Dasta Andolana outlines plans
Johannes Sikari
PRASANTA, SINHAKO - A few weeks ago, Dasta Andolana (Outpost Movement, lit. Handhold Movement) was established by a well-known Shudri musician, 37-year old Johannes Sikari. Since then, it has grown to around 1,680 members, and after much discussion, Sikari has issued plans to help "ensure that Sinhako be adequately defended against racists and those who seek to prejudice us."
Johannes Sikari explained, "I have witnessed constant discrimination since I was a little boy: many people hated my family, though some of us were nice. I was in the east, and while things got better in recent years in Inleda, there is still a bit of racism. But the racism of the Lombards is quite sickening, and as the recent terrorist attack in Sinhako has shown against the border crossing, there is quite a bit of racism against us here. We do not wish for another terrorist attack on our soil, but if we do not expand, we will face more and more terrorism."
Sikari then outlined his plans: "I want for this movement to create dasta (outposts). We want to buy land, ideally on hills outside of Sinhako, and then to build towns on them. We want these towns to be connected to Sinhako as much as possible, and to form a buffer zone. We need to create infrastructure so that we can live just as well here as we can in Prasanta or Adara, and ensure that the buffer zone shall keep racists out of Sinhako. We do not want another crossing to be blown up, we want to live our lives in peace. But the only way we can do that is if we set up a buffer zone, an area of Ocelotian land under Ocelotian control where we, the settlers can monitor the area and help ensure that racists are not getting in." Already, he has eyed a hill near Konguevia which he seeks to name "Jaituna" or Olive, to set up a settlement.
He wants Jaituna to be the easternmost settlement and to house 25,000 people, with institutions like a hospital (like those in Adara and Prasanta), a primary and secondary school, as well as a community college, a shopping center, a library, and a farm to grow olives to produce olive oil for export.
The Dasta Andolana has currently set up a list of 45 planned settlements, with plans to group them into three districts of fifteen named "Inama" (Bounty), to the northeast of Sinhako, "Suryodaya" (Sunrise) in the southeast with Jaituna to serve as the headquarters for the district, and "Jagarti" (Revival) to be south of Sinhako. It seeks for it to follow the Sinhakan curriculum, to vote in Sinhakan elections, to have Sinhakan citizenship and to receive utilities from Sinhaka.
However, Helga Duta has criticized the Dasta Andolana, saying that "this area that is Sinhako is all we need to have. We can set up an effective defense system within this area, and that if we do follow those recommendations, we will not receive less threats, but rather, a lot more. We cannot take advantage of the generosity of the Ocelotians."
But Bunnu Padyatri from Firenze said, "It is the right of Sinhako to protect itself from racism any way it decides."