MicroWorld Newsbites – June 2016

GRAND UNIFIED MICRONATIONAL On 4 June, after almost a year as a private venue for professional discussion between politicians and diplomats, the Grand Unified Micronational once more became an intergovernmental organisation, adopting a new Charter. The Empire of Austenasia and many other small nations are once more member states. On 25 June, Co-President Fionnbarra Ó Cathail of Leylandiistan and Gurvata was elected the twenty fourth Chairman of the GUM, beating sole opponent Lord Kit McCarthy by nine votes to one. KUMANO JIRITSU On 11 June, Prime Minister Hatsu Ryuho reached a unity government agreement with his sister the opposition leader Senator Hatsu Sakura under the supervision of Kumano’s head of state O-Hatsu Kenji-sama, father of the two siblings. The two resolved several political issues and resolved to work together for the country despite their disagreements. SANDUS On 29 June, the State of Sandus convened a legislative caucus to amend its citizenship laws. The last time a caucus was held was between February and April 2010, with legislative power usually wielded by the Sôgmô (head of state). ÜBERSTADT The Überstadti navy has been reduced in size to a single ship, with its amphibious landing craft the Bergstrom having been judged beyond repair after being damaged in a gale in August last year. A search for a new amphibious operations vessel is underway. WILDFLOWER MEADOWS On 16 June, Princess Hannah granted the title Duke of Sweetpea Valley to HIM Emperor Jonathan I. The duchy had formerly been held by the Princess herself. ZEALANDIA On 24 June, the People’s Electoral Commission revoked the registration of the Moderate Party, claiming that it was not sufficiently active.

Revival of the Grand Unified Micronational underway

Yesterday evening, a quorum was held by the Grand Unified Micronational for the first time since June last year. For the past ten months, the Grand Unified Micronational (GUM) has functioned as a formal chatroom for heads of state, politicians and diplomats, having been reformed from an increasingly dormant international organisation. Yesterday, however, Emperor Jonathan I and Lord Kit McCarthy raised the prospect of having the GUM return to being an international organisation for small nations. With overwhelming support from the chatroom’s members, the Emperor – who is the current Chair of the GUM – called together a quorum, a meeting of delegates which was used to pass motions when the GUM was an organisation. The members of the chatroom passed a motion agreeing to begin work on drafting a new reformed charter for a restructured GUM, which would learn from the mistakes of the past. Although several microstates and micronations were represented in the quorum, it was agreed that none would be considered member states of a revived GUM organisation until after the new charter was passed. Although international organisations have recently become increasingly unpopular in the diplomatic community of small nations, there is support for a reformed GUM from a wide range of those in the MicroWiki community, for which the GUM functioned practically as a United Nations equivalent for much of 2009 and 2010. It is hoped that the restoration of the GUM to an international organisation will help to improve ties between the older and newer members of the MicroWiki community, who are increasingly forming two separate factions according to many observers.