IRB Winter Congress | Vlaanderen

[Batavië]

International Revolutionary Bloc Headquarters Building
Government District, Vlaanderen
Bataafsche Volksrepubliek

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The IRB headquarters building was located in the centre of the Government District. Unlike its surrounding buildings, this building, finished in the late 1960s, was adorned with a glass façade, unusual for the city of Vlaanderen, famous for its concrete structures. Today, however, was a special day. The IRB was holding its Winter Congress this week. Thousands of delegates from all of the IRB member states had flown in to Vlaanderen and were checking into the cities hotels, eating out at the government approved restaurants and cafés and preparing to settle in for a long week of discussions vital to communism, supposedly.

Supreme Leader Jaap de Graaf, his son, Karel de Graaf, Foreign Commissar, Arjan van Vliet and, of course, the Batavian ambassador to the IRB, Maurice van Arsdale, were all in attendance. Security was extremely tight, especially with the bombing and police assassination of the week prior. Although things had been quiet for a few days, the Staatsveiligheid and the Metropolitan Police were taking absolutely no chances. The Government District was sealed off to those without special pre-approved passes and visiting delegates were forbidden from exiting the District during the day, only to be escorted to their nearby hotels.

Inside the Delegate's Lounge on the ground floor in between the two towers of the building, people were finishing their drinks and heading into the main chamber to begin. The agenda being handed to them was thirty pages long and written in three languages: Dutch, French and Slavic. Host language, diplomatic language and a third member language, respectively.

With everyone seated, or almost to their seats, Ambassador Van Arsdale seated at the front with the three most important men in the country turned on his microphone.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats.' Van Arsdale repeated the phrase in the three working languages as well as the Vangalan vernacular, for polite and good measure.

'Merci, merci. Dank u wel. Spaciba. Welcome to Batavië, welcome to our glorious capital and welcome, of course, to the International Revolutionary Bloc's Winter Congress!'

Van Arsdale continued in French and waited for the hall's boisterous applause to subside.

'Before you you have a copy of the Agenda for this week's Congress. I will read from it for you.'

'Electing an IRB Chairman
IRB Defence Measures
IRB War Games
Economic Activity and Trading within the IRB Preferential Trading Area (IRB-PTA)
The Fascist Threat to the East
Other'

Van Arsdale Set down the paper, 'And now, a brief word from Roerganger, that is Supreme Leader, Jaap de Graaf. Founder and Eternal Father of the Batavian People's Republic.'

The applause carried the elderly gentlemen to the front podium.

'Thank you all. Thank you.' he spoke in a southern Dutch accent, acquired from spending most of his life in the capital city and its surroundings.

'It is such a joy to see all of my comrades here today. We are the only true bulwark left to prevent fascism and tyranny from spreading to the entire world. Our people, led by true comrades of the Left, are fortunate to live in fair and free societies, unlike the brothers in the East and elsewhere. I trust that this week's Congress will solve many of the IRB's issues and problems at hand and also bring about a change in anti-Fascist tactics. Again, I thank you.'

The Supreme Leader smiled and returned to his seat, sipping his water and trying to look relaxed. Van Arsdale poke once more.

'I open the floor to Ambassadors of other IRB member states to make comments before we begin discussions. Discussion may begin immediately after opening remarks if so desired.'

 

[Miroslavl]

The Soviet Republic's Minister of International Relations had unfortunately been unable to attend the Winter Congress, but Meribia had been unwilling to go unrepresented at such a gathering. Thus nearly two dozen men and women from all levels of the Meribian government, including one of Minister Yeremenko's personal aides, a more formal representative from the Ministry of International Relations, several clerks and assistants, a small group of Meribian Soviet Armed Forces personnel - chief among them Lieutenant Colonel Jelena Yakovlev, the group's chief adviser on military matters, along with her retinue - three black-uniformed NKVD commissars (one glaring suspiciously at Lt Col. Yakovlev and her group, the second glaring at the first, and the third glaring at everyone else in the room simultaneously) and a squad of SMA soldiers in full combat loadout, their rifles slung across their shoulders and steel masks covering their faces.

Needless to say, the Meribians weren't making any friends at present. Nevertheless, they sat in attendance and waited.

 

[Cúlanor]

Roman Numyanov was a senior official in the People's Commissariat for External Affairs, elected as Ambassador to represent the People's Republic of Cyrillica and it's interests in the International Revolutionary Bloc. He preferred to dress casually, it gave him a sense of simplicity, like he was one of the people. Sporting a thick wool Great Coat, brown in color with the flag of the Republic emblazoned on each shoulder. Common wear in the Republic.

The ambassador carried with him a file of objectives hidden in his inner coat pocket. Directly written by a small team within the People's Commissariat for External Affairs, the goals the Republic wished to achieve were printed on the paper inside the file. Among these goals was the establishment of a trade organization and of course the betterment of socialism as well as lesser goals.

Numyanov cleared his throat to speak, "Perhaps it is time we established an official trade organization for the mutual benefit of the socialist states present in our treaty of cooperation." Cyrillica, despite being closely aligned with the other socialist states, was still almost completely cut off from international trade. Economic differences had always scared off any potential partners, even within the IRB. "A system that is compatible with socialist and..." He paused, searching for a term that wouldn't offend the other delegates, "...market economic systems."

 

[Miroslavl]

"The Soviet Republic supports this proposal." the Ministry of International Relations representative said, standing. "An organization within the International Revolutionary Bloc, open to all socialist states, devoted to overseeing and managing all cooperative measures between it's members. A sort of... Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, if you will. Such an organization would have the Soviet Republic's blessing to operate within it's national territory."

There were a few surprised murmurs from the crowd. Meribia allowing foreigners - even from allied states - to operate within it's borders was a very rare event.

 

[Batavië]

Van Arsdale hid the look of surprise from his face when the Meribian delegation made it s remarks.

'Yes, I thank our Cyrillic comrades. When we discuss trading and economic policy within the IRB we will indeed talk about a trade network compatible with our diverse and unique needs.'

Van Arsdale adjusted his reading spectacles and glanced quickly down at the official agenda.

'Let us begin with electing an IRB Chairman. As you all know, the Chairman is the leader of the alliance. On all official peace-keeping missions and collaborated military operations, he or she is the person in charge. The Chairman also leads many international meetings, deals with IRB inter-alliance affairs and other such policy.'

'As it stands, Ambassadors should submit their country's formal and official nominations for the Chairman position. These nominations should be sent to the Central Office Bureau.' (OOC: PM me your nominations with a brief paragraph describing the person. We will vote on them last)

'Now, we should discuss IRB Defence Measures. With mutual defence the absolute core principle of our organisation, we need to modernise the system to ensure rapid response in the event of an invasion from an enemy country. I invite all delegations to propose their ideas. Batavië wishes to propose a few things.'

'One, instant hotlines between each IRB capital should be established as well as hotlines to IRB headquarters here in Vlaanderen. This will allow for rapid decision making during the time of crises and quick responses and coordinated efforts. Two, our military forces need to be able to work efficiently with each other which also means hotlines established between top generals and admirals etcetera. Three, military systems should, for the most part, be designed and reformatted so that troops and units at the local level, on the ground, air or sea, should be able to talk to each other during battle. This is especially important when the chain of command is disrupted. A Batavian Captain should be able to communicate quickly and effectively with his Kryobaijani counterpart two kilometres away if there is trouble. Lastly, we propose that a single combat language is chosen. All officers and Generals in the field should receive at least basic training in one language to be used in combat when ordering support, air strikes, etcetera.'

'It is my hope, comrades, that we can agree and begin to implement some of these ideas in time for the Winter War-Games which we will also be planning this congress.'

 

[Cúlanor]

Ambassador Numyanov nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is imperative that we establish and maintain strong military relations, tradition, and ties." Glancing down at his notes, he gestured toward the Bataviëns.

"I also think its important that each member helps improve, modernize, train, and equip those who's military's are underdeveloped or lacking. My people lack manufacturing power, and are still largely agrarian..." The ambassador tensed at the thought of Cyrillica's weakness.

One of the main reasions the Cyrillic people were so bitter towards capitalism and currency, particularly state capitalism, was due to the stranglehold authoritarian socialism had on the Republic in the first decades after the revolution, and the devastating affect a monetary command economy had on the nation.

"We are currently in urgent need of machinery and manufactured goods to aid in industrialization and I believe it would be beneficial for the Left as a whole if our efforts were aided. In order for the left to become and remain a powerful force, it is critical we come to each others aid without a second thought as though brothers. It is the ideals of egalitarianism and mutual aid that make the left what it is, and it should apply on an international scale, not just a national one."

"It is also this reason why we should also take note of the Carentanians. Despite their admirable democratic mechanisms, they are a danger to the unity of the socialist world and we must either take strong diplomatic action, or introduce "other" measures." Numyanov concluded, a his voice taking on a darker tone.

 

[Miroslavl]

"The Soviet Republic would be glad to assist the Cyrillic nation in modernizing their military and industrializing their nation." the Soviet Republic's representative said, nodding towards Ambassador Numyanov before turning towards Van Arsdale. For a moment he bent down and to his right, and Lt Col. Yakovlev leaned toward him for a moment, whispering something. The representative nodded, then stood straight once more. "The Meribian Soviet Armed Forces would also be happy to implement the Batavian proposals. Furthermore, the Soviet Republic would like to suggest a standardization of all IRB arsenals to the same makes and models of military hardware, to better assist cooperative supply efforts. As for a unified combat language..."

He bent down again, and the Lieutenant Colonel once more made a quiet suggestion. He rose. "...the Meribian Soviet Armed Forces would suggest Russian or German, as these languages are typically clear and easily understandable in military situations."

 

[Batavië]

Van Arsdale nodded i approval of the Meribian suggestions.

'That is an excellent idea that our Meribian comrade has come up with. Standardising most of out military equipment and operations would indeed make cooperative action faster, easier and safer. As for a basic working knowledge of a combat language, I would agree with the Meribian suggestion of German. It is very clear, relatively simple to learn the basics and there are many teachers of the language available.'

Van Arsdale looked down at the agenda and moved on.

'Unless there are no objections, I say we press onwards. I would like to plan wargames. Batavië has publicly announced intent to hold wargames in Vangala pending the approval of said country. I would also like to see joint naval exercises in the Western Ocean between as many IRB members as possible. The navies should work on communicating together and moving over long distances together. Also, in terms of Air Forces, I do believe that Cyrillica would be a perfect venue for exercises. It would allow for open areas with little population density, cold weather practice and such as well. As for land exercises, Batavië would like to offer the use of Windhoek island. The largest island situated in the Western Ocean, it is almost completely uninhabited save for the port city of Windhoek and a few military and scientific research facilities. It is also rugged and mountainous, allowing for good troop training. Troops and equipment can arrive via the sea in Windhoek and at the airport.'

'Are there any suggestions for the wargames? Perhaps someone could propose a start date? It would be impressive if all sea, air and land exercises started on the same day, despite being located in different parts of the world.'

OOC: please do not forget to PM me your nominations for IRB Chairman which will be voted upon at the end of the conference.

 

[Cúlanor]

Numyanov was visibly pleased at the mention of wargames. The Republic was eager to improve and augment its military abilities.

"You have mine and the Presidents guarantee that Cyrillica will be fully involved in as many military exercises as possible. It is a national priority that the our military be in pristine condition."

 

[Batavië]

'I would like to see land, naval and air games also occur in Cyrillica. The frigid and arctic conditions will likely help prepare our soldiers and systems for extreme cold weather conditions.' Van Arsdale, knowing the Cyrillicans would accept, moved on.

'Our next order of business is economic activity within the Bloc. Before I mention Batavië's ideas, I want to here from others first. Should we expand it? Should we set up a more intricate system thereby linking our economies closer together, allowing for increased trade and efficiency and the ability to withstand market forces from capitalism, which are unavoidable? Linking could lead to prosperity and also more influence and protection. I want to hear thoughts and opinions.'

 

[Miroslavl]

"The Soviet Republic would support such an organization, and further suggests the adoption of a unified currency for those IRB member states which still require or otherwise utilize physical money."

 

[Batavië]

OOC: this congress is suspended until further notice. When the charter has been completed, we will resume as soon as possible.

 

[Miroslavl]

OOC: Rather than ICly suspend it, let's just put it on OOC pause for a bit, eh?

 

[Batavië]

OOC: I would, but after having talked with Norse, it is going to create a headache later on if we continue. We should have a charter shortly, so it shouldn't be too long. Norse can explain it to you.