NationStates Jolt Archive

Michael Eaton didn’t share his Secretary of Foreign Affairs assessment of Amestria’s importance. It seemed to him to be an illiberal democracy with a poor human rights record guilty of a number of war crimes in Torontia. It also seemed, at least as far as the Confederates Peoples was concerned, to combine a sort of high-handed arrogance with actual impotence. Eaton was rather surprised to have received such a smug statement from Liscel. He had detected what he considered a similarly smug attitude in the statements made by the Dominion regarding Confederal law on trading with states which allowed slavery and even sometimes from the Menelmacari and the Knootians. Boris Kazansky and his pack of savages practically oozed it, although in their case it was normally accompanied by wild threats of war. Liscel, however, was not in a position which seemed to support her smugness.

However, Secretary Rastel had insisted from the beginning of his term of office that Amestria was important. He had even included it, against all conventional wisdom, in a list of the ten nations who were, for better or worse, most relevant to the conduct of Confederal foreign policy. Faced with such advice, Eaton couldn’t responsibly refrain from framing a real policy towards Amestria nor could he rely on such weak bilateral relations as already existed.

Correspondingly, President Eaton had issued instructions to the Confederal ambassador in Amestria to seek a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the Amestrians including extradition, trade, international aid cooperation and regular consultations. Eaton instructed Ambassador Saby to make clear that if an agreement in these areas could be reached, the President of Amestria would receive a formal invitation to make a state visit to the Confederated Peoples at which the actual agreement would be signed and at which the Amestrian President could also give a joint press conference with the Confederal President, privately consult with the President and other Government and Shadow Cabinet Secretaries and discuss the more serious matter of defense cooperation in light of ever present Allanean hostility towards Amestria.

The terms the Confederal representatives were pushing for were fairly simple. The Confederals wanted a list treaty on extradition, making specific provisions for extraditions involving a set and rather narrow list of specific crimes, mostly limited to large scale crimes and serious violent crimes, a free trade agreement grounded upon the principle of national treatment and Cabinet-level consultations twice annually.

These were fairly conservative terms of bilateral cooperation by the standards of Confederal bilateral treaties. The only three other extant bilateral treaties the Confederated Peoples had with foreign powers (excluding purely technical agreements) were those with Menelmacar, Pantocratoria and Excalbia and in all three cases, the agreements were quite expansive.

Of course, all three previous comprehensive bilateral treaties had been signed with established allies. Relations with other states had normally been conducted in a more informal way or through international alliances and networks with broad memberships. However, the increasing consensus in the Confederal Department of Foreign Affairs was that it was time to take an approach to foreign policy rooted more in direct bilateral arrangements for cooperation with a broad range of states.

Whatever misgivings there were in New Amsterdam, the skilled and professional diplomatic corps had seemed eager, pleasant and even admiring in putting forth the Confederal proposals to the Amestrians. No hesitation regarding the proposals nor any criticism of Amestrian governance or policy had been discernable. Now, therefore, it was simply a matter of waiting to see how the Amestrians responded.

Unfortunately for Charles Saby he had to wait a few days to deliver his message as President Liscel and Danièle Valay, the Minister of Agriculture, where frequenting the National Agricultural Fair, a major event of high economic, cultural, and political significance which was held yearly at the farming town of Alèir.

During Presidential elections showing up at Alèir was pretty much mandatory for candidates. It was a cardinal rule of Amestrian politics that those seeking to be elected President had to know how to caress a bovine bottom with aplomb, hence why Kasumi had fondled both a silky Lemovician cow and a heaving bull while attending last years Fair (and subsequently won the election). As there were no national elections presently scheduled, this year’s regular visit was in effect a holiday (another excuse to get away from Central and visit the countryside).

Curious, naturally intense, and unafraid of getting dirty, Kasumi always thrilled those attending with her presence. Whether sampling beers (particularly the Orné beers, some of her personal favorites), tasting wines, savoring rural cuisine, attending agricultural lectures, admiring professional floral arrangements, collecting plants for her garden, taking part in traditional folk dances, or simply cracking jokes, she thoroughly enjoyed the flurry of activity that followed her. Kasumi found it all very soothing, the energy, the disorder, the unity she felt with her country’s industrious petit propriétaires. Liscels feelings were reciprocated; it was instinctually comforting for them to see this great historical person, a Duchess and the Head of State no less, cheerfully bending down to admire a pig. It was not for nothing that the President was considered “the farmers’ favorite.”

Others in her coalition were less enthusiastic about the festival. Sara remained in Central, ostensibly because of Parliamentary business requiring her attention, in reality because she did not really care much for the Agricultural Fair. Jokingly dubbed “the perfumed one” by Amestria’s farmers, Sara seldom accompanied her sister to Alèir except when there were elections pending.

******

Upon returning to Central the President met with Ambassador Saby and listened with great interest to what he had to say. After he had finished, Liscel asked a few questions, made several favorable remarks, and told the Ambassador to communicate to President Eaton that she would consider his offer of an invitation to visit the Confederation. On the surface, the meeting seemed to have gone well. However, in actuality the President left feeling insulted.

It was not until she had attained the privacy of her personal office that Kasumi confided her irritation to Sara, fuming: “He pretty much said, be a good little girl and we‘ll go together to the sweet shop to get you some chocolates and a ribbon for your hair. The arrogance, he acts as if I aspire to nothing more then to visit him as a supplicant.”

Although the President was constitutionally in charge of determining the direction of Amestria’s Foreign Policy, the sheer number of domestic concerns required significant participation from Amestria’s Prime Minister, the technocratic Alexandre Maurice Rolland (another graduate of the École Nationale d'Administration), and his coalition government. In such cases the President usually imposed discipline and set concrete goals, but being in a particularly unhelpful mindset, Kasumi decided to let chaos flourish and have the Council of Ministers handle negotiations. Detaching herself from the initial discussions also had the added advantage of putting the President above the fray, allowing her to discretely influence the course of the talks from on high.

The Confederations diplomatic corps soon realized that it was not negotiating a single comprehensive agreement, but rather three separate treaties. The various domestic Ministries independently focused on those proposals that fell within their areas of specialized jurisdiction and ignored those that did not. The Prime Minister assumed the role of head mandarin, organizing, refereeing, and mediating as required.

The Ministry of Justice was very receptive to the possibility of an extradition treaty with the Confederation; however there were several complex matters that needed to be discussed between Central and New Amsterdam. First of all, Amestrian civil law forbade the extradition of Amestrian citizens, and that was not going to change. Be that as it may, officials from the Ministry of Justice did not feel there was any good reason for it to become a point of contention. Amestrian criminal laws were applicable to citizens abroad, and should citizens suspected of committing crimes abroad flee to Amestria, the Amestrian justice system would try them under Amestrian law as if the crime had occurred within Amestria’s borders.

The Ministry was also worried that Confederation courts would prevent the extradition of Amestrian criminals charged with or found guilty of treason, terrorism, and insurrection because those offenses were capital crimes, as well as those charged with or found guilty of rape, which was punishable by castration (the fear being that Confederation courts would regard such punishments as cruel, inhuman, or degrading and prevent extradition on those grounds). There were additional concerns that the Confederation would not recognize as legitimate the verdicts reached by Amestrian courts when the defendants were tried in absentia (allowed under Amestrian civil law). Lastly, many wished for a more extensive list of extraditable offenses to be applied to current and former Amestrian citizens, among them tax avoidance, immigration violations, and desertion.

The Ministry of Finance was worried that a treaty with the Confederation regarding international aid cooperation would tie Amestria to expensive overseas obligations, and thus Finance was naturally hesitant. Alphonse Faure, the Minister of Finance, wanted any such agreement to state very clearly that how much aid Amestria contributed was at the sole discretion of the Amestrian State.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fishing and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce, Small Businesses, Craftsmanship and Self-Employed Professionals all asked the Confederation Ministry of Foreign Affairs for specific and detailed information regarding the proposed free trade agreement. While it waited for said information, Rolland’s government avoided commitment. In Parliament the opposition Amestrian Communist Party and the Trotskyist “Workers Struggle” Party came out strongly against any free trade agreement while the opposition Socialist Party and government Hunt, Fish, Nature, and Traditions Party expressed skepticism. The trade issue was certainly going to cause controversy.

It was only grudgingly that Saby agreed to meet personally with President Liscel about the matter at all at such an early stage, a fact which he did not especially attempt to hide. He thought that it would only make the negotiations more tense and politicized than they needed to be.

It was Assistant Legal Attaché Mr. Nazaire Walleme who began exploratory meetings regarding a possible extradition treaty although these talks did not go well. Mr. Walleme, while polite, did not do much to cover up the fact that the offer of an extradition treaty was more for Amestria's benefit than for that of the Confederated Peoples and the offer was just that, an offer, and not something that the Confederated Peoples was interested in fighting for. He told the Amestrians in the most straightforward manner that no one who faced any bodily mutilation as a punishment, regardless of the heinousness of their offense, would be extradited to Amestria. He told them equally flatly that extradition requests would only be accepted if the trial were postponed until the defendant were present. The death penalty and the exemption of Amestrian citizens were negotiable issues but the Confederated Peoples would require serious balancing concessions elsewhere in the treaty. Expanding it seemed premature given how little agreement there was even regarding the narrow list.

Assistant Trade Attaché Mr. George-Marie Cabaner began exploratory meetings regarding a possible free trade agreement. When pressed for details, he simply explained that national treatment was a comprehensive principle and that he wasn't sure exactly what the Amestrians were looking for. The details, at least as far as the current Confederal proposal were concerned, were simply each country's specific economic laws referenced according to the principle of national treatment. He reminded his Amestrian counterparts that the Confederals had not made a specific proposal on aid cooperation. They had instead been under the impression that Amestrians had proposals to make in this regard given earlier statements by the President.

The idea of regular consultation had the highest ranking diplomatic advocate willinly involved at this stage in Third Consular Secretary Mr. Casimir Sadourny. The idea here was fairly simple and was expressed simply. There should be ministerial visits twice annually. Who visited who would alternate.

Mr. Walleme’s main counterpart was the Amestrian Vice Deputy Minister of Justice, Ms. Jeannie Gabin.

The death penalty and the exemption of Amestrian citizens were negotiable issues but the Confederated Peoples would require serious balancing concessions elsewhere in the treaty.

In exchange Amestria would agree to exempt Confederal citizens from extradition. That seemed a suitable balancing concession. Amestria was not really interested in extraditing Confederal citizens in any case. The State was more concerned about “retrieving” its own citizens from overseas (and punishing them). Of course in return the Confederation would have to make its criminal laws applicable to citizens visiting/residing in Amestria and agree to try those citizens suspected of committing crimes in Amestria under Confederal law in the same manner they would if said crimes had occurred within the Confederation’s borders.

He told the Amestrians in the most straightforward manner that no one who faced any bodily mutilation as a punishment, regardless of the heinousness of their offense, would be extradited to Amestria. He told them equally flatly that extradition requests would only be accepted if the trial were postponed until the defendant were present.

Gabin retorted that judicial castration was “not mutilation, but a surgery” that “help[ed] in the safeguarding of the community.” However, since surgical castration was clearly unacceptable, she preceded to enquire if chemical castration would be acceptable in its stead.

Gabin took issue with the implication that extradition requests for Amestrian and former Amestrian citizens tried in absentia would not be accepted. “Why should those citizens who refuse to come before their State’s courts, who have been notified, summoned, or fled on bail…why should they be allowed to burden our legal system with needless costs and delays?” However, the Vice Deputy Minister did agree that the extradition of criminals convicted in absentia should apply only to Amestrian citizens and former Amestrian citizens (the latter only for crimes committed while Amestrian citizens, of course).

Assistant Trade Attaché Mr. George-Marie Cabaner began exploratory meetings regarding a possible free trade agreement. When pressed for details, he simply explained that national treatment was a comprehensive principle and that he wasn't sure exactly what the Amestrians were looking for. The details, at least as far as the current Confederal proposal were concerned, were simply each country's specific economic laws referenced according to the principle of national treatment.

A committee of experts (made up of officials from five separate ministries) informed Mr. Cabaner that they were favorable to the proposed Free Trade agreement based on the principle of National Treatment (provided most tariffs were gradually reduced according to a specific formula, rather then eliminate outright). They however requested specific (and joint) exceptions regarding production subsidies, consumption subsidies, labor subsidies, tax subsidies, consumption subsidies, as well as the Agricultural, Film, Television, and Retail sectors.

The Amestrians also took the opportunity to voice their unhappiness with the Confederal Department of Foreign Affair’s official travel advice regarding Amestria.

Travel Advice

Because of violence in large parts of the country and local legal practices, travel to Amestria is not recommended at this time. Confederals who do travel to Amestria should consult with the Department of Foreign Affairs for safety tips, register and remain in contact with the nearest Confederal consulate during their trip, be very careful regarding safety and local law and travel only in groups.

Officials from the Ministries of Culture and Commerce called such “travel advice” grossly inaccurate and insulting, and further complained that such misconceptions were hurting the country’s tourism industry.

One particularly unhappy civil servant went so far as to remark that: “The Confederation acts as if incidents of individual and mass terrorism, such as bombings and kidnappings, never occur within the confines of the Western Atlantic. Your Department of Foreign Affairs makes Amestria sound like an anarchic war-zone. Travel only in groups, what the hell?”

He reminded his Amestrian counterparts that the Confederals had not made a specific proposal on aid cooperation. They had instead been under the impression that Amestrians had proposals to make in this regard given earlier statements by the President.

The Amestrians replied that they had simply misinterpreted what the Confederation had meant. In any case, as they understood it the New Deasrarglian situation was being discussed through different channels and was thus a completely separate matter.

The idea of regular consultation had the highest ranking diplomatic advocate willingly involved at this stage in Third Consular Secretary Mr. Casimir Sadourny. The idea here was fairly simple and was expressed simply. There should be ministerial visits twice annually. Who visited who would alternate.”

The proposal regarding regular Cabinet level consultations was readily agreed to as presented by Mr. Sadourny. There was only the question of who would visit whom first. An official from the Foreign Ministry suggested a coin flip.

The answer to all of Ms. Gabin's proposals was an unqualified no. The Amestrian proposals regarding the trade agreement were more or less accepted. However, the Confederals wished to add book publishing to film, agriculture, television and retail and to discuss specific trade provisions in these areas beyond simply excluding them from the free trade agreement. The Confederals were not willing to discuss the official travel advice, saying only that negotiating over information made available to Confederal citizens regarding foreign states could not be a subject of diplomatic negotiation because it would undermine the ability of the Department to provide Confederal citizens with advice for their best personal use rather than for purposes of state-to-state relations. The Confederals thought Liscel should visit first because she had been in office longer.

The answer to all of Ms. Gabin's proposals was an unqualified no.

Ms. Gabin was simply exasperated. What then, she asked, did the Confederation consider ‘balancing concessions?’

The Amestrian proposals regarding the trade agreement were more or less accepted. However, the Confederals wished to add book publishing to film, agriculture, television and retail and to discuss specific trade provisions in these areas beyond simply excluding them from the free trade agreement.

The Committee, noting that the actual sale of books, tomes, literature, comics, and whatnot was covered under Retail, asked why the Confederation wished to exclude part of the publishing industry from the free trade agreement.

As for specific trade provisions, the Committee and Amestrian government preferred exclusion to specific provisions, as blanket exclusion allowed for “greater freedom of action.”

The Confederals were not willing to discuss the official travel advice, saying only that negotiating over information made available to Confederal citizens regarding foreign states could not be a subject of diplomatic negotiation because it would undermine the ability of the Department to provide Confederal citizens with advice for their best personal use rather than for purposes of state-to-state relations.

The Amestrians grumbled that the advice being offered to Confederal citizens was inaccurate in that it was way too expansive; the equivalent of saying the entire Confederation was like Gandara, Marlund, or Finara. Violent areas were cordoned off from the rest of the country by the Military and Civilian Security Services, and travel advisories were regularly issued by the Ministry of Immigration and Borders and the Ministry of Home Affairs warning tourists not to travel to those regions. It would be fairly difficult for a foreign visitor, no matter how inept, to unknowingly blunder into a truly dangerous area. The various parts mentioning local laws also smacked of political disapproval, implying that Amestria’s justice system was in itself a threat to foreign visitors.

The Confederals thought Liscel should visit first because she had been in office longer.

The Amestrians explained that President Liscel was not a member of the Cabinet (the governing coalition’s Council of Ministers); therefore it would be the Prime Minister who would be making the visit. In any case they preferred their proposal for a coin flip.

The Confederals had nothing particular in mind. They mostly meant balancing concessions in the parts of the treaty that they valued and they more or less openly admitted that the whole idea of any extradition treaty was a giant, before the fact concession to the Amestrians and that no one in the Confederated Peoples actually wanted it at all.

The Confederals agreed to the principle of exclusion in the areas of film, television and retail provided that the principle also applied to book publishing and that specific provisions be included for agriculture.

Amestrian comments about the travel advice were completely ignored. No discussion didn't just mean a rejection of the offer. It meant no discussion, to the point where all Confederal diplomats, from the ambassador down, would simply act as if nothing had been said if an Amestrian breached the subject, not speaking until he or she moved on to a different topic.

The Confederals reminded the Amestrians that the Amestrian President, not the Cabinet, was responsible for foreign policy under the Amestrian Constitution and that the President of the Confederated Peoples was a Head of State. They informed the Amestrians that President Eaton could not, under protocol, accept any invitation to visit Amestria emanating from the office of the Prime Minister and that he would not accept an invitation which did not include a substantive meeting with the Amestrian President.

The Confederals had nothing particular in mind. They mostly meant balancing concessions in the parts of the treaty that they valued and they more or less openly admitted that the whole idea of any extradition treaty was a giant, before the fact concession to the Amestrians and that no one in the Confederated Peoples actually wanted it at all.

Ms. Gabin reminded the Confederal delegates that the very purpose of a criminality treaty was to create a structured framework that ensured a Nation’s criminals could not escape just punishment though flight. Such agreements, logical, pragmatic, and increasingly necessary in a more and more globalized world, were designed to create order out of chaos, hardly concessions or favors.

“I’m sorry, but this is as much a concession as my husband picking up his socks,” the Vice Deputy Minister noted icily.

She further accused the Confederal diplomats of having “an unhelpful attitude.”

The Confederals agreed to the principle of exclusion in the areas of film, television and retail provided that the principle also applied to book publishing and that specific provisions be included for agriculture.

The committee agreed to the exclusion of book publishing. They however informed the Confederals that specific proposals for Amestria’s agricultural sector were “simply impossible” as the current leadership would demand that the State be allowed to do anything it felt “necessary and proper.”

Even if the committee consented to a treaty with specific agricultural provisions, the Council of Ministers would not approve it, a majority of the Parliament would not vote for it, and the President would not sign it. “Tot avant arrivée. Un leiche d'océan,”* commented one committee member.

(*“Dead before arrival. An ocean corpse.”)

Amestrian comments about the travel advice were completely ignored. No discussion didn't just mean a rejection of the offer. It meant no discussion, to the point where all Confederal diplomats, from the ambassador down, would simply act as if nothing had been said if an Amestrian breached the subject, not speaking until he or she moved on to a different topic.

The Amestrians were visibly irritated and made clear their feelings that the Confederal travel advice was both inaccurate and damaging to Amestria’s economy. They eventually let the matter drop, but only after warning that Amestria would “take steps to publicly defend its reputation.”

The Confederals reminded the Amestrians that the Amestrian President, not the Cabinet, was responsible for foreign policy under the Amestrian Constitution and that the President of the Confederated Peoples was a Head of State.

The Amestrians pointedly told the Confederals that they did not need to be reminded of what their Nation’s Constitution read (the President and the Council of Ministers also had to cooperate). In turn the Amestrians reminded Mr. Sadourny that they had agreed to biannual Cabinet/Ministerial visits/consultations, which is what he had proposed.

Cabinet-level consultations twice annually… The idea…was fairly simple and was expressed simply. There should be ministerial visits twice annually. Who visited who would alternate.

President Liscel was not a Minister or a member of the Ministerial Council (Cabinet). She was separate from the government and the Parliament, anointed by a majority through universal suffrage, consecrated, “embodying and conveying the spirit, will, and authority of the Amestrian State,” a Unitary State, indivisible. Whether or not she took part in the consultations was her personal decision.

Of course, President Eaton was free to make a similar decision.

In any case, they explained, the Foreign Minister, in addition to being a member of the Council, would serve as the Presidents representative during consultations held in the Confederation should President Liscel chose not to be present. The fact that Sara Liscel, the Presidents sister, was a member of the Council of Ministers was also mentioned.

The Amestrians returned to their proposal that who visited who first be decided by a simple coin flip.

******

The Confederals reminded the Amestrians that the Amestrian President, not the Cabinet, was responsible for foreign policy under the Amestrian Constitution and that the President of the Confederated Peoples was a Head of State.

It was a sunny day in central Amestria and Ambassador Saby thought that might be auspicious. He was meeting with President Liscel in her formal office to attempt some discussion of the ongoing negotiations even while more technical discussions went on around them. Saby felt it might be a moment of calm in an otherwise tumultuous chain of events.

After being greeted by President Liscel, the Ambassador watched as she approached a terrarium containing a particularly large, attractive, and fearsome looking female ‘Tarantula’ Wolf Spider named Sacha. Saby quickly followed her. Sacha was a mother and she carried a large brood of young children on her abdomen. Besides the terrarium was a cage of white mice.

“I’ve always been fascinated by spiders, ever since was I a little girl,” Kasumi smiled, absently rattling off Sacha’s family, genius, and species. She explained that Curie (the Vice President) had procured this particular specimen for her as a present.

“They help provide very effective organic pest control for farms situated throughout Mediterranean South.”

As if to demonstrate that fact, the President casually picked up one of the white mice and dropped it into the spider pen. The poor creature tried to escape, but it had nowhere to run and Sacha quickly sank in her fangs. The mouse gave a pained, anxious squeak and curled up, shaking, hemorrhaging; blood oozing out its eyes, ears, and mouth. The Tarantula patiently waited till it lay still and then sprayed digestive fluids upon the carcass, starting the process that would break it down for consumption. Liscel picked up a second mouse. It wiggled desperately, frightened and apparently in pain.

“Curie tells me that when properly prepared they also serve as a rather tasty source of protein.”

Kasumi dropped the second mouse into the cage. It let off an equally anguished squeak before succumbing to the same gruesome convulsions.

“Because of their size and appetite they used to have a rather nasty reputation, completely undeserved, among the citizens of the Southern Interior, who apparently confused it with the coast dwelling veuve noire méditerranéenne. According to Southern Interior Folklore a person bitten by La Tarantula méridional had to engage in a special kind of medicinal dancing from sunset to sunrise in order to survive.”

Liscel dismissed such nonsense with a wave of her hand. “Although their venom kills vermin, sparrows and moles, to humans a bite is no more painful or unpleasant then that of a bee sting.”

She then picked up and dropped a third mouse into the spider cage. It fell into a corner and Sacha was upon the mouse before it even had a chance to move. Unlike the last two, this death was silent. Liscel bent down to get a closer look.

“I could simply feed her crickets,” Kasumi remarked, smiling. “But where’s the fun in that?”

The President then got up, put down the tongs, and turned to the subject of the ongoing negotiations.

“I don’t understand why your government is under the impression that I would refuse to extend an official invitation to President Eaton, let alone fail to meet with him, should he desire it.”

“So I take it there will be no problems in that area, then?” Saby confirmed even as he tried to hide his disquiet at the feeding he had just witnessed. It was just so…icky.

Liscel nodded. Saby smiled slightly and asked “So what about the controversies over the trade treaty?”

“I won’t put my signature on a treaty that inhibits the State’s ability to fully protect Amestria’s rural communities,” the President answered.

“No one’s asking you to do that.” Saby said.

Liscel merely shrugged. “That’s not what I hear from the Ministerial Council.”

“It’s not?”

“No, its not. And a great many people are also upset with the Confederated Peoples’ official travel advice. Complaints have been made, and not just by officials at the Commerce and Culture Ministries. Members of Parliament, Regional Councilors, Departmental Councils, Mayors, and Municipal Councils have all quietly voiced their unhappiness or concern to the Central Administration.”

“That can’t be a subject of negotiation.” Saby reminded her. “If you want it changed, you would be better advised to drop the subject.”

“We are not negotiating; we are telling you that it is grossly inaccurate,” Kasumi retorted.

The conversation gradually shifted from the trade negotiations to the more troublesome issue of the extradition treaty.

“There is an old Amestrian Proverb: Revenge is the greatest act of forgiveness.” Liscel said enigmatically. Saby arched a brow slightly. Sacha nibbled on one of the semi-digested dead mice. Saby turned away. Kasumi continued…

“You have to understand, in Amestria secessionism is not simply a crime; it’s the manifestations of an intractable disease, it’s not like regionalism, insolence, and increasing entitlement, those are simple disorders that can be successfully treated. With treason, once the bug bites you’ve already lost the patient. That is why Amestria has a civil death penalty for three offenses, terrorism, treason, and insurrection, and only those three offenses. No matter how much revenge is ultimately wroth it is impossible for us to ever forgive them.”

“We are not challenging the legitimacy of Amestrian law, Madam President.” Saby said.

“Sometimes it does not seem that way,” the President interjected.

“But for Confederals,” the Ambassador continued, “extradition is not a normative arrangement with exceptions and refusals representing some objection in principle to the laws of the other state. Rather, the extradition of any person for any reason is considered a very serious matter and we are very conservative about the terms under which we hand people in our custody over to foreign governments. Surely Amestria, which refuses to extradite its citizens for any crimes whatsoever, can appreciate this? To be perfectly frank with you, we are reluctant enough about the terms we’ve already agreed to with regard to this matter.”

“We do appreciate such hesitation Ambassador. We are not asking the Confederation to extradite its citizens; we are asking the Confederation to extradite our citizens and third parties. We are asking the Confederation to respect the authority of our criminal courts over our citizenry. To be perfectly frank your government has only agreed to those terms it originally put forth in the first place.”

Sacha’s babies climbed off her abdomen and began to swarm over the tenderest of the three dead mice, slowly and gleefully devouring it in tiny mouthfuls. Their mother looked on, seemingly proud of the atrocious scene. Saby watched fairly impassively as the babies ate. He glanced away after a moment, taking a few steps away from the terrarium.

At the end of the meeting Liscel asked Saby if he would like one of Sacha’s babies (once he or she was old enough to be separated from her, of course).

“No, thank you.” Saby said. “I am not really a spider person.”

Things continued on in this fashion for the duration of the Eaton Government. The Confederals would simply repeat the same positions and refused pretty much all of the suggestions the Amestrians made.

When the Ochiangh Government took office, the new Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Kathleen Weisenbaum, invited the Amestrian Ambassador to her office. After offering him a drink, going through introductions and then resuming her seat, she told him that she placed a great value on Confederal-Amestrian relations. She expressed concern that the negotiations had made no headway so far but also pointed out that there was no logical reason for a failure to actively improve relations to result in worse relations. She pointed out that there was no issue of contention between the Confederated Peoples and Amestria at present and that the negotiations merely sought to improve an already cordial relationship.

She went on to offer an explanation for Confederal stubbornness regarding the tourist advice. She said that the Amestrians should not interpret it as the Confederal Government standing by the tourist advice. Instead, Amestria should not regard the tourist advice as a comment existing in international discourse. No nation had ever so regarded it before or addressed it in this way and the Confederals could not allow this to be done as such a precedent would destroy their ability to offer advice to their tourists. No warnings could be issued, under such a precedent, without fear of offending friendly governments or provoking hostile ones. The tourist advice did not constitute an insult or a criticism or even a statement as far as Amestria or any other state was concerned. It just didn't exist at all in international discourse. Any problems or inaccuracies in the advice regarding Amestria, could and would be fixed by the ordinary workings of the system but only if Amestria ceased to take governmental cognizance of the tourist advice as it could not be or seem to be the subject of international negotiations between states. She apologized sincerely that it had been misconstrued by the Amestrians as a commentary by the Confederal Government on their nation. Weisenbaum then said that, as a minister in a transition government, she considered it appropriate to suspend negotiations without prejudice pending the election of the first Confederal Council.

After her election as Confederal President, Kairis spoke on the telephone with many important world leaders, including President Liscel. During their polite conversation, Kairis affirmed her government's good will towards Amestria and arranged for a more in depth phone conversation later regarding the resumption of the negotiations, among other things.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=523906&highlight=Elections

Between the breaking off of negotiations and the election of a new Federal government within the Confederated Peoples, the upper levels of the Amestrian Government were preoccupied negotiating a treaty with the upper levels of the Khaifah al Muslimeen.

Ambassador Lucretia Anisa Shakila and her Secretary Viviana Izdihar Aamina and President Liscel in the later’s Les Bureaux Présidentiels formal office. Both the Ambassador and Secretary were of Greco-Latin background, both had relatively light skin that was tan due to their upbringing in the KLM. Lucretia had light green eyes and her secretary’s were light blue.

Shakila was in her early 40s, but still had a youthful look that made her look as if she was in her mid 30s, and has for her secretary, she was in her late 20s and this was her first assignment as an employee of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. They both wore trademarked designer business suits from S.R.H limited, khaki with white hijabs, which was somewhat out of the norm, the typical KLM ambassador normally wearing black or some other dark color.

The Ambassador and her secretary were taking the meeting very seriously since it would be a major agreement between their two respected countries and a major boast to both their careers. Given Shakila was an old friend from his college days; the Sultan had a great deal of trust that she could handle the talks with Liscel without any micromanagement. Bashir had made were he stood on matters very well known to the Ambassador over a series of phone conversations the week before. Being negotiated was a trade agreement based on the principles of National treatment, an energy deal, the lowering of select tariffs/subsidies, and a comprehensive criminality treaty.

As they chatted Kasumi characteristically sidetracked matters by asking about Shakila’s family and children. Shakila was a little taken aback by Kasumi’s interest in her, but decided to indulge the Amestrian. The Ambassador told Liscel a few things about herself, about her husband, and her children. She even showed the President several pictures.

Lucretia was married to Haroun Mihammad, the head of IT security for the Embassy. He was roughly the same age as the Ambassador and was from KLM Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur, a KLM region of Malaysia. They had met in College and married shortly after finishing their studies.

Their daughter was six years old and her name was Salima. She had her mother’s light green eyes, and took after her in appearance and (according to Viviana) behavior. Lucretia told Kasumi that Salima was a really sweet girl; kind, understanding, and intelligent. She had learned to read at age four and was currently being home schooled at the embassy. Their four year old son Hani on the other hand took more after his father, right down to his brown eyes, and he tended to bug his mother in her office most of the time. Hani was very energetic and had an overactive imagination, at times Lucretia had trouble keeping up with him. He had yet to learn to read. Kasumi listened closely to the Ambassador, smiling at little and asking questions when appropriate, before gradually returning to the matter at hand.

Meanwhile, at the roughly same time, Amestria’s Ambassador to the KLM, Marguerite Leblanc (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12201107&postcount=30), was meeting with top officials in the KLM. She had detailed, though fairly general, instructions from the Foreign Minister concerning those positions President Liscel wanted her to advocate and specific orders to be both polite and considerate.

As per doctors orders Sultan Bashir was staying out of the public eye and politics for a couple of months while he recuperated from his heart attack. He didn’t stay in bed that much and was generally active, often walking around the Sultan Palace trying to keep busy without technically working. Although Bashir felt it necessary to delegate the direct negotiations and nitty-gritty details to his friend, the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasa Sokollu, he still found time to occasionally meet with Ambassador Marguerite Leblanc over tea. Their cordial talks were mostly personal, but from time to time Leblanc would raise a general point for discussion and see where the Sultan stood.

Leblanc of course kept President Liscel fully informed as to her progress and her impressions, often personally over the phone. When asked about Bashir Marguerite described him as the sort of man who would personally quell an army mutiny by drawing his sword and rushing the soldiers, and as being equally fierce in the defense of KLM sovereignty. Bashir was the quintessential meritocratic non-hereditary monarch; he had achieved his position through great effort and force of will. He was an actor for the masses when necessary, but his solemn word as Head of State was honorable and good. There was no fear of decisive or unpopular action; he had in his relatively short reign sacked over 20 Provincial Governors for incompetence, corruption, or insubordination.

Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasa Sokollu was a tall, strong, 39 year old family man with piercing eyes and dark forbidding features. Despite his sinister appearance he was at heart a good natured person; stoic, calm in manner, and fairly witty. Over the years the he had earned a reputation for being very results oriented and a skilled debater.

The Ambassador and the Grand Vizier held their meetings in one of the palace’s many conference rooms. The room was known as the green room, not because it was green but because its big windows faced the palace gardens. Besides the long oaken table and leather chairs, there were a few antique pots from the 1860s (imported from the Far East), several paintings of various Anatolian landscapes, and a number of old Imperial Banners from the last years of Osmanli rule circa 1924. Leblanc and Sokollu however did not so much debate as discuss. All signs, be they from Central or the Sultan, strongly encouraged cooperation.

As it happened, in the negotiations the Amestrian Ambassador had a little extra help, from the Sultan’s wives, Sophia, Roxelane, and Haziqah, whom she had regularly had tea with. Modern though it may be, the KLM’s Sultan Palace was essentially a court and Leblanc was experienced enough with its inner workings to play court politics.

Sophia, the Sultan’s first wife, was of German-Levantine background. She was a smart woman, sensible, very keen on matters of business, and very understanding. In private Bashir often credited her as the reason he was still sane. She spoke Arabic with a Levant accent and English with slight British accent.

Roxelane, Bashir’s second wife, was of Spanish-Moorish background. Like Sophia she was smart and tended to be the more caring one out of the three. Roxelane was keen on dress designs and had a clever sense of humor. She spoke Arabic with a Moorish accent, and English more or less Yank with slight British accent.

Haziqah, the Sultan’s third wife, was of Spanish-Moorish with a hint of Italian. She was intelligent and fond of playing the role of the most rational one, playing off that aspect by being funny. Haziqah disliked being seen as a serious person, preferring to be precieved as fun, whimsical, and caring. Like Roxelane she was keen on dress designs and spoke Arabic without much of an accent and English with a British accent.

All three together owned S.R.H limited, the largest clothing manufacture, distributor, and retailer in the Khaifah al Muslimeen (which, along with their marriage to the Sultan, made them three of the most influential women in the Khaif). The continued expansion of S.R.H limited into profitable outside (and Western) markets was foremost in their minds.

Joining them was their friend Melina Mercouri Sokollu, Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasa Sokollu’s wife. She was of European mixed European descent, with dark blond hair and blue eyes. Melina had a PHD in Sociology and worked as a part time professor at Istanbul State University, her career for the most part being on hold as she and her husband raised three kids.

All five women had tea in one of the Palace’s cool courtyards, amongst the garden’s shady trees, in front of its peaceful reflection pool and pattering fountain, and amidst its yellow, red and purple poppies. They discussed trade and textiles, Marguerite explained that Amestrian textile and leather tariffs/subsides were completely negotiable…depending of course upon what was offered in exchange. She helpfully provided a list of what the KLM could offer in exchange…

Shortly afterwards the wives began lobbying Mehmed Pasa Sokollu. The Grand Vizier naturally tried to tune them out. However, the Sultan’s wives, and Melina, constantly bought up the topic of trade with the Grand Vizier whenever they had the chance. Bashir, trying to avoid stress, stayed out of the matter, neither encouraging them nor discouraging them. It eventually reached the point where Sokollu couldn't take it anymore and just decided to give in, hoping they would leave him be.


******

At one point in the negotiations President Liscel took Ambassador Shakila and Ms. Aamina on a tour of Les Bureaux Présidentiel’s gardens, a disorder that was gradually being transformed from a regimented state to one of quiet spontaneity. There the noise of the busy capital seemed distant

“This garden was once a very immutable place,” Kasumi explained. “Measured, mathematically precise, and hostile to nature’s improvisations. Trees were mere figures and paths neatly framed; human reason was completely and arbitrarily imposed upon the natural world. That garden devoured time and money, requiring constant vigilance, and should that vigilance ever have relaxed it would quickly have become desolated, chaotic, and overrun with weeds. When I go outside for a walk I want a sense of peace. I decided to make it more like my estate, were nature is arranged merely to fulfill it, humanize it, not browbeat it. A place of slow subtle natural change, teaming with life and managed with a firm yet gentle hand. The original groundskeepers resisted me, so I fired them and brought in my own people.”

“Gardening happens to be one of my personal hobbies…” Lucretia responded I used to have quiet a green thumb during my childhood.” She briefly described to Kasumi her parent’s shady orchard, with its roses, jasmines, apples, plums, peaches, figs, and grapes, which she helped them care for while growing up. “I really miss those days...” She looked around. “Your new groundskeepers are doing an amazing job at improving these gardens from the state they were in.” She then suggested that Liscel try planting a few purple Double Tulips, Mediterranean mountain flowers which might thrive in Central Amestria’s temperate environment and rich soil.

The Ambassador’s reaction and subsequent suggestion seemed to please Kasumi and she gradually moved the conversation on to the garden of her friend Jean Pompidou, one of her fathers former Prime Ministers. “It is a strangely beautiful mess, a helter-skelter survival of mixed-up seeds hurled about recklessly in all directions. He is a chatelaine, a nearly extinct class, and consequently owns a rather gloomy castle, renovated of course, complete with stone floors and even a moat and drawbridge. Jean’s an incurable romantic. He recently bagged a stag, not bad for a man of 73, and has consequently invited me over for tomorrow’s dinner. You and Ms. Aamina are welcome to attend as well, if you’d like…?”

Ambassador Shakila smiled. “I would be honored to attend.”

******

In her private phone conversations with Sultan Bashir Ambassador Shakila described Kasumi as a modern day Shahrazad, smart and crafty, a strong willed woman who knew what she is doing at all times.

“When talking with her it becomes clear she has perused the books, annals and legends of preceding Kings, and the stories, examples and instances of bygone men and things; within her memory are a thousand histories relating to Amestria and its past rulers. The President has studied philosophy and the various sciences; she is pleasant and polite, wise and witty, well read and well bred. She has…a certain idea of her country, a strong love of nature, and a good heart.”

Shakila added, “As Chief of State she reigns with a firm hand, her strength bringing fourth admiration and respect.”

She also noted Kasumi’s appreciation of the natural world, something that reminded her very much of her grandfather, Julian Yusef, a kindly and well known botanist. It was Yusef who had introduced her to gardening when she was young and he held a very special place in her heart.


******

The treaty was negotiated in a fairly erratic and spontaneous fashion. A suggestion might make its way up from one of the Foreign Ministries, be made by either Cabinet, or arise from either Head of State’s social network. Liscel was the driving force behind most of the treaty, and along with Grand Vizier Sokollu determined what was rejected and what made it in. Eventually, all the points agreed upon were collected together into one single document and then transcribed into three separate copies, one Amestrian, one English, and one Arabic (the English version being the one that would be referred to in any dispute).


The Amestrian-KLM Cooperation Treaty (Official and Unofficial Aspects)

Attached to the treaty, and fully spelled out in a separate private sector agreement, was a deal between the partly state owned Al Muslimeen Joint Stock Oil [and Natural Gas] Company (AMJSOC) and the privately owned Gaz de Amestria, in which a long term Natural Gas contract was signed between the KLM energy firm and the Amestrian champion national (a very favorable contract from Gaz de Amestria’s perspective). AMJSOC and Gaz de Amestria would conduct joint natural gas explorations in Central Asia and the Far Northern Territories. In exchange for providing investment capital and physical assistance, Gaz de Amestria would receive 8 percent of the non-voting shares of AMJSOC. Both companies also agreed to work together to build a pipeline to supply Amestria and the KLM EU dominion with a more stable supply of KLM natural gas (much to the relief of the Balkan provincial governments, which for years had been advocating increased investment in natural gas distribution).

A trade agreement based on the principles of National Treatment was signed, with specific (and joint) exceptions regarding, unless specifically stated otherwise, production subsidies, consumption subsidies, labor subsidies, tax subsidies, consumption subsidies, as well as each nations Agricultural, Film, Television, and Retail sectors. The KLM agreed to significantly lower its agricultural tariffs on Amestrian agricultural goods in exchange for a joint lowering of Amestrian/KLM industrial tariffs. Amestria and the KLM also agreed to reduce tariffs on each other’s textiles and promised to refrain from additional subsidized boosts in domestic textile consumption, as well as gradually reduce, but not completely eliminate, existing subsidies (be such subsidies direct or indirect). To Ambassador Shakila and Grand Vizier Sokollu any promise to reduce KLM subsidies was a rather trivial concession, given the KLM did not give direct subsidies and preferred to prop up its industries with tariffs. The sections regarding textile tariffs, subsides, and the KLM concessions required to get Amestria’s agreement, were added to the treaty thanks in part to Sophia’s efforts, which had included a number of chats over tea with the Grand Vizier.

Recognizing that the KLM had a significantly different banking system (Islamic Banking) and the two nations had complex economic statutes, both Governments agreed to the establishment of an institution to assist mutual private sector investment and research the mutual simplification of existing commerce laws and regulations (aimed at reducing government waste and red tape).

A Neutrality Pact between the State of Amestria and the Khaifah al Muslimeen in regards to each other was next, followed by the KLM Imperial Government promising it would no longer require Amestrian groups donating money/resources to KLM scientific organizations and conservation groups for purely scientific/educational purposes to get prior government approval.

The extradition and criminality agreement was the second largest section in the treaty, given the enormous number of details agreed upon. For Amestrian and former Amestrian citizens residing within or visiting the KLM and KLM and former KLM citizens residing within or visiting Amestria, a very extensive list of extraditable offenses was drawn up, among them treason, terrorism, inciting terrorism, insurrection, various forms of theft, money laundering, tax avoidance, racketeering, kidnapping, immigration violations, and military desertion. The KLM promised to simply deport those Amestrians found guilty of committing homosexual acts (illegal in the KLM) and not subject them to any additional punishment (an unofficial KLM policy in place for some time that Kasumi wanted them to make official and put in writing). A slightly less extensive list was drawn up concerning the extradition of third party foreign citizens in either country. The criminality agreement also defined as a form of terrorism the crossing of national borders to commit an honor killing (Kasumi’s idea).

Amestria and the KLM further agreed to have their respective security services and coast guards cooperate more in combating Mediterranean smuggling and organized crime.

In the event of a divorce and custody suit/settlement between an Amestrian citizen and a KLM citizen, the proceedings would be conducted by the court system of the wife/mother’s country. President Liscel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice were concerned that the legal and cultural differences that existed between the KLM’s religious interfaith courts and Amestria’s secular judiciary would disadvantage, discriminate against, or harm Amestrian women. Least there was any attempt at judicial circumvention, the treaty required that Amestrian and KLM courts recognize the legitimacy of each other’s jurisdiction and respect each other’s settlement/custody decisions.

Not included in the treaty was a private unofficial deal between President Liscel and Sultan Bashir. In exchange for the restoration of the Mosque, the KLM agreed to return any and all Amestrian battle standards, weapons, remains, and armor it had in it’s possession that dated back to any of the Crusades.

The Al'aris Mosque was an old structure dating back to the Moorish invasion and colonization of the coastal South Amestrian city of Givet. They had renamed the city after the Arabic word for the type of grapes that grew in the vineyards surrounding Givet. The Moorish Commander who had captured the city had been a bit out of it in the immediate aftermath and had chosen the name Al'aris inadvertently. Hungry, he had asked for grapes and one of his more literal minded aides thought the commander was talking about the city’s new name, rather then him simply remarking that he wanted grapes, and wrote it down. The name stuck.

After the Amestrian re-conquest of Givet the Moors had been expelled and the Mosque triumphantly converted into a Catholic Cathedral. Time however marched on and from the mid-20th century on the Muslim had gradually returned. Over the last 40 years Givet’s old neighborhoods had become home to a large, prosperous, and bustling KLM derived community, most of them second or third generation, a community that mostly surrounded the old Al'aris Cathedral. The Cathedral most of the time was empty, mass rarely attended. For roughly ten years local Muslim leaders had quietly lobbied the Central Government, which owned the Cathedral (along with every other religious building built before 1850), to restore the Al'aris and place it under the Special Department of Acedemic Instruction and Cultural Understanding. The Catholic majority on the municiple council had lobbied against it. Under President Boulle and the Social Democratic/Socialist governments the Ministry of Culture had sided with the council.

During the negotiations Ambassador Shakila had politely brought up the matter of the Al'aris Mosque and found President Liscel agreeable (she had in fact decided to restore the Mosque prior to the talks). The President however insisted that there be an exchange. Generations of Amestrian chivalry had fought and perished seeking to attain the Holy Land and protect the Crusader Kingdoms, others had settled, died peacefully, and been buried within its soil only to have their tombs excavated. Liscel wanted those remains and standards returned to Amestria, and she wanted to be the one responsible for returning them to their country, their cities, their native soil. Shakila and Bashir were indifferent to those artifacts/remains, and swiftly agreed.

The Treaty finalized, the Centralist led government quickly used its majority to ram the Liscel-Bashir Cooperation Treaty/Agreement, as it was now being called, through Parliament un-amended. The next day President Kasumi Liscel publicly signed it with a flourish before the cameras in her formal office while Ambassador Shakila stood besides her, smiling like a well fed housecat. Sultan Bashir similarly had Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasa Sokollu shepherd the treaty through the KLM Parliament and the House of Viziers, and once it had passed both chambers quietly signed it in his study without public comment or ceremony. Sophia, Roxelane, and Haziqah were beaming.

The State of Amestria,
The City of Ardenne,
The Old City

Once upon a time a train was making its way through the Ardenne underground. The train was rather crowded with commuters, full of busy people hurrying to their various destinations. Two of these were Xirniumite tourists, although they seemed less rushed than most. The lady had taken one of the few remaining free seats when she had stepped onto the train whilst the man stood beside her, gripping an overhead handhold. It was the couple’s second day of sightseeing in historical Ardenne, the old medieval/Renaissance quarters and neoclassical sections built before Leader-King Bradley’s Bipodistic Reformation, and just before lunch.

The two were casually yet fashionably dressed. Victór wore a sharply tailored, cotton piqué two-button jacket, open to reveal a stylish waistcoat underneath, with sombre beige trousers. Around his neck he wore a long cashmere scarf woven in strongly ribbed pattern with hints of pink colour.

His companion, Adaléne, was a foxy bottle blonde. Her dyed hair flowed down her back like a golden waterfall, cheerfully curling and waving here and there, and was artfully shaded darker around her face. She was redolent of some expensive scent and wore a light dress that was set swaying agreeably when she walked. Her playful little skirt was sunray-pleated and cut with a hemline ending just above the knee, trimmed with pretty flouncing. She wore dark sunglasses and sexy white go-go boots.

As Adaléne got off she tossed her copy of Métropol, a freesheet she had idly picked up while getting onto the subway, into a nearby transparent recycle bag (there were no public trashcans or waste containers in Amestria, only transparent plastic bags designed so as to be difficult to hide a bomb in). The Xirniumite had only glanced briefly at the paper, partially because her high school French was not quite good enough to understand Amestrian with and partially because she had been distracted by conversation with her companion. There had been something in it about an Amestrian celebrity not unknown in the Eternal Republic, a feature on an Amestrian téléroman called Ladies of the Heart, and a very confusing article that might have been about increasing public sector union unrest.

The streets and the metro were fairly crowded, the station itself very large and as clean as could be expected. There were cameras everywhere, and five civil policemen with two bomb sniffing dogs, although they didn’t look much like policemen, what with their steel helmets and machine guns. They were performing “random searches,” luckily they didn’t stop Victór or Adaléne. On the wall there were two posters prominently displayed, both in Amestrian. One read "Be Safe, Be Suspicious", while the other stated "Don’t Suspect Your Friends, Report Them".

Victór and Adaléne held hands and walked close together as they made their way across the crowded platform. The heavily armed policemen were somewhat intimidating and the alarmist posters a little unnerving. Adaléne considered petting one of the cute sniffer dogs but decided against it, worried either that its handler might object or that the animal itself could be unfriendly.

Adaléne noticed a cute black haired girl in blue jeans and a denim jacket approaching one of the officers, smiling.

“Can I help you madam?” the policeman asked in Amestrian.

“Yes you can,” she answered, also in Amestrian, still smiling. The woman pointed at the officer’s weapon. “What kind of gun is that?”

The officer returned the smile and held the gun up for the young woman, allowing her a closer look.

“This young lady is a Dupuit 5.7 x 28 millimeter personal defense weapon, used for close quarter fighting. It is very effective.”

The merits of the soldier’s firearm were soon lost amongst the swirl of chatter and activity on the station. Adaléne and Victór pushed past the crowd, uttering various apologies and took the stairs out of the metro. They blinked a little as their eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight on the busy street.

The street reverberated with the hustle and bustle of daily routines, of business, of market stalls, small shops, and cafés. The cafés especially; this section of the city was famous for them. They served wine, kluntjes sweetened black tea, and coffee. Among the people black, and to a lesser extent dark brown hair, both predominated. The air was filled with the murmur of constant conversation, infrequent shouts, and the occasional fragment of music that momentarily managed to escape the confines of a shop through an open door or window.

A pair of North Protestant nuns walked by in their white and black habits and a well dressed man handed out fliers and brochures for Amestria’s 164 year old Nullopticon Free Speech Club and its 148 year old Public Speaking Club. There was great interest shown in his fliers, but far less in the brochures. As Victór passed him the man dutifully handed the Xirniumite a flier. Victór took the flyer with a polite smile, cast a cursory glance over it until he had taken a few steps away from the man, and then folded it into his pocket, with a vague intention perhaps to show it to Adaléne later and see if she could understand any of it.

On the other side of the street a procession of school children, in their white, blue, and black sailor uniforms, filed past, escorted by a thirty year old female teacher dressed in a black sweater, black slacks, and green shoes. Suddenly a woman of equal age, with long auburn hair and a red, orange, and yellow wool sweater emerged from the crowd and rushed towards them.

“Hey Nicolette, there you are,” the woman cheerfully shouted in Amestrian, waving.

The teacher looked somewhat annoyed. “Yakira, I told you not to call me that in front of my students… Just what are you doing here?”

“I needed some exercise.”

Nicolette, or rather Nicole, glanced at her watch. “Don’t you have a language class to teach?”

“I made my class a study hall. It’s a really nice day today, like I’m going to stay cooped up in that classroom.”

A woman who may have been Anatolian strolled confidently along with a soft leather briefcase, wearing a sky blue hijab, a light blue suit, and matching heels.

The couple were a little overwhelmed by the busy movement and activity of the streets, and by mutual agreement made their way towards a relatively quiet square, where they could rest for a little and collect their thoughts. They could also decide where they might have lunch.

Presiding over the square was La Cathédrale de Saint-Amato, named after the 5th century missionary martyred while attempting to convert the North Amestrians to Christianity. It had supposedly been built on the exact spot he had been beheaded, his body hacked up, and then fed to the birds. It was not the grandest of cathedrals, easily dwarfed in size and sophistication by the famous Notre Dame de Ardenne, but it possessed a great deal of dignity from having existed longer.

Across from the cathedral stood an imposing 18th century fortress, Festung Saint-Léonide, a famous historical monument. It was just outside that fortress that General Philippe de Lattre personally suppressed an attempted revolt in 1781 with “a whiff of grapeshot,” preserving the Monarchy for another 57 years. Later, in the immediate aftermath of the Republican Revolution, Lattre’s son and grandson had been publicly executed there for counterrevolutionary pro-monarchist activity. When Bradley launched his coup most of the fortresses garrison had remained loyal to the Republic and as a result it had been partly destroyed in the fighting. During the First Stratocracy the fortress had been quickly rebuilt, serving as a special political prison and a place for the storage of heavy artillery, artillery that was to be used to bombard Ardenne in the event of another popular uprising. Now it was something of a museum, partly open to the public in the spring and summer.

At the very center was a statue erected by a Third Republic Municipal Council to commemorate the various successful and failed revolutions that occurred throughout the city’s history. It was not a celebration of heroic victory or glorious defeat; presented at same level as the viewer, the various local Revolutionaries from all times appeared sullen, tired, and worn, for them neither victory nor defeat seemingly having any permanence. It had an interesting history, upon seizing power the Third Stratocracy had deemed the statue too ‘Radical’ and had it removed to some military warehouse, where it had stayed boxed up until the start of the Fourth Republic.

Victór and Adaléne sat down upon an old stone bench. Nearby a flock of pigeons cooed amongst themselves in one of the corners of the square. They seemed rather lonely and miserable to Adaléne, ruffling their mottled blue-grey feathers and huddling together.

“Don’t they just look so sad?” Adaléne remarked to her companion.

“I suppose they do seem a little unhappy,” agreed Victór.

“Maybe we could feed them,” Adaléne suggested. “No one else seems to be taking any notice of the poor things.”

Victór hesitated. “I’m not sure if it’s allowed, what do you think that sign says?” he asked, pointing to a rather forbidding looking warning prominently displayed in the square. It read:

"N'alimentez pas le Himmel-Ungeziefer!" or, in English, "Do Not Feed the Sky Vermin!"

Adaléne was persistent. “I’m sure no one will care... come on, it’ll be fun. We passed a bakery a little while back, let’s get some bread.”

Victór sighed. “Alright,” he smiled, giving in.

The two walked back to the shop and stopped to read its sign:

"Rollin Pin Bake Shop and Sandwich Store

Henri-Marie Widor; Purveyor of Delicious Breads to the Gentry, and the Poverty Stricken Too

Licensed for Public Dancing"

The sign drew puzzled looks from the two Xirniumites, particularly at its last line. Inside, it seemed that the sandwiches it sold were mainly without crusts, which struck the tourists as even more strange. They politely bought a bag of bread crusts and returned to the square, where Adaléne set about cheerfully feeding the pigeons as Victór looked on, trying not to laugh.

“Hey, you two there, stop!” shouted a gruff proletarian voice. Victór and Adaléne turned around to see a large man in an Amestrian civil police uniform running towards them. The pigeons, startled by his sudden approach, took flight in mass, and Adaléne gave a frightened little squeak at their noisy flapping. Having reached the couple, the uniformed man stopped momentarily to catch his breath.

The officer was dressed in a crisp, clean, blue semi-military uniform. He wore a pair of white gloves, smeared and spotted with dirt. On his breast were proudly pinned three State service medals. The decorations looked prestigious, but in actuality were pretty mundane. The first medal was for ten years of service in the civil police, the second medal for twenty years of service in the civil police, and the third medal was an award for him having issued over the course of several years the most tickets in the département. The Xirniumites though were not aware of any of that. The officer was also well armed, strapped to his belt was a rubber baton, a can of what appeared to be pepper spray, and an automatic pistol.

Middle aged, he had a large chubby face with no real neck, a practically nonexistent chin, broad nose, and narrow suspicious brown eyes. There was a little black mustache right under his nose, black stubble scattered across his face, and thin froglike lips seemingly locked in a perpetual smirk.

“I saw you feed them, that’s a 300 franc fine for each of you,” he remarked between breathes. As the policeman spoke the couple caught a glimpse of his shiny gold tooth.

“Oh I’m sorry, we didn’t know that it was forbidden,” Adaléne lied, blinking at the man.

“Ignorance of the law is never an excuse.”

“Of course not, sir, but couldn’t you make an exception just this once?” Adaléne asked politely.

The officer slowly shook his head. “I’m afraid not madam.” He pointed a thick gloved finger at Victór. “You first...”

Victór looked reluctant to comply.

“Remember you are legally obligated to answer honestly,” the policemen stated, producing a pad of unmarked tickets and a big black fountain pen.

“But I didn’t feed the pigeons,” Victór pointed out.

“It’s true, he didn’t,” added Adaléne, sticking up for him.

“I have no way of knowing if that’s true,” the officer casually remarked.

“You mean you didn’t see me feeding any of the pigeons. So why do I need to answer your questions?”

“Because you could have fed them, I believe you did, and in any case you facilitated it, so I’m issuing you ticket,” the officer quickly replied, his smirk having become intentional.

“I facilitated nothing, this is outrageous,” replied Victór. “I intend to protest,” he warned the Amestrian indignantly.

The policeman shrugged. “Now then, what day is it?”

“I don’t know,” Victór lied stubbornly.

”Tuesday, I believe,” Adaléne interjected, nudging Victór in the ribs.

“Name?” the officer asked.

“What?”

“Your name please?”

“Victór Araumëndë. I should like to know your name, identification number, police station, and rank,” demanded the gentleman, like he had often observed people do in Xirniumite police dramas.

“My badge number is D0-560-115,” the policeman answered without the slightest hesitation. “It’s on the ticket sir. How do you spell your last name?”

“A, R... A, U, M... E with a diaeresis - that’s two dots,” he added, for the benefit of the police officer, with a contemptuous sneer, “N, D... and E with another diaeresis. Do you want me to repeat that?”

“No. Foreigner?”

The gentleman hesitated. “Yes...”

“Nationality?”

“I’m a Xirniumite.”

“Number?”

“What?”

“Your identification number please?”

Victór frowned and fumbled through his pockets, wondering where he might have put it.

“FV, 122- sorry, I mean 112-CG2, 101…”

The policeman held out a gloved hand. “Now, let me see your card sir.”

Victór thrust it into his hand impatiently. The officer studied the card closely until he was satisfied that the young man had answered his questions truthfully, and then handed it back to him, along with a white slip of paper.

“Foreign Visitor 112-CG2-101, here is your ticket for violation of Municipal Statute 18476.”

He then pointed a finger at Adaléne. “Now for you…”

Adaléne glanced at her companion, her expression showing that she was rather insulted at being pointed at rudely. Victór smiled at her in understanding.

The policeman readied his pen. “Name?”

“Adaléne Naúnya Winthàbeth,” she replied, spelling it out for the Amestrian without waiting for prompting. Adaléne also handed him her card, which she had already removed from inside her handbag.

The officer did not take the card. “Na-un-ya, that’s your middle name?”

‘No, it’s the first part of my last name,’ Adaléne explained. She repeated it very carefully, it only had two syllables.

“Foreigner?”

“Obviously.”

“Nationality?”

“Xirniumite.”

“Number?”

“112-CG2-132”

The policeman held out a gloved hand. “Now, let me see your card madam.”

“Here,” she said, a little annoyed.

“Foreign Visitor 112-CG2-132, here is your ticket for violation of Municipal Statute 18476.”

“Thanks,” she said tersely.

“Do not attempt to leave the country without paying your fines; you’ll only make things worse for yourselves. If you wish, you may challenge your respective fines in one of the lower Criminal Courts. However, if they are upheld you will be additionally obligated to pay court costs.”

“Can we go now?” asked Victor with a note of annoyance.

“Sûr, sûr,” the officer answered nonchalantly, sill smirking. “Have a pleasant day.” He returned his pad of tickets and fountain pen to wherever he kept them, then turned his back to the couple and strolled away.

“Was that as fun for you as it was for me?” asked Victór grumpily.

“I’m sorry, Victór!” squeaked Adeléne regretfully.

“Oh it’s not your fault,” said Victór, forcing a little smile.

“Should we have lunch?” asked Adeléne with a hopeful grin.

“Sure... although I daresay we’ll have to go back to that sandwich shop, since I don’t think we can afford to eat at a restaurant now,” Victór joked dryly.

Adrienople Morning Herald
AMESTRIAN GOVERNMENT TURNS CATHEDRAL INTO MOSQUE
Amestrian authorities have outraged many of the world's Christians by converting the Cathedral of Saint Vivien of Mâzais in Givet into a mosque.

The Cathedral of St Vivien is one of the best known churches in Amestria, and its sudden conversion into a mosque comes in the wake of the Amestrian-KLM Cooperation Treaty being agreed to.

The suspicious timing of the conversion of the Catholic Cathedral into a Mahommedan mosque has led many to the conclusion that the transformation of the Cathedral was a secret part of agreements between Amestrian President Liscel and the KLM Ambassador to Amestria.

The Cathedral of St Vivien was originally a mosque built by the Moors, who conquered the city of Givet in the dark ages, after the Moors destroyed the original church dedicated to St Vivien which stood in the same location.

After the Christian liberation of the city, the mosque was transformed into a Cathedral to replace the church which the Moors had destroyed.

Many commentators on the Catholic Church's relations with other religious groups have expressed the concern that the forced conversion of the church into a mosque will lead to increased anti-Islamic sentiment amongst Catholics, which will frustrate the Vatican's interfaith dialogue with Islam, and opposition to the move was not limited to Catholics.

"The conversion of a great Cathedral into a mosque is a painful reminder of the genocide committed against our people by the Grand Turk Mehmet at the fall of Constantinople, when the greatest of all churches was transformed into a mosque even while the faithful were being butchered within it." said an anonymous member of the Orthodox Synod of Constantinople. "We grieve with our Catholic brothers and sisters for the loss of the Cathedral of St Vivien."

Continued on page 2

More on this story inside...
The Secret Deal Behind the Amestrian-KLM Pact... 5
United Christian Front to move protest motion in Parliament... 7
Sir Jacques' Journée: Inappropriate use of Executive Power shows unfitness to govern... 18