Commonwealth Media Publications

[Clarenthia]

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BREAKING: House of Delegates Votes to Defund Burgundian War Effort​

The scenes on the floor of the House of Delegates were grim as Green Party Delegate Harry Clarke, over a five-minute speech granted to him by Speaker Harry Colton, listed the name and ages of all two hundred and ninety-seven soldiers killed in the Ouistreham Bombings while also showing several graphic photos of extensive injuries suffered by survivors. His speech turned into a screaming match as he had to continuously yell louder to drown out the angry responses from the galleries and the Delegates themselves.

The Ouistreham Bombings have taken the country by storm as news outlets have not ceased to show the harsh images of the ancient Burgundian city reduced to rubble and the hordes of civilians who were killed or injured in its wake. For the Treaty Lands, 297 men and women were killed in the bombings and 657 were injured. As a result, the attack has become the single greatest loss of life since the Civil War back in 1873.

General Alistair Haywoode, leader of the Treatyfolk forces in Bourgogne, officiated the report back to Palmerton, stating that nearly a fifth of the entire deployment had been taken out of combat as a result of the attack – calling it a “devastating blow” to the country’s war effort. As a result, the General requested a sizeable surge to not only replenish the forces lost but to ramp up an offensive campaign to eliminate Bourgogne’s ability to strike at such a level again.

However, the House of Delegates had a different plan in mind. The unprecedented scenes on the floor of the famously calm body preceded an unprecedented vote introduced by Delegate Clarke that called for the immediately cessation of funds to the war effort that are appropriated, in any way, to the “transport and mobility of additional wartime assets.”

The House tried a similar measure several months back where it attempted to cut the budget of the Commonwealth Security Council to the same amount that it had agreed to spend on the Thaumantic Alignment Committee in revenge for the decision to go around the House to establish it. Whereas that vote failed, this vote succeeded by a bipartisan, veto-proof majority of 228 – 106. The bill, which not only represents a major defeat for Governor-General Sinclair, brings up a wide range of legal questions and carries significant consequences that can gravely affect the troops on the ground.

General Counsel to the House stated that the House “needs the approval of the Commonwealth Security Council to affect an appropriation made in either the revenue or expenditure packages that make up the annual budget. However, the expenses incurred by the war in Bourgogne are not part of the regular budget and are instead emergency monies that the Commission for the Treasury is spending with the consent of the House of Delegates. The Treaty very clearly grants the House the power of the purse – therefore the vote today to not provide authorization to the Commission for the Treasury to continue spending money for the war is legal and well within the exclusive right of the House.”

While Governor-General Sinclair announced she would veto the bill immediately, it passed with enough votes to override her veto. As a result, the Governor-General’s Office immediately appealed to a Commonwealth Supreme Court Judge to place an emergency stay on its implementation, stating that “the legal framework being suspect to challenges and the emergency nature of the situation at hand, the implementation of the bill would result in a disastrous effect that will most definitely cost a significant number of lives.”

While the bill’s implementation was not immediate, the Court did grant an immediate stay until such a time that it could evaluate the legality of the measure. The event, having never happened in the history of the country, left many legal experts with varied opinions on what the outcome would be.

At any rate, despite however this ends, it cannot be seen as anything less than a stunning rebuke of Governor-General Sinclair, the Burgundian War, and the Thaumantic Domain at large.

 

[Thaumantica]

Excerpt from
Thaumantic Alignment Committee
Press Brief​

Vesper 24 Reporter, Phil Floramar: "Palmerton is seeking to retract from Operation Domain of Democracy. Is this Treatyfolk buyer's remorse? How will the TAC respond?"

TAC Press Officer, Orlo Umpleby: "Every day I meet and speak with Engellachian mothers, wives, husbands, and those who have lost someone special to this necessary conflict. Vesper will not criticize Palmerton for succumbing to a profound level of grief from the Inferno at Ouistreham, but this is a clash of civilizational orders, it always has been, and our enemies shall follow us home if we turn tail and run away.

We are reaching out to our partners in Palmerton, as well as those in Hammersmith, to remind them that they made a commitment to defend each other. We began this war together, Welmonton, Hammersmith, Vesper, and Palmerton agreed that this was a necessary operation to defend against the spread of chaos from the continent into the Thaumantic and beyond. Mark my words: if we lose in Neustria this war will eventually come to those four cities. Ouistreham and Occitania's obliteration is the standard for which war is wrought today, so if we do not want to watch our own homes burned in this manner we must come back together as a League of Four Nations, the Thaumantic Domain, to finish what we have already started together."

 

[Clarenthia]

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Legislative Leaders Reach Compromise on Burgundian Intervention
Governor-General Sinclair Weighs in on the Assassination of King Albert​

[PALMERTON, C.D] For several days, the leadership of the General Assembly and the Executive Office of the Governor-General have been in constant negotiation. Last week, in rejection of the Burgundian Intervention, the House of Delegates voted with a veto-proof majority to freeze funds used for any other purpose than the withdrawal of Commonwealth Forces. The move has the effect of stopping the Governor-General from procuring the equipment and funds necessary to continue the war effort.

An action such as this one has never occurred in the history of the Commonwealth and was immediately met with judicial challenges. The Commonwealth Supreme Court immediately issued a stay on the implementation of the bill, citing that by allowing it to take effect it would create a “clear and present danger to the Commonwealth Forces currently in deployment. The Treaty grants the House of Delegates the power of the coin but we cannot allow for profound political weight to impede upon sound, responsible fiscal policy.”

Today, however, Speaker Harry Colton and Governor-General Eleanor Sinclair announced that they have come to an agreement on how to proceed with the Burgundian Intervention. The announcement comes along with the same time as nations of the world are agreeing to meet to discuss a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

“Firstly,” Governor-General Sinclair announced “Speaker Holton and I have agreed to allow necessary funds to continue the war effort to proceed, unhindered, until the conclusion of peace negotiations in the Azraqi Empire. At the conclusion of the negotiations, we will then issue a national referendum to vote on the Commonwealth’s continued membership among the League of Four Nations. The core fundamental principle of this country is its strong tradition in democracy and empowering its people. In this, a situation of great turmoil, Speaker Holton and I agree it is the people who must decide our future.”

“There will be no additional deployments to Bourgogne,” Speaker Holton spoke after the Governor-General “Those injured in Ouistreham have been transported to NoCRER where they will await final return to the Commonwealth. Those who lost their lives will have their remains transported home so they can rest in their country. I agree with Governor-General Sinclair that it is essential to guarantee the safety of our men and women in uniform, in addition we agree that the Commonwealth of Clarenthia will not expand its war effort in Bourgogne. It’s time to come together for peace.”

Neither leader commented on any sort of timetable for the national referendum on the Commonwealth’s membership in the League of Four Nations. When asked if either leader thought that the announcement of the move would weaken the Domain’s negotiating power in the peace talks – once again – neither would comment. Governor-General Sinclair reiterated “My commitment is to do what is right by the Treatyfolk, everything else is secondary.”

The Press Corps also asked the Governor-General to weigh in on the recent assassination of Smallerlander King Albert in Camp Hill, Natal. The attack was a blatant act of terrorism and coincided with the declaration of Nzadiland’s independence.

“The Commonwealth condemns in no uncertain terms the actions of these terrorists that have taken King Albert’s life. Sympathetic as we are to the spirit of independence and the goal of Himay’s decolonization, we cannot tolerate acts such as these to be considered an acceptable avenue for political freedom,” the Governor-General said.