News from Cathiopia

[Polesia]

GAZETE​

N'KUNGA: "ISLAM A RELIGION OF WAR"

Senator Zadio N'kunga has once more stoked tensions with his recent remarks on the Islamic faith, describing Islam as "a religion of war" in a speech to his fellow Senators. The Senate was discussing Saraar's claims of a planned Cathiopian invasion, which were dismissed by Minister of the Exterior Rafael Ngudiankama as "propaganda" in a ministerial statement to the international press.

Senator N'Kunga is a leading member of the controversial Bundu ya ntotila, which advocates the disestablishment of the Republic and reinstatement of the imperial throne of Cathiopia. The Bundu also calls for the Bumósi Church to be re-established as the national faith. Each year, the Bundu commemorates the Battle of Mitombo, in which the Cathiopian Empire repulsed an invading Islamic army. The celebratory marches have been widely condemned by politicians of other parties.

In his speech, Senator N'Kunga contrasted early Islamic conquests to the peaceful conversion to Christianity of the Tiburan and Shaban Empires. Senator N'Kunga also described the Prophet Muhammed as a "warlord", and warned the new Caliphate in Saraar would attempt an invasion of Muslim-majority Guana Province, and beyond.

Other Senators were highly critical of Senator N'Kunga's comments. Constitutionalist Senator Víctor Ntongono compared the Bundu ya ntotila to the new Islamic regime in Saraar, suggesting they shared the same political objectives. The Constitution Party had earlier this year endorsed the so-called 'Abrahamic Amendment' which would have granted Christianity, Judaism and Islam constitutional recognition as special faiths.

First Minister Alfonso Gizenga and President Deogracias Kabila also condemned Senator N'Kunga's speech, noting the important contribution to Cathiopian society, culture and history made by Muslims.

The National Republican Guard made the unusual request for Senator N'Kunga to withdraw his remarks, citing peace and security purposes. The National Republican Guard are currently deployed in Guana Province to assist the local National Watch, and officers feared the Senator's remarks could ignite violent protests on the island.


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[Polesia]

MUNDU
EL MUNDO | THE GLOBE

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON DECOLONISATION ANNOUNCED

The Conference on the Decolonisation of Himyar in Nkalamenga has ended with plans to form an International Commission on Decolonisation. Membership has already been confirmed by Cathiopia and a number of socialist countries, while a few other nations wait for approval from their respective legislatures. Cathiopia's participation had been agreed in an extraordinary late-night meeting of the Grand Assembly, with Junior Councillors and Senators voting overwhelmingly in support.

Another outcome of the Nkalamenga Conference was a 'Code of Conduct toward Dependent Peoples and Territories', in which colonial powers promised to uphold basic and equal rights for native inhabitants of colonies, and provide the necessary infrastructure for growth and development.

The 'Code of Conduct' originally contained references to eventual independence, but these were removed as part of a compromise suggested by Cathiopia to attract more signatures. Diplomats from the socialist bloc, as well as many anti-colonial activists across Himyar, condemned the compromise as a betrayal, and noted many of the provisions contained in the 'Code of Conduct' were also present in the Rijeka Resolutions against Genocide.

Cathiopia was also criticised for failing to convince any of Himyar's colonial powers to sign the 'Declaration of Intent', which would have established a formal schedule for the decolonisation of Himyar, with independence suggested by the turn of the century.

Questioned by Junior Councillors and Senators on this failure, External Affairs Minister Rafael Ngudiankama claimed decolonisation would be a lengthy process, and that he had received "verbal promises" from representatives of attending colonial powers they did not intend to maintain colonial rule "indefinitely". Minister Ngudiankama further took time to criticise the foreign policy approaches of some socialist nations toward Himyari independence, warning "veiled threats of violence" were "unconducive".

The 'Declaration of Support for the Decolonisation of Himyar' was more successful in gaining signatories, and Cathiopia hopes to encourage other nations who did not attend the proceedings in Nkalamenga to sign.

As requested by Carentania, the first task of the International Commission on Decolonisation will be to formulate a co-ordinated response to the continuing crisis in the Valkanian Eastern Cape colony.


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[Polesia]

MBOKI YA MBANZA
EL HERALDO DE CIDUAD | THE CITY-HERALD | VOICE OF THE CAPITAL | 5 ₦

DEMOCRATS SEEK EXPANSION OF PUÁNTENUÁ CITY COUNCIL​

The Democratic Cathiopia Party has suggested enlarging Puántenuá City Council to better reflect the port-city's size and diversity. Puántenuá is now the largest city in Cathiopia, and home to the majority of Cathiopia's immigrant population. Members of the party also expressed a willingness to support a similar arrangement for the capital Nkalamenga, now only Cathiopia's second-largest city.

Under the Democrats' proposals, Puántenuá, and possibly Nkalamenga, would be represented by 24 Councillors instead of the current 12. Cathiopian councils have traditionally always been formed of 12 men, from the local village gathering to the advisory circle of the Emperor.

Previously the Democratic Cathiopia Party has argued for Puántenuá to have an elected representative possessing similar powers to the Nemavitu of Nkalamenga. However, the Nemavitu is an appointed position, being chosen by the reigning President.

The current Nemavitu Apo-Mulenge Mbuangi, of the Constitution Party, had at the time expressed scepticism toward the idea of an elected official to lead Puántenuá. Now Nemavitu Mbuangi has similarly disparaged the Democrats plans for an expanded City Council for Puántenuá, criticising what he described as Puántenuá's "sense of exceptionalism".

The Democratic Cathiopia Party has in turn claimed City Councillors presently are unresponsive to the demands and needs of the City's inhabitants, as they represent constituencies too large in terms of area and population. By further dividing the City into smaller constituencies, City Councillors will be more accountable to the people, the Democrats suggest.

Fu-Kiau Mampuya, the sole Constitutionalist City Councillor of Puántenuá, denounced the proposals as an attempt to divide the city politically along racial lines, castigating the suggested boundary changes. The Democratic Cathiopia Party has the overwhelming support of Puántenuá's minority communities. Indeed, one of the Democratic City Councillors is White, and another the descendant of resettled slaves.

City Councillor Mampuya also noted many neighbourhoods in Puántenuá had organised local councils, which frequently worked in co-operation with their City Council representatives, and thus branded more City Councillors as "unnecessary".

However, a number of Constitution Party activists in Puántenuá have privately welcomed the Democrats proposals. One Constitution Party member told Mboki ya Mbanza he believed the Constitutionalists would benefit electorally, and would press others to support the changes.



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[Polesia]

REPUBILIKA

OPINION: WE HAVE LEFT THE PLANTATION FOR THE STATE

The dream of a free and equal society has been replaced by an illusion with nightmarish qualities. All Cathiopians must awaken and renew our Republic.

As our ancestors languished under the oppressive heat of the mid-day Sun in the fields of cotton or sugar cane of the Frescanian Green Sea Islands they dreamed of freedom. Freedom from the accursed rays of sunlight that blinded them and scorched their already blackened skin. Freedom from the hated whip that was savagely applied against them as if they were some mere beast incapable of thought, emotion or reason. Freedom from the alien white man, who spoke a strange tongue, whose pale flesh reflected the light, and who robbed them of their family and culture.

At the turn of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th one, a man, born of mixed descent, who served gallantly as an officer for the Republican forces during the Frescanian Revolution, attempted to realise these dreams of freedom. His name was Sergio Sucre. Today we owe the existence of our Republic, the first Black Republic, to him.

Sergio Sucre sought to build a homeland for freed slaves, who were not only very much removed from their own native society, but also colonial Frescanian society. Purchasing land along Cathiopia's coastline, he created a 'Province of Freedom' for ex-slaves. He sought also to educate and empower indigenous Cathiopians, who were then suffering under Imperial tyranny.

Sergio Sucre achieved much for our people, who have suffered for almost as long as the Jews, and who have yet to find their own homeland. However, his efforts did not go far enough. We have left the plantation for the state, and while the ideals of freedom are inscribed into our Constitution, we remain very much unfree.

Our 'democracy' is little more than a monopoly. The Constitution Party has reigned supreme since the Republic's foundation. The Democratic Cathiopia Party, supposedly the main opposition, are interested in little else beyond their stronghold in Puántenuá. The Constitutionalists and Democrats opponents - 'Nationalists' - espouse a perverse form of inverted racism. Cathiopia's ostensibly 'free-market' economy is dominated by a foreign oligarchy disinterested in promoting competition. Our foreign policy is decided in Fortaleza Real. The fruits of our labour are taken from us by an unjust taxation system. The baton of the guardsman has replaced the whip of the slavemaster.

Yet in Touzen, we had men of colour independently articulating an alternative vision of freedom. Sadly, Touzen has largely disappeared from the world stage, devastated by civil war. But we Cathiopians can assume the mantle of liberty, and realise Sucre's dream of seeing all men, regardless of race, living independently.

That is why, I, Junior Councillor Simón Boki, have left the Democratic Cathiopia party and now stand in the Grand Assembly as an independent. In the forthcoming elections, I shall be battling to keep my place. So I am asking you, concerned citizens of Cathiopia, to join me, and help refashion our Republic to become what it claims to be: Free.

This article was written for REPUBILIKA newspaper by Simón Kavuna Boki a Kiowo, an Independent Councillor. ​

 

[Polesia]

GAZETE​

PYGMIES BUTCHERED IN VILLAGE MASSACRE

Officials from Ntandu Province have confirmed shocking reports of a brutal massacre in a pygmy village. Rumours started to circulate yesterday of dozens of dismembered bodies having been discovered by local militiamen in an isolated village deep inside the rain-forest. Exact details of the crime have yet to be released, with the true number of victims still unknown.

A special investigation unit of the National Republican Guard has been assembled to help find those responsible. Officers from nearby National Watch stations will also assist. The militia who made the gruesome discovery are believed to have been detained for further questioning, with some speculating they may be the perpetrators.

Complaints of abuses by local militias have been increasing in recent months. Many militias are organised by logging and mining companies to protect their commercial operations, although they have been accused of intimidating striking workers and enslaving local tribes people. Other militias have been organised by the tribes themselves, but have been described as the personal armies of chieftains.

Last month the Ministry of the Interior issued orders prohibiting the consumption of alcohol by registered militiamen, after members of a militia drunkenly raped and murdered a young woman.

However, others see darker forces behind the massacre. Pygmy body-parts are considered to be of great medicinal and spiritual value by witch-doctors, as are the body-parts of albinos. Last year the National Republican Guard disbanded several cults in Popó Province known to be using human organs in rituals.

Democratic Junior Councillor Juvenal Dwoye has called upon the government to enact new laws protecting Cathiopia's pygmy population, known properly as the Binga people. The Binga have a long history, and are believed to be some of Cathiopia's oldest inhabitants. However, they have a tragic past, having previously been captured to serve as personal slaves to the Emperor and Imperial officials.

Many now care for remote shrines under the guardianship of the Bumósi Church.

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[Portusgalia]

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs

The Kingdom of Portusgalia condemns this genocidal actions. Even if they aren't exactly the murderers, we strongly suggest the Cathiopian Government to extinguish this militias. Any militia that aren't in control of the State are a menace to the State. We had that kind of experience in the past, and we know how nefarious it is!
If Cathiopia needs support to end this, Portusgalia is willing to give support in what means necessary.

Augusto Osório

 

[Polesia]

Luzabi ya Malongo
Ministry of the Exterior

The Republic of Cathiopia thanks Portusgalia for its concern, although would like to note many of the claims made in the Cathiopian press are as of yet unsubstantiated. Furthermore, the Portusgalian government has likely misunderstood the nature of law and order in Cathiopia. The militias referred to in newspaper articles are not independent of state control - they are locally organised and regulated by the Ministry of the Interior.

 

[Portusgalia]

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Our apologies by our communique, it wasn't our intention to insult the good name of the Cathiopian Government and State. Although our support is always open to your excellencies, has it always was.

Augusto Osório

 

[Polesia]

MUNDU
EL MUNDO | THE GLOBE

TRADE UNION CENTRE URGES 'ONE INDUSTRY, ONE UNION' POLICY

The National Centre of Trade Unions has urged the different labour movements of Cathiopia unite according to a 'One Industry, One Union' policy. Trade Union membership has grown dramatically in recent years, and is now believed to exceed 300,000 workers. A number of competing Trade Unions have since emerged, with members divided along lines of language, politics, race and religion. Historically, Trade Unions were organised by craft and skill.

In a statement released yesterday, the Executive of National Centre of Trade Unions called for "organisational unity" in preparation for next year's Grand Assembly elections. Commentators suspect the Trade Union federation is planning on forming a new workers' party to contest in the elections, following the failure of the earlier Labour and Radical Parties.

The National Centre of Trade Unions includes Cathiopia's three largest unions: the National Union of Mineworkers, the National Union of Plantation Workers, and the National Rally of Woodcutters. All three were rumoured to be considering affiliating with the Democratic Cathiopia Party, although their leaderships soon rejected such claims.

Analysts question how effective a new labour party would be. Many workers are still ineligible to vote, and the Trade Union's Political Education Programmes, which were intended to enable Trade Union members to pass Voter Eligibility Tests, were stopped after being deemed illegal a few months ago by the Independent Electoral Commission. Even if many passed the Test, few would be able to provide the required proof of residence at their nearby polling stations.

'One Industry, One Union' has already met resistance as well. A spokesman for the Democratic Federation of Trade Unions, which claims to represent "Republican" workers opposed to the "socialism" of other unions, dismissed the 'One Industry, One Union' policy as "undemocratic", stating it would make union leaders "distant" and "unaccountable". Other labour federations were similarly critical.


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[Polesia]

REPUBILIKA

EDITORIAL: THE NEW 'EMPIRE OF DEMOCRACY'

Auraria and Cathiopia are reinvigorating the 'Empire of Democracy' from the frontiers, while the imperial centre in Frescania fades into obscurity

CATHIOPIAN statesmen have tended to avoid the term 'Empire of Democracy' in public discourse, mindful of its historical connotations. The phrase itself is the invention of a wry Cantignian journalist, who used it to describe the myriad of formal and informal institutions that still binds Frescania with Auraria and Cathiopia. But in this edition REPUBILIKA newspaper will embrace the term wholeheartedly to describe the brotherhood of Republics across Europe inspired by the 1840 Revolution and united by the common use of the Terrastanian tongue. In an era of new imperialism, an Empire of Democracy is precisely what we need: an imperium built on freedom and prosperity, not conquest and exploitation.

THE recent Aurarian election allows for the consolidation of this Empire. The Empire seemed before to face a drift into decline, eclipsed by the events surrounding it and unable to control them. The turmoil in Auraria damaged peacekeeping efforts in Monkecia, enabling Communist revolutionaries under the charismatic 'Consul Ffyllos' to seize power. As the chaos worsened into bloodshed, Auraria herself seemed at risk of disintegration.

NOW with Roberto Urbina at the helm, and the professed desire of the new Aurarian Foreign Minister Dr. Cayetano Arsenio Palomo to see democracy and liberty spread, the twin pillars of the Democratic Imperium - the Union of Republics and the Thaumantic Security Agreement - can be re-erected.

PRESIDENT Deogracias Kabila has led the charge in Himyar. By hosting the Nkalamenga Conference, and then establishing the International Commission on Decolonisation, President Kabila demonstrated Cathiopia's unshakeable belief in the rights of all Men, regardless of their Colour or Race. The resolution displayed by President Kabila during the Augustaborg Crisis was commendable. The President demonstrated a firm commitment to the territorial integrity of the Eastern Cape, but also a peaceful solution, and achieved both.

MEANWHILE Frescania, the imperial metropole, declines into ignominy. Chancellor Pierre Chomirc's 'lead from behind' Himyari policy is a disgraceful abdication of global responsibility. Frescanian lawmakers seem more concerned with tinkering Frescania's political boundaries and rewriting the United Republic's Constitution than being Leader of the Free World. It is Auraria and Cathiopia who will have to fly the flag of their former master.

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