Tourists for New South Scotland

The Austenasian Crown Dependency of New South Scotland yesterday hosted a visit from three tourists. Hugh and Paul McFarlane and Joseph Lau visited the land, which is an enclave of the University of New South Wales. Formerly a colony of New Wessex before being ceded to Austenasia in January 2013, New South Scotland has been administered on the Empire’s behalf since June 2014 by the nearby nation of Zealandia. A treaty is currently being negotiated to formalise this arrangement. The trio of tourists explored New South Scotland, taking photographs of the crown dependency. Hugh had made an Austenasian flag to be photographed with while on the visit. This is the second time that Austenasia has been visited by tourists, the first only having been last week. Although the visitors kept an eye out for Queen Astrid, the governing commissioner of the land, she was not available to welcome them.

Compromise reached over New South Scotland; peace restored

A compromise has been reached between His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Queen Astrid of Zealandia in regards to the crisis over New South Scotland. The escalation over the Austenasian Crown Dependency, which began yesterday afternoon BST, has come to an end with the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Empire and Zealandia. After discussion between the Emperor and the Queen (which had been encouraged by Lord John Gordon of Palasia, Sir James Puchowski of Landashir, and several others), it was realised that both leaders had made misinterpretations and mistakes, with difficulties in communication arising from the medium of Skype messages and the differences in time zones. Zealandia’s brief claim to have annexed New South Scotland has been withdrawn, and Queen Astrid – also known as Anna Lindstrom – has been reinstated as Governing Commissioner of New South Scotland. The Emperor has passed an Imperial Edict making the position of Governing Commissioner of New South Scotland belong ex officio to the Zealandian head of state, and relinquished “any claim to anything more than de jure sovereignty” over the crown dependency, giving permission for it to be run under Zealandian administration. Under this compromise, New South Scotland will be for all intents and purposes run as if it were a part of Zealandia, but remain a nominal part of the Empire. The Imperial Edict passed by the Emperor can be read here.

New South Scotland invaded as Zealandia condemned for aggression

Despite being roundly condemned by numerous national leaders for her aggression towards New South Scotland, Queen Astrid of Zealandia this morning sent Zealandian troops into the Austenasian crown dependency. Announcing that she had renamed the land “Nyaskane”, Queen Astrid – also known as Anna Lindstrom – claimed to have annexed it into Zealandia, a claim unrecognised by the international community. Claims that this has been done in accordance with the principle of self-determination have been ridiculed, with nobody living on the land and there being no citizens of New South Scotland registered with the Austenasian government. Much confusion has resulted from claims by Queen Astrid she had been “pressured unfairly into dismissing half our government”, asserting that Emperor Jonathan I had been pressuring her to sack her Prime Minister and two high-ranking military officers. The Emperor has clarified that upon her complaining to him that one of said military officers was actively trying to depose her, he suggested she consider dismissing him, but challenged her to produce any evidence that he had ever done anything more, and said that the Zealandian Prime Minister had “never even [been] mentioned”. After Queen Astrid suspended the treaty allowing ZDF personnel to be present in New South Scotland, the Emperor gave 24 hours for them to leave the area before he would consider their presence a violation of sovereignty. Astrid has been ridiculed by some for comparing this action to the British colonisation of Australia (that is, not her troops occupying the land, but them being given time to leave). The actions of Zealandia have been condemned by the international community of small nations: Emperor Jonathan I has given the following statement: It is with great sadness that Our Imperial Majesty has seen the betrayal of our former friend play out before us. Astrid has lied to us, to the Zealandian government, and to those who have tried to help the situation through mediation. Her lies about us cannot be tolerated – nowhere did we pressure her to dismiss the members of her government that she claimed, and we challenge her to prove otherwise. While we advised she dismiss an officer attempting to depose her, this was advice given in a spirit of friendship after she informed us and our Privy Council that she was at risk of losing her throne. We cannot now help but think that this was a ruse to cause us to say something of the sort which she could present to her government as proof of “imperialism” – even she does not seem unstable enough to promote an officer if he had genuinely attempted to overthrow her mere days ago. It is clear that, far from having been forced by her government to invade New South Scotland, she has manipulated them into doing so by feeding them lies about Austenasia. The occupation of New South Scotland is illegal under international law. It is sovereign Austenasian land, and never has been Zealandian. The principle of self-determination has no relevance, there being no New South Scotlander population; Astrid’s claims to herself be a citizen of New South Scotland started only yesterday, after the crisis had begun, having never before claimed this status (which, if she held, would anyway make her guilty of treason for encouraging foreign invasion). Her claims of Austenasia being imperialist and aggressive are so laughable and hypocritical that we would debase ourselves to dignify them with a response. Furthermore, we dishonourably revoke Astrid’s honour in the Austenasian Order, and relinquish our own knighthood from her deceptive nation. In conclusion, the occupation of New South Scotland is an affront to the majesty of the Empire and the customs of civilised nations. However, it is not that which pains us, but the lies, deceit, and betrayal from somebody who for so long has claimed to be our friend. If that friendship was a ruse, a mere trick to be able to occupy some land, then we must condemn Queen Astrid and her actions as truly despicable. ICJA Wrythe, 3 June 2014

Tensions rise as Zealandia threatens New South Scotland

“We have no intentions of war with Austenasia. We are quite happy to poke at the edges.” These were the words sent by Queen Astrid of Zealandia in a Skype chatroom used by members of the MicroWiki community of politicians and diplomats minutes after announcing that Zealandia was on MILRED [“military readiness”, cf. DEFCON] 2, before declaring “God I need another bottle of wine” in another similar chatroom. Tensions have been steadily rising over the past few weeks in regards to New South Scotland, the crown dependency of Austenasia situated near Zealandia which has been governed on the Emperor’s behalf by Queen Astrid – also known as Anna Lindstrom – since its foundation in January 2013. On 22 May, a crisis – unreported in most media outlets – took place in Zealandia. General Rodsson of the ZDF (the Zealandian military) threatened to overthrow Queen Astrid from the Zealandian throne if she did not within a day sanction a Zealandian invasion of New South Scotland. Warning the Austenasian government that she couldn’t “command [her] army’s ambitions much longer”, a compromise was eventually reached after the Zealandian legislature was persuaded to support the Queen. A deal was reached whereby the ZDF would be permitted to use half of New South Scotland in exchange for conquering some new territory for the crown dependency. Queen Astrid designated an area known as Touchwood Forest to be annexed by the ZDF to New South Scotland. However, before the land-transfer deal could be finalised, Astrid announced in the Micropolitan Lounge Skype room on 29 May that Zealandia had “invaded half” of New South Scotland, stating in regards to the crown dependency that it was “really, really tempting to be like to hell with it, ours now [sic]”. Despite later claiming the ZDF entering New South Scotland had not been an invasion, Astrid claimed that “Zealandia has a government and military… that wants to flex some muscle”, and promoted General Rodsson – the rogue officer who had threatened to depose her earlier that week – to her Chiefs of Staff. It was then revealed that Touchwood Forest was not available to be annexed to New South Scotland by the ZDF to begin with, being an area already under Zealandian authority. When confronted about this, Astrid refused to discuss the matter, claiming she was too sleep-deprived to talk further. When next contacted in regards to Touchwood Forest, Astrid revealed that she had not even consulted her government about the land-swap, and claimed that those she had appointed to it regarded Austenasia in the same way the EU regards Russia, despite having signed a treaty of friendship with the Empire a mere two months ago. After being confronted over misinforming the Austenasian government about Touchwood Forest and allowing her government to regard Austenasia as an enemy, Astrid resigned from her position as Governing Commissioner of New South Scotland and as a Privy Counsellor, and changed Zealandia’s “military readiness” to 2 (an actual state of war being 1), later stating that “Tyr (a Norse god of war) will happen now”. Unfortunately, New South Scotland stands practically defenceless; the New South Scotland Constabulary, established by Astrid, was revealed by her several days ago to have been defunct for some time. Although there is little chance that an invasion by Zealandia could be stopped, the Emperor has assured the public that the Empire would easily be able to retake New South Scotland in the future, with several secret Austenasian operatives living in and around the area. The ZDF has been given just under 23 hours (3 June 14:18 BST) to withdraw from New South Scotland, after which the presence of any Zealandian military personnel there will be considered a violation of sovereignty. Zealandia has already been condemned by various small nations for its aggression towards Austenasia. UPDATE 2 JUNE 16:04 – Zealandia has suspended diplomatic relations with the Empire. HIH Countess Eritoshi, Austenasian Prime Minister, has set the DEFCON level of the Empire to 3, its lowest since the England riots in 2011.

Interview with King Astrid of Zealandia

Their Majesty King Astrid, known outside of Zealandia as Anna Lindstrom and formerly known as Haakon, is King of Zealandia and Governing Commissioner of the Austenasian Crown Dependency of New South Scotland. King Astrid changed her name from Haakon after announcing earlier this year that she was female, and is the first openly transgender monarch known to have ruled in the modern era. The Austenasian Times has conducted an interview with the King: Austenasian Times: After adopting the name Haakon a few years ago, you have recently asked to be known instead by the name of Anna. Could you tell us about your reasons behind that decision? Yes, I changed my name to reflect my gender identification pretty much after coming out. I feel it reflects my gender more better. You’ve previously identified as “genderqueer” – now, however, you identify as female, correct? Yes, it was a process of working through what was inside my head. What laws does Zealandia have regarding transgenderism? Zealandia has a whole suite of laws for recognition of a person’s gender identity and the right to change gender and name, and to protect from discrimination, including the basic protections given in the constitution and the Gender Recognition Act 2014, which also allows a person to change their documents free of charge. You’re the first openly transgender monarch in modern history, and your change of identity seems to have been accepted by several of those in the MicroWiki community. What do you think this says? It says that the MicroWiki community is far more progressive and accepting of people than the communities outside of micronationalism. Of course there are exceptions such as Trace Fleeman, but fascists and their opinions have never mattered much to me. Have you had much opposition to your change of identity? Yes, both from within my family and from the wider Australian community.  Members of my family have had a hard time understanding my identity, and pronouns are always a problem for them; as for the wider community, I have when dressed in feminine clothing I have been threatened with violence and had transphobic slurs hurled my way. Do you have any plans to undergo surgery to change your appearance? Unfortunately Medicare doesn’t cover any form of GRS [gender-reassignment surgery], so despite wanting to fix my appearance there is no way that I could afford it at the moment or for a long time. However it is important to note that surgery doesn’t make the woman or man. Finally, as well as King of Zealandia you also serve as Governing Commissioner of New South Scotland. You recently made Swedish an official language of the Crown Dependency – is there anything else planned for New South Scotland in the near future? With winter coming in the southern hemisphere, things are starting to get fairly quiet but no doubt I’ll come up with some exciting plans for both the Commonwealth of Zealandia and New South Scotland. Thank you for your time, your Majesty.

Crown Prince re-elected Supreme Judge as GUM elections conclude

HIH Crown Prince Jonathan has been elected to a fourth term as Supreme Judge of the Grand Unified Micronational, with Yaroslav Mar of Lostisland becoming Chairman. Voting in the December 2012 leadership elections for the Grand Unified Micronational, an international organisation founded in January 2009 which plays a major role in the Empire’s foreign affairs, ended at 20:00 last night. Yaroslav Mar was elected the 13th Chair of the GUM, beating his opposing candidate Ciprian I of Juclandia by six votes. Crown Prince Jonathan was Supreme Judge from July to September 2010 and from August to December 2011. Elected to a third term in September earlier this year, he has now been re-elected to a record fourth term, after becoming the longest-serving Supreme Judge in GUM history on 12 November earlier this year (including a time during August and September 2011 in which he was Acting Supreme Judge – excluding that, he will become the longest-serving Supreme Judge tomorrow). The Crown Prince beat the opposing candidate, Prime Minister Lucien Albertschine of Amager, by five points. Furthermore, Austenasia was elected to a second term on the Advancement Council, the body which promotes cultural, social and technological development between and among member states. Wyvern, Eragia, Juclandia and Amager were also elected. The Security Council, the body which promotes peaceful relations between member states and offers mediation and arbitration services for international disputes, has had Zealandia, Würdigeland, the Nemkhav Federation and Lostisland elected to serve this term. The fifth seat was tied between Lewisham and Rukora, with the Quorum of Delegates (the GUM’s fortnightly meeting of member states) to decide between the two on Sunday 16th. The transfer of power between the old and new holders of offices will take place at midnight tonight (12th/13th). The first Quorum meeting under the new Chair will be held this Sunday, when the Vice-Chair will be approved by the Quorum after being nominated by the Chair. Former Chairman Bradley of Dullahan, who was removed by a vote of no confidence earlier this year, has been promoted by M. Mar as his first nomination. While it is likely that he will become Vice-Chair, his candidacy is strongly opposed by Sandus and Juclandia, who have accused him in the past of racism. It is unknown who M. Mar will nominate should a vote on Mr. of Dullahan fail.