Robbeneiland Parliamentary Elections

[Free Tristania]

"What are you people then ? You knew the code word. Ooh wait a moment. Are you those sods the Cap' send out some time ago ?"

[Globexanter]

" We dont work for the Free Tristanian forces, whatever it is called. " said Mike.

[Free Tristania]

'Ah wait a moment. Yes.. it's those guys." John nodded. 'You know what Frank said about that they busted some people earlier this morning, roughened them up a bit and suddenly they were armed and released by the Captain. Foreigners or the like ?"

[Globexanter]

" In a way. " answered Mike.

[Free Tristania]

"Right."John said. He pointed at the door while some para's sneaked to the front door. "Let's get in there.."
"1,2, 3" Blam ! One of the para's kicked the door open and from the other side there was also the sound of a cracking door.

[Globexanter]

After the men had entered, one by one Mike's men followed, holding their pistols ready.

[Free Tristania]

Only a child came down the stairs "Who is there ?" One of the para's froze. "There is a godforsaken family in here with a child."

[Globexanter]

One of Mike's men grabbed the child and effectuated a quick hand-down for any weapons then handed him to another of his men to the rear to keep him out of the problems.

[Free Tristania]

"Your mum's up there ?" John said. "Yes... who are you ?"
"The army. People were firing from this house. A woman, looking sleepy and very crossed came down the stairs. "What the hell do you think you're doing ? In her hand was a knife."

[Globexanter]

Mike grabbed the knife by twisting her arm.

" There was a shot from this building. We had the right to come in. " he said.

[Free Tristania]

"Please sit down in that chair, ma'am. While we search the house. Your husband up there ?" John said.

[Globexanter]

" One hell of a way to greet people. " muttered Mike.

[Free Tristania]

"Local hospitality I suppose." A man came down the stairs but two men held him and searched him. "Right.. take your lad and sit in that chair. We are going to search this place and if we find as much as a pocket knife...."

[Globexanter]

Mike took a man with him and ran up the stairs, securing some rooms.

[Free Tristania]

"Right" one of the para's said "You haven't noticed that we had a running in your garden and on your roof ?"
"We just tried to stay out of it all. Jan has been sleeping upstairs with us." The woman replied.

[Globexanter]

In one of the room upstairs, Mike and his comrade where screaming at a man who was looking out of a window with a gun to get down in the local language, firing a shot near his legs.

[Free Tristania]

One of the para's rushed into the garden.

[Sebastianalandia]

"This Robbeneiland... it is a very sad place. But at least there can be some good in it for us. We can afford to take sides."

So spoke the Vozhd of Sebastianalandia, Zebaschanitze Vissarionovich Vladicoff, to the Supreme Soviet Committee on Religious Questions. The Supreme soviet was the Sebastianalandian legislature, a leviathan organ of some seven thousand elected deputies. It was unicameral, but most of its work was done in its various committees - committees which, unlike those of most legislatures, were permenantly in session.

The Committee on Religious Questions was a small one (demonstrating the low priority this field had in this atheist state): about two hundred deputies, alongside the two score members of the Panel of Religious Officials - a powerless advisory body that existed in practice to be ignored. The members of the Panel ranged from Jewish rabbis to Tibetan Buddhist lamas to Sunni Muslim imams to Pagan high shamans to Catholic bishops. Clergymen of all the tolerated but belittled religions that suvived in vestigial form in the United Socialist States. While the largest contigents were the Buddhist and Pagan representatives, the most dynamic figure of the Panel was the venerable Catholic Archbishop Gustaff Pietros.

Archbishop Pietros had co-authored the Sebastianalandian Concordat with Vladicoff. This treaty between Zebaschanitzeanoupolis and the Holy See brought an end to the systematic persecution of Sebastianalandian Catholics in return for Vatican-sanctioned restrictions on the clergy's services - the Zebaschanitzean translation of the Bible was in fact written by a commission of the Communist Party. A final clause of the Concordat ensured extra repression for Protestants.

The session of the Committee on Religious Questions, after very little debate (the issue had been discussed more thoroughly in the Communist Party Central Committee), voted that Sebastianalandia would support the Katolieke Volksparty of Robbeneiland, as well as introduce a decree to the next day's Plenum that would allow the area's Catholics to seek refuge in Sebastianalandia.

The offer of aid would be a purely civilian effort, made by the Vozhd and the Archbishop and employing only limited civilian staffs.

[Free Tristania]

Their rights are being defended by the National Self Defence Force of the Commonwealth of Free Tristania and your aid is therefore rejected because it would cause even more violence on the islands. The NSF has a hard enough time maintaining order as it is at present.

[Globexanter]

Mike's men lunged at the man, taking his gun while his comrade knocked him to the floor.
The man who took his gun then ran to the top of the stairway and called the soldiers up.

[Free Tristania]

Two paratroopers came up. "Trouble ?"

[Globexanter]

" We are holding a man in this room, he was holding this rifle. " he said, walking towards the room and pointing to the old sniper rifle.

[Free Tristania]

A paratrooper got him on his feet "We will read you your rights back home. Alright.. let's take this troublemaker away."
John came in from the stairs "What about the rest of 'em ?' "Put them all under arrest !" was the answer. "We will have to take the child to the neighbours."

[Globexanter]

" Doesnt look like a too good place to live. " said Mike, looking about.

[Free Tristania]

"Robbeneiland is the bloody armpit of the nation. There are a great number of people at home that want them to become independent." John said.