News Media of Istkalen

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Ikomar, from house in Madrid, accuses Rikkalek of staging crisis in order to take power

The discredited former president of Istkalen, Liros Ikomar, ousted after pushing forward unpopular ethnocentric and out-of-touch policies, has claimed that the recent crisis in Istkalen was staged by Rikkalek in order to dissolve the People's Committees and centralize power around himself, citing Rikkalek's claim made earlier today that "outright violence has largely ended in the territory of the Republic" as proof that the whole of the crisis was either fake or done by actors beholden to Rikkalek.

"I remain the rightful President of the Republic of Istkalen," said Ikomar, speaking from a balcony jutting out on a busy Madrilenian street, to a small audience of members of the Istkalener diaspora. "My impeachment, as well as the earlier removal of powers from my person, did not occur as according to set out procedures; they were both acts orchestrated by Rikkalek in order to concentrate power in himself. This, I know, is shocking, unbelievable. The words that come from my mouth seem more like conspiracy theories spouted by the insane rather than the truth. But, I assure you, it is the truth. He was a power hungry man; but we believed he was the face of the new Istkalen, of hope, from this proclamation, and it was a result of this that I made the grave mistake of appointing him Prime Minister. There he gained control over the ministers, and engaged in sinister plots with them and the producers' committees to stage a self-coup. I came to know of this only by overhearing a conversation between Rikkalek and one of the Ministers of Defense. This happened on the 9th of September. The next day he had someone defame me in the state-owned news. What was reported was only partially true. It was an accurate picture of the situation several months ago, but was not at that point, nor is it accurate now. Things had calmed down, significantly, and the Republic had re-asserted authority. But we had no plans to establish a transitional authority in the country. The next day, he had Dr. Koline push through a nonsensical reform to create opposition to me, after which the producers' committees voted through a plan for the holding of a constituent assembly - a terrible idea in the present political climate."

"On the 16th of September, the Northern Radio proclaimed the Imperial Realm of Istkalen. At that point they were a force of five running around in the woods, but Rikkalek had so degraded support for the Republic, or rather my person, that the people began again to support them. This meant nothing in the long term, and most of what was predicted did not come to pass. Life continued as normal. It was at this point that I was illegally de facto deposed as President, and a few days later, after the government ran around screaming about how the country was disintegrating, which was entirely untrue, that I was de jure deposed."

"And now, after he has restructed the state around his person, in such a way as to ensure he holds onto his precious power for as long as possible, taking some of my popular policies - in particular, my policies surrounding the organization of the economy - and combining them with extreme authoritarianism, totalitarianism, in fact, before telling lies and claiming that I was an evil neoliberal and racial supremacist. For the record, neither are true. I am opposed to neoliberalism; it is not appropriate for Istkalen. My economic policies were the exact same - and I am not joking, not exaggerating - as those of Rikkalek, with the exception of the belief that the person exists solely as a member of a collective. Neither am I a racial supremacist - I merely attempted to acknowledge the fact that Kitetois is the lingua franca of Istkalen, and Rikkalek and his cronies have gone around and claimed that I am somehow evil and oppressing the other ethnicities of Istkalen. It all is slander!"

"Rikkalek gained his power through a coup, a coup based entirely on lies. He manufactured dissent and crisis, and when it was all done he was able to, with just a few words, call an end to it all. He now intends to use the EU, and the J-TAI, to uphold his tyranny. Stand against him! He must be removed, and the rightful government restored!"

Rikkalek has denied the accusations, arguing that it is indeed true that violence had largely ended in Istkalen - the declaration of the Imperial Realm meant effectively nothing, and the arrest of top instigators of violence in the early Republican period had served as preventation - and that this is not a result of him saying anything. He also claimed that Ikomar "has gone insane," and that his words are "that of a man who cannot accept the fact that he was incompetent, and removed because of that incompetence." However, he made one concession, stating that his economic policy was drawn from what Ikomar's was in theory, although he claimed that Ikomar never implemented this. He ended by affirming his committment to democracy, which was followed by the issuing of a decree once again allowing for the registration of independent news agencies, as well as ending the restrictions imposed upon the declaration of emergency.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Rikkalek addresses the Congress of Producers

Head of State Vistek Rikkalek today addressed the Congress of Producers, calling for an end to "Western-style politics" and the institution of an "Indigenous system of government" in Istkalen. In particular, he condemned the political violence and infighting that has plagued Istkalen until recently, arguing that the country must adopt a "system of political cooperation," based on the National Front and the Congress in order to survive.

"Over the past few months," he stated, "our nation has seen some of the highest levels of social, economic, and political turmoil it has ever experienced. Our countrymen have turned against each other, nationality against nationality; ideology against ideology. This is plainly the fault of the system which my predecessors sought to introduce. Istkalen simply is not fit for a system of competitive pluralism; it merely incites intercommunal violence to these levels. In order to cultivate stability, we must turn to an indigenous system of government, a system of political cooperation instead of competition."

"My government has sought, at every turn, to return authencity and stability to this nation, socially, economically, and now politically. In the coming months, as an integral part of the construction of non-aligned socialism and the carrying out of the Internal Revolution, a new government shall be constructed in Istkalen, a government free of partisan-ism, a government founded on the workers of this nation, which shall arise out of the people's syndicates and the National Front. The politicians will all be thrown out, replaced by the moral, the genuine, and the hardworking. We do not seek the abolition of pluralism per se; in fact, we encourage it; we merely desire to do away with the present politics, Western-style politics, for it has brought nothing but misery to us."

This was met with a great hail of applause from the Congress, composed overwhelming of nativists and authoritarians strongly opposed to liberal democracy.

RIkkalek, however, went on to describe his plans for new elections to the Congress, which would occur along more traditional lines.

"We will firstly seek to restore this Congress. We shall do away with the Western methods of election, and substitute them for our own. Companies of workers shall elect the best of their own to serve on the producers' committees that form our ranks, two-by-two rather than one-by-one. Only the qualified, the hardworking, the moral, shall serve. With this, we shall thus create a government of the producers, a native government, a true government, a government that befits this nation," he stated, further speaking about how it would bring industrial organization and the state together and thus further abolish politics as they are.

Rikkalek has always had an antipathy towards traditional politics, as well as an affinity for ideas of merging industrial organization with the state - ten years ago, while relatively unknown, he was a syndicalist who collaborated with the short-lived reformist SDP government in its attempt to abolish the estates and establish a state founded on principles of industrial unionism. This address, as such, is merely a nationalist and statist variation on his previous politics, addressing virtually the same themes - returning power to the workers, establishing industrial self-government, and ending corruption and inequality. While it is almost certain that Rikkalek has moved somewhat to the right, particularly in his abandoning of the principle of socialization, it cannot be said that he truly believes in what he is saying; it is very possible that he is merely attempting to convey it in a palatable form to the politicians of the Congress of Producers. This, if true, would not be something new - while Rikkalek does clearly have specific principles he governs by, he will represent them in radically different ways to different sectors of society and the outside world. To the Congress of Producers, for example, he may, as he did here, present everything in an overly nationalistic light; to the population, in a more 'producerist' light, leaning towards a more moderate socialism or Western-style social democracy; to the West, everything in the most liberal light possible.

This may be made clear by the effects of Rikkalek's proposed reform. By introducing the planned electoral changes in particular, virtually all of the ultranationalists benefited by the previous system of indirect election would be removed, replaced largely with centrists adhering to "non-aligned socialism" in its purest form. Similarly, the transformation implied for government, in which bureaucratic functions would be handed to the people's syndicates, would have the effect of reducing or eliminating the power of high-ranking bureaucrats, most of whom are also either nativists or former "national" Social Democrats, giving it all to competent but ideologically non-suspect and loyal individuals. The reforms planned for the National Front are in all likelihood not to ever be implemented; the parties and organizations that form it are well-entrenched, popular, and at this point support Rikkalek more than oppose him. To abolish or weaken it would merely be a blow to Rikkalek's own power, one which would open a dangerous power vaccuum in Istkalen's politics that could very well lead to far worse - the Northern Radio, for example - gaining power.

In essence, Rikkalek's intention is to continue the "construction of non-aligned socialism," in his own words, in its existing moderate form rather than in the more extremist path he has implied; in doing this, however, he seeks to paralyze and remove the little opposition that continues to exist in the country and fully consolidate his power.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Rikkalek holds celebrations for the formation of the People's Association, gives address to the people

In commemoration of the formation of the People's Association, alongside the official institutionalization of "non-aligned socialism," with the formation of workers' societies and the network of indirectly elected "economic self-governments" governing the "workers' associations," Head of State Vistek Rikkalek has organized mass celebrations, including large cultural performances, from theater dramas to musical performances by ensembles, as well as rallies and other events held by high-ranking members of the People's Association of Istkalen.

"Long live our united and independent Istkalen," proclaimed former General Secretary of the Communist Party Ilisapit Íkrat, now one of the most important members of the Governing Council of the People's Association, before an audience of over 10.000 at one of these rallies organized by the Association. "Let us all come together and rejoice in this great effort to build a state of the people in our country; let us celebrate this construction of workers' democracy! Long live liberty, long live equality, long live justice, long live solidarity!"

Elsewhere, in the chambers of the National Assembly, vacant presently due to the period of constitutional implementation, national poetry, both from the Istkalener Renaissance of the early 20th century and from the modern age, was read by acclaimed authors, poets, and orators, to an audience of 1000 physically and millions virtually.

In the Grand Opera House of Kirelesile, several nationalist operas from the Istkalener Renaissance were also performed before a physical audience, as well as live-streamed.

On the Boulevard of the 25th of April, the main axis of the city of Kirelesile, a parade was held, commemorating the history of the Republic of Istkalen - its roots in the Republican Movement of National Unity founded in 1914, the establishment of the "crowned republic" in 1931, the 25th of April itself, when the actual Republic was established, all the way to the 18th of April, when the "national-social-democratic" regime fell; thousands were present, waving the five-color flag and shouting praises of the Republic and the principles on which it was founded - "nationalism, people's sovereignty, and people's welfare."

Tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital, as well as Kirelesile, the largest and most economically and culturally important city in Istkalen, to demonstrate for the Republic and the People's Association. "We shall stand for the national cause of the people's power forever!" several demonstrators were heard shouting before the Great Palace of the Republic, formerly the Imperial Palace and now the meeting chambers of the Council of Ministers, in Líressile. "We shall stand firm and construct our Republic for all!"

"The streets of Kirelesile are filled with patriotic citizens," stated Minister of Arts and Culture Makketis Ikalsser, describing the demonstrations. "I was and am surprised by this great turnout in the celebration of our Republic and nation. Even in our villages, there have been great celebrations and fetes in celebration of our common and noble cause."

Later in the day, Rikkalek appeared on a balcony facing the crowd before the Great Palace of the Republic, and delivered an address directly to the people, which was also televised and broadcasted to the rest of the nation.

"We, the people of Istkalen, have begun an important step in our march towards justice and democracy. We have, today, overcome our divisions in order to lay the first stone in the great Republic to come. Whether communist or liberal or conservative, whether one of the returned or one of the remained, whether Kitetois, Estonian, German, Turk, or indigenous, we have come together with the common cause of preserving our nationhood and ensuring the power and welfare of the people. In our Istkalen, I am confident in saying that we will establish a union of equal nationalities, an equal union founded on common history, common experience, and the solidarity of labor, and from this union shall spring what we, and our forefathers, dreamt of - the state of the people, the state of peace."

"The People's Association, comprised of the most politically adept of us all, will lead the way. All ideologies, all interests, will be united and represented in it for the construction of the Republic. Their, our, faith and steadfastness, will not waver. We will travel the road to people's power and independence together to its very end."

"The workers' associations and the workers' societies will be the basis of the Republic to come, a moral Republic of labor. Power will be theirs, must be theirs; there can be no other conclusion that does not deprive the people of their deserved rights and representation. The workers will participate directly in government, will participate directly in the construction of the new Istkalen political, social, and economic, through them. United and led by the People's Association, they will be the instruments with which we shall transform this country and build the state of people's power."

Rikkalek would continue by describing how these institutions, as well as the new Republic, would uphold the original principles of nationalism, people's sovereignty, and people's welfare, arguing that they would encourage mutual aid (people's welfare) and direct democracy, or at least a more participatory democracy (people's sovereignty) while overcoming the divide of nationality, by celebrating culture while emphasizing professional rather than national bonds, as to construct a greater nation-state (nationalism).

More interestingly, however, he would also briefly outline an economically nationalist ideology that would be promoted by the "Republic to come:"

"The issue of people's welfare is of course far more complicated than merely encouraging mutual aid. It necessarily also involves increasing, directly, the wealth of the people. The present economic model of Istkalen - focused on the export of raw materials - cannot suffice. We must turn ourselves to the development of more complex industry, while not abandoning the principles of craftwork and the personal aspect of labor that is at the essence of our nation. The state will focus primarily in reserving raw materials for processing within Istkalen, as well as in promoting the construction of more advanced industrial facilities - for example, in the manufacture of electronics. We will not ignore the traditional industry of our nation, on which it rests - our craftspeople and trade-workers - on the contrary, we will emphasize and support it also. However, it is absolutely necessary that modernization continues for the welfare of the people, so that their incomes are increased and that they are able to afford more."

Modernization has never gone particularly well in Istkalen; the last time it was attempted, it resulted in extreme social upheaval and an eventual cou p which set behind the cause of democracy for decades. This time, however, promises have been made to preserve traditional modes and styles of production as much as possible, as well as to try to import these to the greatest extent into modern industry - an independent "Istkalener Technological Revolution," so to speak, which would go against the trend just as Istkalen did during the first Industrial Revolution. It is very possible, now, particularly with Rikkalek's mind and devotion to this cause, that modernization could succeed, and in fact pave a way for a more human economy in the rest of the world.

More importantly, however, it implies many other things. Firstly, it implies self-sufficiency - that Istkalen will attempt to wean itself off of its dependence on the West for advanced machinery and electronics. Secondly, it implies that the present embargo on exports of important mineral resources, particularly cobalt and rare earth metals, could continue in a different form - that they could, rather than be exported, be redirected for the use of growing industry in Istkalen itself.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Workers' associations are created

Elections to the workers's associations - that is, the "workers' committees" and "councils' that govern them - occurred today. Workers' societies met as to elect ward-level committees and councils, nominating candidates belonging to a larger class of potential candidates previously approved by the Council of Examination - a candidate gained nomination if they were able to gain the signature of at least 10% of the workers' society's memebrship. Nominations were then voted upon by the membership of the workers' societies; in the case that a candidate could not garner a majority, the two candidates earning the most votes would be included in a second round. Each workers' society was entitled to at least one seat on a ward-level committee, with the total number of seats dependent on total membership.

Ward-level committees and councils elected commune-level committees and councils in much the same way; these councils then met to nominate lists of candidates, which were then voted on, using the system of block approval voting, by their membership, with the vote of one councillor equivalent to the number of constituents said councillor represented.

The elections were entirely nonpartisan; parties, including the national-level People's Association, were prohibited even from endorsing candidates. The intention was to require candidates to stand on their own merit, as well as to prevent violence and "ultrapartisanism'. This, however, was little more than nominal; candidates did in fact possess political ideals, which they spoke of at length while defending themselves during the nomination phase. While they were not openly allowed to mention specific ideologies or specific parties - both would have been grounds for prohibition from candidacy - most at least implied both.

One prospective candidate, for example, standing for election to the 50-member national-level council for the Medical Workers' Asosciation, repeatedly defended ideas such as "opposition to the economic hegemony of certain nations," "preservation of Istkalen's economic independence," "greater economic equality," and "the placing of the economy under full social control" - clearly Communist in nature, and meant to gain the support of a mostly pro-Communist constituency. While the candidate in question certainly did answer questions regarding to the direct interests of medical workers, as well as the medical regulations the Association is responsible for, it is likely that it, in the end, was the political opinions expressed - that is, these Communist opinions - that resulted in the final decision to elect the candidate.

Within the committees and councils themselves as well, informal "committees" have formed, which in reality group together members of similar political affiliation. The state has responded merely by stating that such committees may not participate in political activity - they may not campaign, for example - and that political parties may not endorse any given informal committee - but that, for the time being, they will be tolerated, as they do not yet appear to be a threat to national security and unity.

Unlike previous elections under the post-Social-Democratic Republic, the institutions formed have not leaned significantly to the right; virtually none of the candidates are any further than center-right, with even elements of the Patriotic League and its ideology failing to be elected at all, replaced instead by solidarist and moderate Linekist councillors and committee-members. The left, too, has suffered; while Communist-affiliated candidates were in fact elected, they were not as prominent as in previous assemblies, replaced largely with candidates affiliated, through common ideology, with the National Republicans and the Agrarian Union.

Those of liberal ideology too also gained prominence, although not those close to former President Ikomar in ideology; they now occupy a plurality of seats in seven of the 16 national-level councils and committees of the workers' associations.

Several members of the opposition - what those who left the People's Association to found new independent parties are now termed - objected to the way in which the elections were conducted, arguing that they were neither free or fair, and did not give voters any real choice.

"The candidates were preselected by the government of Rikkalek," stated the Central Committee of the (refounded) Communist Party of Istkalen, summing up the general position of the opposition as a whole. "To be able to become a candidate, to be designated as such by the regime-controlled Council of Examination, it was effectively a precondition to support Rikkalek. These elections thus offered no real choice to the people, no real opportunity to enact a change in government or in policy, and thus cannot, in any meaning of the words, be considered either free or fair."

Regardless of the fairness of these elections, they will have considerably less impact than previous elections in post-Social-Democratic Istkalen.

Compared to their strength under Ikomar's tenure, the associations are to be significantly weakened. Under the recently passed Local Government Act, the authority they once held through "Congresses of Producers" - that is, full legislative power, that to coordinate production, "ensure the social purpose of the economy," as well as that to appoint the local judiciary - has been transferred to re-established "People's Committees," which will exist on ward and communal levels and will be elected at-large through asystem of combined approval-voting, a radical break from past systems of organization. In the interim, these "People's Committees" are composed of government appointees, all of whom are members of the People's Association; even then, the elections to them, scheduled for 4 December, will have candidacy limited to members of the People's Association and state-approved independents, with the Council of Examination even then still playing a role in limiting candidacy.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Mild liberalization announced

As a part of the recently released "Istkalener Economic Mechanism," mild liberalization of the economy will begin, although increased state control may be seen in certain sectors.

In particular, the government has announced its intention to end the policy of granting monopolies to specific workers' societies, as well as in requiring workers to join workers' societies. From now on, while the societies will remain limited to the boundaries of a ward, workers will be able to freely found, dissolve, and merge them in most industries; at the same time, it will be the choice of every worker whether or not to join a society. Related to this, the requirement of forming a labor-partnership in order to gain full economic rights will also be abolished; workers may now work alone, as an individual within a society, or in the traditional way - as a partnership, either alone or within a society.

This has been accompanied by a new property law, which, for the first time, allows workers' societies to hold property - a step, perhaps, towards the full legalization of outright businesses in Istkalen - as of now, workers' societies are little more than weak mutual-aid groups. The same law, however, also hints at a more controlled approach to be taken towards certain sectors of the economy - it also allows the state, as well as workers' associations, to own property directly, outlining twin processes of "nationalization" and "socialization" that detail how property may be converted into the ownership of the state or the workers' associations respectively, as well as the organizations that will control the property afterwards. This may complement previous, vaguer, plans to promote broader industralization, funded through mineral extraction and exportation, as well as to "integrate" Istkalen's energy and transportation infrastructure under national authorities.

The mechanism will also end the prominent retail role of the Ministry of Public Distribution, and will, in its place, gradually introduce a market system; in terms of wholesale, however, the state has confirmed that the Ministry will retain its role. Price controls on certain goods, particularly foodstuffs and medicines, will also be retained. The stated purpose of this is merely to solve crippling supply issues in regards to a variety of consumer products, while at the same time ensuring price stability and preventing gouging by private actors.

The system will not be open to international actors; import and export will be managed solely and directly by the Ministry of Public Distribution (in the past, certain societies of traders and merchants were allowed to engage in import and export - no longer, largely due to perceived corruption). This limitation is largely due to concerns, both within the populace and within the government, that to open import fully to foreign actors would immediately cause the market to be flooded with significantly cheaper goods from abroad, ending domestic industry due to an inability to compete and creating a massive trade deficit. Foreign-directed export, on the other hand, is perceived to be an enabler of continued neo-imperialistic exploitation of Istkalen in the style of Reitzmag. Similar reasons also have prevented any attempt to allow for foreign ownership of property in the country. The government, however, has signaled that it may be willing to slowly open the economy to international actors in the future, after the economy is deemed to have stabilized from the disastrous effects of the 13th April coup, the "Farcical War," the occupation, and the volcanic winter.

The liberal wing of the People's Association criticized the reforms, arguing that they did not go far enough; in particular, they stated that, in Istkalen, the pressing need was not necessarily to introduce market elements but rather to allow for greater foreign investment, beginning with allowing foreigners to hold property in the country, and thus that the reforms would accomplish little of importance. The communist wing also issued criticism, but from a different angle - it argued that moving the economy towards the market would widen inequalities by enabling corruption and scams like the "exchange-rate-scheme" of this year, while also reducing the scope of the welfare system, by weakining the workers' societies responsible for it, thus leaving many worse off.

In support was the agrarian wing, which, while supporting the market-based reforms, which would give farmers greater autonomy, criticized the continued existence of price controls, arguing that they, under certain circumstances, could adversely affect farmers' profits, and thus cause disruption during a period of already extreme shortage. They were, however, in great support of the protectionist measures, which they believe will protect native farmers from being pushed out of business by less expensive, foreign imports. The left-nationalist wing was similarly supportive due to the measures' protection of native light and craft industry, as well as their promotion of greater autonomy for craftsmen.

The reforms are seen as a general part of a process which seeks to increase Istkalen's international image by pursuing moderate policy open to further reform.

[Istkalen]

Popular Appeal: "Extraordinary state of emergency" declared amid mass protests

Rikkalek's government has been extraordinarily poor in regards to the workers and minorities of Istkalen. It, just as Ikomar's did, has promoted a program in favor of the Kitetois majority and in particular of large businessowners, and has undone the progress made since 1985 in combating inequality in Istkalen. The country, already falling in a downwards spiral, has seen, in particular, unprecedented increases in corruption. At the same time, his government has retained the most ineffective policies of previous periods of ethnic struggle - the refusal to acknowledge the Heltois as an ethnic group (from Kitetois periods of dominance), and the imposition of the labor-partnership on the rest of society (from post-Relemian Heltois periods of dominance), with the ethnicities that have not held political power since the Relemian period (Estonians, Germans, Turks, other ethnicities) often the worst affected - particularly the Germans and the Turks, who are forced to live in specific areas, outside of which they possess virtually no economic rights. A number of popular reforms made after the fall of the monarchy in 1946, from the revolutionary 1985 laws on the family and the position of women in society to the 2005 Social Democratic reforms to industrial organization and organizations of cultural self-determination, which have been unequestioned until now, have been reversed, replaced with nonsensical legislation that is vaguely in the direction of creating a liberal democratic state in Istkalen, but in reality enabling dictatorialism, extravagance on the part of rulers, and further corruption.Worst of all, the government has made an attempt to revise history itself as to justify these policies, seeking primarily to argue that they are the most natural, and thus the best, state of affairs in Istkalen.

Politically, the government is extremely repressive. The level of authoritarianism it has governed with is unprecedented; tens of thousands have been imprisoned for political disloyalty, with many more simply disappearing.

Several politically significant party have seen significant persecution under his regime. The Communist Party, by far the largest party in Istkalen prior to today, has had thousands of its members taken into indefinite custody; most of the members of its Central Committee have either joined his People's Association or have vanished. It has have been prohibited from functioning as a mass party, with significant restrictions on the political expression of its few remaining members. The same has befallen many other refounded political parties, particularly the Patriotic League, which was declared illegal on nonsense pretexts, with virtually all of its remaining members taken into custody.

The situation was not tenable. Mass protest broke out in Istkalen shortly after the promulgation of the law on liberalization, largely over unresolved issues over social policies, ethnic divides, political authoritarianism, and, more directly related, fear of what a liberalized market could do to Istkalen's many craftspeople and smallholders. Heltois, discredited as an ethnicity and derided as foreigners after the overthrow of the Social Democratic state, argued that liberalization laws were a farce meant to draw attention away from their oppression, including the removal of their cultural autonomy, the complete removal of their language from any curriculums in Istkalen, and the stripping of many of their citizenships; the Estonians, on the other hand, were focused primarily on the economic issues caused by it, although many were angered by the law's refusal to deal with the issue of the partnership of labor, whch they have by-and-large rejected in favor of more traditional systems of marriage and cohabitation.

The Kitetois, too, those who stood to benefit most from the act, were angered; while Social Democratic policies greatly increased social mobility, many of them remain smallholders, who feared that the law would allow larger, richer individuals to "crush" them. The national minorities - particularly the Germans and the Turks - were upset for very similar reasons, although they too, on a mass scale, objected to the refusal of the legislation to address continuing ethnic inequalities in regards to power (while the minorities constitute up to a fifth of the population, they are effectively denied political representation, as well as economic rights outside of tightly confined geographical areas) as well as its refusal to further liberalize the restrictive, puritanical social legislation of the Social Democratic period.

All these groups further objected to the existing people's committees and the upcoming elections on the 4th of December, particularly after a number of opposition candidates suddenly found their candidacies voided by the Council of Examination, on the pretext that they "were found to lack the necessary qualifications."

Currently, appointments to the local people's committees have largely been of officials of the new military trained by Reitzmag. While this was initially praised for its efficiency, particularly in bringing stability to the country, oppressive measures taken by these governments - several have allegedly arrested members of the local opposition on unusual offenses, including "public immorality" and "cultural desecration," detaining them for extended periods of time without trial, while at the same time replacing members of local courts with other military officials. The fear is now that the 4th of December elections will serve merely to legitimize this quasi-military government at a local level, especially given that opposition candidates have now been almost entirely eliminated.

Today, hundreds of thousands protestors gathered in the capital, far outnumbering the actual population of the city - an estimated quarter of a million were present, in comparison to the city's population of only about a hundred thousand people, demanding free local elections, the removal of military appointments to people's committees, the end of the system confining the 'national minorities' to specific geographical areas, some degree of cultural self-governance, the reversal of liberalization and the re-instation of certain aspects of the system of industrial organization under the Social Democrats, the dissolution of the People's Association, the full re-legalization of political parties, and the calling of a constituent assembly.

The response of the government has been to declare an "extraordinary state of emergency," giving almost total power to Rikkalek and temporarily dissolving - or rather, prohibiting any activities on the part of - all political parties and mass organizations. Mass assemblies are also temporarily prohibited, if conducted without a permit. The freedom of the press, however, has not been affected, unusual, although it is likely that decrees will be passed on this subject.

"We will tolerate no instability in our Istkalen," stated Rikkalek. "Everyone demands it; the Republic will be constructed, and the country will tread the path towards democracy. We will not give in to the demands of washed-up Social Democrats; we will round them all up if they stand against the ideals of people's power and stability."

Indeed, the police, assisted by the Adminstration, was given orders to disperse the mass protest in the capital, under the pretext that it was "organized by anti-democratic agents, likely connected to elements of the Social Democratic Party," resulting in the arrests of hundreds if not thousands, although this has yet to be confirmed.

Many, particularly within the state-owned media which is allowed to operate, have strongly criticized the action, calling it a "self-coup," an "example of Rikkalek's lust for ultimate power," and far worse. Rikkalek has responded by arguing that the move was necessary "to prevent civil violence."

"The actors of the Social Democrats, of the Northern Radio, of the many other anti-democratic forces in our Istkalen, will not listen to reason," he stated. "They are fundamentally irrational; the only way to deal with them and thus to ensure a genuinely democratic Istkalen is by force. Many of the other democracies of Europe have done similar things in the face of similar threats; the United Duchies, one of the most powerful countries of Europe, has done so. No one attacks them for organizing self-coups or whatever nonsense this is; why are we attacked? We are merely doing what is necessary to maintain people's power and public tranquility in our Istkalen."

Rikkalek later answered many of the concerns of the protestors in a lackluster way, before an enthusiastic crowd whose members were pre-selected by members of the Administration.

"The ethnic grievances I understand were used by the Social Democrats to provoke civil violence are based in fact, provoked by Ikomar and Kerel before him," he claimed egregiously. "We are working to rectify them; but this takes time. Much of this policy has become entrenched; it is difficult to remove. But we are trying the best we can. I ensure all that a system of self-government for the nationalities forming Istkalen will be completed by New Year's Day, as well as that the law on labor-partnerships will be superceded by nationality-based laws upon the creation of the system. Decisions regarding social legislation, in particular the 1985 legislation whose recent repeal I understand was highly controversial, were made primarily in the interest of modernization and for greater autonomy of nationalities. Much of the legislation in question is heavily ideologically based, and in order to modernize we believe that legislation must become more broad-based in nature; at the same time, we would prefer that some of the matters at hand, particularly the marriage laws, be devolved to the national self-governments upon their creation. On the issue of industrial organization, the recent liberalization was a trial, and we are likely to return to the previous system now that we have seen it has already failed. We will, however, not believe or conceded anything to those employed by the Social Democrats to turn these legitimate grievances into weapons as to restore them; we will tolerate no restoration of the Social Democrats or of any of their institutions, and we will hunt down all of those Social Democrats who remain, as they are a threat to the people and to our Istkalen."

He would also promise, later on, that the "extraordinary state of emergency," which only he has the authority to end, would be lifted by mid-December, likely earlier.

"The state of emergency was declared to the massive infiltration of the population on the part of the Social Democrats; once the Social Democrats are eliminated, which, because they have revealed themselves today, will be simple and efficient, our Istkalen may return to normal," he said.

[Istkalen]

People's Daily: A new government in Istkalen

The national-level workers' committees and councils today gathered in the capital in opposition to the declaration of the "extraordinary state of emergency," which they argued was an illegal plot masterminded by the J-TAI, proclaiming themselves the "Congress of the Republic of Istkalen," an electoral college with the right to appoint a new legislative assembly, alongside new Councils of Censors, Examination, and Justice. The "Interim National Assembly" appointed to serve as a legislature, composed of 50 members, appointed a new government that installed a de-facto coalition of the Communists, Agrarians, and banned Patriotic League, with an independent but allegedly "Communist-linked" prime minister, although Rikkalek was allowed to remain as "Head of State," in a position that holds little power, apart from "representing the nation abroad" and "holding mediating power" (the responsibility of mediating between disagreeing institutions of state. This is likely due to the fact that most do not blame him personally for the events in Istkalen, instead appearing to hold to the opinion that he is "a good man trying his best" - that is, a competent and moral politician who has merely found himself manipulated by powerful forces beyond his control.

These actions were given a legal justification by the writ of election issued for those to the workers' committees and councils forming Istkalen's workers' associations, which stated that the elections were for the purpose of "electing authentic representatives of the people;" the members of the Congress argued that, as they were "authentic representatives of the people," they were duty bound to authentically represent the people - that is, act in accordance with the popular mood - which necessarily entailed taking this action. This was quickly declared illegal by the previously existing Council of Justice, which argued that nothing in any existing legislation actually gave the committees and councils the power to undertake the action that they did.

The "Interim National Assembly" ordered immediate elections, based on the model used to elect the original people's committees on the 18th of April and beforehand in occupied territories, to the local people's committees, while at the same time attempting to re-organize the nascent military along "decentralized" lines, as to "facilitate self-defense," ordering members to "temporarily" form "soldiers' councils" to seize power from "Reitzmic lackeys in the upper ranks." Despite the organization possessing virtually no actual legitimacy, and being effectively the result of an attempted coup on the part of the workers' committees and councils - the motions gained wide recognition from the people of Istkalen. People's committees on the lines of those of the 18th of April were indeed established across the country in place of the military-dominated ones appointed by Rikkalek; soldiers across the country did in fact mutiny and establish the "soldiers' councils" named by the "Interim National Assembly."

This success appears largely to do with the continuation of the occupation, although increasing ineffeciencies, as well as alleged corruption in the highest ranks of the bureaucracy and the military, may have played a role. Istkaleners have been promised multiple times that the occupation soon would end; the failure of any authority to deliver on its promises either to withdraw or to remove the occupation has led to significant declines in trust, both in the J-TAI and in the republican government. With the recent and sudden crackdown, many have come to see the present cabinet, although not Rikkalek himself, oddly enough, as an arm of the J-TAI, which exists solely to enable them to indefinitely extend the occupation while at the same time allowing for greater economic imperialization on their part.

"We are really tired of them," said a Ms. Riina Kruus, an important trade unionist in Kirelesile. "They have done only two things of benefit - eliminate the Social Democrats and allow us a new military for self-defense. At the same time, however, they have pillaged our lands, stolen massive wealth, while refusing to lift a finger for the suffering people of our country. They bombed the countryside in the south for little reason, and it has been left scarred; and they have done nothing, even in spite of the early winter we have had this year. Many are impoverished, many are starving, and they have actively sought to inhibit any form of aid to the people. Oh, they have promised to leave, but they still have not. I imagine this whole crisis, perhaps even the liberalization and all the other nonsense that preceded it, is a farce invented by them to remain in power, to say, 'oh, the people in Istkalen are too stupid to be allowed to rule themselves, we must rule them for the benefit of Europe,' so that they may hold on to whatever little stolen wealth they still hold now after the action of the people against them."

"There is no reason for them to say any more. Of course, there is political instability, but it is not as though they have actually done anything against it, and in any case it is an inevitability in our country - an inevitability in any multiethnic country, an inevitability in any country transitioning away from authoritarianism and extremism...they cannot stop that, they are not gods to do so, although I imagine that they believe they are, in their extreme conceit."

The "Interim National Assembly" has adopted a legislative agenda primarily based on restoring what they believe to have been the goals of the 18th of April; they have ordered the abolition of the workers' societies, and have passed a general law effectively turning the associations into very large societies on the model of Kerel's "state occupational unions," with each laborer having specific duties to the association in return for certain rights, but have promised that there will be no attempt to interfere with private ownership of property. Coordinating the associations, on the unfulfilled model of the Ministry of Public Distribution, is the newly appointed Economic Coordination Council, composed of twenty "experts."

The 1985 laws on the family, marriage, and labor-partnerships have been restored in their entirety, lifting reqirements that individuals enter one or another to possess economic or political rights; a committee for establishing national societies, in line with demands for greater cultural autonomy, particularly in regards to the aforementioned family laws, and later meant to mediate and unify them in the case of ethnic conflict, has been appointed. Elections to a genuine National Assembly, which will serve doubly as a constituent assembly, are scheduled for the 1st of March.

In contrast to these radical reforms, however, a statement was made, conveying the idea that Istkalen's new government would continue policies of non-alignment and openness to the rest of the world, and that no repression or radical change would take place under its government. It highlighted the legality of the takeover, as well as the widespread popular support for it.

Rikkalek himself is expected to make a statement on what has effectively been his overthrow.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Polling on important issues

Polling was recently conducted on a number of important issues, returning certain unusual results to be analyzed soon.

1. Do you believe yourself to be better off than under the Social Democrats?

• YES: 5,7%
• NO: 86,3%
• NO CHANGE: 8,0%

2. Do you believe that the country is moving in a generally positive direction?

• YES: 22,3%
• NO: 75,2%
• NO OPINION: 2,5%

3. Are you in support of the economic measures taken by the Malk government?

• YES: 71,8%
• NO: 10,1%
• NO OPINION: 18,1%

4. Did you support the economic liberalization laws of the former Rikkalek government?

• YES: 22,9%
• NO: 58,1%
• NO OPINION: 19,0%

5. With what grouping do you most identify with: vocation, ethnicity/nationality, community, the country as a whole, or other?

• VOCATION: 19,1%
• ETHNICITY/NATIONALITY: 23,4%
• COMMUNITY: 0,8%
• COUNTRY: 36,6%
• OTHER: 20,1%

6. Do you feel that there should be greater autonomy for ethnicities and nationalities in Istkalen?

• YES: 37,1%
• NO: 10,7%
• NO OPINION: 52,2%

7. Does a separate Heltois nationality or ethnicity exist?

• YES: 48,2%
• NO: 51,1%
• NO OPINION: 0,7%

8. Would you support a restoration of the Social Democratic regime, if it did not entail war?

• YES: 50,3%
• NO: 49,6%
• NO OPINION: 0,1%

9, Do you agree with the following statement: "there was more good about the Social Democratic regime than bad."

• YES: 55,2%
• NO: 34,7%
• NO OPINION: 10,1%

10. Would you support the creation of a liberal democracy in Istkalen?

• YES: 22,3%
• NO: 58,5%
• NO OPINION: 19,2%

11. Would you support military rule of Istkalen?

• YES: 32,1%
• NO: 65,8%
• NO OPINION: 2,1%

12. Would you support the implementation of a technocracy or meritocracy in Istkalen?

• YES: 51,2%
• NO: 32,7%
• NO OPINION: 17,1%

13. Would you support the implementation of a limited democracy, of the type of Melitek and Tiraki implemented?

• YES: 58,1%
• NO: 22,7%
• NO OPINION: 19,2%

14. Do you support the institution of the labor partnership?

• YES: 87,2%
• NO: 11,8%
• NO OPINION: 1,0%

15. Do you support current laws regarding the status of partnerships and children?

• YES: 85,6%
• NO: 12,3%
• NO OPINION: 2,1%

16. Are you in support of the J-TAI?

• YES: 8,2%
• NO: 91,3%
• NO OPINION: 0,5%

17. What is your view of Reitzmag?

• POSITIVE: 10,6%
• NEGATIVE: 43,4%
• NEUTRAL: 44,0%

18. What is your view of Vayinaod?

• POSITIVE: 9,9%
• NEGATIVE: 49,5%
• NEUTRAL: 40,6%

19. Do you support the non-aligned foreign policy of Istkalen?

• YES: 56,2%
• NO: 43,7%
• NO OPINION: 0,1%

20. Did you support the actions that the government took during the crisis in the Red Strait/Strait of Adventuranza?

• YES: 40,2%
• NO: 41,3%
• NO OPINION: 18,5%

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service; Local elections signal turn towards "national" Social Democracy without general insanity that characterized end; new PM outlines state policy

The local elections scheduled for today, radically changed by the collapse of the Rikkalek government and the election of the new Malk government, allowing thousands of candidates who had previously been disqualified for politically motivated reasons to run, resulted in an unexpected for the ruling Communist-Agrarian coalition, while at the same time significantly increasing the number of "technocrats" - non-partisan experts - in government. While most only had a short time to campaign, many benefited from the previously established network of the parties and organizations which backed them, which had continued to operate, as well as from the widespread popularity of the newly installed government, particularly in its rejection of liberalism and its argument that Istkalen should conduct itself as it wishes, albeit peacefully, rather than being beholden to foreign interests and powers. The vast majority of winning candidates, regardless of political affiliation, ran on platforms promising a return to the past, as the Malk government has tried to deliver on - nationalism, stability, self-suffiiency, and a partial return to Social Democratic forms of industrial and social organization, while retaining the advances made in terms of human rights.

The strong support in particular for the named "national" Social Democratic policies reflects a new trend in Istkalener politics. While most in Istkalen were and remain opposed to the extreme totalitarianism and militarism with which it operated at its very end, the vast majority feel that, apart from that short period, life under them was generally better than it is now.

"Under them, it was all better. There were no queues, no shortages, we had everything. People had money, real money; they even received it from the state. There was none of this ethnic conflict, under them it seemed as though everyone was equal. I hated them at the time - in my eyes, the social change, the abolition of the family, the labor-partnership, the childcare and dwelling associations - it was all too much, too overwhelming - but now, what with the endless declarations - at one point, my ethnicity was declared nonexistent, at another the state forcibly arranged a marriage between me and someone I had never known, at another I was forced to change my name, only to have to change it back two weeks later - and then there was the constant reorganizations, I've lost track of the number of different ministers we've had, the number of times ministries and governments and so much more have been renamed, the constant elections - I'm sorry, I've gone on a tangent, anyways, it seems much calmer, much more peaceful, than now. Then, I did not have to worry about the state reaching its hands into my life, so long as I didn't criticize the government. Until now - and I do not even know whether it will last - I had to worry both about the various nonsensical proclamations of the government and refraining from criticizing the government. And no one has any money anymore, now, corruption is everywhere - and I thought it was high under the Social Democrats! - there are constant shortages, until but a few months ago the radio constantly going on about demonic Vards, it seems everything has gone to pieces. I would give my life to see the Social Democrats back, so awful is this existence," said an individual in Kirelesile who otherwise wishes to remain anonymous.

Another, a woman in Liresile, reflected similar sentiments: "Right now, everything is chaos. I don't know what is true and what is not true, one minute they will be saying that everything is lies, and the next that everything is true; I don't even feel as though I really know who I am anymore. They keep changing my legal ethnicity, they keep changing my name, they even regulate who and who not I can share friendships or relationships with. They want to change me, I feel, and I don't think I can resist much longer. There's the economy, too, shortages everywhere, wages collapsed... At least under the Social Democrats, I was not losing myself; at least under them, you could tell when the government was lying to you. At least under them there was not all this erratic behavior. At least under them, I, we, were assured of work and bread, of a roof over our heads and genuine wages. Of course, there was the war, and of course no one liked that, it was more insane than what we have even now, but without that - paradise!"

In essence, in light of the instability of Istkalen under occupation, particularly in regards to the erratic behavior of the politicians leading the country, in addition to widespread shortages of basic consumer goods and the collapse of real wages, Istkaleners have become increasingly unsatisfied with the Republic, which they have come to view as alien, and have turned back towards Social Democratic policy, minus the general insanity at the end which they largely blame for thrusting the country into its present situation. They have chosen, now, to vote against the perceived liberalism and Western-ness of the old governments of Istkalen and for a more authentic and stable "Social Democracy."

Upon the finalization of the election results, Prime Minister Kaisa Malk gave a statement reflecting the popular mood, promising an 'acknowledgement of reality," in essence continuing Rikkalek's policies but without his desire to make concessions to 'the West' or to separate Istkalen from its Social Democratic past.

"We're all tired," she said, "of the past. Or really, hearing about it. We are told that the past was this, then that; so many different things, never the same, never even resembling each other. We are told that the reality that we live is a lie; that we must return to the past to be truly fulfilled. We have been forced to give so much away, constantly, in this vain pursuit of return to some unknown past - to change our names, to cut off our ties with those most dear to us, while being forced to forge new ones with people we, at best, barely know, and, at worst, utterly despise. And then again, it changes, and we are told that the beautiful past we were told of but a few weeks ago was a lie, and that we must now return to yet another past, perhaps imagined, perhaps not. This again, and again, and again, until we feel as though we are forgetting who we really are, as though we have gone insane. Only in October did we see anything change, and even then slowly and barely."

"Today, we together have firmly rejected this. We have thrown out those who scream endlessly about the mythical past, about so many different realities; we look, now, firmly to the future. There is no point in endlessly discussing whether I am Estonian, or Kitetois, or Heltois; whether Minister Demirkol is a Turk or Tatar, whether the Heltois nationality exists or not, whether the labor-partnership, or the dwelling or the childcare associations have any historical basis, whether the family should be restored. I speak Estonian, I believe myself to be Estonian, as do the overwhelming majority of people who share my mothertongue; the same goes with those who speak Turkish, German, Kitetois, even Helts. Most people are a member of a labor-partnership; most people are, too, are members of a dwelling association; most children are raised in the context of the childcare associations. It matters not - will never matter - whether this has been true for 'only' the past 18, 40, 100, 200 years; these are facts that the Republic must finally accept, and it will accept it without delay. There will be no more endless theorizing on this subject, there will be no longer any attempts at social engineering; the state must and will accept the reality that the people live."

"And now, let us turn from the present to the future. In Istkalen, very little is perfect - everyone can recognize that. The country was previously thought of as a conglemoration of multiple ethnicities, and that was indeed what it was. We must attempt to overcome this idea. I am not speaking of forcing people to abandon their ethnicities - no. What I am speaking of is strengthening national solidarity above ethnic solidarity. We should be proud of who we are - but we should also be proud of Istkalen, of being Istkaleners. My government will seek to develop a unified national curriculum for students, making adjustments as to allow for instructions in different languages and in the educational contexts of different cultures, that will seek to cultivate in each child a love for the country; it will also seek to facilitate interaction between youths of different ethnicities by sponsoring a state-run youth organization, as well as by running cultural activities, particularly extracurricular classes and activities including youth clubs and sports, that will seek to bring together youths regardless of their identity. Most importantly, we will seek to develop a national art, interpretable by all, sponsoring artists - a state-run renaissance of sorts, you could say."

"Economically, everyone can accept that the country is doing very poorly - a result of two barriers - an excessive opposition to machinery, and a desire to imitate the West. What those who run around claiming to represent craftsmen, without having even been elected to do so or there having been even a single indication on the part of the craftsmen that they do, must learn is that machinery in itself is not bad - it only becomes malignant when people are made to serve it, as in the West, rather than the other way around. Crafts are not made useless by the introduction of machinery to them; on the contrary, they are expanded, made more useful. With a machine, one can do much more, with speed and detail; the craftsperson is free to do more, rather than being enslaved. Our country proved this first in the 1900s, and was then left behind; what I hope to do is to let us prove it again - that the craftsman, that humanity, can master the machine and make it far more effective than it could have been when it was man's master. Other so-called 'modernizations,' however, may not be as innovative or actually modernizing. There is a trend among some to suggest that in order to advance, Istkalen must imitate the West and its economic policies, its system of industrial organization. This is untrue; imitation of the West is not appropriate in this country, where we each have duties to each other, where we view each other as people rather than as cogs in a machine. Imitation of the West is the introduction of inhumanity. Inhumanity is conflict; conflict does not build, it tears apart. Oh, the West seems developed, but in reality they have torn up something, somewhere, for all that development. They are destroyers more than creators; always remember that. What we want in Istkalen is development without destruction; true creation. We will not introduce the West and its systems; we will pay no heed to what they say. We will walk our own path, based on the path of the craftspeople and the peasant-smallholders of our nation; the path of humanity, of expression and creation."

"To speak more practically, however, there are many immediate issues, far more important than development. We are facing acute shortages even of foodstuffs; there is no raw material to be used to create. The state will seek to purchase all that is necessary, regardless of the cost; it will seek to supply every industrial worker, every craftsperson, every peasant, in this country with the goods they need to continue their work. It will seek to supply every sick person with the medication they need; every person, the food that they need to survive. The Ministry of Public Distribution, with which the Economic Coordination Committee has been merged, will be tasked with gauging the amount to purchase, with making the purchases, and with distributing what is purchased through its established network of warehouses and storehouses."

"Now, politically, there is an elephant in the room, and everyone knows what it is. We would like this elephant to leave immediately; it is making people uncomfortable with its size and stench. If it does not leave, we will be forced to remove it. You cannot force on a people a system alien to theirs, you cannot govern a people without understanding them. You certainly cannot steal from a people and expect of them gratitude! If you would like to know why you have been so poorly received, look at yourselves in the mirror. You have done virtually nothing of good for the people of this country; to us all, you are like a mass of tapeworms, parasites who will feed off of us all until we perish, at which point you and your offspring will slither from the barren lands you have created in search of a new victim. Go, go now! Your presence is unbearable; if you stay any longer, you will face the consequences."

"Now, if we are to ignore the elephant, there are still a number of issues. To many, it is tempting to install a regular democracy in this country - even I believed in such a thing for quite a while - but it is impossible. The country does not possess the requisite social structures to do so; in any case, we have already seen what even introducing part of it would do - that is, cause chaos as various crazed people who believe they have been chosen by whatever entities they choose to believe in fight over the right to govern the country. The oppositional system is too unstable for Istkalen; at the same people, we all are tired of politics. We are sick of it; it has consumed our lives since the beginning of the occupation. I do not deny that the people should have power in this country - they should and must, otherwise we risk another form of insanity which might be far worse - but they should do so through the institutions they participate in as an ordinary person - the communities in which they live, their field of work. The workers' associations and the people's committees have proven themselves able to accomplish this - unlike the national level government, which convulses crazily on a regular basis, they have retained, for the most part, their heads and the ability to reason and think rationally, while at the same time adequately representing the people. Any Republic in Istkalen must be organized based on them, not on any other institution. There will be no assemblies, no whatever, that does not derive its power from them, that is not accountable to them, in the new Istkalen."

"There is also the question of the political parties. It is good to have a place to discuss, to promote, ideas in a rational way; the issue is that they, with a few exceptions, have not behaved rationally. There is a real argument for banning them, as Kerel and Tiraki before him did; there is also the real possibility of forming a one-party state, as Melitek did, as a solution. The people of Istkalen want nothing to do with organized politics; these two paths seem the only solution. We are likely to put the issue to a popular consultation."

"Socially, in Istkalen, there are few issues. I have seen little wrong with the present course; all that is really necessary is an acknowledgement of reality on this issue. We will work to safeguard the present social and cultural institutions of Istkalen. The only major problem is that of ethnic control on certain social issues; the committee of nationalities is preparing a law on this, which will not, by my direct instuctions, not create national-level "ethnic societies" - these are divisive and will only cause further conflict - but will likely do something on the lines of creating municipality-level ethnic councils which might have control over certain aspects of criminal law, although they will be secular in nature - there will be absolutely no religious courts in Istkalen, that is a path to disaster."

"The people have spoken, and they demand normality, stability, and the acknowledgement of reality. What my government will try to deliver, above all, is all these three, so that Istkalen may bloom and prosper an independent and free nation."

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: An open letter from a Northerner

For the longest time, we of the North felt as though we were doomed. Our country was forced, by elites high on crack cocaine, into a war virtually no one wanted; we then saw ourselves plunged into an occupation, ruled by an authority that seemed not to care about how we actually lived but rather about what it wanted to force on us. They claimed to want to make the country more stable, to make it more sane, and indeed we saw some virtue in this - but in the end we saw this less as an actual attempt to help the country than to forcibly Westernize it. The Republic gave us a five-branch system; they, however, imposed on us a three-branch system. That was the first sign.

There is an alleged constitution that has been circulating, written in almost archaic language - a constitution that it is said they would force on us. It is a constitution which ignores Istkalener history to impose a constitution that seems to be directly taken from some other country - perhaps it was proposed by some radical Reitzmics in some long forgotten past. Istkalen, while not until relatively recently united, has had a long constitutional history, a rich tradition, if flawed, to draw from; the constitution that they seemed to want to impose on us, however, ignored all of this for what we believed to be Reitzmic constitutional history, Reitzmic culture. That was the second sign.

There were rumors of much worse. Of looting and raping in the countryside; of miners shot to death for the crime of protesting against the seizures. We did not want to believe it; but still, we were fearful. So many were coming forwards and saying these things, it all seemed terribly true to us all. We were fearful that it would happen to us; that the soldiers that seemed to stand at every corner would suddenly thrust themselves upon us, killing and stealing and defiling.

It was around that time that we remember the radio beginning to shout in the language of nationalism; it told us that the Vards were animals, the Reitzmics schemers. It fit with what we were hearing, but it also gave us hope - it told us that we would prevail, that we were better, that we were a chosen people, that we were protected and blessed, that the Vards and the Reitzmics would eventually fall away under our might, if we chose to rebel. It fit with what we were hearing, it assuaged us. We thought that we would not stand beneath them; the radio told us that we could, and in that assurance we were happy.

People did struggle; we sought to protect ourselves. We took hope in nonsense because it was all we had. We wore the cardboard boxes, we wore the tomato paste, we danced and screamed in the streets, because it was all the only power that we felt we could have. We had no weapons, no credible voice abroad; we had only that, we felt. We did not care about how we looked, we did not care about the message that was sent; we only reveled in the power we felt this nonsense gave us.

Things seemed relatively hopeful, then. We were still governed by the People's Committees, by extension our Republic; the occupiers did not interfere with the functioning of the indigenous police. Kerel, then Ikomar; they held genuine power, and seemed to be working as hard as they could to preserve our independence. We believed that, together, led by the Republic and fighting as we did, we would quickly prevail and be freed, and then return to our ordinary lives.

Then came the 26th of May, the beginning of hell, when fear overcame us and the country fell truly into darkness. The Reitzmic military arrested virtually all of Istkalen's politicians, major technocrats, and prominent social or cultural figures, all of whom had previously sat on the National Assembly. 739 people gone that day, artists, scientists, activists, journalists, lawyers, doctors; economists and sociologists, agronomists and biologists; even simple farmers, craftspeople, and industrial workers. THey remain in prison, six months later; everyone awaits their release. The country was left headless with their arrests. For those abroad: imagine if your parliament, along with the heads of your major trade and employers' unions, all of your most prominent artists, most of the leaders and deputy leaders of your political parties, your major religious leaders, the most educated of your country, the most prominent of your professors and scientists. and the directors and most prominent journalists and columnists of your major news media were suddenly taken into custody, disappearing seemingly off the face of the Earth. All replaced with an opaque, incompetent, foreign entity which does not understand how you live your lives, or for that matter anything about your history, all the while stealing from your people, looting your country's national resources and selling them for low prices, while you yourself feel completely helpless, terrified beyond all words.

Oh, yes, there might have been others. Not many, however; most were dead, killed by the Social Democrats, extremely ill from 18 years of inhumane detention and then death marches during the short war, or simply discredited for being collaborators. We had very few capable people at the time; and in an instant they had been carried off. Those who were left went underground; they were terrified that they, too, would be arrested. We had essentially been beheaded by the Reitzmic military.

There is no country in the world which I think would react rationally or sanely to such an event. You all lambast us for our behavior; but I ask you, would any of you have responded any differently, given the situation?

The country colllapsed into insanity; various people tried to form new governments. We ourselves took faith in the radio; we intensified what we had done. It made us feel powerful, as I said, made us feel as though we had a chance. What other option did we have, anyways, our political leadership arrested? The Head of State was the only who was still free, and he was in Spain.

We saw indirect elections in June, and our hope rose again, but not much. We expected other arrests soon; we continued as we did, trying to get them out. We had no faith in the new National Assembly; we had faith only in ourselves, in the radio and the power we thought we had.

Hope began to pick up again weeks later; the central state was trying to calm things down. It said that demonstrating our sanity was the only way to oust the J-TAI, to liberate ourselves. It was at that time that some were becoming well enough to speak and to lead - Koline, Isteresskemar, even the current prime minister. We listened again, we obeyed them again, acting against those who did not, who went and supported the occupiers. But there were issues; it was then that the erraticism also began. Changing of names, deportation, renaming of institutions, declarations of the nonexistence or existence of whole peoples - this began in that time. We were hearing news of plans for liberal democracy, for a more liberal economy. WE were scared; things were changing so quickly, suddenly, erratically, and not in a direction which benefited us.

We continued as we did, dancing and screaming. Dancing and screaming was all that we could do, as I wrote.

Then came the edicts of Koline,and that was the end. The woman was obviously going senile, so old and ill she still was; it was intolerable.

The committees revolted, and it was then that we saw the crux of our power. We thought our dancing, our screaming, our chanting and our wearing of cardboard boxes, was doing something; that now, we were seeing its fruits. We pledged loyalty to the new Imperial Realm of Istkalen because we thought it would accomplish something.

The state arrested many of us, and we rose up again. We thought they had turned on us, and we turned ever further to our dancing and our screaming and now, violence, with our bare hands. EVerything and everyone was a plot of the J-TAI to make our nation a blank slate on which they would create a new, Western nation, an imitation of their nations, just as they had had Kerel and Sepp sign blank papers on which they later wrote the terms of surrender according to their own whims.

But things were calming down by then; the EU was invited into our country, and the Reitzmics seemed to be withdrawing. The state had told us again that we were only hampering things, that we were making ourselves look insane, that we would be the ones responsible for the down fall of our nation. They used Kerel's last words as Head of State against us; they said that we had become the unthinking animals, enslaved to the radio. By then it had stopped operating, too, so there was nothing to convince us otherwise.

Slowly, we returned to sanity, and saw what we had done. We were ashamed. Who would not feel ashamed. To dance like that, frothing at the mouth, to scream and throw tomatoes; that is the behavior of the lunatics in the asylums. We are educated people, we were rational people; and yet we were reduced to that. We harmed so much, we brought the greatest shame on our nation.

But what we did was out of fear, not insanity; it was done because we were helpless. Like the terminally ill, we had exhausted all of our other options, and we had no choice but to turn to the most insane of things. The ill turn to homeopathy and naturopathy and traditional medicine, herbs and so on; we turned to religion, to curses and incantations and chanting.

We are a pitiable people, a people who indeed should be ashamed of what we have done; but do not mock us for what we have done. All we did was demonstrate to the rest of the world how humanity can be corrupted by, what humanity can become, in the face of unimaginable despair and hopelessness.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Malk, Rikkalek assure citizens that government will not change property law

In the Istkalener community, there has been significant worry about the actions that the government of Kaisa Malk may take, particularly as it has retained legislative power as a result of the continuing state of emergency. Most centered around two issues in particular: that of socialization, and that of foreign ownership.

Socialization, or rather collectivization, remains controversial in Istkalen. Most are deeply defensive of their property; any form of centralization or agglomoration, even through the forming of collectives, is seen largely as an effort to impose power on the people. The decentralized nature of production in Istkalen is doubly seen as deeply wedded to the concept of the nation - it is, to the vast majority of the population, a symbol of Istkalen's rejection of Western principles and its continued independence. Centralization of any sort, as such, is seen as selling the country's soul to the West - particularly unpopular in these times, when nationalist sentiments remain high as a result of the unpopularity of the occupation. With Istkalen now being governed by a coalition of the Agrarians, Communists, and Patriotic League, and particularly because the Communists hold nearly half of all cabinet positions, although not even a plurality, many are now fearful that they will be forced to give up their autonomy and property to a central body, as they were made to under Communist rule between 1985 and 1991.

The negative experience of the 1991-1996 period. are worried that, yes, property will be collectivized; but also that the Communists, as they did between 1991 and 1996, will accept, within these bounds, a more open market, perhaps similar to that of non-essential enterprises in the UNSR. Previously, this resulted in societal chaos, particularly because of the extent to which personal life pervades work in Istkalen, and the rapid decline of Istkalen's traditional manufacturing for new enterprises which, while democratically governed, were modeled on Western ideas of industry, negatively affecting many; there is thus little desire to repeat it.

There is also significant concern over whether the new government will enable foreign ownership. There was recently an announcement in a Vardic newspaper that has been popularly misinterpreted as the government selling parts of Istkalen's transport system to Vardic interests; while this is not entirely true - it appears merely that Vards will have a level of control, although not very much, over a joint and completely new rail system, with confusion likely arising due to the unfamiliarity of the average Istkalener with the concept of shareholding - it has provoked significant fear that the doors to foreign ownership of property in the country, presently banned completely, will be opened, allowing foreigners to control Istkalener land and introduce Western forms of industry that are likely to outcompete and force Istkalener enterprises out of business.

In response, Prime Minister Kaisa Malk, joined by Head of State Vistek Rikkalek, appeared before the public, stating that neither have or have every had any intention of allowing for foreign ownership of property in Istkalen, as well as arguing that the government would make no attempt at collectivization, and would instead pursue the socialization advanced previously by Rikkalek, where the economy serves the public but is not centrally controlled.

"We have no intention of allowing anyone foreign to own property in our Istkalen," said Malk. "Our country is ours and no one else's; we will not allow our country to be sold to those abroad who only desire it as for their own profit. They can say whatever they want, they can lie, they can throw their tantrums, but we will not let them buy up our country and then sack it. The property laws will not be changed; they are sacrosanct."

Rikkalek himself commented that he would veto any attempt to allow for foreign ownership.

"I am, have always been, strongly opposed to foreign control of our Istkalen. It is, above all, a unique country; we can still claim to be the only in the world who have broken, and continue to break, from Western industrialization for our own indigenous path. We are the only country in the world where we can truly say that there are no factories on the Western model; the last fortress which malevolent consumption and consumerism has not yet taken; the only country where we can say proudly that humanity, rather than the cold machine, has triumphed. Yes, things here are not as efficient as elsewhere; but we can produce more than enough for ourselves already - is that not enough? Must we really imitate the West, where they produce on and on and on, in wasteful excess? There is none of us who would say yes. We will maintain our independent course, and we will let no one force us onto a different path, onto their path. If we were to invite them in - what would happen? They would bring their machines, their excess, here; they would eat up our land and drown us all; and then we would be lost. It is my responsibility as the highest representative of the Istkalener people to preserve them, their independence, their ways; I will not, I will never, let this fate befall them. Any attempt will be struck down immediately, if not by the cabinet then by me. Yes, ther eare things to be learned from their ways, things of efficiency and advancement; but not their excess, not their factories - nothing of that hellish society they have allowed to be built around themselves."

"On the topic of collectivization," said Malk later, "there is no intention to begin it. Collectivization has failed in this country, it is not appropriate for it. We do not, will never, pursue such failed policies again and again; that is insanity. We, the Agrarian Union, and the Patriotic League have agreed to preserve the current system, of decentralization, but couple it with a socialization - not a direct socialization, but a socialization, so to speak, of the mind. The thinking is that we do not wish to curb independence; merely greed."

Rikkalek continued on this, elaborating on his and the government's idea of socialization.

"The idea of this socialization of the mind, as I have stated previously, has something that has always facinated me. Once I believed in the dream of collectivization; but that simply does not work, has never worked, here. We do not have the culture or even any reason for doing so. In our country we already have the institutions and the beliefs needed to create a more equal society, a better society; ll that is necessary is to strengthen and modernize them, to socialize the economy not by centralizing but rather by eliminating greed, by putting it, through new values, at the service of the nation, of the people, rather than at that of a few individuals."

The statements have largely assuaged worries in Istkalen, although there remains concern over possible reprisals, whether by Vardic forces or by the J-TAI, for maintaining the property laws, which might hamper their economic interests. Malk answered this shortly and informally later in the day, stating simply,

"They will not be able to get away with it."

Rikkalek appears to hold similar views, having been heard saying, earlier today, on the same subject that,

"If they try this they will be doomed, it is impossible, they will not succeed,"

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: We speak with Mihkel Laar and Hendrik Kõiv

In mid-2000, the collective "Meraset" was founded by college students, trying to gather interested and trustworthy individuals for the independent development of a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol, the purpose being to allow individuals to share politically "offensive" (that is, subject to censorship) documents, as well as, secondarily, others of a less pure nature, including the sharing of copyrighted materials (copyright law in Istkalen has since been so liberalized that it is effectively meaningless in the country). While not having pioneered the idea of such a protocol, and certainly not being the first to have developed such a protocol, theirs merely being an separate, indigenous effort, they have become the face, albeit unknown abroad, of Istkalen's small but growing tech industry.

"Meraset" has since expanded significantly to become a much larger collective, focused primarily on the promotion of free and open-source software and hardware, digital privacy, and the decentralization of the internet. Different sub-units of it are responsible for a number of diverse projects, including a unified protocol meant to allow for interoperability between participating social websites - that is, users on one would be able to access and interact with those on others, apparently termed federation, as well as a concept, according to Meraset itself termed alternatively a "distributed data store" or a "decentralized data store," in which individuals would be able to anonymously "upload" data to a network, where it would be stored, in fragments, across a number of users; with a key of sorts, anyone would be able to then request this information, at which point it would be retrieved from these fragments; no central server would be involved in the whole of the process. The sub-unit responsible for development of this project has stressed that the idea is not their own; that they are merely creating an implementation of it.

The collective, while less-known for this, also engages in contracting work within Istkalen, through which it makes most of its income.

Meraset is currently led by Mihkel Laar and Hendrik Kõiv, who joined the collective in 2016. Our journalist Kestalas Milresle spoke with the two today on the their work, their opinions on the general trend of the internet, and on the situation in Istkalen. The following is a truncated form of the interview conducted.

---

KM: Good day. I've already introduced myself, I don't see any point in doing it again for anyone's gratification; thus, let's get directly into it. What do you feel is the impact, the scope, of Meraset? It is not a very well-known organization, and its work seems to be very...technical in nature.

ML: We have accomplished very little that is visible. Most of what we have done, apart from some side-projects of some members , everything has been very back-end - technical, as you said - in nature. The collective developed, back in the early 2000s, a - I don't know how to describe it, it's near impossible to do so in lay terms - but it, you could say maps a network like the one we're relatively well-known for wanting to create, shows where bits of files are stored, and thus allows for them to be retrieved if requested - a terrible explanation, of course, please excuse me. Moving on, there are also some who have developed firmware - who notices that among the public? On top of that I don't believe it has been used apart from what some within Meraset and perhaps a few others in Istkalen with an interest with us sell. We have developed protocols and frameworks for social networks and messaging, to decentralize them - but again, who notices this? I believe these might have had some greater international application, but they remain very niche in terms of their usage, and even then those who actually use the applications using them probably would not even notice them. If anything, what impact we have is largely symbolic - what we have been recognized for, what most people know us even vaguely for, is our purpose, our stand against the prevailing trends, and that in itself is powerful and important.

HK. I'm not as inclined to dismiss our work as unrecognized as Mihkel is; I think, within certain communities, as specific as they may be, they are well known. There are many businesses abroad which are successful but are not recognized, and I feel that, particularly considering the focus of our work, we might belong to that same category. I think our work is also a bit more used than he thinks; there are indeed examples of a number of projects, although I am not sure as to how widely used they are, which do utilize much of what we have developed. This in itself is a success of sorts. While I don't really want to comment on our international scope - I'm not terribly well informed in that area - I believe we have, at least within our own country, accomplished quite a bit. And again, speaking about all of this, we forget about the first thing Meraset actually did, which is in fact widely used, at the very least within Istkalen, even if it is only by dint of having come to light during a time so suppressed than alternatives could not have actually entered our country.

KM: Do you think Meraset, or really Istkalen's tech industry as a whole, has a chance to expand - to become more well known?

ML: I think Meraset is in the best position it could be without renouncing its own principles; we might try to be a bit better at marketing, but even that would largely be to manufacturers within Istkalen and perhaps sympathizing individuals and groupings abroad, and would not terribly affect where we are. In regards to Istkalen's tech industry - that is far more interesting. Meraset itself, despite its reputation within those communities that know it, is relatively specialized - we don't do really flashy things, to put it concisely - but there is a lot of potential for a significant portion of the rest of tech in Istkalen. There are some up and coming collectives which are working on additive manufacturing - I know, I know, a fad, a gimmick, but for genuine industrial applications I think, if the time is taken to properly develop it, there is significant possibility - in regards to the making of machinery, particularly such things as scientific equipment which Istkalen is in shortage of; there are a few hurdles they must pass, and they themselves realize that it won't ever be a full replacement, only an aid at best, but I have faith in them; there are others working on modernizing agriculture, taking traditional techniques and merging them with the best of the technology that we have now; it's all extremely interesting and extremely exciting; the only real issue is that our country has such a horrible reputation that I doubt that they will ever be heard anywhere else.

HK: As I said before, I'm more optimistic about Meraset. I think, in coming years, people will start realizing the dangers of centralization, the dangers of the current trends, of companies like Ogo and others, and they will turn to alternatives. We will not provide them, of course, but we will almost certainly play a role in providing the technology behind them. Look at our data storage project - that could completely remake the web, make centralization not merely more difficult but also less profitable. I think we will be known; that we will see significant expansion in regards to our scope. As for tech in Istkalen - I agree completely with Mihkel. There are a lot of innovative projects, even now, born not of chance but because of the unique conditions of our nation - that it has always sought to combine its own culture, its own view towards production, with industrialization - and that, because of this, are unique and likely to have a use elsewhere, likely to be the first in a new age to come.

KM: How is Meraset unique among the companies - and of course, Meraset nor any other organization in Istkalen is really a company, but it is the closest comparison - of Europe? How is it uniquely Istkalener, let's put it that way?

ML: In comparison to the companies? By nature of its completely different aims and project. In comparison, however, to the foundations of Europe, which struggle for the same things we do? That is a more interesting question. I think we are actually fundamentally the same - we have the same aims, again, almost the same internal organization, in fact; we only differ in that we are a bit more secretive (laughs). That's not a weakness - it brings us together. Nationality doesn't divide us, shouldn't divide us; we all should be united against those who seek to mave a monopoly on information. In terms of being uniquely Istkalener - the work ethic within is a bit different. In Europe they might see it, to an extent, as volunteer work; here, as most do, we don't see it as volunteering so much as it is an obligation, something to stop it all from falling apart. There's also the fact that we aren't actually a legal organization, but there's so little difference in that regard it's hardly worth mentioning.

HK: Absolutely. But I'd also like to add that part of the Istkalener nature of our company, in regards to its organization and culture, is how loosely organized it is. People can engage in all sorts of projects, they aren't assigned to any, using the resources of the collective; they must contribute, of course, but they also receive. It's a far freer environment than I imagine exists elsewhere, and that has contributed to the amount that we have been, and will be, able to do.

KM: What is Meraset focusing on now?

ML: A lot of Meraset's resources right now are being directed towards our project regarding the storage of data; we see what is happening in Strathae, what is happening with Ogo and in particular its increased links with other tech companies in Europe, and we find it necessary to try to find a good solution to them - to find a way for individuals to be able to distribute information easily and anonymously, in a way that is impossible for any state or business to censor. It's still very much a work in progress, and has been for years; but we're confident that we will have a finished product soon enough.

HK: Mihkel is correct, but don't think that that's the only thing the collective is doing; we're still working on much else. More resources are being dedicated to it, yes; but not all. It isn't a war effort, so to speak.

KM: Firstly, the rest of the world. In the Duchies -

HK: I already know where this is going. It is unethical and borderline immoral. That a company which openly admits that its model is based on collecting as much information about individuals as is possible as to show them a version of the truth that they want to see, perhaps a version of the truth that is in fact a collection of falsehoods, is terrifying. They have, in their own country, and in many others as well, a near-total monopoly on information itself; it does not matter what they say about individuals being able to choose other services, by nature of their dominance they are able to manipulate information without challenge. They are what I feel we are opposed to - some force, motivated solely by the desire for profit, that seeks not actually to provide information to anyone, but instead to change and hide it for their own purposes.

ML: I think Hendrik has summed up most of it, but it absolutely must be highlighted that this is a company that openly and egregiously collects sensitive information, including race and sexual orientation. It is both disgusting and terrifying.

KM: Alternatives?

HK: Many. I imagine the Duxburians have troves of them; I know that in Istkalen there is another collective, "Kalet Maleter," focused on that issue - offering more privacy-focused browsing and productivity options, but they have had a number of issues with infrastructure; I imagine that they will be fixed with the end of the occupation, but even then...

ML: I don't think any alternatives in Istkalen are workable., but as Hendrik stated, there are a numberto be found in a number of other countries, the Duxburian Union I imagine in particular. I don't keep terribly good track of this issue, neither of us do, as far as I know; there are others who do that.

KM: Moving on, what do you believe the future holds for the internet - I'm sorry, the World Wide Web?

ML: Things are not very promising. In Strathae, with Ogo in the Duchies, we see an increased tendency towards a walled garden, towards the collection of data, and the euphemistic "curation of information..." - it will not be too long until we might see worse. Mass data collection, the turning of individuals into simple data points, the pandering to them, perhaps one day to sell products, another day to profile them as terrorists; and then the censorship of what states, businesses, organizations, see as subversive, dangerous. The world is marching happily on, it seems, to this dystopian world; and while we do struggle to prevent this, I feel, sometimes, that it will all be in vain.

HK: I am not terribly optimistic, either, but we have seen many begin, as I said before, to wake up to this new reality - that data collection is not necessarily for "one's own good" as many of these actors and entities want them to believe, that censorship is indeed a place where the "slippery slope" may genuinely be true. There is still some hope; and I don't believe we are working in vain, although if we do not work hard enough it is a possibility.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Tabitha (formerly Reszelport Jezebel-Swift) elected first female pope of the Catholic Church - but not the one you're thinking of

Reszelport Jezebel-Swift was declared Pope Tabitha today of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church - the first female pope in its history, although it is far from the "One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" that most think of when hearing that name. The church in question is considered heretical by virtually all other Christians on Earth; it is the last significant remnant of Arianism perhaps anywhere. With almost 3 million baptized members, it is closer to Oriental Orthodoxy in regards to rites and liturgy, differing only in the rejection of Christ as eternal.

The church works unusually, with a general college consisting of a number of religious figures, who have wildly differing titles and are chosen in different ways - some are heriditary, some are elected, others were appointed by the former Pope, although all must have been approved by the former Pope, who had died of pneumonia after prolonged dementia.

The election itself was, at times, violently contested. The Arian Church is split into two factions - a universalist faction, which believes in universal salvation and is liberal in regards to social views and theolog; and a conservative faction, which seeks to "purify" the church, holding traditionlist views on theology and virtually all other issues. The dementia of the pope allowed the universalist faction to gain significant strength, with many universalist figures being able to ascend to high positions simply by asking the increasingly addled pope to appoint them, which he did in increasingly vague ways, before finally losing all ability to do so, at which point aides, several of which were universalists themselves, literally puppeted his body - moving his limp arms, for example, to sign documents, moving him around on palanquins and in certain cases crutches - as to continue this. Seeking to radically change the church in their more progressive direction, they sought to elect a similarly progressive pope, but could not agree among themselves who exactly should have been elected, resulting in open brawls.

Meanwhile, the conservative faction, despite its previous opposition to female clergy, including popes, united around the figure of Reszelport Jezebel-Swift, a fundamentalist who had become a member of the clergy through manipulation and outright corruption, including through the open paying of bribes, combined with blackmail and veiled threats, to the less scrupulous of the former pope's aides, who since have leaked the whole of the story to the rest of the world via social media.

While there were no formal agreements, the idea that Jezebel-Swift could become a pope caused the universalist faction to denounce female popes as heretical, despite their previous view that they were not; they also argued that even in spite of her sex, Jezebel-Swift was still a heretic, as she was a supporter of the death penalty. Comments made by some also appeared to argue that the fact that her surname is "Jezebel-Swift" would further embarass the church - to name a literal Jezebel, according to an anonymous confidante of one of the electors, as pope was a mockery of the Church. While united on this issue, however, they were still unable to unite around a single proposal, as infighting began to set in, largely over minor issues regarding a slight difference in rites.

The conservative faction, fearing in spite of this infighting that Jezebel-Swift would not become pope, at least in part due to dissent within its own ranks, moved, during convocation, to violently attack those who opposed her, including other conservatives, sending many to hospital. Remaining universalists then attempted to attack the conservatives, and failed; one then decided to, in order to delay election, light the whole of the building aflame, and this indeed succeeded, with the election delayed by weeks and almost all electors injured to some extent. During this period, a number of poisoning plots against various electors were discovered; several nurses, in one case, attempted to feed a universalist elector tea poisoned with thallium; in another case, one was found, in the middle of the night, holding a pillow over the head of a 79-year old, infirm, conservative elector.

The second convocation took place virtually, as there was little appetite for further violence, but multiple Zoombombing incidents occured despite the usage of a password, further delaying the election. At this point, a number of electors, from both the universalist and conservative factions, announced their intention to simply refuse to attend, as they argued the whole process had become a farce; they further announced that if any attempt was made to continue under the current conditions, they would split from the mainstream church and elect a pope of their own. The Church was left at an impasse, without leadership and with a growing number of electors refusing to participate in any election of a new pope, soon becoming a majority, with the whole of univeralists, a new "Reformist" faction formed of former univeralists and conservatives, and over half of the conservatives, the radicals became empowered.

The convocation went forwards, held in a tennis court, a small grouping of radicals the only who were present, and unanimously elected Jezebel-Swift pope. She took the name "Tabitha" and held a disastrous Mass, which involved the consumption of grape juice and saltine crackers during Communion, as well as extreme deviation from the liturgy, particularly in regards to the random rock bands who were invited to repeatedly interrupt the service by loudly singing and playing pop-like religious music through broken speakers, as well as by randomly interjecting to proclaim death on various people she did not like, including people who did not support Trympov and homosexuals.

Tabitha has declared an iconoclastic campaign throughout the Church, calling for the burning and destruction of icons and similar representations, which she has denounced as "idols;" she also has excommunicated virtually all the electors who did not participate in the tennis court convocation, replacing them with radical appointments. In addition to this, she has issued a number of encyclans and edicts saying that God does indeed hate certain people, particularly homosexuals, and that they must be "smited," but also centralizing power in the Church around her figure - she is now the only person with any authority to appoint any figures within the church, or to delegate this authority. More radically, she has rejected transubstantiation as a "Satanic lie," and called for an abandonment of Arianism itself in favor of a form of modalism.

Tabitha was arrested this morning by state authorities on the charge of inciting violence, resulting in a small riot that was quickly put down. While she is still the pontiff, and continues to release edicts from prison reorganizing the church and its theology, these edicts are released often heavily censored - in one case everything found itself completely blacked out. A number continue to call for her release, but these are dwindling down. Whether her papacy is actually valid continues to be heavily debated, as the Church does not have tradition giving guidance on these issues.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Mass arrests of clergy; the Pope Tabitha farce continues

The state has launched an effort to crack down on what it sees as superstition and irrationality negatively impacting the ability of the state and society to function, largely through the limiting of religion. Members of the clergy have been reduced to mere employees of the government, with virtually no autonomy; religious property has been seized and made the property of the state; even religious texts have found themselves extensively censored. Even more decentralized religions, from the Istkalener folk religion to even certain forms of Protestantism, have found themselves under the control of the state; the state now imposes educational requirements for one to even claim to be a priest or holy person of any sort, as well as an examination, and even then can still revoke this ability if it deems these holy people to have acted "irrationally."

In effect, the Istkalener state has nationalized religion. The state dictates theology, it dictates liturgy, it dictates even the smallest aspects of belief and the ways in which religious services and events are conducted. Its intention, it seems, is to merely stamp it out. Any form of religious education for children has been prohibited, and religious institutions themselves are strictly prohibited from evangelizing without a virtually impossible to obtain permit. Those in charge of enforcing and creating these regulations are almost all atheists or agnostics; while the state claims to be secular, in reality it seems more or less to have adopted a position of state atheism.

In accordance with these regulations, thousands of priests and other members of the clergy have been arrested on pretexts of either inciting violence or being mentally unstable. Those in the latter category were quickly stripped of their legal personhood by loyal judges and doctors who ruled them incompetent, before being forced into mental institutions by the dozen; those in the former category have effectively vanished, presently in jail but soon to stand trial.

"They came in the morning to our area," said an eyewitness of an arrest taking place in Milésile. "It was - oh, about 7:00 or so. Late enough that everyone could see. They went into the homes and dragged [the priests and shamans] out; they were screaming. If they did not comply with arrest they were beaten; many I saw watching were terribly bruised. One, I don't know whether if it was an accident or not, was thrown off a fifth-storey balcony. The rest were dragged violently down the stairs, by their feet, as though they were not living, trying to struggle the whole time; by the end of it I don't know how many remained conscious."

"The rest of us rushed after them; there was a morbid curiousity that we had regarding their fates. Many of their bodies and heads were cut, bleeding, skin terribly torn. Those who were still conscious tried to get up; they were beaten and kicked into the street, again and again and again until they were completely still. Those who submitted were made to strip in the open, and then they too found themselves being beaten until they too, fell over and failed, again to move. There was blood everywhere; on the police uniforms, on the pavement, on the road, everywhere. Limp bodies here and there. They were taken and loaded into several vans, and then we saw no more of them."

Other arrests were not so violent, but often at the very least entailed the usage of force.

"They hit them a little, tazed a few," said an eyewitness of a different arrest, taking place in a village, "It wasn't terribly violent, it was very peaceful, really. It was at least enough to get them all to shut up. They're all insane, you know. The priests, I mean. Blubbering and screaming about holy tomato paste or whatever other nonsense they peddle. They ought to rot in prison now."

Several priests throughout the day, who remained free, complained publically about the violence of the arrests; the state responded merely by saying that what was done was necessary as to pacify those being arrested, as they were "criminals or deranged individuals who presented a significant threat to all of society." These priests were not arrested; the only retribution was a total prohibition on all forms of public worship throughout the country for the next thirty days.

"There are legitimate concerns," said the Minister of Religious Affairs at a press conference earlier today. "What we are concerned about is not these but rather unscrupulous so-called 'holy people' using them to further their deranged ideas and incite violence. This is why we have instated the prohibition - to prevent these people from doing any more harm."

Pope Tabitha of the Arian Apostolic Church appears to have attempted to respond to this; the statement released by her has been censored heavily; while released, little information, apart from what appears to have been an eccentric endosement of modalism, is visible to the public. Immediately afterwards, Pope Tabitha was quickly prohibited from releasing any more statements of any sort, before being moved into temporary solitary confinement in a unknown location. Despite this, people are not as concerned over her as they are over the remainder of the arrests and suppression; if anything, even clergy celebrated it to an extent.

"The so-called 'pope' is illegitimate and also a heretic," said a reformist elector of the Church. "I don't think anyone in this country believes that she is the pope, or that she ever should have been considered even a possibility for becoming the pope. She truly has lived up to her name; she truly is like Jezebel in all ways. Even as the state arrests and persecutes us, it has at least had the sense to make this one good decision."

Upon the expiration of the prohibition on public religious activity, it is expected that the state will compel a second conclave to elect a new Pope, loyal to the state and its aims.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Arrests continue, but violence no longer a factor

In response to reports of widespread violence against members of the clergy, the central government acted to establish commissions on the issue across the country, while simultaneously prohibiting members of local police from involvement in the detention of clergy, choosing instead to involve only the Administration of State, Public, and Internal Security, as well as certain military elements. The state also authorized individual citizens to go as far as to place under arrest members of the police who were, either in the past or the present, actively participating in acts of wanton violence, with traditional courts newly empowered as to quickly try these individuals.

In today's arrests, which also expanded to include several educators and major community figures involved in provoking chaos and superstition in connection with the Northern Radio, little violence was noted.

"They were violating priests yesterday; today they are merely arresting them. There was one shaman who went berzerk in our area, she was screaming and clawing and using a knife to stab at people; she was tazed. That was the only incident of violence from today. I am surprised by how quickly it changed, although perhaps it's because I saw no regular members of the police participating."

In certain areas, members of the local police attempted to arrest clergy by themselves, and were promptly met with force by citizen and state elements:

"They came to our area; and of course they were coming to brutalize the holy men. Well! We would not let them; we knew, even, that they had no permission to do so anymore. We barricaded the door. They tried to break it down; we fought against them. Someone called the local people's committee, they informed the local military authority, as well as the local branch of the [Administration], about it; they were rounded up quite quickly. We were told that some of the holy men were traitors, that they had collaborated with the Northern Radio; of course we handed them over, then, knowing that as well as that no illegal harm would come to them. We're fine if they're punished, but it all has to be legal," said an eyewitness to an arrest who wishes to remain anonymous.

The state has also forced members of the clergy simply to defrock.

The state publically announced that about 5000 priests and other religious figures had been arrested over the past two days on charges of treason, sedition, rebellion, or simply inciting violence, but did not disclose how many in total were to be arrested.

Other actions have been taken apart from the arrests. Beginning today, several individuals attested to the ransaking of the homes of religious figures, largely for contraband, although the definition of contraband is so wide that it now includes such simple things as tomatoes and tomato-derived products.

"They took [the holy woman] outside, threw her into a van," said another eyewitness to an arrest. "We were gathered in the hall to see it; we saw them then enter her apartment, tearing apart furniture and throwing her personal belongings all over the place. They found drugs, nubs of some cactus; they also found a number of tomatoes, with the most awful smell. They also took quite a few books with them. They carried it all out and burned it in the street, but not the drugs, of course. I don't know what they did with those, I don't think any of us knows, really. I imagine they were destroyed at some point."

Religious buildings, too, found themselves ransacked. In one incident, an Arian church was stripped of all objects containing valuable metals, as well as icons; these were either sold or destroyed.

Several holy places have also found themselves repurposed. One Arian monastery, upon theforced defrocking of all the monks inside due to their alleged promotion of superstition and irrationality, is to become a childcare center; a temple, after the arrest of shamans and holy individuals who had formerly occupied the building, was simply declared a public warehouse in which individual producers, particularly farmers and craftspeople, could deposit their goods for others to buy, being paid by the warehouse for this depositing if their goods were sold. Others have been destroyed; on Saturday evening, an Arian church was, with two hour's notice, simply demolished via implosion.

Public objection to these moves continued, with a number of prominent members of the clergy who remain free releasing further statements condemning the continued arrests, the forced defrockings, and the exproprietation and destruction of religious property. A motion has been proposed within the Kirelesile branch of the professionals' association to organize a one-day strike and protest against the actions of the govenrment.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Socialization?

The Council of Ministers is allegedly discussing the issue of socialization - whether it might be a solution to many of the efficiency issues that have plagued Istkalen's industrial and mining sectors. Currently, both are extremely decentralized, formed of great numbers of indidivudal producers who cooperate merely informally. The issue, however, is that this form of organization has hampered the production of raw materials. Despite the country's wealth of coal and iron, it produces little steel or even cast iron, despite both being in high demand by light-industrial producers and craftspeople. Mining output, too, is erratic, mines themselves often constantly embroiled in legal disputes as a result of their vague status in regards to ownership. Particularly in these times, when the country continues to face even more extreme shortages as a result of the combination of widespread crop failures and continued international sanctions placed by major economic powers, particularly Inimicus, very few believe that the situation is sustainable.

What is it?

What socialization would entail would be the merging of all privately held mining and industrial property into larger syndicates, which would then excercise democratic control over mining and industrial production, introducing structure and a planning of sorts and thus more stable production An idea of the Communist era, when politicians sought to create a "humanized socialism," it saw success economically, increasing and rationalizing production, although much of this has been attributed to the high levels of education that most Istkalener workers are effectively required to have because of the general lack of the division of labor, but was extremely controversial - it flew in the face of custom and caused significant disruption to the lives of individual workers, who had previously been accustomed to high levels of independence.

In the modern day, socialized organization is present only in the utility sector, where it is widely seen as necessary, even by utility workers; decentralized forms of organization are seen simply as irrational, and state-ownership a step too far from Istkalener principles of production.

Who supports it?

The traditional base of Istkalener politics - craftspeople/light-industrial producers and agricultural producers - demand the socialization of both. Light-industrial producers and craftsmen have a constant need for refined industrial materials, from metals to, in the modern day, carbon fiber. The present system of heavy industry in Istkalen, in addition to the erratic nature of mining, has often denied their demands, and forced them to "make do" with inadequate materials. The state in recent years has instead opted to purchase materials from abroad, and then pay for them using the profits from export; but this is seen as introducing trade deficit, which would leave Istkalen at the mercy of other nations.

As for agricultural workers, many are dependent on machinery produced by light-industrial producers, which requires, in particular, metals which can only be produced and refined by heavy-industrial producers. The erratic and unstable nature of heavy industry in Istkalen means that they must often do without machinery or working machinery, sometimes reducing yields and thus their personal profit.

The state, too, seeks to develop Istkalen as more self-sufficient, but also an exporter of refined products. It sees the mining industry as unsustainable, and seeks to rationalize heavy industry in particular in order to establish new industries to take over the position which mining has taken and to maintain the country's narrow trade surplus. The development of heavy industry also plays a role in their desire to modernize the country - like Communist planners of other countries, they see heavy industry as necessary to develop other forms of industry independently - that is, to improve the lives of ordinary Istkaleners and increase the country's image abroad.

Miners are also in support - socialization would merely confirm the currently existing system and end the endless legal conflicts, while rationalizing production to offer individual miners more stable income than usual.

Who opposes it?

Opposed are primarily professionals and heavy-industrial producers.

Most professionals in Istkalen see the issue of heavy-industry as one that must be overcome through national means, rather than merely adopting the practices of other nations. Idealistic in ideology, many believe it possible for Istkalen to develop technology to allow for greater efficiency and rationalization while maintaining decentralized forms of industrial organization. Others see the country as needing to divorce itself from heavy industry, and pursue a path based on modernizing agriculture and light-industry, to produce high-quality products, from clothing to electronics, perhaps using to an extent the country's national resources. Many see it as an innapropriate expression of nativism that could be better directed - an expression of superstition and ancient ideas that should be discarded.

Heavy-industrial producers are opposed because the action would negatively affect their independence. Most producers in general hold their independence as a matter of pride - they want the ability to decide what they can produce, what hours they work, and much more. It is so ingrained in the minds of many that it has become almost a symbol of the nation. In the minds of many, to take this away would be denying them that dignity, as well as their nationality, as well as corrupting the country by the West. Others feel that socialization is an insult, implying that they are not, for whatever reason, educated or intelligent enough to manage their own affairs truly independently. Many, like professionals, also look forwards to a possible modernization on Istkalener terms, using new technology, efforts which many are intimately involved in. ; the fact

What is the government position?

Information about government position is little more than rumor. While it is already known that mining is likely to be socialized, the issue of heavy industry also is more contentious. The government does not want to alienate citizens, particularly during the current campaign against "religious extremism and superstitions;" it is unlikely to make any public statements.

However, insiders claim that there is a fierce divide; the Head of State and PM are allegedly opposed, but parts of the cabinet, particularly "technocrats" like Demirkol and Kerel, are strongly in favor. Nothing can be conclusively said, however, until something official is released, which is, again, not going to happen for some time if ever.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Virejane loosens restrictions on Arianism, Islam; national-level workers' associations hold protests in favor of raising taxes as a result of alleged 'debt-trap diplomacy'

Minister of Religious Affairs Kūseli Virejane, in return for supporting significant welfare reform proposed by Finance Minister Antras Arkalis, has managed, with the force of the German and Turkish communities behind her, to loosen restrictions on Arian Christianity and Islam that presently exist in the country. While restrictions on the wearing of religious clothing and symbols in public will continue, the two religious sects will be allowed a degree of independence. Organizations, albeit nominally secular organizations, consisting of all believers in both religions will have a degree of control over the instruction of clergy, as well as theology itself, although the Ministry of Religious Affairs will be able to veto and amend their decisions.

Virejane also succeeded in creating a general workers' association for clergy, irrespective of religion, which will also be nominally secular but will have power to regulate the general conduct of clergy, as well as their income. Ownership of religious buildings will also be transferred to the workers' association, which will then be charged with managing them.

Virejane's reforms were passed only narrowly. They were opposed by most of the government until Virejane's deal with Arkalis, and even now are only supported in a grudging way.

"I am personally opposed to Virejane's reforms. They have eroded secularism in Istkalen, and will certainly contribute to a rise in further insanity. The occupation has ended; we must recover the reputation and prestige of our country, rather than acting to bury it. Yet if I did not accept them, she and her small faction would not have approved my proposed reforms, and thus Istkalen would have been plunged into terrible debt, which it absolutely cannot afford," said Minister Arkalis yesterday. "We must consider the greater good, we must, sometimes, make compromises."

The Head of State, who holds veto power and previously acted to veto a similar reform that Virejane pursued unilaterally, refused to do so again.

"Whether I agree or disagree with the reform does not matter," he said at a press conference yesterday. "It was pursued in accordance with the law, unlike the previous attempt of Minister Virejane to enact widespread reform using a generous interpretation of the act establishing her ministry as justification, and thus I have no reason to strike it down. Yes, I have the power to do so, but I feel that I must uphold legality and precedent regardless of my personal feelings."

The Prime Minister allegedly reacted angrily to the passage of the reform, although she did not appear for comment.

"She thought it an insult to the state," said an individual close to the Prime Minister who wishes to remain anonymous. "She thought it dangerous. She was also one of the main supporters of the original legislation, and for her to see it scrapped, in part, so early on seemed no short of devastating. She delivered a thirty-minute long speech, really a rant, about the dangers of religious belief after the Council of Ministers had voted."

Pope Tabitha, according to guards at the unknown location in which she is kept, was told of the passage of the legislation, and did not react. Other members of the Arian clergy, however, did. A universalist elector, who wishes to remain anonymous, privately stated that the reforms were "a real Godsend...a blessing. The church was in danger of dying, so persecuted it was - now at least we may conduct ourselves, and be free of the extremists, the conservatives."

This sentiment is reflected by most universalist Arians, who have long been opposed both to religious regulation and the extremist conservatism of other factions within the Arian church, and similarly see the reforms as accomplishing all that they desired.

Perhaps obviously, conservatives within the church have strongly opposed the reforms, calling for a return to the past in which the church had free reign; however, few remain, as most were arrested for various reasons. Some attempted to stage a protest, which according to the people's committee in the area which it took place turned into a riot, which then had to be suppressed, leading to the arrest of all of the demonstrators.

Within the Muslim community in Istkalen, which has been historically radically reformist and is condemned as a group of heretics by most others within the international community, reactions have been more limited, but generally positive.

In other news, Vardic attempts at investing and sponsoring the construction of high-speed freight in Istkalen have led to accusations of debt-trap diplomacy. A number of national-level workers' associations have expressed significant concern over the level of debt that the Republic may be incurring by accepting Vardic investment, particularly in regards to the possibility that it could be used by the Vardic state to justify interference in the domestic affairs of Istkalen. In order to pre-empt this, as such, many have voted to begin demonstrations in favor of higher taxation, in order to limit debt and preempt the possibility of default.

"We have just regained our independence," said a member of the national-level workers' committee of the Professionals' Association. "We must not give it up now. Regardless of what the intentions of the Vards are, we must tread carefully."

Demonstrations began today, and have been combined with other efforts to reduce debt in general. The Agricultural Workers' Association, for example, fearing that the already financially precarious situation of the state could cause Istkalen to become severely indebted to Vardic lenders and investors, sought to re-negotiate agreements it had made with the central government over the procurement of agricultural goods, in the favor of the government, in order to reduce its debt and thus the possibility of future default.

"We will lose now," said the Elder of the national-level workers' council of the association, in an attempt to justify the decision to the agricultural workers of Istkalen, "but we will prevent ourselves from an even greater loss in the future. Our independence, our dignity, and our future prosperity are sacrosanct. Surely we will not be so shortsighted to desire prosperity now, and sacrifice our future well-being?"

An independent movement has also begun among domestic holders of bonds, many of whom have pledged not to demand repayment from the government. However, this has been significantly less enthusiastic than the actions of the workers' associations, and is not expected to have a significant effect on reducing debt.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Minister of Development defends plans for automation: "Uneducated people should have nothing"

The government today appeared for scrutiny before the eighteen workers' asssociations - two having been created since November. Significant concern was expressed over the increasingly autocratic actions of the government, particularly of the Prime Minister and those aligned with her, the foreign policy of the state, especially in regards to the Strait crisis of several months ago, and the "worrying" statement of the Head of State regarding the future structure of the Republic, which laid out an authoritarian vision of the future. Other questions regarded the continued hostility of the state towards the Kingdom of Reitzmag, the country's development policy, the state of the country's finances, and the continued shortages of basic goods and housing.

Perhaps most interesting was, however, the response of the Minister of Development to a question asked by a representative of the laborers' association in regards to automation. Both the Rikkalek I and following Malk governments had strongly promoted automation as a simpler way to solve one of the dilemmas of Istkalenic industrial organization - that is, how decentralization could be applied to widescale industry, which is traditionally centralized - as well as of labor - whether it is ethical for manual laborers to be employed on an effectively permanent basis by so-called "industrial workers" particularly in heavy industry - simply by eliminating the problem entirely. Other given reasons were also economic - the state wished to modernize and to develop new and indigenous industry, and it saw expansion into this unexplored area as a way to do both.

The Laborers' Association has long since voiced opposition to automation without plans for them, and has sought to negotiate with the state for some agreement to either limit automation or guarantee them greater welfare temporarily and the ability to engage in certain professions without examination. The question that the representative in question asked was expected; the association had in fact previously asked it of the government, although then the government was under no obligation to respond, and did not; it regarded whether the state had any plans for re-employing or retraining manual laborers who, in a system with greater automation, would lose the vast majority of their work.

The response was a long tirade by the Minister of Development, responsible for implementing and to an extent developing state policy on this issue, against manual laborers, which he repeatedly called "uneducated people."

"The uneducated people in this country," he said, "always demand things, and contribute nothing. They are like tumors, they exist only because we have taken no action against them, and grudgingly tolerate them. What use do we have for them? The educated people of this country do not have any inclinations against manual labor; it is expected of them. To this very day, they perform a great deal of manual labor in their work. We do not sulk about in darkened offices like the feeble and stupid Westerners, we work with both hand and mind at once. Unlike the West, then, where the uneducated can indeed suck from the educated all of their wealth because the educated are unwilling to perform labor, like leeches, here we have no use for them but for charity. Being a kind people, then, we give them charity, we allow them some of their work so that they may survive. But charity cannot last forever. We may be merciful, we may be gentle, but we are not endless fountains of wealth. We cannot support these leeches anymore, for they are now genuinely harming us."

"Currently, we all know that there is a harsh debate over the issue of employment and industrial structure, which focuses on the role that the uneducated people play. If there were no uneducated people, this issue would not exist, and we would be free to pursue more productive things. Unfortunately, however, they do and some misguided people believe that we must focus on them, that we must treat them as equals. But they are not equals, and we must not focus on them. As I said, the whole of their existence depends on our charity, the charity of the educated. They are mere wisps in s in the corners of our eyes, that is all, like dogs. We care for dogs, do we not, but we would not put them above humans, or ourselves. If we had to, for our own survival, for the survival of others, we would let a dog die, it would fade from importance. So it must be here. The uneducated are like dogs, and we are starving people. We must stop giving our remaining food to the dogs, and reserve it for ourselves. Let them die, let them all die, it does not matter. We did not need them, really, we do not need them."

"In part, even, our kindness was misguided. They are parasites, all of them; we should have killed them all, but now we cannot. Regardless, uneducated people should have nothing. They don't deserve anything. They are a weight on our nation. In fact they are responsible for the darkness that our nation was plunged into. If all the uneducated people were dead we would be much happier, and the nation would be thriving."

"What automation does is liberate the educated person from onerous labor, but not from all manual labor; but more impotantly, it deprives the uneducated people of any purpose, of any place, it expels them from the nation and leaves them with nothing, so that they may all shrivel up and die, leaving us free of their parasitism. It is like medicine, a very good medicine, like a magical chemotherapy which helps the body and kills the tumor. It is thus objectively good, there is no doubt."

Manual laborers have historically held a low societal position in Istkalen, a class which is seen as being composed of rejects unable to function in society, and which until recently did not possess full citizenship or rights. Significant discrimination against them still exists; violations of labor law against them, for example, are rarely taken seriously, if at all. Sentiments like that of the Minister of Development are rarely expressed, but in general automation is seen as a good thing for similar reasons - Istkaleners will no longer have to employ or interact with members of the class.

Regardless, the Minister of Development was forced to retract his comments publically by the Head of State, who is rumored to have threatened him with prison. The Head of State later answered the question himself.

"Firstly," he said, "I would like to apologize for the innaprorpriate and disturbing comments of the Minister of Development on behalf of the government. He has since been disciplined. But to directly answer the question, the government's desire is to re-employ those affected by the drive for industrial automation in other areas, particularly new infrastructural projects which will require a large supply of such labor."

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Reforms again

Vistek Rikkalek, newly empowered, has driven the state towards reform yet again. For the past eight months the country has vacillated between extremes; now again from one it seems to be jumping back to another. The government of Malk represented, in spite of communist participation, the right in Istkalen, a right characterized by authoritarianism and isolationism; Rikkalek's agenda, his second government, represents the left, more naive and more inclined towards openness.

Rikkalek, in an address to representatives of the workers' associations, divided his reform into three areas - reform in regard to industrial organization, reform in regard to industrial production, and reforms in regard to bureaucracy and the organization of the state. All three, he claims, were and are hampered by the impact of the occupation - he claims in particular that it disrupted and over-fragmented industrial organization, set back advances in industry itself by years in its destruction of infrastructure and cultivation of extremist movements, and finally gave too much power to the bureaucracy of the capital while fragmenting governance elsewhere between informal and often corrupt authorities - and thus need to quickly be brought to rights.

"Prior to the occupation, our Istkalen, although authoritarian, was a prosperous, stable, and technologically advanced country. The war that plunged it into darkness was destructive and excessive in that destruction; but it was not that which set it behind. What destroyed our country truly was the occupation. Perhaps, in part, it was warranted. If I were the leader of Reitzmag I too would have desired occupation. Yet what was not warranted was its attempt to destroy our society. Our leaders were arrested, and a narrow conception of democracy, not merely a Western conception but a Reitzmic conception, imposed on us, a society constructed on principles very different from those of any Western society and certainly that of Reitzmag. We found ourselves, thus, in an artificial vacuum, doubting and fearing, turning to the past to try to save ourselves," said Rikkalek.

"This was our doom. We fell into reaction, we fell into violence; with society and civilization taken away from us by perhaps well-intentioned but nonetheless ill-informed foreign authorities, we were forced to turn to the most primeval of influences. There seemed to be no future to reach to, nor even a present to live in; only a past to reminisce on endlessly. The advancement we once courted was rejected for deindustrialization, delineation of authority, a greater efficiency of the state, rejected for instability and a 'more traditional' cumbersome customary division of powers. The occupation threw us off the path of progress; the reform we begin today will allow us to find our way back and truly join the greater community of nations as equals."

Reforms to industrial organization, unlike those earlier undertaken by the first Rikkalek cabinet which sought to create a quasi-market-socialist economy in Istkalen, will merely try to restore certain aspects of prewar organization. In particular, agriculture and industry will be organized into more centralized organizations in order to reduce the "violent" competition of the past eight months. Similarly to the syndicates of the social democratic era, they will to an extent fix levels of production as well as prices, while also coordinating development. However, most other fields will remain largely unaffected - according to Rikkalek, there is simply little evidence that centralization is needed in such areas as crafts and specialist healthcare. The only change that will affect all workers is the legalization of contracting by workers' association. Entrusted with managing and providing most public services, the associations formerly used corvee in order to fulfill their responsibilities; with this made illegal, however, they will now be allowed instead to employ individuals, or really contract them.

Industrial production will primarily see a renewed focus on automation. Social democratic governments, trying to decrease the level of de facto employment, in which large numbers of manual laborers would be employed on an effectively permanent basis in particularly heavy industrial facilities, pursued such policies with gusto; postwar governments have either been unable to do so or have neglected the issue in favor of focusing on traditional industries. The second Rikkalek cabinet, however, will seek again to focus on industrial development, particularly in regards to the manufacture of electronics and machinery, a significant part of which Istkalen must import. According to Rikkalek himself, Istkalen must pursue self-sufficiency in order to protect it from "economic imperialism;" at the same time, however, it must not betray its basic principles, or tolerate the continued abuse of manual laborers in industrial facilities. Therefore, as the social democrats concluded, in his view and that of his government, the only logical way forward is to fund the development of further mechanization and automation, in order to increase efficiency while reducing the need for manual labor/employment.

The crafts will largely be left alone, although Rikkalek has stated that the state will focus on increasing non-craft "individual" light industry, while increasing the rigor and quality of the applied arts through partial mechanization in Istkalen - both of which are legally crafts and represented by the Crafts Association. As for agriculture, the focus on modernization will primarily occur in urban areas, where increased funding will be given to agriculture in order to improve self-sufficiency.

Politically, reforms will be relatively simple. Bureaucracies, particularly the ministries, will be reduced in size, with many of their responsibilities being transferred to the workers' associations; their role will merely be to coordinate, direct, and complement them. The peope's committees will be abolished, replaced with a system of appointments made by the Head of State, although part of their governing responsibilities will be transferred to the workers' associations. Finally, the political parties will be re-legalized.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service

Agricultural reforms initially rejected

One of the major proposals of the Rikkalek II government, a plan to modernize agriculture via reforms made to farm organization, has been rejected near-unanimously by the Agriculture Association of Istkalen, responsible for regulating agricultural production and representing agricultural workers, primarily on the basis that it would take control over land distributed to farmers by reform-communist and social-democratic governments, and thus rob them of their independence, termed a restoration of both the abuses of the Relemian (1798-1900) and the liberal (1973-1979) periods.

"The farmers and agricultural workers of Istkalen will not see the reforms of the last three decades reversed," stated the organization in a public statement. "We will defend their right to their land forever."

The government has managed, however, to get certain aspects of its agricultural agenda agreed to. Inheritance law in regard to land has been changed; individuals may no longer leave it to children, but rather it will be given to the state to be redistributed. At the same time, infrastructure used by multiple farmers and other agricultural workers - aqueducts, for example - will be placed under the management of the Agriculture Association rather than remaining unowned and part of the commons. Mechanization and automation plans have also been accepted, although there was from the beginning little opposition to them.

Social democrats re-organize

The Social Democratic Party has been re-founded by Milrakas Ikoszer and other ex-regime politicians who have been cleared of all charges. While, under the recently passed laws re-legalizing political parties, their political expression as a group will be extremely limited, they were only narrowly approved - only because of their considerably less radical aims were they even able to be considered.

The party's main intention is to promote technological progress and a continued wide distribution of property in Istkalen.

The ridiculous may have an application in Istkalen

The "crafts" in Istkalen have become more or less the industrial or applied arts with a twist. "Craftsmen," nowadays, are really mostly industrial designers, and are only differentiated from their counterparts in the West in their involvement in manufacturing - in industry, particularly light industry, there is exceedingly little division of labor, and thus most goods are made, in part by hand, although the process has become partially mechanized, by the designer. Despite modernization, this has resulted in significant inefficiencies in Istkalen's industrial sector. It can take weeks for even the most simple of appliances to be made; while standardization has begun to prevail, minor human errors, while not affecting the performance of an appliance, can occasionally make them difficult to repair.

Government programs have primarily focused on increasing the level of mechanization and standardization, which has improved some of the issues - in comparison to the early 2000s, efficiency has been signicantly improved - but has not solved them.

A small group of craftspeople in Kirelesile, who have termed themselves "designers," have put their faith in a less-than-perfect and expensive solution - additive manufacturing. Shilled in other countries as a magical technology that would revolutionize manufacturing, its role rapidly collapsed due to a host of reasons. While still used as a useful tool in certain applications, its role in actual industrial manufacturing remains in a very primitive stage.

This group has long since pursued improvements to the technology, however, and now state that they will begin to apply it to production that must be standardized - the production of appliances, for example. Products from this endeavor will be made available in Kirelesile within a week, although their quality is not assured.

The intention of the group is to act as a pilot which will spur voluntary adoption of the technology once it has advanced enough to become widely used