The Copalan Appeal (In Exile!)

[Istkalen]

Equipment stolen from illegal oncology center

An oncology center, which operated without a license, was robbed yesterday before being discovered by a vigilance committee established by the Anastasian Confederation of Labor, in the chaotic aftermath.

The vigilance committee described the discovery as follows:

"Within the community, there were a number of reports of a clinic which provided 'efficient' cancer treatment for an unusually low fee compared to legal private clinics. We began to investigate these claims due to concerns over the quality and legality of the clinic, particularly how its treatments might lead to severe consequences for the community. On the morning of the 28th of April, community vigilance volunteers going about their usual rounds saw a number of people behaving suspiciously, walking back and forth through an open door, behaving as though they were trying to look for something. They were questioned about what they were doing, and quite openly disclosed that they were employees for a cancer treatment center. The incident was reported to the central vigilance committee, and thereafter a more thorough search was conducted of the building in which the clinic was housed. The equipment contained within was quite rudimentary, and it is not an exaggeration to claim that the clinic was likely an extreme danger to the patients it treated."

"Workers there claimed that a significant amount of equipment from the clinic had been stolen in the night, but refused both to describe what was stolen or to provide a concrete list of the equipment they had had before the alleged theft."

"The workers of the clinic were referred to the police, and a motion has been introduced to the People's Parliament of the Anastasian Confederation of Labor to allow for a more thorough look into the possible victims of these criminal scheme."

"We strongly believe that the operation of the clinic was connected to organized crime, and was some sort of scheme."

The incident is yet another case of an unusual event in Anastasia City. Yesterday, human organs were thrown out of a window, an alleged "Satanic cult" appeared to be holding a ceremony in the middle of the night in a park involving cannibalism, and a "glowing apparition" that resembled Jesus Christ was seen "descending" into the city - in addition to a significant gas explosion, of which another occurred under relatively similar circumstances today.

While the government seeks to deny that there are issues in Anastasia City, this incident above all illustrates their lies. It first clearly shows deficiencies in the health care system which force cancer patients to turn to dubious and dangerous alternatives; it further clearly shows the continuous development of crime in Anastasia City, which has become increasingly complex and organized in nature.

The Anastasian people deserve better. They should not live in fear of their homes will blow up in a gas explosion; should not live in fear of being eaten by cannibalistic cults; should not be assaulted by flying human organs when they go out to walk; should not be forced to turn to the criminal world to get healthcare in an efficient and competent way. They should certainly not be made to live in an environment which plays mind games on them, to the extent that they can believe that Jesus Christ is descending from the sky.

The Duchian government refuses to address these concerns, and instead claims that all is fine, claims that there are no issues in the wonderful city they have built, pushing aside the intense sufferings and constant danger the Anastasian people must endure with every passing day.

[Istkalen]

The Anastasian Democratic Assembly's Plan of Action

The Anastasian Democratic Assembly has announced a new plan of action, which will guide their activity in parliament. It is as follows:

COST OF LIVING MEASURES

1. We will work to reduce prices in Anastasia City. We will focus on establishing internal agricultural production, which will be managed by the workers through state-owned labor organizations prevented from joining the agricultural cartels. We will further seek to set price ceilings on basic goods, in particular foodstuffs and fuel. In order to reduce the burden elsewhere, we also will work for a significant reduction or wholesale elimination of consumption taxes, as well as on taxes on social enterprises, small businesses, and cooperatives.

2. We will work to generally increase industrial production within Anastasia City. We want the city to establish a Development Planning Board which will be tasked with constructing new, green industry, particularly for consumer goods but not ignoring heavy industry. Ideally, these new industries will be managed by the workers through state-owned labor oragnizations. Our goal is to reduce the dependence of the city on imports, increase employment, and also to ameliorate the high cost of living by allowing for a higher degree of control over the price of consumer products.

3. We will work to increase the minimum wage to at least 15 Dux Libra an hour, with compensation for social enterprises, small businesses, and cooperatives as a result of possible losses to revenue.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MEASURES

1. We will work to develop the economy in Anastasia City in general; in every sector we will establish labor organizations which will be tasked with establishing self-managed firms in their respective sectors; the organizations will be responsible to the state and will have full ownership over the enterprises they establish. In this way, employment is increased, the economy is stimulated, social responsibilities in the economy are emphasized, finance is made fairer and more equal, and democracy is expanded.

2. We will work to encourage social entrepreneurship and the development of the social and solidarity economy, by establishing subsidies for social enterprises and cooperatives. We see this as discouraging abuse while increasing democracy in the workplace and the fair distribution of both goods and wages to the people. Our final goal is the development of a new economic conception, in which the economy is made to serve the public and which profit is secondary to social responsibility.

3. We will work to establish an Anastasian Investment Board, which will purchase and sell stock from companies operating in Anastasia City. The revenue will be distributed as an equal payment to all residents of the city over the age of 18, while control over investments will be exercised by the municipal council. We want to encourage investment in Anastasia City while maintaining local control, all the same continually advocating for a more equal and fair economy.

LABOR MEASURES

1. We will work to establish economic associations which will bring together employees and employers in different sectors, for the purpose of establishing norms for competition, workplace relations, the labor market, and benefits, reducing the constant state of warfare which characterizes most modern economies. We want Anastasia City to be a much more harmonious place in this regard.

2. We will work to continuously increase the power of workers in Anastasia City. We want workers to be able to veto major decisions made by a company's board; we also want to work to establish co-determination within internal management, eventually leading to completely democratic "day-to-day" management.

3. Through the state labor organizations, we will seek to establish an employment guarantee in Anastasia City.

HOUSING MEASURES

1. We will work to assess the safety of housing in Anastasia City, which has been put into question by a series of suspicious gas explosions occurring since the attacks of January. We want every house fo be insulated, structurally sound, and well-serviced by all utilities.

2. We will work to ban absentee landlords, to encourage the development of independent housing cooperatives, to allow for the continuous construction of new social housing in Anastasia City, and to establish rent controls in order to reduce costs and improve autonomy and democracy.

POLICE AND ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES

1. We will work to establish public vigilance committees in every neighborhood of Anastasia City to decentralize and thus increase the efficiency of law-enforcement, while at the same time allowing for a higher degree of citizen participation, making it more likely for criminals and terrorists to be apprehended.

2. We will work to significantly expand the size of the police while decentralizing it. Police command will be placed under the control of neighborhood committees, although centralized command will be retained, while the police itself will be at least doubled in size. The police therefore becomes more efficient by working "closer" to communities while being expanded in size.

3. We will seek to allow for the establishment of a specialized anti-terrorism corps in Anastasia City, which will be armed and which will continuously patrol the city. These corps will be militarized but placed under the control of a special Anastasian ministry. We want, by this, to increase enforcement while also increasing Anastasian autonomy over Anastasian affairs.

MEASURES FOR AUTONOMY

1. We recognize that independence is infeasible and not a possibility at this time; we therefore will merely seek greater autonomy under the terms of the Treaty of Porterdam. We will therefore demand that our full rights as stated in the Treaty are given; namely, full control over "public services, education, utilities, transport, policing , emergency services, social laws, and local economic laws," with "local economic laws" being interpreted as the right to pass any economic laws so long as they do not heavily conflict with Duchian law.

2. We will further continue to call for the detachment of Anastasian surveillance from the Duchian central system, in order to increase Anastasian control over Anastasian data and Anastasian lives.

3. We will continue to call for separate Anastasian ID and passports

[Istkalen]

From the People's Parliament
Broadcast - available on citizen radio - and streaming on all accessible streaming platforms

Gaëtan Compère: The People's Parliament of Anastasia City is convening tonight, online and its members from secret locations, after several weeks of debate, to vote on a series of resolutions proposed to put to an end the sharp deterioration in civil and political rights, as well as in the general safety and security of citizens, that Anastasia City has experienced.

Jacqueline Aubry: Since the terrorist attacks in January, rates of crime and homelessness have skyrocketed in Anastasia City. Surveys conducted by the Anastasian Confederation of Labor have found that perhaps up to 5% of the current population is currently homeless, while almost 60% of the pre-attack population has fled. Over half of the businesses operating beforehand have shut down, and unemployment may be as high as 25%. Gas explosions are near constant; 75% of Anastasians feel that their homes are structurally unsound or unsafe. Murders and home invasions occur on a daily basis; drug use is open and everywhere. Muggings occur on buses and in stores; lawlessness prevails. The response of the government has been to arrest those members of the parliament and of the municipal assembly who dared to point these issues out, on trumped up charges of terrorism. Many, including an anonymous member of the municipal assembly, have come to us to say that they fear their arrest for daring to speak out against the complacency and authoritarianism of the government. A radical solution, in these chaotic times, seems necessary.

Marcel Dubois: For Anastasians, there are few other paths of recourse. There has been protest after protest, appeal after appeal, and no action. The government is unwilling to do anything but arrest, as public services go down the drain. The people have looked and looked, and the only solution seems to be in the Confederation and the neighborhood committees - and now the People's Parliament that groups them all, these institutions of popular power, together.

Gaëtan Compère: From the beginning, we have been victimized and denied autonomy. From the beginning, we have seen violence and terror. And now the people seem to be putting their feet - we will now turn to the People's Parliament, whom we have received a signal from.

---

SPEAKER: This session of the first People's Parliament of Anastasia City is hereby opened. All rise for the Copalan national anthem.

Copala é nossa is sung by the deputies.

SPEAKER: And now, in representation and expression of the plaintive voice and appeal of the oppressed Anastasian people, for the first time - the Anastasian national anthem, as approved by this body on 25 April and 30 June.

The following can be heard:

Lève toi, Patrie courageuse,

Toi qui en des journées glorieuses

Saisiras notre beau drapeau

Pour un pays libre et nouveau,

Qui ne jamais plus ne faillira,

Que personne n'effrayera !

Nous briserons nos chaines,

Nous travaillerons sans peine,

Nous serons une Nation souveraine,

Nous serons une Nation souveraine !

SPEAKER: You may now seat yourselves. We will now move to voting on the adoption of Resolution 45 of this body, the proposed Motion for the Declaration of Revised Status.

Gaëtan Compère: The Motion for the Declaration of Revised Status, as you may know, proclaims the People's Parliament as the sovereign of the Anastasian state and the legitimate representative of the Anastasian people, recognizing the Treaty of Porterdam as a treaty negotiated between the Anastasian state and the United Duchies, in effect declaring that Anastasia City is a protectorate of the United Duchies, rather than an integral but devolved part of its territory.

SPEAKER: 234 are for, 162 are against, 4 present did not vote. The resolution is adopted. We will now move to voting on the adoption of Resolution 46 of this body, the proposed Motion for the Expansion of the People's Parliament.

Gaëtan Compère: The Motion for the Expansion of the People's Parliament extends invitations to the Independent Union of Anastasia City, Our Home is the Empire, the Futurist Party of Anastasia City and UNITED to join the People's Parliament, each receiving 225 seats if they accept the invitation, with the exception of the Futurist Party, which will receive 50.

SPEAKER: 394 are for, 6 present did not vote. The resolution is adopted. We will now move to voting on the adoption of Resolution 47, the proposed Motion on the Mobilization of the Neighborhood Committees.

Gaëtan Compère: The Motion on the Mobilization of the Neighborhood Committees requires the neighborhood committees to 'rapidly' begin the construction of a state apparatus and effectively take over the process of governing.

SPEAKER: 400 are for. The resolution is adopted. We will now move to voting on the adoption of Resolution 48, the formation of a new government. Under the rule of Her Majesty, the Queen Anastasia II, the IUAC, OHE, and ADA will each designate one person to serve in a collective mayorship; the remainder of government positions will remain vacant until a mayor is definitively designated, but must contain ministers drawn from the IUAC, OHE, ADA, FPAC, and the Confederation of Anastasian Labor, those forces which will make up this body.

Gaëtan Compère: Resolution 48 argues that the current state of government in Anastasia City is unable to address the issues that the city is facing, and therefore proposes the creation of a government of national unity, made up of all "authentically Anastasian" forces - namely, the IUAC, OHE, ADA, FPAC, and the Confederation of Anastasian Labor, with decisions being made by consensus between the parties.

SPEAKER: 308 are for, 80 are against, 12 present did not vote. The resolution is adopted. We will now move to voting on the adjournment of this session until 4 June 2022.

[silence]

SPEAKER: 398 are for, 2 present did not vote. The resolution is adopted, and the People's Parliament is adjourned.

[Istkalen]

Teder: We demand nothing less than full freedom

Kristjan Teder, after his release from prison, strongly condemned the United Duchies before the municipal council.

"The United Duchies is not a rechsstaat. It is an illiberal state that arrests those who dare to point on its flaws. With the looming threat of Reitzmag approaching, we now risk a further deterioration in political and civil rights - and then not even the loudest of appeals from the Anastasian people will stop the final destruction of democracy. This, in our beloved city, already beset by crime and inflation, will tear us apart."

"We do not fear arrest for what we say; we will speak the truth no matter the consequences, and we will never be silenced. We will point out what we see; we will not close our eyes to the suffering of the Anastasian people, as the Duchian parties, obeying their masters in Cair Para, do."

"We insist that the issues, all the issues, of our Anastasia are caused by its continued subordination to the Duchian state; we insist that the only solution is in independence social and economic. And we will advocate for this without end, without tiring, until at last we have accomplished it."

"We have come, now, to the end. An illegal independence has been declared; my party, as well as two others represented in this assembly, have been invited to join a proposed government of national unity. The future of Anastasian government is now in question - and it is for us to act."

"To dismiss the declaration as mere terrorism or mere extremism is unwise. It revealed the discontent and the anger that have prevailed in this city from the very beginning. To ignore it, to ignore these sentiments and these issues, in favor of complacency, is to leave all of this brewing and simmering until at last, things come to a boil and the city itself comes to an end. Under these extraordinary conditions, we demand the only viable, the only true, solution to the impasse we face; nothing less than full freedom."

Teder put forwards a series of informal demands, a radical program which would transfer power in its entirety to the Anastasian people, which was as follows:

1. Anastasia City must immediately separate itself from the Duchian market; only then can it be freed from the deranged demands of Duchian cartels and businesses, which continuously victimize consumers.

2. The Anastasian government must be given full powers over those areas devolved to it by the Treaty of Porterdam; Duchian law should not be able to overrule Anastasian law in these areas.

3. Anastasia City must be given the right to negotiate, create, and enforce economic agreements of its own, so that it may find other, more stable markets, to depend on.

4. Treaties and other agreements made with foreign countries which the government of Anastasia City does not assent to must not be enforced in Anastasia City.

5. Property belonging to enterprises based in other Duchies or majority-owned by Duchians must be immediately nationalized.

6. Housing belonging to individuals and enterprises not residing in or based in Anastasia City must be immediately nationalized.

7. The ownership of utilities, transportation infrastructure, and ports must immediately be transferred in their entirety to the Anastasian government.

8. Sectoral boards to manage the nationalized enterprises, comprised half of appointments from the Anastasian government and half of workers' delegates, must be established with haste.

9. Works councils, boards elected by workers within an enterprise, which will appoint managers, approve of wages, working hours, benefits, and schedules, must be established in all nationalized enterprises with haste.

10. An Anastasian Investment Board, to facilitate the expansion of domestic industry and agriculture, private, public, and cooperative, must be established with haste.

"We need an immediate social and economic separation from the Duchies," Teder said. "Duchian businesses and owners must be expelled from Anastasia City, and economic links established with reliable countries, to ensure Anastasians both work and bread, so to speak."

He further called for the formation of an IUAC minority government, with support from the current coalition parties, as well as for negotiations with the People's Parliament of Anastasia City, with the allotment of 10 deputies in the Metropolitan Council as a suggested concession.

[Istkalen]

The ADA will seek to file a motion of no confidence against the Anastasian Government
Gaëtan Compère

Kristjan Teder intends to file a motion of no confidence in the Anastasian Government, arguing that the participation of the Duchian parties has resulted in a degradation in living standards as well as civil rights.

"These parties have absolute contempt for Anastasians and for Anastasian democracy. They have repeatedly attempted to obscure the facts on the ground for their political benefit, whether during the January attacks or during the period of severe inflation. But reality is clear: we are in the middle of an extended crisis, economic and political, and it is they who are largely to blame. The ADA, in defense of the Anastasian interest, will therefore seek to file a motion of no confidence against the current failed and authoritarian government, in favor of an IUAC minority government," he stated in a press conference earlier today.

Teder further invited deputies of the IUAC to join in support for the motion of no confidence, stating,

"The participation of the Duchian parties has prevented efforts to expand the autonomy of Anastasia City. Without the pressure we have continuously placed on these groups, the IUAC would have effectively no influence on the government. We would be de facto be governed by Duchians alone, rather than Anastasians. WIth their increasingly authoritarian measures, all those who advocate for greater autonomy in Anastasia City are now at threat. We were arrested merely for daring to suggest the possibility of independence; who is to say that you are not next?" he stated.

"An IUAC minority government would have much greater freedom to pursue its agenda. You would not have to fear interference, nor arrest, at least not to the same extent. You would be able to build the autonomous and prosperous Anastasia of your dreams. With this in mind, I therefore, humbly, ask that you join the ADA in support for this motion."

The Futurist Party of Anastasia City, with one deputy in the Metropolitan Council, another split from the former CPCI, has also announced conditional support for the motion, with the caveat that the IUAC must approve a new family law it has put forwards, which, among other things, permits instantanous no-fault divorce by the consent of both partners.

Protests, meanwhile, have sprung up outside of the parliament building.

"Down with the Duchians! Down with the PSD! Down with the Moderates! A free city now!" they repeatedly chanted. "We want to live again! The prices are [unprintable]! Up with Anastasia! Up with the Maxwells!" Banners depicting Duchian politicians wallowing in pools of what appeared to be excrement, as well as others with famous nationalist slogans ("Anastasia for the Anastasians!", ""the sun of our Queen shines on all," ""Long live the free Anastasian people!" etc.) printed on them were commonplace. Several with the logos of the CIU, the IUAC, or the ADA, or the faces of their leaders, could also be seen.

The Copalan and Anastasian national anthems were commonly heard.

The ball is now in the court of the IUAC. If they consent to support the no-confidence motion, it would be the end for any government with Duchian participation - it would require a highly unlikely grand coalition between the Left, the PSD, the Moderates, and the UoD to form a government without the IUAC or the ADA.

[Istkalen]

Exodus

A second exodus has begun from Anastasia City after an apparation of what was alleged to be angel was seen, with God proclaiming that the city had been forsaken due to its citizens. Large swathes of people were seen walking to the train stations, hastily prepared bags in tow.

"It's intolerable. I've had mental issues since the attacks. I receive constant threats, there are cults, there is violence. I had guts thrown on me on the street on a better day; now I don't have good days anymore. And now this. Living here is bad for my mental health, bad for everything, really. I want to leave, before I'm threatened into performing some sort of terrible crime," said a Haanean woman.

"I have been repeatedly threatened by nutty people, to force me into taking part in their perverse activities. I came here to escape them, not to join them," said an individual who wished to remain anonymous.

However, it is more likely that many are fleeing because of recent threats of deportation. Indeed, one person related the following to us:

"I fear that they will come for me. I have better chances in Inimicus than the wasteland."

Another said the following:

"[They] forced me to sell contaminated meat. They were going to kill me and my entire family. What was I supposed to do? The police is probably compromised. I can't take it anymore, I'm afraid."

Hysterical people were seen at train stations and airports begging for tickets, often accompanied by large numbers of children or the elderly.

"Please, God, any space! Have mercy!" a woman accompanied by six children was seen screaming repeatedly as she collapsed into sobbing.

The leader of the ADA, who claims to have gone into hiding, has also, in a way, joined in, although his plans are not as rushed.

"The Haanean mob has repeatedly threatened my fiancé and I. The whole of the Haanean community, in fact, has collectively lost its mind. I have been arrested on completely false pretenses, and kept in horrible conditions. In recent days I have been receiving death threats. Last night someone broke into my apartment and painted threats on the wall. I am in my twenties and about to get married; I have too much to lose. And they will kill me soon if I don't start doing as the say. I don't want to be a martyr."

"The two of us are going to get married, and then we're leaving. We don't know where for, yet; I half want to go to Ibiza, run a shop or a cafe or a bar there with him. But there's still a lot of things we have to talk about."

[Istkalen]

Anastasians, Wake Up!

Jacqueline Aubry, columnist (in-exile) and author of this article

Dear Anastasians:

For eighteen terrible months, I worked under the threat of death. I was told to write - or have my head cut off. Just like that. My masters, my friends, you can see, were barbaric, inhumane - but they are gone now, vanished into the wild, and I am free.

So now I speak, now I write, unhindered and from the heart.

There is no one, I think, no people, who has suffered quite as much as we Anastasians. We have been chased away wherever we go, met always with violence and unkindness; we now live scattered across Europe, without a home to truly call our own, still ostracized, still shunned. But we are, no matter what is done to us, no matter what is said to us, no matter where we are, still a people. We are still one. And we must never forget this; never forget that with us are hundreds of thousands who have felt and seen the same thing, who share with us a common history and a common tragedy. And who, not so long ago, lived with us, breathing the same air, standing on the same common ground.

Lovers, enemies, partners, or merely acquaintances, we are nevertheless a nation, and no one can deny that.

In these hard times, then, let us stand together as a nation. Let us once again join together as one, in solidarity, to work for one another and to build for ourselves a new Anastasia, a new Copala, so that, one day, we may again live together, as we are meant to.

I am therefore announcing that I am founding a party for we Anastasians, a party that will defend our interests no matter what country we may live in. A party that will celebrate our history and mourn our losses. A party that will, above all, unite us and pave the way for our return to that gleaming city that we once might have called home. Welcome the Anastasian Revival, the rebirth of our broken nation and the herald of the promised land to come!

[Istkalen]

A guide to Irmgardis City local elections

With all the new updates to Duchian electoral laws and procedures, participation in today's elections may seem daunting. But fear not - we have put together, in simple and clear English, a guide to everything that an Irmgardian needs to know before they go out to vote.

Firstly, be sure that you have resided in Irmgardis City for more than nine months. Concerns about vote-rigging and terrorism have pushed the Duchian government to restrict franchise in local elections to "established residents" alone. Those who have resided in the city for less than the nine-month cutoff for this status risk arrest for conspiracy to interfere in an election, for which deportation is a possible penalty.

Secondly, be sure to have at least two forms of identification on hand when you go to vote. These elections will see increased scrutiny - and thus increased checks to ensure that double and other forms of illegal voting do not occur. Be prepared for random inspections and identity verifications, in which police officers will ask for at least two forms of legally-recognized identification that must have been issued by the Duchian government. Failure to present these forms may result in arrest.

Thirdly, be aware that the election is being held under conditions of heightened suspicion. Svarnans and the few remaining Haaneans in the city, if they exist at all, are the most likely to be subject to inspections and other checks. A disproportionate number of both are also on lists of people barred from participating in elections due to suspected connections to terrorist and other extremist movements. Those on these lists may risk arrest if they attempt to vote, even if they are "established residents" and have all the proper documents with them.

Fourthly, be aware that the Duchian government has recently increased its efforts to deport new immigrants it finds suspect. New residents of Svarnan and Haanean origin particularly may be on lists of people marked for deportation without their knowledge. For them, attempting to vote will result in their arrest and repatriation.

Several changes have also been made to the voting procedure itself. Many voting locations may not be noted on online or other official portals due to a recent and hasty decision to expand the number of public polls. Certain "established residents," with good standing in the eyes of the Duchian government, will also be allowed to vote by mail as a result of an experiment being conducted by the municipal government. They will receive a ballot and an envelope on the morning of the election, which they are to send to the Municipal Assembly to be counted.

With this in mind, it is your civic duty to vote. We encourage all those who can to do so, freely but informed by their conscience. Democracy is kept alive by its constituents, and no other force; it demands that each participate in it so that it may continue to live and thrive.

Though we are a city that has been plagued by violence, let us take this day to celebrate and partake in the rights and the self-determination that we enjoy. Long live Irmgardis City, long live its people, long live democracy!

[Istkalen]

The ADA offers to provide confidence-and-supply to IUAC-PSD-Liberal coalition

Following yesterday's municipal elections, the new leader of the Anastasian Democratic Assembly, Jacqueline Aubry, the sole member of the party's list to be elected to the municipal council, announced her unconditional support for an IU""I""C-PSD-Liberal coalition "over the center," insisting that the city's independent and liberal approach to social and economic issues overrode all other concerns.

"Only authentically Anastasian parties," she stated, "should be trusted with leading government. To allow the lion's share of power to fall to any Duchian party - especially one as corrupt and distant as the Moderates - is to acquiesce to the transfer of power from the Anastasian people, the Anastasian nation, to Cair Para and the Roscoes, who will use their ill-gotten gains to loot and sack our beloved city. For the sake of our survival, Harden must remain mayor. She must, at all cost."

Aubry further discussed a series of policies enacted and lobbied for by the IUAC led government, from increased autonomy over educational laws to investment in city infrastructure, that she insisted would be threatened by Moderate leadership of the city.

"The Anastasian nation has at least been afforded some respect," she argued, "under the government of Ms. Harden. It has been allowed all the self-determination allowed to it by the treaties it has conducted, from control over education to power over taxation. The Moderates, however, threaten to impose an entirely novel interpretation of the documents that bind us to the Duchian state, which is as follows: that our city, our nation, has no power of its own whatsoever. This is illegal and above all, unacceptable. Anything and everything that can be done to prevent the Moderates from imposing this demented and twisted vision on this city will be done. What we want is simply continuity with past policies - but we can and will not have this with the Moderates."

Aubry made clear that ADA support for an IU""I""C-PSD-Liberal government would be entirely unconditional.

"We do not want to complicate government formation with demands of our own," she stated. "We worry that, by doing so, we would compromise the possibility of an Anastasian-led government. Our priority is simply to prevent the election of a mayor beholden to Cair Para."

As the leader of the diaspora organization "Anastasian Revival," which agitates for the further development of Anastasian culture in exile and organizes "repatriation committees" in hopes of an eventual return of exiles to the city, Aubry is considered one of the most hardline members of the ADA outside of the "bunker" of remaining Copalan nationalists. The rhetoric and direction in which she has taken the party, away from the welfarism and socialism of Teder's tenure towards a "simpler" fusion of Anastasian nationalism and populism, are thus hardly unexpected. Though it is clear that her strategy has failed to win support in an Anastasia City increasingly dominated by Svarnans, as a clear "true believer" in the existence of the Anastasian nation and its right to independence, it seems unlikely that she will break from it.

[Istkalen]

"Enough!" - the ADA's new platform

The Copalan Appeal has received a copy of the Anastasian Democratic Assembly's new platform, written by Gaetan Compere and approved by a plenary meeting of the party's central commmittee. An unusual melange of populist rhetoric and technocratic policy, it stands to be an extraordinary departure from the new line taken by the party's nominal leader, Jacqueline Aubry, who is pushing the party to emphasize Anastasian nationalism and secessionism above economic and social polciies. Though she remains in her position, and has already pledged to support the platform, its passage is a sign of her weakening hold over her party.

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The Irmgardian people have had enough. Enough of crime. Enough of rising prices. Enough of constant unemployment. And enough of complacency and condescension.

For almost two years, we, the Anastasian Democratic Assembly,, and our predecessors have sought to provide a viable alternative in Irmgardis City to the politics of stagnation, corruption, and clientelism that pervade the United Duchies. Now, facing the greatest threat yet to our movement, we seek to make our last, heroic stand, against the cartels who deprive the impoverished for their own profit, against the oligarchs who press ever down on the small proprietors of this country, against the would-be dictators who surveil and arrest to keep their power but a term longer, against all those forces who have tried to keep this country, this people, this city down for so long.

Though all the power that be will oppose us, threaten us, suppress us, we will make the defiant voice of the Irmgardian people heard. Their stories - of the mother who can no longer feed her children because of the greed of the agricultural cartels, of the pushcart-woman who must now give up all that she has because she can no longer afford to buy even the fruit that she sells, of the little shopkeeper who must now sell his store to a corporation because of oligarch-designed regulations that he has no hope of keeping up with - will be heard. And their losses, their tragedies, will be avenged.

Those who have held onto power for a hundred years, who believe they can hold onto power for a hundred years more, should quake in their boots. The people have had enough of their craving for power, of the endless disasters they have left behind them in pursuit of it.

For their sake, as their voice, we will put an end to the iron-grip of special interests, oligarchs, and corruption over this city and build, in its place, an Irmgardis governed by and for the people, an Irmgardis that is positive, liveable, and free.

Here, presented before the gathered masses, are the principles and policies that will guide and animate us in our struggle.

I. BASIC PRINCIPLES
a) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly is a localist, democratic, and social party.
b) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly is committed to the development of a healthy, green, and socially-minded economy in Irmgardis City, in which market forces serve the needs and the democratic will of the people.
c) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly is committed to the expansion of democracy in all spheres, political, economic, and social.
d) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly is committed to decentralization, and supports the increased devolution of power to municipal and neighborhood governments.
e) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly is opposed to clientelism, and works for an end to the dominance of special interests and towards a government that works for all, equally and with special favor for none.

II. BASIC POLICY
a) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports the democratization of public services. It will propose legislation to establish and/or expand the power of elected boards to ensure accountability and a role for the people in education, transportation, energy, and health.

b) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports local power. It will propose legislation to establish neighborhood goverments in Irmgardis City to organize basic local politics as well as to advise the municipal government. It will further advance the autonomy of Irmgardis City on matters of political organization, education, taxation, and economic regulation.

c) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports the full power of the city over its own infrastructure. It should have full control over its port, its transportation system, and its energy.

d) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports increased self-sufficiency over energy. It will propose legislation for increased subsidies for small solar installations and other essential parts of microgrids, as well as for an investigation into the construction of offshore wind facilities to be owned solely by the municipal government.

e) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports a strong public sector. The state must step in to ensure competition in a number of strategic sectors, from housing to retail, in order to reduce prices and increase quality. The only way to do this is to establish "public options" in each in order to establish democratically-determined standards with which private companies must compete.

f) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports the family. It will move to propose legislation to establish a guaranteed family wage, funded through payroll taxes, for families for the first six months after childbirth, to provide, upon a new birth, families with a "baby box," and to establish and increase a municipal universal child allowance.

g) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly will seek to reduce the cost of living and lessen the shock of inflation. It will move to prohibit corporate and absentee ownership of housing, to establish rent control on existing units of housing until a strong public housing sector is developed, and to broaden and increase housing/rental allowances for the poorest. It will seek to ban the agricultural cartels and end the price ceilings on agricultural goods, and in the interim push the municipal government to directly provide Irmgardian citizens, through importation, with cheaper produce during price shocks. It further will seek to create a guaranteed minimum income for working people equal to the living wage.

h) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly will seek to improve working conditions. It will move to ban the yellow unions and replace them with a system of state-regulated works councils, to encourage the further development of regional and sectoral collective bargaining, to replace nationally-determined minimum wages with ones determined by regional sectoral collective bargaining,and to encourage the democratization of the workplace through subsidies and the expansion of works councils.

i) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports political reform. The current across-the-board prohibition on confidence-and-supply agreements entrenches the power of a few historically dominant parties. It must be easier for the people to oust parties which have long-overstayed their welcome in government - and thus easier for the representatives they elect to form government without the support of the corrupt, the complacent, and the unpopular.

j) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports civil and political rights. The DISS must be significantly reformed so as to increase transparency and reduce the clear political control over its operations. Higher standards for arrest must also be established in order to prevent a repeat of the perversions of justice that have occurred in the past. Extended solitary confinement in prisons, which psychologists and other medical experts near-universally deem a form of torture, must also be prohibited.

k) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports free and equal media. Public funding and public ownership of media like RTD must end.

l) The Anastasian Democratic Assembly supports law enforcement. It wants to increase the funding given to the municipal police and to clarify the division of powers between it and the federal government in order to ensure coordination and streamlined enforcement.

[Istkalen]

Aubry: "Cair Para works to destroy the social contract"

Today, Jacqueline Aubry, leader of the ADA and its sole member in the municipal assembly, delivered a speech strongly criticizing the government in Cair Para, accusing it of trying to undermine democracy, the social contract, trade unions, and small business. Though known as a hardline Anastasian nationalist, Aubry stayed away from mentions of an "Anastasian nation," choosing to focus on populism and economic issues throughout the address, in a reflection of the marginalization of her stances within her party.

"In the name of the people," she began, "the elites in Cair Para have decreed their destruction. In the name of the people, the elites in Cair Para have placed the people on the altar of profit to be sacrificed to Mammon. They have sold this country, this city, to the oligarchs and their yellow unions, to the cartels and the speculators. They press down, more, more, on the workers and small proprietors, until they can no longer withstand the pressure and bend to their eternal reign."

"What they have done is simple. It is the right of associated capital and associated labor to negotiate their conditions themselves, on equal ground. In this way, demands are made by the people on a consensual basis. This is the foundation of any real democracy. What those in Cair Para do is undermine this system, this sacred social contract. They increase - and that is good - but by increasing they weaken the power of the red unions, of the real unions. The state becomes responsible for workers' conditions, and the institutions that defend workers' rights atrophy in favor of the dominance of yellow unions and paternalists. And when the state inevitably falls into these hands, there will be a lowering, and no one will be able to do anything about it."

"The puppets of the oligarchs will accuse us of being anti-worker. We do not care, because we know that they are the ones who are against the worker. They are the ones who whittle away at what remains of the power of the true workers' associations, at what exists of workers' democracy in this country, and they are the ones who will, when they have whittled enough, turn and brutally attack the workers until they are slaves in all but name."

"And why believe us? Look at their record. These people hold to the belief that talking to your coworkers at work is immoral. If one does not empty one's head of any and all human thoughts - of love for one's family, of desire for one's party, of want for companionship, of simple fantasy - then one is, in their eyes, the ultimate failure. This alone is proof enough of their alignment. For them, workers are not human. They are automatons who must do their task, without stopping, without fail, without any need to fulfill the basic desires and needs of any living thing, until the clock runs down. We, on the other hand, have always been on the side of workers' democracy and workers' rights. We are the ones who have assisted the cooperative movement, the autogestionary movement, in this city. We believe in the essential dignity and humanity of everyone, whether at home or at work, the innate right to freedom that everyone is entitled to."

"Here are our immediate demands. We want an end to the dictates from Cair Para. It is the right of the Irmgardian workers, and no one else, to negotiate their wages as a collective. We want to replace the system of state-mandated minimum wages with one based on democratic bargaining between major unions and trade associations, represented in special chambers of labor and commerce we want the Irmgardian government to establish. In businesses with more than 100 employees, we want to establish real workers' councils to monitor working conditions and ensure that humanity and democracy, in the place of a paternalism that demands the sacrifice of humanity, prevail."

"Cair Para works to destroy the social contract. We work to heal it. Here is what we say:"

"Away with the yellow unions!"

"Away with the oligarchs!"

"Away with the cartels!"

"And up, always, always, the people and our beloved Irmgardis!"