Press of the Confederal Republics - Show of solidarity for Padania approved by legistlature

[Confederal Republics]

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SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Minister of Defense says "sending away" Nord conscripts will be upheld

The Ministry of Defense continues to refute calls from ethnic Nord and conscript activists to end the so-called "deployment distance" policy in regards to young Nord men serving as conscripts within the Confederal Northern Defense Forces. Minister of Defense Malcolm Harris (CDP) said today to CBC reporters that the CNDF would take no heed of the calls made by groups including the Nord faction of the opposition Democratic Party and the Soldiers' Rights Association.

"The people opposing this policy are deliberately trying to undermine our internal and external security, as well as making the conscripts serving our country pawns in their political agitation", Minister of Defense Harris said to the CBC in an interview granted in his office, "The terrorists with the NRA and the NMRS speak the same language and hail from the same cities as them, and the people opposed to this policy effectively want to make the Nords of our country fight a civil war. This should not happen."

Minister of Defense Harris also described accusations of ethnic discrimination related to the policy as a "pile of manure" and stated that "some people scream 'racism' every time someone farts in their general direction."

The policy of assigning ethnic Nords from Järnmark into Confederal Northern Defense Forces units located away from their home republic has been in force since the Nordic Republican Army started its armed activities in 1997. Among the main complaints stated by some of the critics of the policy has been that the compensation given to the conscripts does not account for their higher travel expenses, but the Ministry of Defense has promised to "set up a committee" to examine the issue.

Since the Anemone Revolution allowed a resurfacing of regional separatism, the Northern regions of Järnmark have been the subject of a violent insurgency by the Nordic Republican Army and the Northern Movement of the Red Star. Nordic conscripts do not typically serve in Järnmark to avoid emotionally scarring situations where might be forced to fight against NRA and NMRS members of their own cultural group.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Municipal politicians criticize city administration for directing lacking resources to the technical department for road maintenance in winter conditions, no comment from mayor Ford
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of Information Mikael Holappa opens an exhibition on Oelarian art at the Southport-on-Sea Confederal Museum of Art and Design, exhibition set to last until July
Whitehaven - Uncertainty continues in the Whitehaven Stock Exchange as the Belmontien-Coronadic War draws on in spite of rumored mediation
Pohjanlinna - Pohjolan Minister of Treasury and Enterprise Anton Sinkkonen meets with corporate representatives to discuss economic diversification within the Confederal Republic
Malmi - Whitehaven Rangers HC to kick off playoffs in the Confederal Hockey League with a Monday game against Malmi Hakkapeliitat, set to draw in large crowds
Järnstad - Native Affairs Office reports slight drop in reindeer herds maintained by Sevet reindeer-herders during this winter

 

[Confederal Republics]

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SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA/FJÄRSLOTT - Arrest of separatist emigrant confirmed by State Police Director

In a press conference held today, Director of State Police Sakari Lehtimaa confirmed that Alexander Hagen, a self-described "land and human rights activist" connected with several separatist groups as well as the notorious "Democratic Reform Committee", has been arrested by the SAPO. At the time of his arrest, Hagen was reportedly staying with a relative near Fjärstad. The story of his arrest was first brought to light by international news sources.

"Mr. Alexander Hagen was arrested two nights ago near Fjärstad by officials of the State Police, and he is being investigated for entering the country without an announcement and failing to report at a point of entry. In addition, he is a person of interest related to our inquiries into groups acting in violation of the State Integrity and Concordance Act", Director Lehtimaa said. According to Lehtimaa, SAPO currently did not know the manner of his entry to the country presumably from Arendaal, or his purpose of being in the country.

Groups including the DRC and the so-called Nordic Rights Advocacy have claimed that Hagen entered the country for personal reasons. "Ludicrous, given his standing and his known connections", Director Lehtimaa retorted, "Alexander Hagen has been a recipient of Aren asylum long enough to be considered a permanent resident of the country, and by Confederal law even Confederal citizens of status must be registered at an entry point."

While describing himself as a pro-Nord "land and human rights activist", Mr. Hagen fled to Arendaal in 2008 when SAPO took his associate and fellow DRC activist Maja Järnland under inquiry for collaboration with separatist movements within the Confederal Republic of Järnmark. Currently held in the investigative wing of the Järnslott Central Prison, Hagen will be brought to trial by the Confederal Procurator's Bureau.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of the Exterior Saukko commends Belmontien decision of agreeability in connection with peace negotiations to end the Belmontien-Coronadic War
Southport-on-Sea - University of Southport-on-Sea to become the first binary higher education institution in country as it is set to incorporate the Southport City College to solve the latter's ongoing financial problems
Malmi - Local businessmen set to assemble to support the construction of a joining line between the Malmi International Airport and the city's subway system after local and regional authorities fail at securing sufficient funding
Jokela - Four regional agricultural fairs "will combine" this year to the Jokela Regional Agricultural Fair, held between the 22nd and 25th of May and poised to be the largest agricultural event in-country
Fjärstad - Three people missing after an avalanche caused by melting snow creates mass panic at the Eskilson Palace Ski Center

 

[Confederal Republics]

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WHITEHAVEN - Cordwell Company set to gain a majority stake in the North TV Group

The Cordwell Company is buying off Associated Cornavian Banking's ownership of the Nordic Television Group, announced company chief owner and board chairman Lincoln Cordwell today at the Whitehaven Stock Exchange. The deal will secure a 51,3% base of ownership over the NTVG for Cordwell, the Confederal Republics' second largest company mainly active in construction, real estate and heavy industries.

The deal is part of ACB's campaign to liquidate its extra assets to pay off extra taxes and fines imposed upon the company last year after a Tax Police investigation uncovered pervasive corruption within the company's upper ranks.

The Nordic Television Group is through its two Fennic-language channels, one Anglic-language channel and one Nordic-language channel as well as several others the third largest television company within the Confederal Republics. With Cordwell as the major owner of the NTVG, it now controls one of the so-called "big three" of Cornavian television with the Confederal Broadcasting Company controlled by the Ministry of Information and with the TV2 Group controlled by a coalition of Whitehaven investors.

"We endeavour to strenghten the journalistic accuracy and validity in all NTV channels as well as its tradition of service", stated Nicola Laitinen, public affairs head for the Cordwell Company, "However, during its period of association with the NTV, Cordwell has pushed for certain reforms within the company in order to streamline its operations and to guarantee that its watchers get what they deserve, and certain reforms are now in line now that this has happened."

Democratic and Confederal Socialist politicians expressed concern that the acquisition would further endanger media neutrality, but Minister of Information Mikael Holappa denied such claims. "The NTV will remain as it was", Minister Holappa said in Southport-on-Sea, "The good people of the Confederal Republics would know the truth from the lies anyhow."

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Diseases, Drugs and Food Bureau to monitor the expansion of the so-called "Brinac disease" into Padania, officials "concerned but confident in Padanian disease-control abilities"
Southport-on-Sea - Petition by the Moslem immigrant community to build a new mosque in Haslam "undecided on" by city council after heavy opposition by conservative Confederal Democrats
Whitehaven - Whalers prepare for what is described as the "final push" of the year's whaling season, confidence of a "large catch" from the Aren Sea
Halden - Previously undiscovered "thousands of" Great War-era photographs and archive files donated to the Confederal Military Museum by son upon the death of Cornavian Lieutenant General August Hopkins in his home
Fjärslott - Järnmark Military District chief General Ilari Savela warns of possible separatist agitation in Northern Järnland after the arrest of separatist sympathizer Alexander Hagen by SAPO officers, but urges calm
Fjärstad - Army joins the search for three missing skiiers at the Eskilson Palace Ski Center following an avalanche, relatives "seriously worried"

 

[Akwesasne]

Voices of The First People
Tight-knit aboriginal organization in Akwesasne

To whom this may concern,

On the behalf of the entire VFP based here in Akwesasne - representing the indigenous people of this land and the Native-Akwi people here and living abroad, we would like to submit this complaint to the officials in Whitehaven regarding the "final push" of the barbaric practices you call whaling. Though we speak for the native people, we also speak for what our culture entails. The slaughter of mother nature's beasts in large groups without any humane justification is not what higher Spirits had placed them on this earth to be put through. We urge that this be placed to a debate, at least, in the government of the Confederal Republics so this vicious hunt may end and maybe return some stability to the ailing whale population.

Sincerely,

Darrel Achaak
VFP Chairman

 

[Confederal Republics]

City of Whitehaven

The City of Whitehaven is not empowered to do anything about the issue, since matters related to maritime fisheries are the purview of the Confederal Ministry of Natural Resources. However, we will nevertheless note to the Voices of the First People organization that under Confederal law whaling is considered a legitimate form of private enterprise in line with our culture, only to be regulated by regular laws of fisheries control and commercial enterprise.

Regards
Mr. Kenneth Latham,
Mayor of Whitehaven

 

[Confederal Republics]

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FJÄRSLOTT - Hooligans clash with the police after false rumor on death of separatist Hagen

Seven people have been killed and dozens wounded in riots between youth hooligans believed to be affiliated with the separatist Nordic Republican Army and elements of the Confederal Home Guard, Järnmark Police Service and the Confederal Army in Järnmark's capital of Fjärslott and the city of Fjärstad. According to Minister of the Interior David Honkala, the riots broke out after NRA-connected bloggers spread false rumors on the death of previously arrested separatist emigrant Alexander Hagen in SAPO custody.

In Fjärslott, a crowd assembled in the Western area of the city and reportedly on its way to the Fjärslott Prison was stopped by riot units of the CHG and the JPS, and tear gas and rubber bullets were fired into the group after hooligans threw empty bottles and cobblestones at the riot policemen. Elements of the Army's 9th Jaeger Brigade were also called in after reported NRA gunmen in the crowd shot and killed a policemen and wounded three others, and four people were said to have been killed in the ensuing gunfight. The rioters torched several cars during the incident. Over a hundred people were reportedly arrested, while thirty policemen and soldiers and fifty-five rioters were wounded.

In Fjärstad, a Confederal Army platoon manning a checkpoint in one of the city's suburban areas was attacked by another hooligan crowd, but the soldiers managed to hold off them by deploying tear gas and rubber bullets as well as warning shots with live ammunition until Home Guard and Army reinforcements arrived. Two rioters were reportedly killed by gunfire, while fifteen soldiers and policemen were wounded by molotov cocktails and rocks thrown by the rioters.

Minister Honkala denied rumors of Hagen's death, saying that "he is alive and will at the Fjärslott prison." Honkala said that inciting the riots had been the work of "terrorist organizations, and the persons responsible will be found by the SAPO and punished without mercy". Both Honkala and Premier Jorgen Thorstrup of the Confederal Republic of Järnmark condemned the rioting, threatening harsh repercussions to those involved in the riots and urging calm from Järnmark residents.

In a separate incident 100 kilometers north of Fjärstad, a patrol from the Interior Ministry Special Forces exchanged fire with unknown assailants who opened fire on the patrol as it was conducting a routine IED lookout. After Army backup arrived, soldiers and special forces scoured a nearby forest from which the shots came from but found no sign of the assailants. However, the northern portion of the island of Järnö is a known operational area of theNorthern Movement of the Red Star.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Motion by CDP Deputy Johannes Sundman to restrict bar and restaurant smoking considered "unfeasible" by Health and Social Welfare Subcommittee, proposal not likely to enter Assembly of Deputies floor
Southport-on-Sea -President Kajala calls for city not to allow proposed mosque construction, says that a "A new mosque in Haslam would be followed by ten more, and then a hundred until all that we have would be Islam"
Bremerholm - Confederal Navy frigate Invictus to rejoin the Southern Command after three months at a drydock following the 2010 fire which led to the deaths of four naval conscripts stationed aboard
Pohjanlinna - Pohjola Premier Joakim Laitila to conduct a series of visits to universities and high schools within his Confederal Republic
Halkola - Police inspector, eight detectives suspended from duty on suspicion of illegally selling off stolen goods confiscated from criminals as part of property crime unit operations, an investigation is underway
Stapelstad - Blizzard affects electricity provision and transportation in the Northern Islands

 

[Confederal Republics]

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SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - President Kajala visits military school, criticizes "youth decadence"

One of the few dedicated military boarding schools, institutions that offer military discipline and education to highschoolers aspiring a career with the Defense Forces, the Lincoln Curran Military School in Wayfield near Southport-on-Sea was on Friday visited by President Mauno Kajala and his entourage. Meeting students and teachers of the institution, the Confederal President expressed his support for the continuation of the military school system.

President Kajala said that the military schools like Lincoln Curran "provide and empower youth with talents in leadership in the Defense Forces and in life, and manufacture the future elite of our Confederal state." According to President Kajala, the Ministry of Defense was currently working on increasing the amount of available student seats in MoD-funded military schools, as well as creating a new program of scholarships for enrollment into private military schools such as Lincoln Curran.

"Too many of the youth of today are in underperforming schools and because of careless parents following foreign ideas of free upbringing they get stupid ideas from the cable TV and poor popular music instead of their parents", Kajala declared in an address to the assembled teacher and student body of Lincoln Curran. "That's why responsible institutions raising not just adults, but citizens, such as this one, should be promoted as they empower our youth to take back our culture, country and dignity from those that assail the heritage of everyone in the Confederal Republics."

Lincoln Curran is one of the funding targets of the Confederal Democrats' National Unity Foundation, which supports progressive not-for-profit institutions that are conductive to national interest, unity and good moral values. In particular, it is known to be a special favorite for President Kajala, who is a regular visitor to the military school.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - The Presidential Chamber Orchestra to participate in an international musical event hosted by the crown of Engellex and Blois, Ministry of Information enthusiastic of showcasing Confederal classical music
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of the Exterior Saukko categorically rules out Council of Nations membership in the future, says the organization is "ineffective in acting as an international mechanism"
Halden - Confederal Military Museum researchers say archives of late Cornavian Lieutenant General August Hopkins "might reveal" previously unknown Great War-era war crimes by the Maxwellist dictatorship
Halkola - Commandant Jyrki Halli, head of the Pohjola Police Force fires the Halkola Chief of Police after ongoing corruption scandal rocks the local criminal police services
Veikkola - H&A Construction, Cordwell to partner in the construction of a first modern shopping mall for downtown Veikkola
Fjärstad - Clashes between rioters and security forces continue, Järnmark Premier Thorstrup blames NRA and the Red Star Movement of involvement and wovs severe repercussions against rioters
[/

 

[Confederal Republics]

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FJÄRSTAD - Army, Interior Forces engage Red Star insurgents in Western Fjärstad

Unrest in Järnö's capital of Fjärstad escalated last night into gunfights between believed members of the Northern Movement of the Red Star and government troops including elements of the Confederal Army and the Interior Ministry Special Forces. General Ilari Savela from the Järnmark Joint Military District said that the clashes broke out after government troops entered Western Fjärstad in force in order to find the instigators of this and last week's rioting.

Premier of CR Järnmark, Jorgen Thorstrup made the decision on Monday to declare a 22-06 curfew into Fjärstad, where unrest is still continuing. It is believed by sources in Southport-on-Sea and Järnstad that members of the Red Star insurgency, which holds North Järnö as one of its main areas of operation, have been instigating the ongoing riots that broke out after the false death rumor of separatist Alexander Hagen who remains in SAPO custody. Both Premier Thorstrup and General Savela have stated the intent of the government to root out Red Star influence from Fjärstad and to punish those responsible for the unrest.

Two thousand soldiers from the 10th Light Brigade as well as unspecified amounts of Home Guards, Interior Forces and Army Special Jaegers are reportedly involved in the ongoing operation in Western Fjärstad, backed by armored personnel carriers and armed helicopters. Military sources hinted at the presence of "at least several dozen" Red Star insurgents in the area, and that they had been conducting an infiltration with the purpose of staging a further attack.

So far hospital sources have confirmed the deaths of two Interior Forces members in a sniping incident and of two Army soldiers and three policemen in street fighting while Colonel Terry Sheridan, commander of the 10th Light, has stated that twenty suspected Red Star insurgents were killed and six captured overnight and during the following morning. Colonel Sheridan said that molotov cocktails and illegal weapons, including believed automatic weapons from Vangala and several other countries, have been discovered during the continuing operation.

President Mauno Kajala has called for the security forces in Järnmark to pacify the situation, in particular criticizing local security services for allowing the Red Star insurgents to develop such influence within the city. At the moment, the 30000 members of the Järnmark Police Service are backed by 8000 Home Guards and Interior Forces members and by 40000 members of the Defense Forces deployed for purposes of national defense and against the NMRS and the NRA in the Awl Mountains, Northern Järnö and Eastern Nagö.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Helenan-sponsored World Hockey Tournament sparks discussion on the tradition of separate team policy for team sports as former JHL head Erik Thomsen proposes an unified national team
Southport-on-Sea - President Kajala threatens to create a law allowing fining of transport companies for "low service standards" unless service interruptions in railway traffic at wintertime are brought to a stop
Whitehaven - Cornavian policemen raid HQ of environmentalist group Green Action, arrest nine people for planning to interrupt the return of the commercial whaling ships this weekend
Bremerholm - Cornavian Port Handling Inc to lay off as a consequence of maritime commerce troubles' negative effect on traffic
Vapaalinna - Movement for a hard rock/metal festival in Vapaalinna this summer draws stringent opposition from religious conservatives
Haga - Stratton Microsystems gains a contract from Province of Hagaö to develop greater wireless 3G access on the island

 

[Polesia]

পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রক
Ministry of External Affairs

The People's Republic of Vangala has no ties with the Northern Movement of the Red Star and the possession of Vangalan-manufactured weaponry by this group is the result of illegal arms production and trafficking.

 

[Confederal Republics]

Ministry of the Exterior
Confederal Republics of the North

Given that no such thing has been implied by the Confederal government, the speed with which the Vangalan regime has endeavoured to disassociate itself from the Red Star insurgency could be construed as suspicious. However, we will reserve judgement to the investigators of the State Police and Central Intelligence targeting the Northern Movement of the Red Star.

Regards,
Mr. Joni Saukko,
Minister of the Exterior

 

[Confederal Republics]

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HALDEN - Wartime atrocities brought under a renewed inquiry by inquiry into so-called Hopkins Archives

Discovery of several thousand previously unknown photographs and documents dating from the Great War by the son of late August Hopkins, former commander in the Cornavian National Army who ended the Great War as a Lieutenant General in charge of the CNA's Third Army, might lend credence to previously dismissed theories of warcrimes that are stated to have been committed by the wartime Cornavian regime.

During the Great War, it was rumored that Fort Calvert - the CNA's center of chemical weapons research - conducted human experiments on people including political prisoners, Gypsies and even prisoners of war from Pohjola-Järnmark and other nations including Franken and Arendaal. While no evidence of such experiments was discovered when the King's Own Pohjolan Rifles took Fort Calvert in early 1945, the story has stayed alive for decades through wartime reports as well as stories from people who have claimed either to have worked in or survived Fort Calvert as prisoners.

What is known is that prisoners were employed for maintenance and similar duties at Fort Calvert, primarily through the nearby Redwood Internment Camp. Now, says Colonel Nathan Westö the head of the CMM's Department of History and a lecturer at Halden's Greenhall Military Academy, research of the so-called Hopkins Archives might prove human experiments took place at Fort Calvert.

"The archives contain documents detailing the funneling of prisoners of war and other detainees from the Third Army's area of operations to Fort Calvert and the Redwood camp between 1942 and 1943", says Colonel Westö, "And some of this evidence suggests that the screening of those going into Fort Calvert occured for purposes other than just labour. However, the exact amounts of people involved are unknown."

For the Allied Union of Victims of Fascism and Great War, a non-governmental organization founded in 1951 to assist those affected by Cornavia's wartime Maxwellist dictatorship and by the Great War in general and to bring perpetrators of those crimes to justice, the revelations of possible human experimentation in Fort Calvert might be a deliverance. "What happened in there is still one of the dark spots of our Great War history", says Jonna Laurila, deputy chairperson of the group, "And perhaps now they can be properly investigated."

Most of those who worked at Fort Calvert during the war are believed to have been executed by members of the Maxwellist State Security, though research conducted at the facility was taken further South and partially recovered by the Royal Army of Pohjola-Järnmark at the end of the Great War. Fort Calvert is currently controlled by the Confederal Northern Defense Forces and a military area for the purposes of classified research.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - "Democrats and Socialists in collusion with foreign enemies", says Minister of Information Holappa after opposition leaders show sympathy to arrested separatist Alexander Hagen
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of the Treasury Juhani Murros to set up a special committee to devise new measures to combat tax evasion, cited as a major drain on the government's ability to draw in tax income
Pohjanlinna - Pohjantähti United Paper confirms bid to buy off "significant" amounts of private forest for better development and utilization
Vapaalinna - City Council to discuss application to hold "The CRN's largest metal festival" under the Castlerock 2011 moniker on July's first weekend in Vapaalinna
Prospect - Last manned non-harbour lighthouse in Nagö off Prospect to automatize after lighthouse's last Maritime Administration keeper Jonas Nordström retires at 65
Fjärstad - Western Fjärstad operation by Confederal security forces continues with up to five believed Red Star insurgents killed and eight captured, authorities vow to root out insurgent elements from the city

 

[Confederal Republics]

The Confederal​

The finest weekly magazine of culture, politics, commerce and society continues the fine traditions of the Confederal Republics' free press. Available in Anglic, Fennic and Järnmark Nordic.​

Northern Neoclassicism - just a remnant of the Saloists?
Martin Nordmann

Those of us who remember the days of the Anemone Revolution carry within them the vivid memories of omnipresent Saloist statues and busts being hacked to pieces by mobs with sledgehammers, or being torn off their pedestals by tractors and earthmovers commandeered for the purpose. Though those signs of dictatorship are now gone, there are other more visible reminders of the Royal Northern Union, thanks to the architectural legacy of Northern Neoclassicism.

Whereas the rest of the world answered to the post-Great War need of reconstruction by embracing architectural modernism, the Salo regime's answer was the "heritage-based" school of Northern Neoclassicism, adopted officially in 1957 through the foundation of the Royal Committee of Architects and disregarded only after the Anemone Revolution. Though functionalist and modernist schools prospered in suburbs and smaller towns, the downtowns of major cities that saw construction between 1957 and 1996 serve as visible demonstrations of the legacy of Northern Neoclassicism, ranging from subtle influences to orthodox implementations of the style.

For example, Southport-on-Sea's administrative area of North Park, synonymous with political power and influence. Ruined during the Great War by Franconian carpet bombing and subsequent Pohjola-Järnmarker artillery shelling during the Battle of Southport, the area was rebuilt between 1957 and 1965 as a textbook example of Northern Neoclassicism. The 10-25 floor buildings nicknamed the Twelve Brothers which house buildings including the Confederal legistlature, the office of the Cornavian Premier and several cabinet Ministries are a visible symbol of Southport-on-Sea, as are the other buildings of North Park.

Given how most of the contemporary older architects received their training in the Saloist era, the conflict between Northern Neoclassicism and the so-called Northern Modernism which has developed since 1996 advocated by former emigrés and younger architects defines much of modern architectural life in our country. Curiously enough in spite of being associated with Colonel Salo's reactionarism the Neoclassical school hasn't disappeared. Indeed, some excesses of modernist and neoconstructivist schools that have been seen in the recent years have actually spawned a backlash in a resurgence of older architectural schools.

An incident indicative of the current status of architecture in the CRN is the debacle that emerged when Peter Lehmuslinna, founder and CEO of Northern Oil Incorporated and the richest man of our country, released the plans for the company's new 34-floor headquarters in Whitehaven. The plans, which evoked memories of the Saloist era through its monumental edifices and pillar columns, caused a stir in the architectural community and among Whitehavenites. Still controversial, the project has been given a go by the city authorities. Though the Saloist regime collapsed nearly fifteen years ago, its architectural legacy is going nowhere.

 

[Confederal Republics]

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FJÄRSTAD - Government forces converge on Red Star holdout, "operation nearly over"

Members of the CNDF and the Interior Forces have started an assault on a believed operational headquarters for the Northern Movement of the Red Star in Western Fjärstad. According to Colonel Terry Sheridan from the 10th Light Brigade, the operation to cleanse the remaining insurgents from Western Fjärstad started in the early hours of the morning, and the involved government forces are currently in the process of cleaning an abandoned warehouse identified as an operational center for the insurgents.

Colonel Sheridan said that the operation is currently concentrated on the high-rise neighborhood of Edelbacka and the adjacent abandoned West Fjärstad Wholesale warehouses, where believed Red Star insurgent gunmen have fired at government troops from rooftops and torched tyres and motor vehicles in an effort to block the advance towards their suspected operational center. Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive devices have also been used in the effort, at the same time as the CNDF has brought in APCs and helicopter gunships to provide fire support. Sheridan expected his forces to eliminate the remaining insurgent holdout by nightfall.

So far, the most recent incidences of violence have seen five Army soldiers and three members of the Interior Forces killed, while hospital sources estimate that at least fifteen insurgents have been killed. In addition, numerous civilians have reportedly been shot and killed during the gunfights, and CNDF sources have reported that the Red Star insurgents have been using civilians as human shields against government troops in addition to using random gunfigre to cause panic and distract government soldiers. Several fires have also broken out as a consequence of explosive use, and one wheeled APC was disabled by an IED which killed two of its crewmembers.

Several dozen locals have been arrested by government forces in Fjärstad in the course of the operation, and with local jails filled to capacity an additional detainment center has been established in the 10th Light Brigade's barracks in the city. The Army intends to screen detained personnel for connections with the Northern Movement of the Red Star, the Nordic Republican Army and other groups, after which those concerned will be turned over to the regular police.

Flag Marshal Aleksi Sumuvuori, the head of the CNDF is currently in Järnslott to meet with General Ilari Savela, and is also expected to meet members of Järnmark's civilian administration and security forces to discuss measures against the insurgency as a representative of Minister of Defense Malcolm Harris.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - CNDF leadership announces surprise combined arms exercises in the Pohjolan West Coast, to include naval maneuvers in the Aren Sea
Southport-on-Sea - Cornavian, Pohjolan and Järnmarker ice hockey teams to partake in the Helenan-hosted World Hockey Tournament separately after being cleared to do so by the organizers
Whitehaven - Five Oelarian immigrants are killed, several receive injuries from smoke after a fire spreads out from a fireplace into a heavily overcrowded residential building
Whitehaven - Confederal Association of Fisheries lists the 2010-2011 whaling season as a success, says state of Northern whale population "will not be compromised" by continued whaling in the region
Vapaalinna - CastleRock 2011 festival confirmed to take place between the 7th and 10th of July
Stapelstad - ConGrid Inc. representatives in Nagö promise local authorities and citizens "harder work" to prevent service disruptions after the company's basic grid network interrupts electric company service in many areas of the island

 

[Confederal Republics]

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SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Holappa warns Associated Press against colluding with foreign governments

Minister of Information and Communications Mikael Holappa has issued a warning to the Associated Press after the agency published unsubstantiated rumors regarding apparent flaws in the security of the chemical weapons sites maintained by the Confederal Northern Defense Forces. AP this week published an article regarding a claimed Ministry of Defense memo suggesting a series of security flaws in CNDF chemical weapons sites.

"This is a complete, ridiculous fabrication", Minister Holappa said, "The Directorate of Central Intelligence does conduct such surveys of critical facility security within the Confederal Republics, but at no point has a report such as this been conducted within the organization, nor are there such flaws in our special facilities as described in this fictitious report. The CNDF does everything in its power to maintain the security of the sites run for these purposes, and their security corresponds with the highest international standards. Claiming that our soldiers would accept bribes is an offense of the highest order against men and women who risk their lives every day."

Holappa continued by stating that "with strong likelihood" that either subversive elements in Southport-on-Sea had deliberately leaked Associated Press false information or that the persons responsible for the AP report were acting in collaboration with foreign powers who have the intent of demoralizing the Confederal military and causing damage to its international image. "If the press doesn't conform to any standards of journalism and proper behaviour on their own, then we will have to school them", the Minister of Information proclaimed, "either the AP will issue an apology within 48 hours or I'll have the person responsible for this propaganda arrested and charged."

The article released by Associated Press cited unnamed military sources. All details regarding the security of the CNDF's chemical weapons facilities are considered state secrets, and even assuming genuinity of the report the person responsible for making such a leak would be eligible to be charged with treason, a capital offense. Citing the secrecy related to CNDF chemical weapons operations, Holappa also denied calls by members of the legistlature to offer further commentary regarding the potential threats to CNDF chemical weapons.

Responsibility for the security at Fort Calvert, the current main research center for military CBRN defense, and other classified facilities is in the hands of volunteer military police units operationally subordinated to military counterintelligence. The members of these units are specifically selected due to personal reliability and strong moral character as well as low suspectibility to bribery.

The Associated Press is yet to respond to Minister Holappa's calls of a remedy.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Social networking portal iHub.cn finalizes acquisition of video portal V2.cn, but company executives say there is no intention of a complete merger regarding two of CRN net's most widespread sites
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of the Interior David Honkala calls for Defense authorities to consider allowing alternate conscript service in the police in order to cope with increasing law enforcement recruiting problems
Coleridge - Three killed in a hotel shootout believed to be the result of a drug deal gone wrong, police on the lookout for four suspects at large
Pohjanlinna - Conference of farmers' associations calls for the government to create subsidies or tariffs to protect domestic agriculture against excess foreign competition
Fjärstad - Army assault on suspected Red Star insurgent hideout with support of main battle tanks and gunships at nightfall, General Savela to give a press conference tomorrow

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News​

Brought to you by the Confederal Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet in Anglic, Fennic and Järnmark Nordic​

FJÄRSTAD - Red Star insurgent holdout seized by Army, Interior Forces

Government forces in Western Fjärstad have completed their five-day operation against believed members of the Northern Movement of the Red Star in the city after capturing a final holdout and believed main operational center of the insurgents in the city following a siege and assault that lasted for several hours after government forces managed to force the remaining insurgents into their headquarters.

Under heavy covering fire from snipers and machine gun emplacements as well as fire support from Confederal Army main battle tanks and attack helicopters, Special Jaegers backed by 10th Light Brigade regulars and Interior Forces managed to enter the headquarters warehouse compound in the early hours of the morning. According to Colonel Terry Sheridan from the 10th Light, the last insurgent within the Edelbacka warehouse complex was dead at around 10:49. Sheridan said that five soldiers were killed and ten wounded during the assault, while the bodies of at least twenty-five Red Star insurgents were recovered from the site. The Colonel dismissed claims that other members of the insurgent group had managed to slip past the military cordon before the assault.

Though heavy military presence in Fjärstad continues, in addition to search and arrest operations by the Confederal Army, it is now believed that the immediate insurgent threat in the city has been brought to an end. Total casualties for the fighting are said to have amounted to 22 soldiers and members of the police, while 50 members of the Red Star Movement have been confirmed killed by the government forces. No comment has been made concerning the amount of civilians killed in crossfire or from explosive devices during the five-day fighting.

The Edelbacka warehouses reportedly caught fire after being fired upon with high-explosive and thermobaric ammunition, and at least two adjacent evacuated houses were destroyed. In addition, government forces have been unable to access all sections of the warehouses due to collapses and still ongoing fires, even though explosives and Vangalan-made automatic weapons have been confiscated from other sections.

During the same day, CNDF High Commander Flag Marshal Aleksi Sumuvuori paid a surprise visit to the city under heavy guard by Special Jaegers and soldiers from the 1st Guards Dragoon Brigade, meeting soldiers and reviewing scenes of battle in Western Fjärstad. "A heavy price has been paid by twenty brave men for the safety of the people of Fjärstad", Flag Marshal Sumuvuori said in a joint statement with Colonel Sheridan, "But the CNDF shall endeavour to see to it that the perpetrators of these outrageous crimes will not go unpunished. Today fifty terrorists found out the meaning of Confederal justice, and so shall their compatriots when the time is right."

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - CNDF Deputy High Commander Marshal Julian Walker says "any change to current conscription system" will be unacceptable after Ministry of the Interior proposes expanding alternate service to police
Southport-on-Sea - Evangelic-Lutheran Churches of Cornavia, Pohjola and Järnmark to schedule their annual joint assembly for this year for May, Archprelate of Cornavia Joseph Emerson to preside this year
Coleridge - Police arrest man for involvement with death of three people in a drug-related hotel shootout, but are still looking for three other suspects with State Police assistance requested
Bremerholm - Amphibious assault ship Viribus Unitis to join combined arms exercises off the Pohjolan West Coast as a command ship of the operation's maritime portion
Malmi - Cordwell Company finances local university study to develop financial viability of sustainable forms of energy
Järnslott - Confederal Army member killed by a suspected NRA sniper in the Awl Mountains outside of the city of Halland

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News​

Brought to you by the Confederal Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet in Anglic, Fennic and Järnmark Nordic​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Separate team policy causes discussion in the sports community

A number of influential sports personalities are taking a stand against the long-standing policy of the three Constituent Confederal Republics - and before them the three Kingdoms of the Royal Northern Union - competing as separate teams, instead proposing the submission of unified CRN national teams in future major sports competitions. The discussion follows earlier debate that concerned Confederal participation in the Helenan-hosted World Hockey Tournament.

"It's ridiculous for a country of 40 million to split the potential of all of our best players in three", said the owner of Southport Billmen, businessman and business personality Harry Chapel in his Chapel's Bell radioshow yesterday, "If we'd field one team with the best of the bunch instead of three teams with some of the best and then some of the less good ones, we'd have much more of a better shot." Chapel pointed out an example from football, where the annual Confederal Cup of three of the best teams from each of the CRN leagues has become increasingly popular, saying that a similar phenomenon could manifest in the case of national teams.

The tradition of separate national teams dates from the former Kingdom of Pohjola-Järnmark, where Pohjolan and Järnmark teams in football, ice hockey, basketball and several other sports were submitted by separate associations separately. When the Kingdom and the State of Cornavia were incorporated as the Royal Northern Union in the aftermath of the Great War, the practice was continued by the maintenance of separate Cornavian national teams, even though a Cornavian national team in sports played for the first time only in 1958 due to controversy caused by the position of sports in pre-war Maxwellist propaganda. In this case, an ice hockey team lost 2-5 against Suionia.

In this case, sports isn't free from the influence of politics. Historically, separatist groups opposed to the idea of a peacefully united Confederal state have used sports as a way of conveying their ultranationalist sentiments, and in December 2009 member of CDP Governing Council Olavi Kajala wrote in a widely publicized newspaper column that "instead of being used to convey divisionist attitudes, sports should be a way for our citizens to celebrate the Confederal idea and our unity and to reinforce our unified national spirit."

In the three most popular sports within the Confederal Republics, Cornavians have historically been successful in football and basketball wheras Pohjolans have dominated ice hockey. While Järnmark has continued to produce successful individual players, local teams frequently find trouble attaining sufficient funding to be able to compete on a national level with success

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Republican local legistlature of Cornavia to schedule elections for this year's July, confirm electoral officials
Southport-on-Sea - Ministry of Health report highlights an increase in sexually-transmitted diseases among men, but a slight reduction in women, warns about illegal prostitution being on the increase
Whitehaven - Stock market, industry heads express confidence in a peaceful solution to the Belmontien-Coronadic war, but uncertainty still affecting export-based and shipping businesses
Pohjanlinna - Premier Joakim Laitila concludes his university visiting and speech series with a visit to his and President Kajala's former school, St. Peter University of Malmi
Halland - Three men between the ages of 21 and 35 wanted by CNDF, police in connection with the death of a CNDF soldier in a Nordic Republican Army sniper attack yesterday
Fjärstad - CNDF military courts commence trials of Red Star insurgents detained during the five-day anti-terrorist operation in Western Fjärstad

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News​

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SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA/COLTON RIDGE - Baroturk War offenders to be tried in the Confederal Republics

Defense Forces Detainment Center Colton Ridge - better known as The Citadel - will be a center of international attention during the following weeks as an independent court moves in to try three war criminals from Zivotinje in trials jointly conducted by the Blue Union and Confederal governments. The defendants are being charged with offenses committed during last year's war by the Blue Union against the dictatorial Milliyetci regime in Barazi.

Dragomir Chroback and Oleksandr Krawchuk, members of the Blue Union military, and Viktoriya Andrich, a civilian, are being charged with multiple counts of offenses ranging from racketeering and smuggling to homicide and gross human rights abuses. While unrelated to each other in the sense of their carried out offenses, according to the Ministry of Justice's Undersecretary for International Affairs Mary Koskinen "the attention these crimes have drawn allows us to set an example to others who might engage in such egregious acts".

In Southport-on-Sea, the commencing trial is being followed closely. President Mauno Kajala thanked the Confederal Republics' friends in Svandbro for recognizing the opportunities of the Confederal government in "providing a neutral and impartial venue for these judicial proceedings." President Kajala said that the decision to host the trial in the CRN proves the trust of the international community in the Confederal justice system, and strenghtens the position of the Confederal Republics as a valued member and participant of the international community.

Given the danger posed by the Zivotun prisoners to the public, the trials take place under heavy security by the CNDF, the Home Guard and the Capitol Police. Colonel Martin Heikkala, commandant of DFDC Colton Ridge and overall commander of trial security for the proceedings, has warned that any demonstrations in the city or near the prison would not be allowed for the reasons of state security. Several properties owned by pro-Milliyetci Baroturk activists were reportedly raided by State Police agents in Southport-on-Sea and Halden today, with at least four arrests made for conspiracy to disturb the peace.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Confederal Democrats bring a declaration of solidarity with Padania to legistlature floor as tensions between the country and the Judean Republic continue
Southport-on-Sea - Ministry of the Interior report highlights an 8% increase in illegal immigration primarily of Sarmatian, Kryobaijani and Oelarian migrants, proposes more Home Guard resources in addition to existing legistlative measures
Whitehaven - Northern Oil Incorporated planning international expansion, possible locations for new subsidiaries include Sinhai and Batavië among others
Pohjanlinna - Pohjolan Police sources warn that the ongoing corruption inquiry into police in Halkola could "expand to cover as much as thirty officers" of the city's investigative and patrol divisions
Halland - Second sniper attack on a checkpoint near Halland puts a Home Guard officer in critical condition, connection with earlier sniper attack remains unknown
Fjärstad - Red Star insurgent commander Martin Morgonstjärna, sentenced to death in absentia for insurgency and multiple murders, confirmed killed in a firefight with CNDF Special Jaegers during the recent Fjärstad fighting

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News​

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SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA Show of solidarity with Padania clears legistlature, Kajala declares a blockade against Carentania

As tensions between Padania and the Communist dictatorship of Carentania as well as the Judean Republic continues, the Assembly of Deputies has approved a declaration of Confederal solidarity with the State of Padania. The declaration effectively concludes the attempts by the CRN to mediate with the Padanian-Judean confrontation, which already had been brought to a standstill by Judea's refusal to accept an earlier offer of mediation related by President Kajala.

"I don't think that there is a need for Confederal neutrality in this affair anymore", said Minister of the Exterior Joni Saukko prior to the Assembly of Deputies vote, "The Judeans have refused to pursue negotiations in this affair, meaning an unfortunate failure for the diplomatic efforts of our President."

The declaration of solidarity affirms the political support of the Confederal Republics of the North towards the Padanian government, in addition to a formal condemnation of the Carentanian and Judean governments and their actions in the developing affair. Subsequent to the vote, President Mauno Kajala announced that he had ordered the Confederal Navy and the Naval Home Guard to enforce a blockade of all shipping bearing the Carentanian flag in the Confederal maritime territory as well as the so-called Oelar Strait, a popular waterway to traverse from the Aren Sea into the Snieg Ocean.

"The Carentanian government has itself moved in with territorial maritime claims clearly intended as a provocation, and we are returning that favor to them", said President Kajala in a television address, "Until Carentania reverses this policy, any Carentanian vessels trying to use the territory enforced by our naval forces will be turned away or seized, with lethal force if deemed necessary." Experts believe that the blockade will mainly affect Carentanian shipping to the also communist state of Kryobaijan.

Several Confederal Democrat deputies also made calls for the government to follow suit with Padanian and Carentanian declarations of expanding their territorial waters out to 50 miles. Though President Kajala and Minister of the Exterior Saukko denied that such actions would be implemented at the present, Saukko said that "there was a distinct possibility of reaction if the standing principles of international maritime law continue to see change."

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure planning a driving license reform increasing health and training requirements and creating a new license category for scooters and similar at the moment unrestricted vehicles
Southport-on-Sea - City of Southport-on-Sea denies petition to allow the building of a new mosque in the city
Whitehaven - Provincial court of White Coast to try Green Action environmental activists for planning to harass commercial whalers, defendants described as "eco-terrorists" by prosecution
Malmi - Local businessmen planning on reopening the 107-year old Hotel Avion, closed down last year due to financial trouble, for the 300th birthday of the city of Malmi this year
Järnslott - Järnmark government to host a conference on investment and economic development to attract foreign investment into the region
St. Aidan - Hermit monastic order of the Brothers of St. Paul of Thebes to open the doors of its island monastery to visitors for the first time since its foundation in 1552

 

[Polesia]

পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রক
Ministry of External Affairs

The Confederal Republics of the North continue to provoke the revolutionary nations of the world with the threatened harassment of shipping and airing of dubious allegations about the source of insurgent weaponry. The People's Republic of Vangala believes the Confederal Republics of the North should instead focus on solving its own internal problems and further grandstanding will not be welcomed.

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Ministry of State

It is clear that had we accepted mediation, there would have been a clear bias by the mediator. We are in continued diplomatic negotiations ourselves and have yet to require a negotiator, including a biased one.