Coup underway in New Virginia
Chaos erupted yesterday in the Commonwealth of New Virginia as President Kennedy suspended the constitution in response to a declaration of “revolution” before joining it herself. Events began when Elizabeth Lewis published a poster in the “Announcements” channel on the official New Virginian Discord server. Headed by a picture of Karl Marx, this poster called for an overthrow of the constitutional order, the “building of a socialist… state and party” and “the deportation of dangerous right wing figures”, before declaring “Long live the New Virginian revolution”. A second graphic was then posted calling for the removal of Bradley of Dullahan, the Leader of the Opposition. President Brooklyn Kennedy responded by assuming emergency powers, using the authority granted to her by the Constitution to suspend it “for the time being”, and announcing that all powers of state would be exercised by the Presidency until New Virginia could “return to a state of normalcy”. Under ten minutes later, Kennedy made a second announcement, declaring her support for the “29th of July Movement” revolution. Claiming that the New Virginian parliament was “rife with reactionaries, racists, and elitists”, she stated that the “time has come for these men to be purged”. The President went on to announce that all political parties were immediately dissolved, and power would be held by a Revolutionary Committee comprised of three people appointed and chaired by herself. Sir Simon White, the New Virginian Prime Minister, refused to support the 29th of July Movement, stating “I cannot in good conscience support this insurrection. To outlaw reactionary partisanship is indeed a noble policy, but the outlawing of conservatism in general is utterly repugnant to this nation.” It is furthermore being reported that Adam I of Adammia, who also serves as President of the Senate of New Virginia, has called on the Constitution to be immediately restored and for a general election to be called, criticising the committee for its lack of democratic mandate. Adammia has announced that it has suspended relations with New Virginia, and Wyvern has indicated that it does not recognise the Revolutionary Committee as the legitimate government of the country. In Austenasia, meanwhile, Cabinet met online to discuss the situation, and the following statement was co-authored by Emperor Jonathan I, Prime Minister Lord Gordon, and Deputy PM Lord Wilson: “A hand of friendship, as always, is extended to the New Virginian people, but we cannot recognise an illegitimate government. If the situation has not been resolved with respect to the democratic rights and representation of all New Virginians within the next 36 hours, we will consider the New Virginian government to have fallen and therefore be incapable of maintaining diplomatic relations.” Talks had been in the process of being arranged between Austenasian and New Virginian officials to discuss the way forward following the events of last month. However, following the news of the ongoing coup in New Virginia, the House of Representatives met and voted on a motion calling for the Empire to withdraw from the alliance it still formally held with New Virginia. Independently, eighteen minutes later, the Revolutionary Committee likewise voted to sever the alliance. Bradley von Dullahan later announced the unilateral secession of Helinium – the New Virginian claim governed by himself – from the Commonwealth, interpreting the rhetoric used by Kennedy and the other revolutionaries as thinly-veiled threats against his own position. Lord William Wilson, who also serves as a local governor in New Virginia, said the following: “This coup is of a blatantly authoritarian nature, with a small cabal of politically aligned individuals surrounding the President. They have suspended their constitution and legislature, threatened the exile of political opposition, and used rhetoric of death to ‘capitalists’ and ‘reactionaries’.” He also accused the revolutionaries of seeking to turn New Virginia into an “echo chamber”. Kennedy and Lewis have objected to this summary of events, stating they were “not just removing people for disagreeing with us”. They pointed out that von Dullahan left of his own accord – although Lewis later commented that he “left before he could be kicked [out]” – and argued that he could not technically be considered a political opponent of theirs as they both hold non-partisan offices. Bradley of Dullahan provided the following exclusive statement to the Times: “For a long time Brooke [Kennedy] and Elizabeth [Lewis] have been dissatisfied with the partisan politics that they enabled through the creation of the now abolished political system. It actually worked fine and was stable. A true multiparty system was developing slowly, with in my mind at least another party in the make. However, the government cabinet, as foolish as they were, schemed with the President to declare a fake emergency to amend the constitution. Now it has come to pass, they used some random offensive argument to push through their ideas and abolished the whole lot. Not at all what the Prime Minister had in mind. They enabled the President by feeding her ideas that this was a good idea, and then when she took it a step further they were shocked and angry. However, my disappointment with New Virginia doesn’t end there. The entire justification of this inside coup (all members were government officials, so no “people’s revolution” at all) was on the basis of my person. They do not mention me by name, but every accusation they give is directly relatable to a warped and sickening view that Elizabeth has of me, which the President of the Commonwealth has adopted and used for the declaration. Its inaccurate, misleading, and highly offensive. The President of the Commonwealth of New Virginia and all her cronies in the so-called commission for the salvation of New Virginia and everyone who joined in on the revolution are traitors. The rightful head of government is Simon White. They destroyed a nation without giving it time to grow.” New Virginian Deputy PM James Frisch, who has refused to join the “29th of July Movement”, rejected the allegation that the government had “schemed with the President”,
New Virginia to secede on 11 February
Yesterday saw an Act of Parliament passed establishing Tuesday 11 February as the day on which the majority of New Virginia will secede from Austenasia to become an independent state. As announced at Christmas, the City of New Richmond and the Towns of Terentia and Augusta will be leaving Austenasia to form the Commonwealth of New Virginia. An uninhabited part of Augusta will be retained by Austenasia as the Territory of Fraternitas, which will be administered by Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy as its Governor. Lord Admiral Kennedy, the incumbent Prime Minister, will remain in office throughout February 11th and 12th, with the latter due to see his successor elected in the upcoming election to take office on February 13th. Lord Admiral Kennedy will retain Austenasian nationality alongside Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis and Lord Riley Kennedy, the three Representatives of the towns in question. The other residents of New Virginia will lose Austenasian nationality, bringing Austenasia’s population down to the mid-seventies. Furthermore, the Imperial Navy – the modern iteration of which was based entirely in New Virginia – has by the same Act of Parliament been disbanded. The legislation authorising the creation of the Commonwealth of New Virginia states that “maintaining a close and special relationship with the Commonwealth of New Virginia… [will be] a top priority of the Austenasian Government.”
Imperial Party announces second Annual Conference
The Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, has announced the date of the second Imperial Party Annual Conference as Party Leader. The conference will occur on 31 July at 4 PM EST via the Imperial Party discord server. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis, are expected to deliver addresses. The Deputy Prime Minister currently serves as Party Chairwoman, and will preside over the conferences proceedings. In attendance will be all Imperial Party cabinet ministers and representatives, New Richmond Mayor Alex Francis MAO, and various private members. The Prime Minister is expected to announce cabinet reforms as part of his address.
Bradley of Dullahan publishes GUM Chairman manifesto
June 24th will see voting open for the June 2019 election for the position of Chairman of the Grand Unified Micronational. Four candidates have so far announced their intention to run, although nominations do not officially open until the 10th. The last time that four candidates stood for the position of GUM Chairman was in June 2009, making this the most competitive election in a decade. The four candidates are Nicholas Randouler of Posaf, Thomas Bainbridge of Hrafnarfjall, Austin Jaax of Iustus (who also serves as Governing Commissioner of Kingeston), and Bradley, Duke of Dullahan, the Prime Minister of Wyvern and incumbent Austenasian Minister of Defence. The Duke of Dullahan has selected Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis, who serves on the Austenasian delegation to the GUM, as his running-mate, with a pledge to nominate her for the position of Vice Chair if he is elected. If she becomes Vice Chair, Lady Vice Admiral Lewis will be the first female member of the GUM’s leadership. The Duke of Dullahan yesterday published his manifesto for the election, which is reproduced below: The Grand Unified Micronational is a great force of good in this community. Bringing together many different types of people and micronations. Through each encounter in the GUM we learn from each other and develop ourselves. It is my firm believe that I can be a force for development, stability and progress for this organisation. With my Vice-Chair choice I know I picked someone with new ideas and someone very different from myself. That makes our team not only unique but dynamic. I believe Eryn and I can make progress and we’ll do it together with the Quorum! Below are our stances on a few topics and I’ll name a few of our plans. Should you have questions do not be afraid to ask me: Dynamic & involved staff I believe a good Chairman holds meetings and discusses all kinds of policy choices with his staff. They do not only perform their duties but are also the direct advisors. I believe that the Staff should consist out of people from our organisation who have ambition, plans and vision. Who want to do something or learn how the GUM works. We need to be a learning organisation above all. Should I be elected I will seek a team consisting of various people who can aid me and have plans of their own. I will listen to them and incorporate them in my platform. Why? Because this is a team effort! Staff and the Leadership Currently the Associate Justices are part of the Staff. But the Charter clearly separates them from the leadership. I wish to separate the two and create room for the staff members and one for the Supreme Court members to discuss things. The Chair, Vice-Chair and Supreme Justice shall, for practical means be in both channels. Regarding the vacant Secretaries, we shall strive to fill the vacancies with ambitious and visionary delegates from both the Old Guard and the New Guard. Together we shall form a staff that works together and meets and discuss regularly. We believe firmly in teamwork. That’s why we expect the staff member to propose propositions in these staff meeting or outside it in the Staffroom. In the staff the Vice-Chair hasn’t played a role. That is a choice each Chairman can make. I believe the Vice-Chair can be of great value and aid to the Chair. The Vice-Chair shall not only act as the Chair’s replacement but also of first advisor and manager of the Staff. We believe the Chairman should make use of the hands he is given in his Staff. Secretary for Micronational Development When elected we will strive towards creating a new Secretary, the Secretary for Micronational Development. Through awards, events and other means this secretary should pursue the sharing of knowledge and the reporting or sharing of micronational development. Each three months the secretary shall than announce a winner of an award in certain fields of micronationalism, such as diplomacy, culture, military development or politics. Positive rewards can be beneficial for the development of micronations. The Micronational guides for example are also a part of this Secretary’s responsibilities. Sharing achievements and development Like we said, we like it when nations share their ideas and development. The new secretary shall responsible for this. But we must also look at the lounge, is it really the place for sharing it? Maybe we should design a seperate channel to post it. I believe it merits a good chat in Quorum regarding how we can share our activities. Quorum for one is not the place to do this as Quorums will only take more time on an evening. When elected the Staff and the leadership shall come with a proposal to Quorum regarding this topic. The GUM as a mediator Our organisation has a historic role in helping mending schisms in our community or aiding in the resolution of conflicts between two micronations. We should keep doing this and work to aid in a positive way to the development and integrity of our community. The Staff and the leadership shall all have a role to play in this. The ‘Old Guard’ teaches the ‘New Guard’ As many know I am of what is named the Old Guard, a group of micronations who has been active in this community for over 8 to 9 years. We have always played our part in the GUM and have guided new nations that join our community. Sadly this sometimes causes conflicts due to the new nations time to adjust to our ways of doing things. Making sure that the understanding between nations is found will be my top priority. The new nations should be able to learn from the Old Guard and the Old Guard should not react too harshly when mistakes are made. Like micronational war, we have all done it and we all regret the fake wars.
General Election called for 28 February
His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has called a general election for 28 February 2019. Under the Constitution, the election would have had to have taken place on or before 3 March, which will be four years since the previous general election in 2015. Until 31 January, Representatives will be able to apply to the Monarch to be appointed Candidates for the election. The Monarch is obliged to appoint at least two Candidates from those who apply, with any others being appointed at his discretion. The month of February will be spent by the Candidates campaigning for election, with votes being cast on the 28th and the victorious candidate taking office on 1 March. The incumbent Prime Minister, HIH Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, is expected to run for a second term, and Lord Anthony Clark of Amerdansk announced on 31 December an intention to also stand for election. No other Representatives have so far publicly announced an intention to run, although Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis of Terentia has indicated a desire to stand if Lord Admiral Kennedy decides not to do so.