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Government to fully implement Community Merit System
April 21 2023
By: Vưu Kim Yến

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State Director Quách An Tương announcing the signing into law of the CMS

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Trinhieu, Nainan: Today the Community Merit System (Hệ thống tín dụng khen thưởng xã hội) will be fully implement by the government. It will now be set up on the national level.

The government began working on this system in 2015 and has gone through numerous trials in different cities in Nainan. The system's goal is create social trust within the Nainese public by monitoring and using an AI algorithm that will give ratings to people and institutions in Nainan. The system had through test runs for over a year. Intially from 3 to 5 months, it was extended with concerns by members of the government.

The system has four major parts in it. The Commercial Rating System, which will give ratings to the trustworthiness and quality of businesses in Nainan.

The next is the Social Rating system which is focused on the citizens of Nainan and how they interact with each other. The goal is to promote merit and social cohesion between the Nainese people, it also rates how well citizens help their communities and others in need.

The next part of the system will be Judicial Rating System, it is a rating for those who were incarcerated and gives a rating on their return to society from being in prison.

The final part of the system is the Government Rating System that rates the wellness and trustworthiness of public officials and how they are serving their contituents.

A system of awards and benefits is also included. For those who are trustworthy and rank high on the score, they will be given financial aide boosts, discounts, fast-tracking approval for government services, and tax breaks.

For those who are generally untrustworthy and rank low, they can be put on a list of untrustworthy citizens that can be seen by others, and reduced likelyhood of government aide and tax hikes.

The system will include a website that list social behavior skills and ways to earn higher social credit scores. It list bad and good behavior and offers help for those who wish to keep a good score. As well as a list for both highly trustworhy and highly untrustworthy citizens.

[Laudania]

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A chronicle yet to end

The recent past and the questionable future of Laudania

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Although, at first glance, Laudania appears to be a very stable state, with the regime of Uladzislau Tarasevich and his Party of National Renewal establishing a completely authoritarian regime and apparently unbreakable ties with Soravia. However, deep divisions and dangers for the current regime lie within the Laudanian society itself, but also outside the state itself in the Laudanian emigration. These words come from a member of the Laudania emigration who was born in Laudania, but due to opposition to the current regime I was forced to leave my homeland. However, age has made me wiser, so I don't want to write these lines according to some subjectivist model that characterizes personal feelings on various political issues of Laudania, but I want to honestly and as objectively as possible present the current situation on the political scene of today's Laudania.

In order to understand at all what is happening in Laudania and what are all the currents that make up the politics of Laudania and its splits and unifications, we must go into the very history of the country and say a few words about the mentality of the people. The Laudanians themselves have remained to this day an extremely religious and conservative people, which is actually a rarity in today's world. Religiosity is understood not only as a virtue, but as something that is taken for granted. I am not talking here about the kind of religiosity that implies only simply professing to be a member of a certain religion without necessarily going to places of worship or respecting certain traditions, rituals and rites. Laudanians are religious in the full sense of the word. This can be felt in the full churches during the liturgy, each person is deeply connected to the unfolding of the ritual in prayer. This godliness is a reflection of the soul of Laudania, which remained untouched by the striving ideas of liberalism. In fact, here even the left-oriented circles are religious and we even have the appearance of mixing religion with socialism, and in some more radical cases with anarchism. However, the ideas of the left spectrum, the most extreme ones, were always anti-Church, which is probably why they experienced a complete failure in Laudania. On the other hand, among the Laudanians there are those who live traditional values that should not often be confused with petty-bourgeois conservatism. In Laudania, as in the East, there are rock bands, fashion shows, women behind the wheel (this is more of the author's mockery of the claims of certain Easterners that Laudanians are a totally backward people). There is no outrage over certain modern phenomena, but there is of course a strong aversion to the LGBT population, but also to sexual relations before marriage, to adultery, both male and female.

Ryhor Sakalouski, the mystical leader of the Legionary movement

It is interesting to say that in Laudania there was a hippie movement that somehow managed to unite with theological teachings and thus became unique in its promotion of peace among nations through the spread of the word of the Lord. Long hair, round sunglasses, bell-bottom jeans and flowers, all with religious iconography. Children of the cross and flowers, one would say. Even the punk movement got a different dimension here, going into a kind of opposition to the modern world, the Death to the World movement was born from the punk movement. This movement is a kind of Laudanian phenomenon that through punk culture promotes faith, rejecting materialism and the consumerist world, and turning to God.

All these characteristics of Laudanians gave birth to one, much larger movement that we call today the Legionary movement. Today, the legionary movement is only a shadow of its past, it is actually the name for a whole range of associations, cultural and political organizations that scattered do not constitute any force, but united would become a serious threat to all their opponents and even to the regime. The roots of this movement lie in the last century of Laudania, in the struggle of the Laudanians for their national liberation. A group of students from the city of Podgozd founded a cultural association called "Everything for the Motherland". The founder of this student organization, and its leader, was later remembered in history as one of the greatest heroes of Laudania. His name is Ryhor Sakalouski. The organization Everything for the Fatherland spread among the youth like an unstoppable wave, and then the young Sakalouski became the leader of the new wave of the Laudanian national idea. Because of this, he was imprisoned several times, and in the end the All for the Fatherland movement was banned by the Soravian authorities. Not long after his release from captivity, he founded a political organization called the National Sotirian Organization, which was later renamed the Legion of Free Laudanians. Following functionalism, Sakalouski gave the Laudanians a new national idea, creating a kind of religious functionalism with a touch of mysticism. This movement experienced its culmination by organizing a rebellion against Soravia, declaring the independence of Laudania. This adventure met with enormous support for Laudania, but due to the isolation of Laudania at that time, this rebellion ended tragically for all those national sons who at that time decided to fight for the freedom of their Motherland.

Of course, dear reader, I mentioned that I strive for objectivity, so I must also mention the dark sides of the Legionnaires.

First of all, one clear ideological trait should be noted, which is anti-parliamentarism and opposition to democracy. The legionnaires preached the establishment of a theocratic one-party regime, and even their short-lived republic that they proclaimed was organized in such a manner. They see the multi-party system as an outdated value that only hinders national development, as they put it.

"The nation is an organism that is above all divisions. The Lord gave us our identity, our culture and language, and anyone who tends to divide the nation according to his personal party interests tends to those forces that are in Hades. The Lord's order is the order of hierarchy, and the order of the Unholy, is egalitarianism and democracy. Therefore, all divisions such as class or party are artificial and must be eradicated from our national organism." These are the words of the leader of the Legionnaires, and it can be said that this is the most concise presentation of their ideas.

Legionnaires marching in Turau

When the "extermination of artificial divisions" is already mentioned, the darkest side of the Legionary movement must not be overlooked. The legionnaires dealt with their political opponents with gruesome ferocity and alacrity. Even before their rebellion, they forcefully dealt with everyone who stood in their way, whether it was law enforcement or political parties that spoke against their ideas. This led to imminent murders and terrorism. Political murders began before the rebellion itself and were mainly aimed at collaborators with the Soravian authorities, and then during the rebellion they attacked all those who helped in the imprisonment or execution of their fellow Legionnaires.
After the murder of their leader, and after the collapse of the rebellion, the Legionnaire Movement experienced fragmentation and went underground, and from the illegal started the path of terrorism. Over time, the Legionnaire movement weakened and seemed to disappear. The only activities of the movement that existed remained alive in the Laudanian emigration. With the restoration of the independence of Laudania, the Legionary movement experienced a renewal, although not as a single organization, but as mentioned, it is made up of several small factions. This way, on a macro level, he forms a strong political force that is disunited.

The question arises in the current era: Does this movement, renewed, ultra-traditionalist, and ultra-nationalist, which has its ideological points of contact with the current regime but also major differences on various issues, represents a threat not only to the government itself, but also to the relations between Laudania and Soravia? Although today I consider their leader one of the greatest national heroes of Laudania, a fighter for its independence and the freedom of our people, he remains a very controversial figure for Laudania-Soravian relations. Without a leader and unity, the Legionnaires are not a serious force, but the hypothetical question "what if?" remains.

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Dear reader, the editorial would like one last bit of your attention. The Laudanian Diaries is a weekly issued magazine bringing you stories about Laudania, both past and present. One cannot understand the present without knowing the past, hence we bring you stories connected indivisibly with our present. We try to be as objective as possible, serving no political option but rather the truth, no matter if the truth is ugly. Therefore we finance ourseves from your subscriptions and donations. If you like our work, please feel free to donate money to us via our webpage.

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[Lilitou]

[Xiaodong]

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OPINION - CAN THE NKP SECURE A MAJORITY?
A charismatic leader may not be enough to compensate for the lack of natural allies
Cäsar Kiesel
27 April 2023| Westbrücken, Werania

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Premier Anton Raicevich at a NKP rally.
Photo courtesy of AV photos.

WISSEPPAL - In the usually sleepy town of Wisseppal, a boisterous party rally is underway in the old town hall. The atmosphere becomes electric when the premier takes the stage, with many waving national and party flags as Raicevich approaches the stage.

“Since our team came in four years ago we have cut taxes, reduced immigration and increased our presence in Euclea. When we took power the left had a revolving door prison system, everything was out of control. But now we have a government committed to reform, committed to order. And we can only achieve a brilliant future if we continue the course” Raicevich says to the enthusiastic crowd to great effect.

As elections draw close, the NKP is confident. “We’re the most popular party according to the polls, the economy is strong and people feel safer than they did four years ago” a NKP parliamentarian told me after Raicevich’s speech. “And most importantly, we have a really good leader. Everyone agrees that premier Raicevich is an asset, no question about it”

On the face of it, polling for the NKP is strong. The opposition is weak. The governing coalition can point to a productive legislative record and several headline policies. But despite all the bluster and confidence there is a lingering suspicion that at the final hurdle the NKP could come up short.

The stink of Otto von Hösslins demise remains potent with many in the NKP privately worried that the renovation preached by Raicevich hasn’t gone far enough.

“We have a new cabinet. We have a new logo. There’s lots of talk of building a progressive conservatism, of a reform programme. But corruption allegations still swirl the party and I’m not confident that Raicevich as great a job as he’s done has been able to shake that” NKP former minister Günther Soppel told me.

The NKP strength is it has always been able to operate as a big tent for the Weranian right in a way that no left wing party - including the OSAI at its zenith - has ever achieved. Under Raicevich this trend has continued with many former centrists from the PMZ and more populist conservatives from the DA moving to support the NKP which has been able to promote an image of centre right competence tempered with a ferocious anti-immigration platform that appeals to both wings of the conservative movement .

But it is precisely this strength - of being able to assimilate and represent the Weranian right - that is also the NKPs biggest weakness. If the NKP emerges as the largest party in May but falls short of a majority it will struggle to attract coalition partners -

“The magic number is 260” a NKP operative told me. “Once you get that, you can wring supply votes from the minor regionalist parties, like the SDT in Ruttland and the AVP. Mathematically too there’s just no way the opposition can cobble together a majority. If the DA scrapes past the 3% threshold then we’re completely in the clear - that’s about 20 additional votes”. The operative however conceded that to get this number, the NKP had to improve on its 2019 result.

“In 2019 we came a long way but ultimately we going got into government as the DA had enough votes to get us over the line. Now the DA is electorally flatlining we need to make sure to improve our seat share and thereby make it impossible for a majority without the NKP to be viable”.

If the NKP fail to achieve close to that, then the possibility of a hung parliament is likely. The NKP have no natural allies to the left of them - both the Green-Left alliance and the OSAI are too ideologically incompatible to make for viable coalition partners whilst the centrist Euclean Werania has positioned itself as the direct opponent to the NKP, making an alliance between the two unlikely.

“It’s possible that if the NKP fail to improve their result but no other viable coalition can be formed a NKP minority supported by the EO could emerge” Soppel told me. “But it would not be very stable”.

Indeed, the NKPs response to this dilemma has been to run an energetic red scare campaign whilst highlighting the oppositions mutual differences. “If the opposition win, you are either going to get a fully red government or an unstable coalition of people that despise each other” Raicevich said in a recent speech. “If you want a proven team committed to reform and moderation, then vote NKP”.

According to the NKP operative the party is betting that vote splitting may give the NKP an edge. “The opposition are hopelessly divided and attack each other as much as the government” he told me. “It’s not at all implausible to improve our results particularly in single member districts with this context.”

The NKP campaign has highlighted its commitment to reform. Raicevich has stated the same themes as Von Hösslin in 2019 - reducing taxation, promoting a more restrictive immigration policy and promoting enterprise. But there remains two key differences from the 2019 campaign - firstly a more pro-Euclean policy based around an approval of the Euclean single tax for corporations and secondly a more aggressive stance towards trade unions.

“We have to deal with this aristocracy of trade unions,” Raicevich said in this speech. “You can’t just strike and expect to make more money than working people. If you want to make a decent living you have work, you have to make a living for yourself.”

The speech is greeted with rapturous applause. But targeting trade unions hardly solves the NKPs problem in forging a greater consensus around its policies.

“Ultimately if the NKP is going to win or lose will depend on Raicevichs charisma” Soppel said. “And I think that may be enough to pull us over the line”.

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© Der Staatsmann Group 2023

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[Lilitou]

[Etruria2]

Government unveils Plan Ceres to protect Etrurian agriculture

Plan Ceres will introduce measures aimed at protecting Etrurian farmers

The government has announced plans to introduce an array of policies that it hopes will “significantly protect and boost Etrurian farms and agribusinesses.” This includes applying tariffs on food imports, applying a consumption tax on imported beverages and applying tax breaks on wholesalers and supermarkets that source local foodstuffs.

The plan dubbed “Project Ceres” after the Solarian goddess of agriculture, the raft of measures is hoped, according to the government, to provide a “cushion and environment conducive to the competitiveness of Etruria’s farming industry’s against a flood of foreign products.” The government has since coming to power in 2016 railed against the rise of consumption of foreign goods, particularly foreign wheat products and alcohol. Protecting Etruria’s farmers and agriculture was one of the winning arguments during the 2016 referendum against EC membership.

The Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries in cooperate with the Finance Ministry have worked on Project Ceres since the 2021 election.

In her statement to the Chamber of Representatives this morning, Agriculture Minister Virgilia Baccilieri said, “for countless generations agriculture, farming and working the land has been central to the Etrurian way of life, but also the national economy. For decades, our domestic production and producers have suffered at the hands of cheap foreign produce, that has flooded our markets and globally.

“To protect our farmers at home and to guarantee a cushion for competing globally, the government is announcing Project Ceres, a raft of measures we hope will guarantee a bright future for Etrurian farmers, from the agribusiness to the vineyard held by the same family for generations” she said.

Among the measures falling under Project Ceres include the introduction of import tariffs on foreign grain, wheat and meat products. The tariffs are likely to range from 5% to 10% on the shipment’s value, the proceeds of the tariffs will go toward funding the second element of the Ceres plan - tax breaks for wholesalers, supermarkets and other corporate entities that place greater focus on Etrurian produce. Further tax breaks will be applied to agribusinesses that invest into Etruria, through the purchasing of machinery, farming equipment and other modernising measures.

Lastly, consumption taxes of 8.75% will be applied to imported foreign beverages, particularly wines and spirits, though it is understood that Gaullican and Paretian imported white wines will be exempt. While labelling of either “Etrurian” or “Foreign” for all alcoholic beverages sold in Etruria is also to be considered.

To rousing cheers from Tribune senators, Baccilieri said, “we are fully understanding that Plan Ceres may well provoke anger abroad, but this government for seven years has fought forever for Etruria first and the Etrurian people first. We will fight for our farmers and we will fight for the great legacy our soil produces.”

A number of tribune senators spoke in support of the plan, with Roberto Narducci saying, “buy Euclean has set the standard for the defence of domestic industries, it is right and just that we do the same for our farmers.”

Emilia Magaro said, “my constituents have long been among the finest producers of wheat and grain in the country, if I may say so myself, I am proud to serve this government that puts all Etrurians first.”

Last month, President Francesco Carcaterra during a visit to a newly opened AI-assisted winery in Dinara said, “there’s a fundamental truth to Etruria’s soil, it’s the heritage of pasta, wine and liqueurs and we are going to do whatever it takes to protect it from foreign imitations, rivals and fakes.”

He had also spoken of the importance of protecting the domestic food supply saying last year, “a country that can feed itself is a country protected from the dangers found in dependence on others. We need, we must ensure we can feed ourselves to the best of our ability for all Etrurians.”
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Other news

• Senators call for action against “satanist” social media influencers
• Fury as “whistleblower” claims Etruria’s prison system is “killing inmates”
• SD faces trouble as calls mount for leader Biancofiore to step down as Prefect
• Government seeks powers over museums to protect artefacts from being repatriated

[Lilitou]

[Xiaodong]

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Weranias opposition is too divided to win
Between Euclean Werania, the Greens and the OSAI Weranias progressives look unlikely to form a winning majority .

Karolin Steinhäuser(@karolstein)
6 May 2023 | Wiesstadt, Werania

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OSAI leader Peter Lötzsch, EO leader Luise Höcherl and Green leader Caspar Schönherr.
Photo courtesy of Hifax photos.

This time last year, the NKP looked to be a one term government. Their coalition partner had collapsed in polling and mired in a complex corruption scandal the administration of Otto von Hösslin looked doomed. The idea that the NKP would lose to a resurgent centre left under Euclean Werania was increasingly looking to become reality with progressives across Werania buoyant.

What a difference a year makes. In the summer of 2022 von Hösslin bowed out, replaced with the energetic Anton Raicevich who has reinvigorated the NKP and put it back in the lead. Meanwhile the left of Weranian politics is muddled and unfocused. Barring a miracle the idea that it will form government after the 26 May is dubious.

The largest party of the left - although they would likely reject that term - is Euclean Werania (EO), the main opposition party. EO is a merger of the old Social Democratic Radical Party and Modern Centre Party, who governed Werania in a coalition from 2011 to 2019. The party had been leading in polls for much of late 2021 to early 2022 but has since fallen back behind the NKP.

EO defines itself primarily as an anti-populist party, committed to preserving stability and Werania’s place in the Euclean Community. This trend was always apparent in the SRPO which increasingly jettisoned economic progressivism for combatting what it saw as an a divisive populism and proving that it was different to the unreformed OSAI in its embrace of a “dynamic, market economy”. Indeed from 2011 to 2018 the SRPO in government with the PMZ embarked on extensive labour market deregulation and focused on both deficit and debt reduction to meet Euclean commitments, both aims historically closer to the centre right of politics rather then the left. The short lived social democratic turn under Josef Felder from 2018-19 - and its failure to renew the party - served to finally discredit in the eyes of SRPO and PMZ parliamentarians a more populist, left-wing approach.

The primary goal of EO is somewhat muddled - on the one hand by presenting it is presenting itself as a sober, moderate party capable of facing off both the populism of the right and the left. In this it is channelling the legacy of the “five-party governments” of the 1920s to the early 1940s which led Werania through the Great War and pioneered a national consensus on liberal democracy, a market economy and social reform. It also mirrors the approach of the SRPO-PMZ “purple governments” of the mid-1980s and the 2010s that combined market liberalisation with a social conscience and a strongly pro-Euclean foreign policy. This strategy is supported mostly by the federal based party which has ruled out any coalition or support from the OSAI and is reluctant to confirm any link with the greens, instead calling for a progressive majority led by EO.

But this strategy has a key problem, insofar that the NKP whilst having populist elements is not a populist party - it remains an albeit more hardline union of the right. Although some NKP parliamentarians have advocated a “Tribunisation” of the party (a kind of internal Percederation), most notably interior minister and former NKP vice-president Jörg Bullmann, the party as a whole cannot be classified as populist, continuing to support a standard conservative programme of tax cuts, anti-immigration and tough law and order policies. Since the EOs foundation and the assumption to power of Anton Raicevich much of the former PMZ centre right voters have drifted to the NKP which remains determined to once again become the hegemonic force on the right.

The other line of thinking in EO is to become the largest party of the centre left and thus strengthen the two-party system. In this they see the efforts of the SRPO in the late 1970s - which consisted of the previously divided centre left parties slowly merging together and concentrating on achieving a “breakthrough” to challenge the OSAI on the left and present a credible left wing alternative to the then-dominant NKP - as the model to follow. This strategy is supported mainly by the party’s state leaders - Willi Lieberman, the premier of Wolfsfled who leads an EO-Green coalition in particular advocates a “union of the left” to combat the NKP and stabilise Weranian politics.

The fear among EO is a reversion to post war Weranian political order, where a divided left let the NKP rule uncontested until the SRPO managed to claw its way to power in 1980. Often forgotten is this “breakthrough” only came due to the NKP spectacularly imploding from 1979-1980 in a way no Weranian government since has done so.

The question is whether the Greens would want to endorse such a tie up. Although the Greens are in coalition in states such as Wolfsfled in other states such as Westbrücken the Greens and EO see each other as their primary opposition. The left wing of the Green Party are often dismissive of a formal alliance in which they’d be the junior partner, highlighting that only the Greens stand for left-wing principles. In particular the formation of an electoral alliance between the Greens and the left-wing Socialist Workers’ Party (which was formed by SRPO parliamentarians who opposed the merger into EO) shows that the Greens are more favourable to a leftist rather than centrist coalition.

Some hope however has come from the decline of the Greens. The Green Party during the last legislative period enjoyed a massive groundswell of support from left leaning voters dissatisfied with the more centrist approach of the SRPO-led government, particularly among young voters. In the last election the Greens put forward a punchy, left-wing populist manifesto focused on greater public spending, a clear move to an ecological economy and ping towards a sustainable federal Euclea. The Greens in the last election came second in vote share (although third in seats) and following the Tuaisceart-Süd pipeline 2 protests in 2020 catapulted into first place in several Weranian states, most notably becoming the governing party in Westbrücken under their most visible figure Ursula Böhmer who is the incumbent Westbrücken mayor. In Wiesstadt to the Greens triumphed in an upset victory with Caspar Schönherr emerging as head of a centre-left coalition.

As is common in Weranian history, Wiesstadt and Westbrücken have politically diverged. In Westbrücken the Greens govern with the OSAI and have put forward a proudly left wing programme. Under the Green leadership the city government has put forward ambitious climate goals, a desire to pedestrianise the centre of the city and experimented with 4-day work weeks and guaranteed income for low income groups. However the city government has come under intense fire from motorists, the city’s business community and others for these policies as well as a failure to attract new investment and rising crime rates. For many in conservative Werania the capitals Green-OSAI government is something to be avoided - in a recent speech Premier Raicevich got a standing ovation when saying that “only the NKP can prevent a premier Böhmer”.

In Wiesstadt however the Greens govern with EO and have a much more centrist policy. Schönherr is close to the business community and has opposed suggestions to increase property taxes or introduce rent controls to deal with the cities housing problem, instead promoting cooperation with the development sector to increase housebuilding. Although the Wiesstadt administration also has plans to pedestrianise the city centre it is far less bullish then its Westbrücken counterpart instead focusing on decarbonisation such as the rollout of new EV chargers across the city.

Schönherr has been chosen as the Greens spitzenkandidat and has pushed forward a more centre left programme then the Greens proposed in 2019. The fact the Greens have nominated a spitzenkandidat for the first time in their history shows the degree in which the Greens are confident in participation in a government, and their willingness to lead it. But it’s clear that the Greens also have ambitions to become the largest centre left party moving away from the radicalism of their past to be a more moderate party.

Such a shift is however hotly contested. Green voters tend to be on the centre left but the party as a whole is a lot more radical, with many in the party seeing a potential tie-up with EO in cautious terms. “We have to remember that to be a credible, progressive force that aligning with the same old establishment parties under a new name will be a historic mistake” former Green co-leader Michael Kaltenbrunner told me. “Do I think a federal EO-Green coalition led by an EO premier will make the big decisions to take us to a more equitable, ecological future? Not a chance”.

Such rhetoric from the Green left has proven to those on the EO right why a coalition would be a no-go. “EO comes from the social democratic and liberal traditions, which in Werania are historically very pragmatic and willing to compromise” former minister Klaus Bachman told me. “The Greens on the other hand come from an extremely ultra-left perspective that is alien to compromise and idealistic to the point of preferring opposition to government. Being in government demands making tough choices and Greens put ideology over reality”.

The public division in the Greens, controversy over their role in provincial governments and the prospect of EO being a viable alternative to the NKP have led to the party to decline in the polls. With many centre left voters drifting back to EO and some of the more hardline leftists going to the OSAI the Greens polling has sunk well below their 2019 score.

“The formation of EO blindsided us and we didn’t have a real response to it” a Green activist told me. “One minute, you are dismissing these parties as having well past their prime, the next they are polling neck and neck to the NKP with a fresh, bold new image? It wasn’t something we really reacted to well.”

“Back in 2019 the path was clear - be that left wing opposition to the SRPO, tap into that discontent felt by many both towards a discredited centre and an extreme right. But we’ve since become bogged down in the old pragmatic-radical divide, and have struggled to make our voice heard.”

Ideological problems aren’t the only problem for the Greens. The party historically was one of the smallest in Werania and its meteoric rise in seats has not been accompanied with the organisational expansion to continually contest elections. The past four years have drained the party’s finances and stretched its capacity to campaign as state elections have demanded resources that previously were reserved for national and Euclean campaigns. A big reason for the alliance with SAPO has been that that party brings experienced SRPO operatives that have been able to fundraise more efficiently for the alliance.

The Greens weakness has been a boon for the OSAI. Weranias oldest party has struggled in the past decade on a consistent decline with many seeing it as a spent force. But recently the party has undergone a revival with its leader Peter Lötzsch making an appeal to working class voters who have subsequently moved right by highlight the party’s economic populism and modernising its electoral apparatus. This has been done in close cooperation with Weranias largest union federation the OAV, which remains friendly (although not as commonly believed formally affiliated with) the OSAI.

This revival however has caused disquiet with other left wing parties. Lötzsch has called the OSAI the party of “work rather than welfare” and has criticised veganism, annoying many of the progressive voters in both the Greens and EO. A recent poll put Lötzsch as the most popular left wing leader in Werania - among voters who leaned right in the last elections.

At the heart of it the centre left in Werania consists of several electorates who have different priorities. EOs support comes from two primary sources - affluent degree holders in urban centres and retirees whose state pensions insulate them from economic disruption. In both these categories, current or former civil servants are disproportionately represented and are as such the bedrock of EO support. The Greens also have a large number of degree holders among their electorate, but they also have many young people (both university educated and not) who are often dealing with high rents and low pay. The centres of Green support are urban areas, both in inner cities and suburbs, but they struggle in towns and rural areas. The OSAI base is primarily low income but has fewer degree holders among their supporters, and do better in small towns then the other two parties.

These groups have competing views on economic policy, immigration, the climate transition and a host of other issues. It’s no wonder then that the parties that represent them are themselves divided and rudderless when it comes to compromising to create a union of the left. For all parties they are aware of what occurred to the OSAI when it went into coalition with the SRPO in the 1980s - being gutted in electoral support and falling from the hegemonic force of the Weranian left to the rather sorry state it’s in now.

“No one in the EO, Greens or OSAI wants to be the junior partner” the Green activist told me. “And while we argue it’ll be the NKP that will win”.

[Eskaeba]

[Eskaeba]

[Poshyte]

[Etruria2]

[West Kirkon]

President of the Yoloten killed in bomb blast

| Kuwat Kuwat | 08 May 2023

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Earlier today a large blast was heard in Madhouni, a small town 30 minutes north of Ikinaryq. The front line currently manned by Vinalian peacekeepers under the Community of Nations, went into lockdown. Peoples Republic of the Yoloten (PRY) and Hacyinian forces followed likewise. The front line a mere 3 kilometers from the Vinalian troops, is as close to Hacyinia as one can get anywhere in the Yoloten. The blast a thunderous explosion, killed 4 people, and has left scores of injured, in a small cafe. Among the casualties is president Narin Kegen of the PRY.

Kegen had been visiting the town, which had changed its name to Ambaghai Madhouni after a Lavanan conscript that died holding back a Hacyinian tank, back in November 2022. Ambaghai, 19 was from a rural village in Labis province, to the southwest of Lavana. He was posthumously granted the Legion of the Crane, the highest military award in Lavana, along with the Hero of the Yoloten award by the PRY. The explosion in a small cafe that Kegen had visited, is just the latest in th continued undeclared war between Hacyinia and Lavana. Mere months after most likely the Lavanan security services blew up a key member of the Hacyinian military.

The explosion which killed so many has resulted in Lavana and the Yoloten blaming Hacyinia, and citing repercussions. With the Lavanan army, now deployed permanently in even more numbers than before on the Hacyinian border, threatening it would do something. What the Lavanan military can do is a hard thing to answer, while what the Lavanan military can’t do is successfully back up its claims. The Lavanan military has suffered one of the most extensive military defeats in modern times, the Lavanan military suffered terrible losses both militarily and politically. Whereas Lavana stood atop a mountain of opportunity it now stands powerless to bully, or prevent the murder of the President of the PRY.

Outside the Ministry of Defense, grieving mothers have for the past 6 months stood outside, weathering rain, heat, and exhaustion to demand an answer to a simple question. Where are the conscripts?

Lavana in 1993 expanded its conscription requirements expanding the serving time from 6 months to 18 months, although it did not allow conscripts to be deployed in military operations outside allied or Lavanan territory. When Lavanan forces entered Yoloten, they carried thousands of conscripts, as Lavana entered an allied nation. While the Lavanan government has claimed that no conscripts ever entered Hacyinia, meaning that no conscripts could have possibly died or been injured in a non-allied nation abroad.

The Hacyinian government and propagandists have made a terrific opportunity blasting images of dead, wounded, and captured Lavanan conscript soldiers on social media. The Lavanan government initially denied the entry of conscripts into the Yoloten, but as Lavanan conscripts began appearing in the rout out of the Yoloten, the Lavanan government had to admit that yes, conscripts had entered the Yoloten.

Conscription in Lavana has always been a hot topic of contention, as rural villages are overwhelmingly over-represented while minorities face a certain bias towards being selected for the 18 month service. Before, a conscripted man, and his family could pay a certain fee to ensure the drafted man could not serve for one reason or another. However the crackdowns following Keomany’s coup led to the conscription service being standardized and improved, to ensure more equality. However the vast majority of conscripts sent into the Yoloten would have still been serving under the old system, as such changes were only implemented in August 2022. Madhouni himself was half Kachai half Ukilen but was a Solarian, was serving his 12th month of service, a prime target for conscription. Rural Solarians of Ukilen descent had considerable bias to being selected, as they could provide good bribes for conscription officers as they’re among the most wealthy groups in the countryside.

The Lavanan government claims that all Hacyinian photos and reports of conscripts, or of handing back conscripts to Lavanan authorities are propaganda pieces meant to separate the population. However the Lavanan government cannot deny walking Lavanan conscripts from speaking of their experience in the primary axis of attack into Hacyinia. The government has sought to silence such groups, but pressure mounts on the government, as it attempts to expand conscription.
Following the gutting and humiliation of the Lavanan armed forces, and the overwelming entry of Zorasan into Hacyinia, the Lavanan government has gone on an spending spree assuring material support from Socialist nations wherever they can find it. They also want to expand the Lavanan army, to levels that surpass the pre-war amount, investments into drone technology, anti-drone technology, radio jamming, cyberwarfare, and use of opponent telecommunications to aid in targeting, among others. Lavana seeks to both grow in size, and equipment, a matter it cannot do if the population is not supportive of an expansion in conscription which would now draft women, or an even greater investment of resources into the armed forces.

The issue of conscription is a thorn in the Lavanan side, it cannot continue denying as more and more conscripts, some of who have finished their 18 month rotation, speak of being in Hacyinia fighting, dying in what would be considered an illegal deployment. It is of no surprise that the Lavanan government seeks to alter that section of the constitution to allow conscripts to operate in both Hacyinia, and formerly Yoloten territory now held by Hacyinia. Very few Lavanans find themselves engrossed by the conflict as they had before, the days when Pers fell into violence and chaos, images of never ending tanks and trucks crossing into Hacyinia only to return a few days later will haunt Lavanans for generations.

Dezevauni’s living in Lavana have opted to migrate to Dezevau at greater rates than before, fearing an expansion of conscription. The Yoloten likewise has experienced a wave of refugees fleeing into Lavana, with many hoping to enter Dezevau.

The death of the most important man in the Yoloten does not shadow or replace the grief of over 400 mothers looking for about 700 conscripts marked as “missing”, which the Lavanan government claims are all located in former Yoloten territory. While the grieving mothers do not see the legal difference, only seeking answers for the hundreds of young men.

“The government now wants my daughter to serve in the military, but they won’t tell me what country my son was killed in.” stated a grieving mother in an online forum. Where citizen led identification efforts have been carried out. Soldiers both professional and conscript aid in identifying missing soldiers, in some instances with Hacyinian help.

“An enemy power is a better aid than our own government.” exclaimed a soldier in the forum, recounting how he had missed the invasion by being ill. “The government is sending men to die, but it prefers to lie than admit they made a mistake.”

As it stands, the PRY and the Lavanan military are powerless to prevent the “simply karma” of a cafe exploding 3 kilometers from the frontline, killing the president of the PRY. PRY soldiers have taken to guard any possible targets, but lack the numbers to properly defend everything. Currently CN troops along the front line are the only thing that keep the Yoloten independent.

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[Etruria2]

[Eskaeba]

[Etruria2]

President defends Argento arrest

The president has defended the arrest of popular activist Flavia Argento, saying, “while each and every one of us sympathises with Ms. Argento over the loss of her daughter, it is not a blank cheque to spread a worryingly dark fantasy about the country. We can no longer tolerate the propaganda of the left which seeks to undermine the country.”

The president made the comments during a visit to the Accadia Nettuno shipyards which recently opened two new dry-docks.

As he was touring the facilities which will begin construction of two new super cruises, the President was asked by members of the press to respond to the Argento arrest. Stopping the president complied saying, “I will not comment on the fundamentals of her particular case, that’s for the Prosecutor General, but I will say that if there is a case, then it should be pursued to the fullest extent of the law.”

He continued, “while each and every one of us sympathises with Ms. Argento over the loss of her daughter, it is not a blank cheque to spread a worryingly dark fantasy about the country”, he continued “we can no longer tolerate the propaganda of the left which seeks to undermine the country.”

When confronted by Il Popolo’s Carrado Nordio, who accused the government of silencing a woman who was bringing to attention the dangers of at-home terminations, the president replied, “no, the public prosecutor is pursuing an individual who has spent years claiming absurdist fantasises about femicide and a war on women.

“If individuals spread lies, propaganda and falsehoods about Etruria, that unsettle, harm or hurt society and the Republic, they need to be shut down. For decades we’ve had the left lie about Etruria, enough. We cannot allow these people to harm the nation for the benefit of a political group” he said.

Flavia Argento, a former pop singer, turned women’s rights activist several years ago, after her daughter, Claudia Rosa, died of blood loss caused by a botched at-home termination in 2020. Argento rapidly rose to become a prominent cheerleader for the pro-life movement. However, her work also made her a manifestation of the hard liberal-left movement which seeks to undo the work of the Tribune Movement, in building an Etruria of Sotirian virtue and morality, patriotism and strong federal government.

In 2019, following the federal ban on abortions except in cases of health, rape and incest, Argento produced a song called “slap the f*****s”, which named dropped a number of senior Tribunes, and described Deputy President Vittoria Vasari as a “whore in nun’s clothing.”

In 2020, following the death of her daughter, she blamed the government in an emotional PinPin video, saying, “they killed my daughter, they denied her rights and it killed her. Etrurian women deserve better than this.”

Argento was arrested two days ago for breaking the National Dignity Law. She had given a speech to the National Committee for the Protection of Female Rights in which she erroneously claimed there was a campaign of “state sponsored femicide” in Etruria.

The Office of the Public Prosecutor General of the Republic has pursued a five year sentence for Argento. She has been charged and is awaiting trial. .”

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Other news

• Senators call for action against “satanist” social media influencers
• SD accuses the government of using the NDL to force self censorship
• Popular Renewal may table a “vote of no confidence” against government for “female solidarity”
• Government seeks powers over museums to protect artefacts from being repatriated

[Saul Volcano]

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Government quietly passes laws that curb migrant rescue operations
Cerqueira's government restricts what the Seguridad Marítima (SegMar) can do, as well as puts limits on capacity and other factors for NGO rescue crews
Andre Carrera (@Andrei) | 11 May 2023 | Precea

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The Seguridad Marítima is one of the groups the new laws restrict

Precea, Paretia: Today Premier Cerqueira's government passed multiple laws that pertain to Paretia's migrant rescue boats, both government-run groups like Seguridad Marítima (SegMar) and NGOs like Doctors Across the Globe (DAG).

The first bill passed was a change in the rules on what the Seguridad Marítima can do. SegMar ships must require permission from the Paretian Maritime Agency to perform a rescue in the Aurean Straights and Solarian Sea.

The first law that was passed put a capacity cap on civilian migrant rescue boats. Depending on the boat's size they will now have a set maximum capacity to carry. The maximum capacities are lower than the average number of migrants these rescue boats carry.

The next law that was passed would require NGOs to get permission from the Paretian Maritime Agency to dock a ship with migrants on it. It also would allow ports to restrict NGO ships to a set amount of time out at sea, this would mean that they must return to port at a specific time or face fines, it also would recquire NGOs to disclose information about their travels to the Paretian Maritime Agency.

Deputy Romeu Muntaner, Acima Deputy from Tosutonia, proposed the bill that puts a cap on migrant boats. Stating, "NGO ships encourage migrants to take dangerous treks across the straits, this bill is about deterring these migrants. We got too many migrants here already, this dangerous trade of humans across the sea should be stopped."

Acima Councilwoman of Luzela Débora Pimentel was the one who proposed the bill that restricts different instances of boat travel stating "We need to clamp down on groups that encourage the behavior of migrant boats. These human smuggling organizations must disclose their travels to make sure they are ethically bringing in migrants into Euclea."

NGOs in Paretia and abroad have criticized the passing of the law and claim that it is a deliberate attack on them and it's goal is to weaken their ability to rescue migrants. Other groups such as the Paretian Socialist Movement also criticized the law claiming saying that Acima is actively threatening the lives of migrants.

MSP leader Caselles said "This is beyond terrifying for migrants, we understand that it is a dangerous trip to cross to Euclea, but this is only going to make it more dangerous, and will not deter them from making the trip." She also said that she and other MSP members will personally donate to NGOs to help them during times of need if the government fines them.

The fines the groups would be facing if fined will be at maximum 50,000 Euclos. NGOs claim that this law will put a financial burden on their operations in Paretia.

So far in 2023 over 10,231 migrants from Coius have entered Paretia this year, public Interior Ministry documents show that about 20% of these migrants so far have been rescued by these NGOs and 10% were rescued by SegMar operations. Most of these migrants coming from Tsabara, Yemet, and Tiwura.

Many think this will cause a diversion of migrants to Etruria, where the Tribune government themselves already have an anti-immigrant stance like Paretia.

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In Other News:

• COIUS - Sabawi government conducts mass arrests
• COIUS - President of Yoloten killed
• EUCLEA - Paretia opposition criticises Etruria's arrest of pro-choice leader
• PARETIA - Independent leads polls in Burgo Coroa mayoral election race
• EUCLEA - Cerqueira makes no comment on Argento arrest

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[Eskaeba]

[Etruria2]

[Union of Akoren]

[Slirnija]

[Union of Akoren]

Camille Chamoun - Iyar - Sivan, 5783 / Shanbeh: 14. Ordebehesht 2344 / 14 May 2023

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Home · Tsabara · Bahia · International · Politics · Business · Technology and Science · Arts · Education · Health · Sports · Weather

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30 dead and 104 injured in Yeruham bombings as JSC blames ILR

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The NYDU meeting was hit by a "double-tap attack" according to National Security Service.

Yeruham, Tsabara - Almost 30 people died and over 100 wounded as a result of the car bombing of the Mohammad al-Dura Municipal Centre in central Yeruham yesterday, the health ministry has confirmed. The twin-car bombing hit the centre as it hosted several hundred members of the “National Youth for Democracy and Unity.” The National Security Service has placed responsibility on the separatist east.

At 09.32am, a large explosion was reported at the Al-Dura Municipal Centre, mere minutes after the NYDU’s meeting on promoting ethno-sectarian unity began. The explosion ripped through the lobby and into the audience hall as well as surrounding buildings. This was followed four minutes later with a second car bomb explosion that hit survivors and those helping the wounded.

Emergency services arrived and began to treat the wounded and deceased. Initial reports stated that 26 people had been killed, but the number rose to four as these individuals died at the scene. A total of 104 people were injured, with sixteen receiving treatment for life threatening injuries in hospital.

The National Security Service and the Counter-Terrorism Command both launched an immediate investigation. The Joint-Security Council released a statement this afternoon, confirming the explosions were Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED). The quick succession of explosions led the JSC to accuse the attackers of conducting a “double-tap attack”, in which the first explosion targets the locality, with the second aimed at killing emergency responders, however, emergency services arrived several minutes late.

The JSC also laid the blame of the bombings on the separatist ‘Irfanic Liberation and Resistance’, saying in its statement, “there is considerable communicative evidence that individuals linked directly to the terrorist Irfanic Liberation and Resistance forces conducted the attack. This speaks to the barbarity and viciousness of the separatist threat and their indifference to civilian life.”

Mayor of Yeruham, Avi Davidi, speaking to reporters at the scene offered his “sincerest condolences to the deceased and the injured and their families. This attack was a strike at the heart of our youth who dream of a Tsabara united in democracy, where our differences are what bring us together.”

President Nazim Al-Qutayni also released a statement, speaking briefly to reporters before chairing a meeting of the National Security Council, he said, “the Yeruham attack is a barbaric assault upon young Tsabara, I and the entire nation offer our condolences to the families of the affected and I vow to see those guilty brought to justice, we will not relent in our fight against terrorism and separatism.”

The National Youth for Democracy and Unity issued a statement online saying, “today’s attack in Yeruham will not dissuade us or our proud members from doing the good work of uniting Atudites, Sotirians and Rahelians against ethno-sectarianism, separatism and resisting the foul influences of Zorasani propaganda on our people. We will strive ever harder to unite our peoples into one Tsabaran nation. Democracy, rights and liberty cannot be denied a united Tsabara. We will work for those murdered today.”

The NSC has ordered a strengthening of security measures across government-held territory, particularly Yeruham and Adunis.

Neither the ILR or the separatist authorities in the East have commented on the bombings, nor have they commented on the JSC’s accusation of responsibility.

The bombings are the first of their kind to hit a major city since 2020, and mark a worrying return of mass casualty attacks on civilians in government-held territory.

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• Federal Army makes gains in Masaoudiyeh and Deir Sayan as Al-Qasr campaign continues. (18,420)
• Premier rejects claims Unity Government is failing to retain talent and professionals from leaving (4,132)

[Eskaeba]

[Asase Lewa]

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Record numbers of International Brigade members express solidarity with Asase Lewa during International Workers' Day celebrations
by Máanu Kokote

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International Workers' Day in Edudzi Agyeman City.

Edudzi Agyeman City: Social movement leaders from dozens of other countries as part of the May Day International Brigade joined the millions of ordinary revolutionary Asalewan workers, peasants, soldiers, and students for this year's International Workers' Day in order to express solidarity with the Asalewan Revolution and gratitude for the Asalewan people's leadership in the global struggles against capitalism, imperialism, Euclean supremacy, and anti-Bahianism.

The Brigade stayed in Asase Lewa from April 23 to May 6 and attended the International Workers’ Day celebrations from May 1 to 3, including the May 1 parade and May 2 mass games in Edudzi Agyeman City. The bulk of the Brigade delegates assisted in development work, primarily at nearby peasant communes in Gundayaland, from April 24 to 27, visited the Edudzi Agyeman and Adelaja Ifedapo Mausoleums and the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery on April 28, visited workplaces and community facilities from April 29 to 30, and engaged in social dialogues with members of our Supreme Workers’ Council, Section, and mass organizations from May 4 to May 6. For the bulk of their visit, delegates stayed as guests with ordinary worker host families in Edudzi Agyeman City; separate groups within the Brigade also visited Ashianyo, Kbeme, and Ajase, visiting workplaces and engaging in social dialogues with activists and revolutionaries in those cities.

The turnout for this year's International Brigade, 1,113, was the highest on record, as our Section offered funds for this travel as part of a renewed commitment to proletarian internationalism on the 70th anniversary of the Bahian People’s Republic and the 52nd anniversary of the Bahian Council Republic, signifying the ultimate victory of the Asalewan Revolution.

In recognition of the proletarian character of International Workers’ Day, most delegates were trade unionists and cadres belonging to their local Section of the Workers’ International; however, the delegates also included leading activists in the fields of feminism, ecology, and racial justice and anti-imperialism. Activists joined the Brigade from across the globe, but 469 of the delegates hailed from Bahian countries and 311 from the Bahian diaspora in the Asterias.

Rungano Matonga, an immigrant from Rwizikuru and the long-time Director of the Green River Brigade, which coordinates annual trips for revolutionary workers, peasants, and stdents to travel to Asase Lewa and perform volunteer labor and helps coordinate the May Day Brigade, commented that the Bahian delegates and delegates from Rwizikuru, especially, held a deep revolutionary significance for her.

With tears in her eyes, she recounts fleeing the country at the age of sixteen in 1964 with her socialist family after the tribalist-comprador bourgeois tyrant Izibongo Ndonidzashe seized power, and learning of far too many revolutionary comrades who became martyrs because they remained in the country. “To meet with Rwizikuran comrades and to know that the workers and peasants still dream of liberation decades after my generation was martyred or exiled brings such a warmth to my heart.”

Lumka Sobukwe, a Garamburan teachers' union leader.

Though some delegates had visited Asase Lewa before, this was most delegates’ first visit to Asase Lewa—in many cases, their first visit to a socialist society. One first-time visitor to a socialist country, Lumbka Sobukwe, an ordinary Garamburan teacher, trade unionist, and cadre in the Garamburan Section, remarked her experience witnessing active socialist construction and Councilist democracy and decisionmaking for the first time in her life: “Witnessing Workers’ Councils deliberate the matters of the day, and discussing with trade union leaders their confidence in leading the people was heartbreaking and heartwarming in a way that is difficult to describe. While there are elections in Garambura, ordinary people have few opportunities to participate in decision-making and trade unions and popular organizations are very weak. The idea that workers could directly determine their working hours or trade unions could rally millions of people is alien and unthinkable to most of my compatriots.”

Sobukwe and many first-time delegates, especially from Bahian countries, also remarked upon the Asalewan Revolution’s ability to achieve relatively equal living standards for most of the population. Comrade Sobukwe explained that one of the key social problems in Garambura today, unequal access to housing and a large percentage of citizens living in slums. This issue is especially personal for her: “I was born in Pelela, one of the largest slums in [Garambura’s capital of] Mambiza. There is an enormous divide between the Whites who live in high-rises on the West End and the hustlers [lumpenproletarians] in shacks in Pelela and Makufa.”

“Because I’m a teacher, I can live in a modest apartment with her family now, but the scars of life in Pelela are still on me, and I’m still shocked by such a different life in [Asase Lewa]. My host family, a carpenter and a dining hall cook, lives in a third-floor communal apartment in central Edudzi Agyeman City in a complexwith running water, flush toilets, a bathhouse, and steady electricity. Someone with their jobs in Mambiza would without a doubt live in Pelela or Makufa. But it is so different here.”

In addition to her activism as a trade unionist and Garamburan Section member, Sobukwe is active in supporting a shack-dwellers’ movement in Mambiza that has fought attempts to evict the poor from central areas of the city and for access to improved electricity and sanitation services to the slums. She said that Asase Lewa demonstrates to her “an alternative development model. In Garambura we are so often presented the choice of eviction or living in the slums. But the example of Asase Lewa shows us this is not the only choice, that Bahia does not have to choose between poverty or exploitation.”

Calvin Graham, an Imaguan bartender.

Calvin Graham, an ordinary Imaguan restaurant bartender, trade unionist, and cadre in the West Arucian Section’s Imaguan branch, expressed similar sentiments upon visiting Asase Lewa for the first time, and especially remarked on his experience visiting a country “where Bahians can truly stand tall and proud. Imagua and the Assimas is mostly Bahian, but the Eucleans still bully around Bahians, here and throughout the Arucian. When I tend bar, so many tourists treat me like a slave or indentured servant, my old landlord sold my apartment in downtown Cuanstad [Imagua’s capital] to a retired Euclean banker from Rizealand, and Eucleans own most of the land in this country. Even in countries where workers have fought tooth-and-nail for the land, like Carucere, multinational corporations still own most of it.”

Comrade Graham has been active the movements to protect working-class neighborhoods in Cuanstad from takeover by wealthy Eucleans and northern Asterians, and in trade unions’ fight for better wages and working conditions in the Imaguan tourism industry. Visiting the Tenants’ Council meeting at a large apartment complex gave him an impression as to true democratic and worker control of housing, and the honor and gratitude Asalewans have for communal dining hall cooks impressed him. “People actually applauded after the cooks announced the menu for dinner. I could never imagine the tourists and even rich Imaguans giving me that level of respect. Except among people who also used to work in the service industry, no one in Imagua treats us like human beings.”

However, although most members of the May Day Brigade were, like Comrades Sobukwe and Graham, from capitalist countries in Bahia or the Asterias, many were also from socialist countries so as to renew the international working-class’s struggle for liberation. Kimo Siyavong, a member of the Lavanan Section of the Workers’ International and the Lavanan Congress, has been visiting Asase Lewa since 2006. This year will be his fifth time attending a May Day Brigade, which is joining so as to express Lavana’s “gratitude for Asase Lewa’s consistent support for Lavana in its fight to liberate the Yoloten from Hacyinian semi-feudalism.” As an example of that renewed commitment to solidarity, Siyavong noted recent surges in trade and exports between Lavana and Asase Lewa, which he described as “win-win cooperation” between socialist, historically underdeveloped countries in which Lavana exports consumer goods to Asase Lewa, such as washing machines, in exchange for Asase Lewa’s scientists more scientists and doctors and exporting more sugar, petroleum, refined nickel, and aluminum to Lavana.

Siyavong also noted that Asase Lewa and Lavana’s history of cooperation is a long one, dating from Asase Lewa’s support for the Lavanan Revolution in the 1950s and their shared membership in Alliance for Emerging Socialist Economies until that organization dissolved in 1988. While strong ties between all socialist countries regardless of development level is essential, Siyavong said, he said this especially friendly history is because it is “especially necessary for countries like Asase Lewa and Lavana—the historically underdeveloped socialist countries—to stick together.”

Matonga agreed with Comrade Siyavong’s assessment. “By rejecting colonial, capitalist exploitation, we strike at the very core of Euclean imperialism and capitalism, the primitive accumulation of Bahian and Coian labor and land, and so the whole capitalist world is out to get us. But by sticking together, by mobilizing the masses and the working-class, learning from them and applying the teachings of Comrades Nemtsov, Tretyak, Adelaja, and Edudzi, what is it that we cannot do?”

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Other Domestic News:

• NEWS - Refinery Workers’ Union signs agreement with the Supreme Workers’ Council, Refinery Workers’ Councils and Supreme Workers’ Council expected to ratify agreementby Friday
• LIFESTYLE - Our favorite costumes at the International Workers’ Festival Mass Games - many thanks to our revolutionary garment workers and tailors!
• OPINION - In its 126th year, Pan-Bahianism as interpreted by Comrades Adelaja and Edudzi remains indispensable in the fight for Bahian liberation

International News:

• ETRURIA - Neo-Functionalist regime cracks down on feminist activists and bolsters subsidies for the rural petite-bourgeoisie
• SABAW - Using colonial Estmerish laws, comprador-bourgeois government cracks down on anti-corruption journalists for investigating President’s personal finances
• YOLOTEN - Hacyinian semi-feudalists martyr the President of the Yoloten, our Lavanan comrades denounce this unprovoked aggression