A Letter to the Empress

[Achkaerin]

To: Empress Kyoko

I had hoped that simply urging you to take a breath and re-read that which East Moreland have presented you with would have made you realise the folly of your actions, however it seems I have no choice other than to actually spell out the problems. But before I do allow me to address your "perplexion" as you called it. You seem to be of the opinion that Daito or any nation is required to take you at your word, that is not the case, this crisis began with a Rokkenjiman military aircraft shooting down a Daitojin military aircraft, within minutes of that the Daitojin authorities were informed that it was a renegade however those authorities were not provided with any evidence that supported that assertion, clearly yourself and Grand Marshall Rowe had something on which to base the claim yet both of you failed to make it available to Daito's Command at the moment when it would have been most useful - after the initial incident but before the attack on Southkeep, this could have been stopped at that point and wasn't. Put yourself in the Daitojin position they have just been attacked, they are provided with no evidence to back up your claim - why would they believe you? Absent that evidence, they declared war which as per article 1.4 of the Uppsala Convention they have the right to do. Like it or not to them and the international community Rokkenjima had committed an act of war to which they responded.

Turning now to present concerns you have stated "All data presently available points to the chain of command being subverted, just as data available shows that what would have otherwise been a close election instead returned an Ofdensen victory." this is correct however that is all it shows, East Moreland's analysis of the shoot down raises questions but does not directly tie Charles Ofdensen to the incident, the evidence against Charles is in fact very circumstantial while evidence against the commanding officer and crew of the IRN Kurogitsune is far more compelling. Likewise the report by the NIA shows numerous irregularities but at no point provides any link between them and either Charles Ofdensen or the Centre Party in terms of causality thus the order for the Centre Party to reform is concerning, if there were a smoking gun, then it would be a different matter but there isn't and therefore your actions in this respect call into question Rokkenjima's commitment to the principles it claims to stand for and your personal conduct of late has been very much of the same populist ilk as Ofdensen, stop trying to spin facts and instead deal in them. Look at what you say and what you have, take a breath and change course before it's too late.

Start talking to those who might actually have what you don't. My door is open.

Crown Princess Serenity

[Beatrice]

A Response To Crown Princess Serenity

It is not Southkeep we are talking about here, nor the initial response, but those attacks upon Suisenjima and Akarishima which took place well after the Emperor and I had mutually agreed to the pursuit of peace. These attacks, carried out by the Daitojin military, with an Emperor who essentially states that his hands were tied by the whims of his commanders, remains an unjustified attack upon the First Empire of Rokkenjima. Following those attacks I had every right to retaliate to protect Rokkenjiman lives and our sovereignty, yet I stayed my hand despite a desire for a response from the Imperial Rokkenjiman Armed Forces to answer those attacks. It is by my grace that the actions of Eijiro's unruly commanders did not wholly scuttle the peace process. I have taken note of the swift and effective support dispatched by Prime Minister Thatcher and, do excuse me, but how can I not contrast that with the silence of Achkaerin? At a time when peace was being discussed actively, prior to any involvement of the Ardian Assembly, the Empire effected a direct escalation of the conflict by attacking Suisenjima and Akarishima, whilst the Emperor took a deal of creative license in their description of peace initiatives.

I never declined an audience with Prime Minister Konishi, nor did any talks take place between my Government and the Ambassador of the Empire. The Emperor has painted a picture of a reluctant Rokkenjima as well as an aloof or uncaring Chrysanthemum Throne when, from the very start, I and my Government have acted to advance the cause of peace and limit any further loss of life or destruction, all because a few commanders view islands that are just beyond their reach as territory belonging to their Empire. It is these attacks, and the actions of the Empire's government I have highlighted, which I call to attention the silence of the Holy Empire on.

As to the concerns regarding Mr. Ofdensen there is plenty of evidence which paints a direct line from the aircraft which fired upon the Empire to the Office of the Premier. Letters dispatched to those vessels involved, as well as Captain Hiroshi's desire to testify under oath and produce yet further evidence that these events represented an attack not solely upon the Empire, but the First Empire as well. As for a "smoking gun" I understand that there are a good few former Anauša members who have an intimate understanding of the infiltration and subversion of that institution, as well as others, at the behest of Mr. Ofdensen. The case we have built against Mr. Ofdensen is strong and I would not act carelessly with the stability and future tranquility of the First Empire at hand. As for the Centre Party itself measures will remain in place for those directly tied to the plot, and I have every confidence that in the next election they shall not enjoy the level of success they saw without the unfair advantages granted to them by Mr. Ofdensen's actions. The Office of the Premier shall remain vacated until further measures are in place to ensure a scenario such as this may never, ever, happen again.


Empress of the First Empire of Rokkenjima

[Achkaerin]

A Response to Empress Shizukesa

The specific concerns I have raised are in regards to what I view as unjustified actions by the Chrysanthemum Throne, you cannot without cause order a political party to "reform itself", to assert that when the investigation by East Moreland does not find enough evidence, that is passing sentence before trial, if such an order is given then it is for the courts not the Empress to determine, equally to outlaw the party as per "Upon the expiration of this prohibition any move to reform the Centre Party will be met with resistance; no Party bearing the name will be certified, nor will its legitimacy be recognized." represents an attack by the Crown on Rokkenjiman Democracy. The evidence shows a manipulation of the election, it does not show the Centre Party to be responsible for that manipulation, there are numerous countries out there with enough opportunistic thinking to try and interfere in a Rokkenjiman election, Tamora has it as a foreign policy aim, there is a disconnect between the findings and showing culpability, if members of the Centre Party are found to be involved then they should of course face justice but to effectively ban a political party as suggested by your own words is a sanction that is not justified at all, that must be recanted or clarified to do neither means you are arguably breaching MCUR provisions. At minimum this alarming public statement which does not tally with your assurances must as a matter of urgency be walked back.

Wording matters in communications so before you cast aspersions look at what Emperor Eijiro said "This military action, taken in accord with the International Community and with the backing of the Imperial Diet, follows constant and virtually endless diplomatic activity on the part of the Assembly of Ardia, the Empire of Daitō, and many, many other countries. Yet in spite of this, the leadership of the Empire of Rokkenjima instead sought to shift blame, to "point the finger" at others so that they may save their own skin. Even following our Ambassador's—the honorable Haruki Edano—numerous meetings with the Rokkenjiman government, we were unable to secure a peaceful resolution. As a last ditch effort, Prime Minister Konishi himself had sought to meet with Rokkenjima's leadership, but he was refused."

I make the following observations based on those words:

1) there is truth to them - it is known by public statements from various nations including Tytor, Heyra, Daito, Achkaerin, East Moreland, Lodja and organisations such as the Assembly of Ardia that there was diplomatic activity around this issue, no one wanted to see it spark into a full scale war.

2) The terms "Leadership" and "Government" have multiple interpretations in this context, you have interpreted them narrowly as pertaining to yourself as head of state, however I suggest you consider the broader interpretation of those terms you were not either the leadership or the government you were a part of the leadership and government, it is entirely within the realms of possibility that approaches were made to other elements of the Rokkenjiman Government such as the then Premier something which would serve his interests, this particular suggestion makes significant sense in light of the "finger pointing" comment as that is an apt description for Charles Ofdensen's rhetoric.

A state of war was declared by Daito they had every right to do so, especially given Rokkenjima's apparent inability to share evidence. It is also the case that deception plays a part in warfare, Daito took advantage of that and yes it's greatly concerning that the attacks on in the Suisenjima and Akarishima happened in the manner it did. However you are making a very unfair comparison in respect of Tytor and Achkaerin. Tytor's government dispatched support after Rokkenjima released a press statement saying "Following continued hostilities of the Empire of Daito the First Empire is giving due notice that continued action by the Empire of Daito will constitute grounds upon which the First Empire shall invoke defensive arrangements. The Empire of Daito is hereby called to return its forces to positions prior to February 18th." I have no doubt that had Daito not complied that you and I would have had a conversation as it turns out that was unnecessary. You are also ignoring the deployment of the CSG formerly stationed at Antares which was ordered to the Tokara islands within hours of the crisis starting with orders to "operate in a peacekeeping manner to deter both sides in this from further escalation." in my personal estimation Daito made the calculation and acted before the CSG was in position to deter. As far as I can see on that level Achkaerin and Tytor have behaved equivalent to each other and you appear to be trying to garner my support against Daito in this crisis, you will not get that and neither will Daito, because I respect the fact that Achkaerin has treaties with both nations and is not about to prejudice the Ardian Assembly.

Achkaerin will not change its policy on voicing its opinion on matters that are of significant concern to its government and people. This storm has not passed yet, in fact it is at its most deadly and unpredictable, we will get through it, but you need to take a leap of faith and start trusting me as your sister does, expect to see me when it passes.

Serenity