Lyras
17-10-2008, 00:58
TO: Government of IStormistan
FROM: Office of the Warmarshal of the Protectorate of Lyras
CC: States signatory to the Theeb Accords, and any states engaging in commerce with IStormistan
RE: The ongoing trade in human lives.
To the macabre parody of civilisation that calls itself IStormistan, and to all those who grant that honourless blight upon the earth the grace that is their time, acknowledgement or resources, or those who possess few enough scruples to refer to the self-interested currs that form the IStormistan government as 'friends' or 'kin'.
Nearly two hundred years ago the Protectorate of Lyras was formed to safeguard the land and people from the predations of those such as you. From the wreckage of the Storn League, under the watchful eye of the remnants of the League military, Lyras came into being. War is our life, but not war for its own sake. War in the name of honour. In the name of what is right and just and good in this blackened world. War because war, however savage, barbarous and destructive, is better than an honourless, ignoble peace, with those who decry the inherent freedom and intrinsic worth of human life. With those who belittle those weaker than themselves, and denigrate them by reducing their status to that of livestock, chattel, or worse. With those like you.
You have no honour. You deny those whom you oppress, who you profit from and who you control (by dubious legal sanction, blessed by institutions that, given their ethically bankrupt state, have burned away the veneer of legitimacy they may once have held), the opportunity to progress, grow and develop as self-guiding sentient beings. You deprive them, yourselves, and, by extension, all humanity, of the potential represented in the conscious, self-directing, self-aware natures of your subjugated peoples, and that is a crime of unimaginable callousness and a horrific testimony to your complete and utter unsuitability for the position of authority that, by trickery or fortune, you have come to occupy.
Slavery, especially in the form which includes commerce and traffic in human lives, is anathema to all but the most dubious moral code. It destroys relationships and families, is ruinous to enterprise, stifles innovation and, most importantly is a blight upon the soul and character of all who would undertake it, or gain succour from it..
Those hideously misguided states that engage in this trade with you have not escaped our notice. The veil of anonymity over them has, by their actions, been lifted. That which we now say to you, we also say to them. You, and they, will turn from this mockery of governance, this ghastly, sickening and honourless imitation of all that is right in the world, or we shall strike you down.
As a state founded upon principles of honour, we cannot be true to ourselves if we allow your rampant and callous disregard for the sanctity and value of human life to continue. The people and state that together constitute the Protectorate of Lyras hold the obligation to defend those who seek protection very seriously. Seriously enough, in fact, that the entirety of Lyran society is based upon the premise that honourable defence of the weak and innocent is the highest calling. What greater honour than, clothed in righteousness and marching under the banner of good, to enter battle outnumbered by the highest possible margin, and to emerge victorious?
We cannot but regard oppression in every form – but most of all, that oppression that turns a man into a possession– with indignation and utter, unadulterated abhorrence. Not to accept and act upon these feelings and sentiments would be to embrace cowardice in the highest order, and would violate every principle that we, and all others who cherish their hard-earned freedom, hold dear. They who seek our silence on this most fundamental subject ask us to betray ourselves, our honour, our self-respect, our decency and our essence as freemen. All that it takes for evil to prevail is that enough good men remain silent, so we shall not stand silent. We will not turn a blind eye to the plight of the innocent. We will not stand idle and shirk the duty and responsibility with which we are charged in just proportion to the power we wield.
All too often those who ignore the fact that authority and power are counterpointed by responsibility have sought to shield their moral and ethical corruption behind the walls of national sovereignty. Untold wrong has sought refuge behind those ramparts, but here we proclaim – no longer. All too often has the world looked on aghast but, fearful of condemnation or consequence, has failed to act. This, we hold, is a crime in itself, and one which we shall not be held damned for.
Therefore, in accordance with the dictates laid out in the Theeb Accords, the governing bodies of IStormistan are thusly and hereby required to begin legal, executive, administrative or judicial proceedings directed towards the complete abolition of slavery in all its myriad forms, within a timeframe not exceeding one month from the issue of this proclamation, or face the direst measures which the Protectorate of Lyras, and all those who freely choose to stand with it, will justly impose.
We stand undaunted.
Leon William Krell
Warmarshal of the Protectorate
Bredubar
Protectorate of Lyras
FROM: Office of the Warmarshal of the Protectorate of Lyras
CC: States signatory to the Theeb Accords, and any states engaging in commerce with IStormistan
RE: The ongoing trade in human lives.
To the macabre parody of civilisation that calls itself IStormistan, and to all those who grant that honourless blight upon the earth the grace that is their time, acknowledgement or resources, or those who possess few enough scruples to refer to the self-interested currs that form the IStormistan government as 'friends' or 'kin'.
Nearly two hundred years ago the Protectorate of Lyras was formed to safeguard the land and people from the predations of those such as you. From the wreckage of the Storn League, under the watchful eye of the remnants of the League military, Lyras came into being. War is our life, but not war for its own sake. War in the name of honour. In the name of what is right and just and good in this blackened world. War because war, however savage, barbarous and destructive, is better than an honourless, ignoble peace, with those who decry the inherent freedom and intrinsic worth of human life. With those who belittle those weaker than themselves, and denigrate them by reducing their status to that of livestock, chattel, or worse. With those like you.
You have no honour. You deny those whom you oppress, who you profit from and who you control (by dubious legal sanction, blessed by institutions that, given their ethically bankrupt state, have burned away the veneer of legitimacy they may once have held), the opportunity to progress, grow and develop as self-guiding sentient beings. You deprive them, yourselves, and, by extension, all humanity, of the potential represented in the conscious, self-directing, self-aware natures of your subjugated peoples, and that is a crime of unimaginable callousness and a horrific testimony to your complete and utter unsuitability for the position of authority that, by trickery or fortune, you have come to occupy.
Slavery, especially in the form which includes commerce and traffic in human lives, is anathema to all but the most dubious moral code. It destroys relationships and families, is ruinous to enterprise, stifles innovation and, most importantly is a blight upon the soul and character of all who would undertake it, or gain succour from it..
Those hideously misguided states that engage in this trade with you have not escaped our notice. The veil of anonymity over them has, by their actions, been lifted. That which we now say to you, we also say to them. You, and they, will turn from this mockery of governance, this ghastly, sickening and honourless imitation of all that is right in the world, or we shall strike you down.
As a state founded upon principles of honour, we cannot be true to ourselves if we allow your rampant and callous disregard for the sanctity and value of human life to continue. The people and state that together constitute the Protectorate of Lyras hold the obligation to defend those who seek protection very seriously. Seriously enough, in fact, that the entirety of Lyran society is based upon the premise that honourable defence of the weak and innocent is the highest calling. What greater honour than, clothed in righteousness and marching under the banner of good, to enter battle outnumbered by the highest possible margin, and to emerge victorious?
We cannot but regard oppression in every form – but most of all, that oppression that turns a man into a possession– with indignation and utter, unadulterated abhorrence. Not to accept and act upon these feelings and sentiments would be to embrace cowardice in the highest order, and would violate every principle that we, and all others who cherish their hard-earned freedom, hold dear. They who seek our silence on this most fundamental subject ask us to betray ourselves, our honour, our self-respect, our decency and our essence as freemen. All that it takes for evil to prevail is that enough good men remain silent, so we shall not stand silent. We will not turn a blind eye to the plight of the innocent. We will not stand idle and shirk the duty and responsibility with which we are charged in just proportion to the power we wield.
All too often those who ignore the fact that authority and power are counterpointed by responsibility have sought to shield their moral and ethical corruption behind the walls of national sovereignty. Untold wrong has sought refuge behind those ramparts, but here we proclaim – no longer. All too often has the world looked on aghast but, fearful of condemnation or consequence, has failed to act. This, we hold, is a crime in itself, and one which we shall not be held damned for.
Therefore, in accordance with the dictates laid out in the Theeb Accords, the governing bodies of IStormistan are thusly and hereby required to begin legal, executive, administrative or judicial proceedings directed towards the complete abolition of slavery in all its myriad forms, within a timeframe not exceeding one month from the issue of this proclamation, or face the direst measures which the Protectorate of Lyras, and all those who freely choose to stand with it, will justly impose.
We stand undaunted.
Leon William Krell
Warmarshal of the Protectorate
Bredubar
Protectorate of Lyras