NationStates Jolt Archive

HIFEX NEWS AGENCY: SCHULTARIA PRIME, SCHULTARIA PRIME: 21:57 SCT


-Available for International Release


United Socialist States of Schultaria Prime to Undergo Massive Diplomatic Overhaul
National Assembly, Central Directorate, cite flagging recognition from friendly states and regional allies as reasons for reassessment...

Yesterday night, in a surprise 298-102 vote by the National Assembly, the United Socialist States of Schultaria Prime passed NASDC 117-4947 after heated debate suspended over a period of eight months. Known as the “Diplomatic Reassessment Act”, the legislation was enacted into law by a consensus vote with the Central Directorate. Central Director Elliot Schultz, along with Chairwoman of the Assembly Jenna Karlow, jointly signed the act at the lobby of the Schultarian State Department at 10:00 standard time this morning.

According to the National Assembly's public legislation database, NASDC 117-4947 has been authored to “Reassess the viability of current international diplomatic ties while proposing initiatives and alterations, including the renegotiation or annulment of preexisting treaty charters.” While diplomatic legislation of this type has been standard procedure following the election of the Central Directorate, the passage of this bill in the middle of the executive branch's electoral cycle is a unique occurrence. While leading political scientists and State Department officials had expected the legislation to pass for quite some time, few had predicted the vote to come so soon or for its more rigorous provisions to have passed with such limited resistance.

“In as far as foreign relations legislation goes, this Act is by far the most severe redressing of the nation's diplomatic standing since the foundation of the national government,” stated Professor Evaren Samarath in a telephone interview for Hifex news, “to have this pass the Assembly, and then to be openly signed by a sitting member of the Directorate in the middle of their term, should suggest the government is quite unhappy with the direction of its diplomacy.”

Assemblywoman Aeoife Norogeninna, leader of the National Assembly's minority coalition and head of the NIL (National Independence League) Party, stated in a public press conference with leading State Department and Assembly officials that the “Schultarian People deserve better than to be simply ignored by states and alliances who take our expertise and economy for granted while giving us little better than recognition as a client state for larger powers.” When asked as to which nations she was referring to in her speech she replied, “when we were approached by the nations of the New Alliance Treaty Organization (NATO) to be the host state for their headquarters, we were honored and deeply gratified for their selection. After the expenditure of our time, our resources, and our talent into helping this collective entity, we feel as though we've been slighted. NATO has become less about mutual defense and more about the acquiescence of the smaller members for the unilateral ambitions of more powerful nations.”

While Hifex attempted to contact the Central Directorate to provide comment on Ms. Norogeninna's statements, no official response has been issued by the executive branch.

Public committee hearings with the Assembly Council on Foreign relations are expected to begin at the start of tomorrow's normal legislative workweek. State Department Officials, foreign diplomats, and mutually interested third parties, as well as the public, have been invited to attend and submit statements / queries. As of this evening, no set time line has been been established by the National Assembly to conclude the committee's investigations into Schultaria Prime's foreign policy.

-For over one hundred years, your reliable international news service for all things Schultarian... Hifex

National Assembly Building: Schultaria Prime, Schultaria Prime

The mood of the Assembly, once tense, gradually lifted over the business morning following the passage of the most internationally controversial legislation in nearly a generation. Although many within the national government were bracing for a barrage from local and foreign pro-internationalist and pro-NATO political commentators, the silence from the international media came as a welcome surprise. While the rest of the nation continued with its daily business, the diplomatically revisionist faction of the federal government basked in convoluted glory. Without any support or derision from any foreign governments or news outlets, especially from those who were considered to be the staunchest allies of the Schultarian state, the opposition reluctantly withdrew their opposition for convening the Committee on Foreign Policy.

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National Assembly Foreign Relations Committee: National Assembly Building (2 hours later)

News crews and various dignitaries from Schultaria Prime's numerous state-run industries began to slowly filter into the large meeting hall as the members of the Committee enjoyed their refreshments and chatted amongst themselves near their annexe's formal, yet typically understated, dais. Despite the din of cameras and murmurs amongst the crowd, the noise in the room grossly overstated the actual attendance to the inaugural proceedings. For a meeting that could effectively close entire channels of formal international contact, years of mutual diplomatic cooperation, and hundreds of trillions in trade agreements and humanitarian aid there was not a non-Schultarian soul in the room. Although the concerted efforts of Hifex to spread the message to an international audience and government insistence to make the proceedings as open as possible were in place, not a single international diplomat, jurist, business person, legislator, or head of state had even feigned interest.

To the ten of the fifteen members of the committee who had voted on revising Schultaria's foreign policy to close their excessive involvement with “indifferent” states, the silence spoke volumes.

When the clock struck three, the members of the committee took to their seats. Aeoife Norogeninna, at the behest of the National Assembly, greeted the visitors and local media.

”On behalf of the National Assembly, the Central Directorate, and the Schultarian People I, the Chairwoman of this Committee, would like to thank each and every one of you for your time and effort to attend these proceedings. As this will be an ongoing investigation designed to advise and recommend actions pertaining to the possible alteration of the nation's foreign policy, no set time line or sequence of events has been firmly established for the Committee's findings. Policy issues will be taken as they are addressed both in public discussion here and in private research conducted by the offices of the members assembled here.

It is our honor to serve the people of this nation and as such we shall make all attempts to answer petitions relevant to our discussion here before we formally adjourn and offer our recommendations to the federal government. We must remind you that the decisions we make here, due to the passage of Bill number NASDC 117-4947, will be treated as binding directives unless explicitly stated or annulled though a the legislative actions of the National Assembly, unanimous veto by the national executive, or reversal through popular referendum. Therefore we implore you to notify us with any pertinent concerns or issues before we convene this committee. Once again, we thank you all for your time.

The first item up for today's session is to address the core issue of this bill: how to address the lack of formal dialog between Schultaria Prime and the governments of nations formally aligned with the state....”

OOC: A BUMP for for the thread; if you have an interest in diplomatic relations with the Schultarian nation, or would just like to know more about the country's foreign policy, feel free to send a communique and I'll do my best to RP an appropriate response.