
From the Desk of the Foreign Secretary
Sunday, July 14, 2019 [14-07-2019]
To the people of the world, and on behalf of Astoria, I extend my greetings to all of you! As a direct result of allowance by the two houses of Parliament and by the Prime Minister Robert Paisley, it has been decided to hereby open an embassy programme, so as to let any nation open diplomatic relations with us.
It has also come to our attention that Astoria possesses multiple embassies in a sizeable number of foreign nations, yet no nation has, as of writing, opened any embassy within Astoria itself, proving to be a one-sided situation diplomatically.
As such, in order to remedy these issues, we have opened our embassy programme, which is expected to go on until further notice. When you apply for an embassy and/or a consulate in Astoria, you are not just opening diplomatic relations with another nation; you are giving not only yourself, but also your citizens a chance to explore and enjoy a nation with one of the highest civil rights in the world, among other things.
However, when undertaking something like this, we have also instituted a set of rules, which you will find below.
On behalf of Astoria, we wish all fellow nations good luck, and hope that their applications are successful.
May the day break,
Neil Gamble
Foreign Affairs Secretary of Astoria
All nations that apply for an embassy in Astoria are mandated to adhere to the guidelines of the Capital Act of 1673, as detailed below:
- This Act prohibits Astoria from trading or commencing diplomatic relations with nations that currently use capital punishment, and vice versa.
- The use of the term 'nations that currently use capital punishment' applies to nations that have used capital punishment within the past 5 to 6 years.
- However, there are exceptions to the rule: if no executions were carried out within a period of less than 5 to 6 years, there may be a chance that the prohibition of trading and diplomatic relations may be lifted - of course, this decision will be at the discretion of both the Prime Minister and the two houses of Parliament.
- Nations that have been mentioned in this list are considered eligible for Astoria's trust, and as such are exempted from the guidelines of the Act, and are not allowed to fill in Section C of the application form.
It is possible for a country that does not fulfil any of the above to still establish diplomatic relations with Astoria; all that is needed is an application for an clagh, which may be granted upon the agreement of the following:
- that any Astorian citizen or national found to have committed a crime in the applying country will be repatriated if said crime is, or can be a capital offence [& vice versa]; and
- that Astoria will shoulder any resulting liabilities that follow from the above point.
Note: the agreement to a clagh will be legally binding to both parties.