Terakh
30-11-2006, 20:45
The nervous anticipation lay like a blanket over the gathered crowd of diplomats and press, the tension almost a physical entity. The two men on the stage before them, the bitterest enemies of three generations of division and civil war, stood side by side, the first time the leaders of the opposing factions had done so in living memory of anyone in the nation. 54-year-old Alek Temorjan, president for life of the country, smoothed a crease from his impeccable dark blue suit - the colour of good luck in this secular but sometimes superstitious country - and extended his hand to his once-great enemy, rebel leader Veket Adamjan.
The 35-year-old rebel leader, who had been de-facto ruler of the western territories since the death of of his predecessor four years ago, shook his hand and embraced his opposite, amid a flurry of camera flashes. It was a powerful gesture, for the country to have come this far in such a short time, but some could tell that perhaps the union was not as ideal as it was being made out; the more serious, more honest announcement was to be made - symbolic gestures aside, the more important business of laying out precisely what was going on, after war had almost become a way of life for people in the borderlands and everywhere else in the country, was at hand. As a symbol of his willingness to compromise, Temorjan allowed his opponent to speak first to the collected nation.
"Terakh, this beautiful country", he began, "has for so long been ravaged by the terrible horror of war. It has brought us many things, but it has also taken far more from us; sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, even my own brother. When I ascended to power of the rebel territories four years ago, it was in a hail of blood, and I promised then that I would seek to resolve differences through diplomacy. I and the rest of the Terakhan Weditsch Freedom Forces have been working for so long to find a solution to end this war, and, my people, I hope that today I can say with nothing but truth in my heart that we have finally achieved that - I would like to tell my people that Mr. Temorjan is a trustworthy man, a man who will stick by his principles, and a man I will be proud to serve under as Vice President and Governor General of the new autonomous Western Terakhan states!"
His voice swelled with emotion as he spoke the last sentences, the applause beginning even before he had finished speaking and did not die down until long after he had stepped back from the podium. Temorjan, who had stood back and applauded his speech, now stepped forward. "Terakhans, this is truly a historic day. From this day forward, the western states of Weditschja, Jamushjur and Western Arevikja will, while remaining part of Terakh, be granted it's own parliament, and autonomy over it's local laws, under the banner of the Western Territories, ruled as they were by Mr. Veket Adamjan, and State Governors will report to him, not to me, from this day forward. I speak for myself and Mr. Adamjan when I say that any continuance by any faction will be treated as a terrorist act, and will be severely punished; the Terakhan Army will remain to ensure the military safety of the Western Territories, and to police and provide rebuilding assistance to the residents until the region can supply it's own police force to the satisfaction of both me and Mr. Adamjan. The central government in Rantamjah will maintain federal control, but on a local level, the Western Territories are now granted wide-reaching autonomy."
He stepped back, the applause came again in waves, and Adamjan again stepped forward.
"As my first act in my capacity as Vice President of Terakh, I would like to ask that, as we emerge from this era of war, any other nations wishing to return to or establish embassies within this great nation of ours to do so without reservation; to strengthen our relations with the outside world, ties we have neglected during our isolation, and to benefit all sides with cultural and elsewhere interaction, to extend our feelings of brotherhood to the outside world."
They were powerful words, words that many Terakhans had never expected to hear, and the dissenters would say that the truce wasn't even close to as stable as the tersely-written words that had flowed so well off the tongues of the once bitter enemies would suggest, but nevertheless, it gave them hope; hope they had not seen for as long as most of them could remember. The dissenters may have been drowned out by the applause, but it was the first time in a long while that the hope had not been drowned out by the gunfire.
The 35-year-old rebel leader, who had been de-facto ruler of the western territories since the death of of his predecessor four years ago, shook his hand and embraced his opposite, amid a flurry of camera flashes. It was a powerful gesture, for the country to have come this far in such a short time, but some could tell that perhaps the union was not as ideal as it was being made out; the more serious, more honest announcement was to be made - symbolic gestures aside, the more important business of laying out precisely what was going on, after war had almost become a way of life for people in the borderlands and everywhere else in the country, was at hand. As a symbol of his willingness to compromise, Temorjan allowed his opponent to speak first to the collected nation.
"Terakh, this beautiful country", he began, "has for so long been ravaged by the terrible horror of war. It has brought us many things, but it has also taken far more from us; sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, even my own brother. When I ascended to power of the rebel territories four years ago, it was in a hail of blood, and I promised then that I would seek to resolve differences through diplomacy. I and the rest of the Terakhan Weditsch Freedom Forces have been working for so long to find a solution to end this war, and, my people, I hope that today I can say with nothing but truth in my heart that we have finally achieved that - I would like to tell my people that Mr. Temorjan is a trustworthy man, a man who will stick by his principles, and a man I will be proud to serve under as Vice President and Governor General of the new autonomous Western Terakhan states!"
His voice swelled with emotion as he spoke the last sentences, the applause beginning even before he had finished speaking and did not die down until long after he had stepped back from the podium. Temorjan, who had stood back and applauded his speech, now stepped forward. "Terakhans, this is truly a historic day. From this day forward, the western states of Weditschja, Jamushjur and Western Arevikja will, while remaining part of Terakh, be granted it's own parliament, and autonomy over it's local laws, under the banner of the Western Territories, ruled as they were by Mr. Veket Adamjan, and State Governors will report to him, not to me, from this day forward. I speak for myself and Mr. Adamjan when I say that any continuance by any faction will be treated as a terrorist act, and will be severely punished; the Terakhan Army will remain to ensure the military safety of the Western Territories, and to police and provide rebuilding assistance to the residents until the region can supply it's own police force to the satisfaction of both me and Mr. Adamjan. The central government in Rantamjah will maintain federal control, but on a local level, the Western Territories are now granted wide-reaching autonomy."
He stepped back, the applause came again in waves, and Adamjan again stepped forward.
"As my first act in my capacity as Vice President of Terakh, I would like to ask that, as we emerge from this era of war, any other nations wishing to return to or establish embassies within this great nation of ours to do so without reservation; to strengthen our relations with the outside world, ties we have neglected during our isolation, and to benefit all sides with cultural and elsewhere interaction, to extend our feelings of brotherhood to the outside world."
They were powerful words, words that many Terakhans had never expected to hear, and the dissenters would say that the truce wasn't even close to as stable as the tersely-written words that had flowed so well off the tongues of the once bitter enemies would suggest, but nevertheless, it gave them hope; hope they had not seen for as long as most of them could remember. The dissenters may have been drowned out by the applause, but it was the first time in a long while that the hope had not been drowned out by the gunfire.