhood outside the city of Hilversum, three bodies were seen slumped against a flat bloc's concrete wall. The bodies had identification on them. AP researchers have confirmed that the three dead bodies were family members of a Batavian man who accepted Belmonti citizenship earlier this week.

According to a witness who risked her life by speaking to an AP reporter, Staatsveiligheid officers arrived at the flat in the early evening and ordered the three family members to go outside and line up against the wall. After a brief moment in which the SV officers told the three people what their family member had done they were summarily executed. A man who was not wearing an SV uniform withdrew a nine millimetre pistol and shot one bullet in each of the victims' heads.

'This act, if true, is abominable and cruel. To punish the family members of those who fled the country is horrific.' said one human rights analyst based in Franken. Despite that fact, the terror tactic seems to have worked. A human rights group operating in Belmont recorded scores of Batavian citizens either refusing the Belmonti citizenship grant or returning home to Batavië where supposed 'rewards' are waiting for them.

Due to the lack of reliable AP informants in Batavië and the difficulty of travelling with full martial law in place, the Associated Press cannot confirm if more similar acts have been committed. People here familiar with the tactics of the SV say, however, that all 65 families of those citizens who accepted the Belmonti offer will likely receive visits from the SV in the next few days. Whether they will receive the same fate is unknown, but as one man put it, 'any visit from the SV is an unpleasant one whether physical in nature or not'.

The Democracy Now Batavië human right and campaign group has condemned two parties after this news, the Staatsveiligheid and also the Belmonti government for 'knowingly putting Batavian refugees' families in greater harm.'

 

[Serenierre]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

That which has happened in Batavie is greatly regrettable. All those murdered by the SV are martyrs to the pro-democracy forces in the Rogue State of Batavie.

 

[Aquitania]

Aquitanian Grand Duke In Montelimar
AP, Valmy

It has been discovered that the Grand Duke of Aquitania, Jean III, has made a unannounced visit to the capital of Montelimar and His Grace was seen arriving at the royal palace. Though the King's press office as well as the Aquitanian embassy have only stated "no comment", it is expected that trouble with Meribia, Aquitania's northern neighbor, has brought the two monarchs together on such sort notice.

 

[Confederal Republics]

Militant leader releases statement, wows attacks against the Anbati state
AP Phezzan

Anbati Islamic militants have threaten to carry out attacks as four men charged with membership in their organization are brought to trial for terrorism-related offenses, with the prosecution demanding death penalties. In a video released through foreign Islamist websites, Mohammed Abdulrahman al-Ghassan, also known as Abu Zaid, leader of the Sword of Truth group lauds the four men as heroes of the movement and wows to retaliate to any executions by the Anbati government.

The statement has not been broadcasted by Anbati media, and sites hosting the said video are blocked by Anbati ISPs owing to government anti-terrorist legistlation.

The so-called "Lakhm Four", men aged 19, 27 and 32 respectively, were arrested in raids carried out by Anbati security forces in the city of Lakhm over two weeks ago against the Islamic Brotherhood, an Islamist group banned in Anbat since the 1980s. In addition, over a dozen other individuals were arrested by the authorities and charged for involvement with the Brotherhood, but they are not under suspicion of terrorism.

Though the group - previously named Islamist Bearers of the Sword of Truth and Islamist Truth Movement - is estimated only to have a membership of 100-200 members, it is considered to be one of the most dangerous Anbati terrorist groups due to its strict ideological leanings. With the exception of a number of incidents resulting in injuries or single fatalities, the group's last attack was in July of 2009, when six people were killed in a bombing against a Christian church in Lakhm. Since then, several incidents have been prevented by Anbati security forces.

According to spokesmen of the Anbati Ministry of Justice interviewed by the AP, the trial of the Lakhm Four is going ahead despite threats.

 

[Wazistan]

NGOs: Scores dead in eastern Wazistan as government forces attack three cities
AP International

Wazi warplanes and government troops launched a devastating attack on three cities in eastern Wazistan considered to be under separatist control, killing more than 100 people and forcing thousands more to flee, several aid organizations operating in the region have told the Associated Press. One aid group, HELP NOW, say two schools and a hospital were among the targets hit. If confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest military operations launched by the military against separatists in over a year and could only heighten regional tension.

Repeated calls for comment to the Zanjan provincial government, the government's operations took place, went unanswered.

President Hamid Najibullah, a political moderate who has long been viewed as a pragmatist, has increasingly taken on a more belligerent stance towards separatists. Speaking in neighboring Tabriz province yesterday, Najibullah rejected international criticism of calls from Wazistan's supreme leader Ayatollah Mahmoud Esfandiari to execute separatist leaders, saying the Wazi people would do what was necessary to protect its territorial integrity.

According to eyewitness reports, government forces appeared to seize control of all three cities after hours of furious fighting with the Azeri-dominated Islamic Salvation Army, which supports the establishment of an independent Azeri state. While the extent of their position in the region is hard to engage, it is agreed that the ISA controls large swaths of both Zanjan and Tabriz.

 

[Hesperia]

Diwan of Foreign Affairs

The Sultanate condemns these human rights violations in the strongest of terms.

 

[Austurland]

Ministry of External Affairs

Austurland is appauled by these actions. Our military forces along the strait of Guyenne will be put on alert as long as Wazistan continues its murderous rampage against its own citizens. We advise merchent vessals traveling through the strait to be cautious or find an alternate route.

 

[Anglyn]

Foreign Office

The continued violence being reported out of Wazistan as well as that nation's continued weapons advancements has His Majesty's government concerned. Continued vigilance will be maintained by the Foreign Office as well as His Majesty's armed forces for as long as the situation in the Kingdom's eastern neighbor remains so volatile.