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Jydsken-Østveg

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Les actualités en anglais • quotidien politique • économie • connaissance et culture • 2.00£
The News in Federation Standard English (International Edition)

Bourdignian Confederation Officially Proclaimed
• Marks the end of the alliance and an agreed federal state
• Confederation encompasses Bourdignie, Hohensee, Waldstätte, and the creation of four more "cantons"
• To be referred to as "Bourdignie" in common speech
• Army continues to forge path north to secure and meet Eiffelland


By: Aimee Le Roux & Charles A. Smith

26 mai 2021 — Anglaise
Versoix, Bourdignie

The relative calm seen in Pannonia over the previous week has not been an indication of nothing happening. Bourdignie has been proclaimed a Federal State alongside her allies. This event does not happen in a vacuum as evidenced by the recent recognition of Bourdignie by Remion and surprisingly Eiffelland on Monday after the Twatter announcement from Zoltán Kovács that he was bringing peacekeepers to the region from specifically Tarusa and Pelasgia. As reported by Az Esti Újság, there are military movements in Pannonia that occur regularly in relation to Pannonia's southern border. The northwestern border of Pannonia that it shares with Bourdignie is something different, a place of relative calm. This is no accident, Bourdignie maintains a larger population than fellow breakaway state Eugenia, and additionally Bourdignie has procured more advanced weaponry and most importantly ammunition from her own allies.


Originally Bourdignie was seen as a political experiment launched by the Patois speaking wine growers of the region to proclaim their solidarity with Eugenia and the Zaran people. The project drew a great deal of attention both domestically and internationally, and when recognized by the Federation and Josepania the project took wings and began to suddenly seem to be a real possibility. Representatives from Bourdignie have been instrumental in discussing via secret communications that usually occur in person or via dead drops with the aid of hints on the internet. "We were quite afraid that our internet communications were being monitored and us old wine growers thought we should do this the old way. So we took a car, or bus to who we needed to speak to," said interim President Olivier Brisbois. Brisbois was agreed upon by all three members of the Bourdignian Confederation (Confédération Bourdignique) to continue to be interim President. Prior, he was the interim President of only the original Bourdignie project. Sixty-seven years old, Brisbois has grown wine all his life and as strongly committed himself to the idea of direct democracy.

The agreement is confusing in terminology, and some of that maybe due to the fact that it is largely a project led by locals and not major politicians or lawyers. The new Federal Constitution of the Bourdignian Confederation is contradictory in terminology, but something that expressed the desires of the authors which wanted to maintain the original ideals of a confederation in the early days of the alliance with the necessities of the independence struggle they find themselves in. In short, a stronger central government was needed to fight against Pannonia and easily coordinate with the allies that Bourdignie was rapidly gaining.

In order to dilute the powers of the cantons (as they are being named), four more cantons have been agreed to be drawn up within existing territories claimed. The Federal Constitution also allows for new cantons to be added with a process that allows for hypothetical expansion of Bourdignie. The canton system will allow for regional minorities to have more control of their affairs, and in a sort of continuation of the prior failed union a belief in multiethnic or at least multilinguistic union. Brisbois was not shy in his affirmation, "Our new Federal State is built on a certain belief that Pannonia's demise was wrong, and we aim to use a proper direct democracy to assure that."

Meanwhile the new nation has begun utilizing a new flag which comprises the colors of the three original cantons in a tricolor. Most popular is the artistry of a Versoix woman, Marianne Huertaux, which drew up a flaming cross for soldiers to wear on the arms. She is not shy about how it came to be. "We're in a religious group where we like to sing choir songs or draw. We also play music at home for fun too. Well we were designing some fun symbols for our new band, and we came up with this flaming cross after a session with some Josepanian Aid (Josepania has controversially sent an aid package full of rum, coffee, and marijuana). We gave it to some of the soldier boys training and they keep asking us for more of them to wear." The soldiers that now race to Eiffelland wear this symbol.


Interim President Brisbois has been clear in his desires moving forward. "I want this new Federal State to thrive. I think we can do it with firm allied support. It is my wish to host a meeting with our new allies and make it official."
 

Jydsken-Østveg

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Les actualités en anglais • quotidien politique • économie • connaissance et culture • 2.00£
The News in Federation Standard English (International Edition)

At Least 200 Deaths in Eugenia After Massacre of ZLA
• Battle raged in residential community outside of Gonzaga

• Entire community has been destroyed by mortar and bullet fire
• Observers considered the attack an act of pure malice

• "It is why we fight"

By: Marc Edouard Lapointe & Charles A. Smith

2 juin 2021 — Anglaise
Gonzaga, Eugenian Republic

While the smoke cleared from the charred remains of what used to be a vibrant community, nothing remained but free-standing bullet holed walls that no longer had to support rooftops. Rubble and smoke gave way to occasional scenes disrupted by sobbing or a howling dog. The small town of Urbano located about 45 kilometers southwest of Gonzaga was apparently a Zaran Liberation Army (ZLA) stronghold led by General Gianluca Esposito. Urbano does not really exist anymore beyond a few small buildings. General Esposito was found diseased among the rubble with the bullet wound the to neck.

The shock of a town having to start from scratch among the inhabitants that do remain is part of the story that now frames this conflict. This is the first real battle in a war for the future of the Zarans, a Tiburan people which have renamed their country Eugenia in the recent months. The ZLA has led the armed struggle with their attack upon the Kispest Metro and their recent attacks on Pannonian Army supply convoys. A controversial entity, the ZLA has sparked the current zeitgeist and arguably their actions are the reason why Pannonia is on the brink of complete dissolution to begin with.

General Esposito's widow Martina, spoke with the media soon after finding her husband with only mumbled sobs. Her losses included not only her husband, but also her mother, father, and two of her four children who scared the same house at the time of the attack. The cost of a fight for independence being far more real in an instant than it was only two months ago when the Kispest Metro took the lives of hundreds of innocents as well.

The battle that raged here took place over the course of nearly a week as mortars and gunfire filled the town and the outskirts of the town daily, and sometimes overnight. The Pannonian Army after an initial attempt to take the town fell back to a location just outside of it where they fired mortars hourly at random at any structure they saw standing and sprayed gunfire at any building that appeared to display a muzzle flash. Their actions came from the fact that intelligence showed that Gianluca Esposito lived in this town and that the town was firing at the army before them. Many in Eugenia now describing the events at the town as a war crime, Pannonia insists that Urbano would still exist as it did a year ago if the ZLA didn't use the town as a human shield.

Popularity for the ZLA has grown in Eugenia over the course of the last month; however, this is mostly among the youth which seem ready to take up arms in hope for a better future. Occupying armies in Gonzaga stir up dissent among inhabitants as foreign languages have flooded the town and drunken soldiers act with little regard for the townspeople. Reports of theft, rape, and public disturbance have grown by over 300%. Meanwhile citizens in Gonzaga cannot trust each other. Some citizens remain loyal to the Pannonian nationstate, while their neighbors actively fight alongside the ZLA.

There is a worry that the events in Urbano will now spread like a contagion. The Pannonian Army is hoping the aftermath will lead others to think twice about armed open rebellion. International observers also worry that forces from Remion may respond poorly and invade. The Pannonian Army has argued that this travesty could have been avoided with pinpoint bombing, but the No-Fly-Zone required mortar usage which was less precise and thus far more costly to innocents. The Pannonian Army also took heavy casualties in this event as well, which they also attribute to the NFZ, and has led to some anger from families back home.

Anger among those who were able to observe the conflict described the entire event as an act of pure malice. "This is why we fight," stated Martina Esposito later in the day. "The hatred for my husband was taken out on an entire community. Our freedom cannot be held hostage by the cult of a madman."
 

Jydsken-Østveg

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Les actualités en anglais • quotidien politique • économie • connaissance et culture • 2.00£
The News in Federation Standard English (International Edition)



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EDITORIAL: Galán Peace Plan Is Only For The European Forum
• Galán desires to smother the fire rather than eliminate the source of the problem
• None of the parties on the ground were consulted
• This is a proposal from Hradreych
• No actual solutions appear in the proposal, only a return to the status quo


By: Mathilde Laurent & Charles A. Smith
11 juin 2021 — Anglaise

It comes as no surprise that the European Forum would attempt to create a peaceful proposal for the region of Pannonia. Much like the many conflicts that came before this one, discussion within the European Forum often leads to conclusions as to what is necessary for peace. Unique to this discussion is that no conclusions have been drawn other than the desire for the European Forum to create a peace. The plan as drawn up by Cristian Galán Correa is a reflection of that desire with none of the footwork done to make sure any of the parties it directly impacts are happy. The Galán Plan is looks to bring all of the former groups that composed the Pannonian nation return as a unified Pannonian nation with a new constitution, a new mandate, and new multinational army.

The plan as drawn up clearly does not reflect any of the desires of the parties currently working in former Pannonia. The Bourdignian Confederation was not consulted, nor was the Eugenian Republic, or the Kovács Government which has indicated that it will vote against the plan. Parts of the international community still take seriously the Serbove students which created a national movement in Pressburg ignoring the fact that it has no borders, nor actual movement beyond trolls.

Bourdignie's Federal Assembly has immediately debated on the Galán Peace Plan and immediately rejected it outright. Their complaints? A failure to consult the Federal Assembly, a lack of knowledge of the opinions of the people on the ground, and a failure to understand the lack of desire for a united Pannonia. In fact, the only power that has expressed a desire for a united Pannonia is neighboring Hradreych, which currently has placed the conflict on a time table. This time table has hardened the resolve of the main separatist nations in Bourdignie and Eugenia which now lean harder towards their foreign allies than before, while causing further disintegration of any semblance of order in Kispest. Perhaps the opposite effect of what the Rus intended as they wanted all foreign powers out. There is no way that will happen now without peace talks that the Kovács Government would never agree to.

The return to the status quo if anything suggests that the Galán Peace Plan was only ever intended for one audience: The European Forum. This is because the peace plan does hardly anything other than demand that the international community force peace upon the region with the threat of a violent actor to suppress any who may dissent. That violent actor is the European Forum's military arm, the united peacekeepers of all major powers. It would seem that the conflict in Pannonia confounds the experts in Frescania then. Why is there a conflict? Perhaps the real legitimate question is why was there a union?

In the ashes that is the Galán Peace Plan, which may still be voted upon positively by the actors in the European Forum, we have to consider what a real solution to the problems that exist on the ground are. There are as many as six different language groups, all of which have their own opinions and divisions within them depending on geography and politics. While desires for unity existed in Pannonia among many groups in March, that desire only exists majorly among Csengan and Serbove populations any longer. Csengans have subsequently looked to maintain their grasp on Zara, a focal point as it was the initial spark but also where the initial threat of invasion came from via Remion. Solving the problem here requires an individual solution between the Zaras geographically, but also the Zarans and the Csengans.

The Frankish Patois and Bourdignian Germans have aligned both in their support of the Zarans, but also as a nation themselves. They have culturally rejected the far-right attitudes of the Kovács Government, and while they possibly could have worked for unity in April, any hope for that has disintegrated after the Confederation took shape. Flags are now in circulation and real animosity exists for their former countrymen. If not for the fact that Kovács cannot field an army on so many fronts, it is most likely a bloody civil war would have commenced. Is it possible that this was pushed on by the Federation and Eiffelland? Perhaps so. Social movements take on lives of their own however and the real wealth in former Pannonia came from the Bourdignian Germans. Where the wealth goes, victory will most likely follow. Given unprecedented local powers, the Bourdignian Germans are unlikely to want to return to any situation be it federal or not with Csengia. Will they shed blood for this power? Everything indicates they will. The Bourdignian Army is now better equipped and with much higher morale than their Pannonian opponents. The respect of the Bourdignian Army at various borders and the checkpoints that they maintain suggest that a nation state exists and functions here.

This now leaves the Kovács Government which now faces mass protests, enemies at the gates, and territorial disputes at every corner of its declared borders. This Government has proven impossible to deal with, as talks could never be commenced, and their heavy handed tactics have led to countless dead in East Zara. They do fight against terrorists, but they do not fight with the moral high ground. Their employ of foreign mercenaries was the first sign of trouble to all neighbors and the international community. Without them, it is entirely possible that Pannonia would have been a failed state and unable to protect its interests whatsoever in April when the union first began to collapse.

It is important that whatever peace plan is drafted take into consideration the situation on the ground. There are three to four possible nations ready for their independence, and the sooner formal borders are drawn, the sooner a new geopolitical reality can take shape. However the real question does not seem to be war in Pannonia, I would argue it is war between the powers that surround Pannonia as they all demand a conclusion that favors their world view. Perhaps any peace agreement should focus on them accepting what Pannonia has become. However, instead we will likely have new borders drawn at some point and the coldest of wars to take hold of the center of this great cultured continent.
 

Jydsken-Østveg

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Les actualités en anglais • quotidien politique • économie • connaissance et culture • 2.00£
The News in Federation Standard English (International Edition)

What is in a name? Bourdignie is on Trial
• After peace comes politics

• Elections set for September 26th
Bourdignie's election season heats up

• Germanic candidates pledge to rename the confederation


By: Jean-Marie Henry & Charles A. Smith
9 août 2021 — Anglaise
Versoix, Bourdignie

Peace has become the new normal in modern Bourdignie after a hard fought six months of small scale armed skirmishes and political intrigue have finally brought forth the peace deal signed in Versoix was officially past last week. Immediately a new normal has arrived and that is imminently seen in the political sphere. Officially, political parties that often have their roots in the old Republic, now embark on a new election season in the new confederation. Which parties can be seen as leaders is current hard to say with limited polling and few manifestos thus far published.

Elections themselves were always planned by the leadership of Bourdignie, although they were dismissed by foreign powers which often sought to portray Bourdignie as a sort of puppet state to either Eiffelland or the Federation. Leadership often struggling to get aid from other nations that were even aligned to the Bourdignie's cause due to beliefs in zones of spheres of influence.

Finally elections can be guaranteed. The interim government has set them for September 26th, in which all cantons are expected to hold their elections for local and federal positions. Cantons are allowed to hold local elections before this date, although thus far none have decided to do so.

The atmosphere has erupted in the Germanic speaking cantons as one in which the name of Bourdignie itself should be changed. The name, which originated in a local vineyard by a small group of workers stems from an ancient name for the region, but is without question very Frankish, as in alluding to the Holy Frankish Empire. This has concerned many in the Germanic cantons as reckless, and inviting foreign meddling from their neighbors. The more legitimate argument perhaps is that the name is not inclusive to all the people of the new nation state. Especially if the New Tiburan speaking regions that will hold referendums wish to join, Bourdignie should need a more inclusive name. At the very least something that better translates between the various languages spoken. Currently Germanic news has referred the name as Burdignien, which has not been well liked.


Politicians in the Canton of Bourdignie have suggested that the dispute is a non-issue, simple posturing for Germanic politicians to win elections; however, every political party in the Germanic-speaking cantons has been in favor of changing the name. Thus far only two parties that will run across all cantons have yet to take a stance on the issue.
 

Rheinbund

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Trier, Königreich Eiffelland — Trèves, Royaume d' Eiffellande


We are happy to see that Bourdignie is on the path to stability, and are happy to see that elections are being organised. We look forward to a fruitful cooperation between Eiffelland and Bourdignie. We leave it to the citizens of Bourdignie to decide upon the country's name; that is a discussion we don't have a place in.

Dr. Norbert Schmelzer, Minister of Foreign Affairs
 

Záhorie

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The shameless attempts to question and dismantle Bourdignie's identity are well noted by the Imperial Government. It is regrettable that the history and culture of a region is so threatening to the nation as a whole. If a nation is to find unity, is it not best to celebrate Bourdignie's history rather than to hobble together a new narrative which detracts from the penultimate goal?

The Emperor's Government will stand by their Frankish brothers and hopes that genuine, rather than superficial, unity can be achieved.
 

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Les actualités en anglais • quotidien politique • économie • connaissance et culture • 2.00£
The News in Federation Standard English (International Edition)

Massive strikes in Imperial-occupied parts of Bourdignie
• Strikes in Imperial-occupied Bourdigie
• Massive daily demonstrations in Bellevue
• Also protests in rest of Bourdignie


By: Jean-Marie Henry & Charles A. Smith
16 octobre 2021 — Anglaise
Versoix, Bourdignie


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The armed forces of the Empire placed the picture shown above on DaguerroGram a few days ago. Given the caption, the picture is aimed to show that the armed forces of the Empire and the Bourdignian are cooperating in a good athmosphere.

But the picture also shows something else. The shops are closed. The shop promenade is empty, apart from the Bourdignian police officer, the two Imperial soldiers and a few people in the background. It could be that the picture was taken on a Sunday morning, but it does symbolise what is going on in the parts of Bourdignie occupied by the Empire: A massive strike that started last Monday.

Everybody is on strike. The police and the fire departments are still working, as well as the home nurses and the pharmacies, but the hospitals and the medical doctors not working in hospitals are only treating emergency cases and the patients currently hospitalised, the shops are closed (except the supermarkets), and the garbage collectors, teachers, local government officials, factory workers etc. etc. are on strike. The trains don’t ride, the trams don’t ride, the buses don’t ride etc. Bourdignian truck drivers refuse to transport goods for the Imperial armed forces.

What the picture does not show, either, is that the people of Bellevue are demonstrating against the occupation every day. Demonstrations with tens of thousands of people walk over the streets of Bellevue every day. And every day the demonstrations become bigger.

The strikers and the demonstrators have only one demand: That the Imperial army goes back to the Empire. One of the protesters was willing to make a statement: “Bourdignie is not part of the Empire. Bourdignie is not Imperial. Bourdignie has been part of Bajorország for several centuries, and now it is independent. There is nothing that binds us to the Empire, apart from the language. The Imperials should go home!”

The resistance against the Imperial occupation is non-violent, but begins to rise. Not only in Imperial-occupied Bourdignie, but also in the parts of Bourdignie that are free. The Bourdignians pretend to not understand words typical for Imperial French, and supermarkets use different prices for Imperials and non-Imperials: Imperials pay 50% more than non-Imperials. Taxidrivers in Versoix refuse to transport Imperials.

The strike of the garbage collection services is already showing consequences: Although not massively, garbage is already piling up in the streets of Bellevue. An inhabitant of Bellevue commented on that: “Just collect it once every two weeks and then dump it over the fence of the headquarters of the Imperial army. Or in front of the entrance.”
 
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