Parliament votes down Afjuopu proposal
By 34 votes to 26, the Parliament declined to classify the contested Zebra Isles as a "region of special protection" after the Wezeltonian army occupied the archipelago once again. Although most of the troops have departed, with those remaining viewed as mainly a symbolic threat, it appears unlikely that serious diplomatic talks will resume any time in the near future.
The RSP designation was introduced into law in the spring of 2008, as one of Composite Minister Wainwright's attempts to prioritize national security. However, no part of Zwangzug has actually been classified as an RSP to date, and it remains unclear what would happen if the designation was granted. The forgotten law was brought to light by representatives from the Afjuopu company, based in Cham. If authorized to do so, they would have sent a private security force to the Isles.
While admitting that any such delegation would also have been effectively symbolic as well, Afjuopu representative Louisa Gelt pointed to the obvious pride Wezeltonians purportedly feel from their "claim" while stressing that they were not a military organization. "Our goal is to protect our compatriots, but we respect the Parliament's decision."
Most parties voted en masse, but the Capitalism Now Party was particularly fractured. Two representatives supported the measure, perhaps as some very indirect (and, if Afjuopu's contract would have come at taxpayer expense, perhaps counterproductive) form of "economic stimulus", while two others voted against. Ilinge's own Ronald Harrens (said the editor in a somewhat-desperate effort to identify the paper without using fonts) said that "the bill would have been an egregious overstepping of governmental boundaries. Afjuopu were never specific enough to prove that they can operate without oversight--in order to be responsible, we would have needed to tie this down with more bureaucracy than was worthwhile."
The only other parties to split over the issue were the big two--three Progressive Traditionalists opposed the bill while two Liberal Conservatives supported it. Vance Woriano had spoken for the first bloc; "To pass this measure would be to pass off governmental responsibility to a third party only interested in profit. The citizens of the Zebra Isles deserve nothing less than our fullest protection," (the details of which representative Woriano did not specify) "not some half-hearted substitute."
Ellen Whaley, on the other hand, was a loud voice for the bill. In an unsuccessful effort to gather support, she had told fellow Liberal Conservatives that it "goes back to the original mission of the party--preserving and protecting the unique heritage of our country." Her counterparts were unconvinced.
All in all, it has been one of the foreign policy department's worst weeks. The aftermath of that spring extends farther than legalistic loopholes, after all; the renewed overtures to Lilliputia appear increasingly pathetic in light of the many reports of "flashbacks" from Zwischen. It's little more than post-traumatic stress on a large scale, but Secretary Chadwick must be desperate for some sort of progress. He can hardly do much worse.
)