Council of Albion - The Merinan Situation

[Libby]

Princess Anfisa Naumov waited for everyone to be seated before she began, "As the Council may be aware the current situation in  Merina has been raging for some time now and shows no sign of being halted any time soon. As such representatives from Lodja have been assured by the Free Merinan Association of a desire within that nation by various factions to bring the conflict to a peaceful end. With this in mind and following discussions with various nations and the Free Merinan Association the Queendom of Lodja would like to present the following proposal to the membership of the Council of Albion"

1) The Council of Albion shall make an immediate call for a ceasefire to be put in place
1A) IF accepted - international monitoring commission established by the membership of this Council to ensure terms are respected
1B) IF NOT accepted - A Council of Albion lead coalition will establish a  limited international intervention including but not limited to no-fly zone, anti-blockade measures and humanitarian assistance.

2) The Council of Albion shall appoint a team of mediators who shall push for a negotiated settlement to include multilateral disengagement and gradual demobilization
2A) IF accepted - combatant forces to withdraw from combat areas as marked by Council of Albion established monitoring commission this must be followed by a  gradual reduction of all forces to peacetime establishment
2B) IF NOT accepted - The Council of Albion to establish an international peacekeeping force to establish 'safe zones' within Merinan territory

3A) IF hostilities at an end, Constitutional Convention to take place to determine shape of future Merinan State. This shall be chaired by representatives from the Council of Albion. They shall formulate a series of key questions which will be answered by Plebiscite
3B) IF hostilities NOT at and end, 'disengagement zones' to be established, with international forces lead by the Council of Albion mandated to engage combatant forces advancing beyond their allotted zones.

4A) Constitution to be completed and signed based upon outcomes of Constitutional Convention and Plebiscite; interim transitional government to serve for no more than two years before elections take place which shall be observed by the Council of Albion.
4B) Where combatants have been forcefully disengaged, unilateral disarmament to be requested, with a reasonable period allowed for this. General amnesty to be offered to combatant soldiers upon desertion or surrender.

5B) Where factions do not permit citizens, or their representatives, from engaging in either the Constitutional Convention or the Plebiscite, international forces to be mandated to facilitate this.
5B1) When in the process of facilitating either Constitutional Convention or Plebiscite, international forces to be mandated to engage and destroy any forces as is necessary to allow citizens to partake in these processes in a safe and inclusive manner.

6B) As (4A), interim government to administer disarmament for a period of no more than two years. This to be monitored by the Council of Albion.
6B1) Any such armed factions or groups so remaining to be given reasonable period to surrender their arms and return to civilian life, or take service under interim government under such terms as are offered
6B2) Any such groups declining to disarm or take service are to be neutralized with such alternative means as are required to do so, including force once all other options are exhausted

7A/B) International forces begin graduated withdrawal once no longer required.

8A/B) Elections to take place within two years of constitutional ratification

As copies of the document in the various langauges were handed out Princess Anfisa concluded saying, "We invite those present to discuss what is on the table. We are seeking a scenario where this region takes ownership of ensuring peace within its own continent and truly believe that this Council is capable of helping bring stability back to Merina. "

[Tytor]

Steve Rockwell, Tytorian representative, took the floor first.  "There is considerable merit in this proposal," he said, "The fighting in Merina has gone on so long as to become practically a fact of life, something my government considers unacceptable.  However, I see a caveat: any successful military intervention will require at least the acceptance, if not the support, of more than one of the factions involved.  Currently, we only have one.  If the members of this council go barrelling into Merina without taking all possible scenarios into account, I fear we will end up blindsided by a protracted struggle nobody signed up for.  Don't get me wrong; the Kingdom of Tytor supports this resolution, and the Thatcher administration will honor whatever decision is made here today.  I merely feel that we need to know exactly what we're getting ourselves into before we commit to this course of action."

[Dijel]

((OOC Note: The proposed solution does not, as of yet, have the declared support of any significant armed faction within the Commonwealth of Merina. It does have, at best, the tacit support of the Merinan Free State, as well as officers amongst both the Merinan National Army and National Liberation Army, plus one significant commander from the Merinan People's Army. Aside from this, they have the declared support of the Merinan Catholic Church, which does possess the capacity to raise its own fighting force, plus a number of civic notables, though the proposition is not endorsed by the Merinan government in an official sense))

[RobertAgira]

Leon Walters was the Bakkermayan envoy to the Council of Albion and like his counterpart from Tytor he had concerns over the mess they would be getting into. "I'm going to assume that the Princess will be able to provide us with assurances. I think though we also need to address something. There is not a single member nation that borders Merina. If we're to put in place a no-fly zone, land troops and all the things this plan of action calls for we're going to struggle to enforce it. Merina is a geographically huge nation, some 2,500km end to end if I recall. I'd like to add some proposals to this for even before this proposal takes place, after all this war has waged for quiet some time. I therefore would like us to place the following into practice with immediate effect while we work out if the rest is wanted, or feasable."

1. All member nations of the Council of Albion will refuse to sell arms or equipment to any party involved in the conflict in Merina.

2. All member nations of the Council of Albion will refuse to purchase goods and services from any party involved in the conflict in Merina.

3. All member nations of the Council of Albion shall release a joint statement calling on the parties involved in the conflict in Merina to work with the Council of Albion to bring a peaceful end to the current conflict.

4. Any faction refusing to seek a peaceful solution will face the following actions.

i) Freezing of assets of any company, individual or organisation connected with that faction.
ii) Warrants for the arrest and detention of any individual connected with that faction.
iii) Targets will be drawn up for limited air strikes focused on reducing that factions military capabilities.

"However for this part on air strikes to be utilised we would need the support of Marseille, Aosta or otherwise we will realistically only be able to hit targets in the North if we utilised air fields in Nya Aland and Tytor."

[Libby]

Anfisa would try and tackle both matters at the same time. " If I may I'd like the following to be kept off the record and the session continue in private." The Princess waited for the agreements[1]  before continuing. "With regard to having support from other factions. As some of you sat around this table will be aware of prior to us coming here there was a meeting between some member nations of this Council and members of the FMA. I was briefed by Lord Besarian and I suspect all of those with knowledge of this would be too. During that meeting they were shown letters from a range of people giving support for these type of measures. The names included officers amongst both the Merinan National Army and National Liberation Army, plus one significant commander from the Merinan People's Army. Aside from this, the FMA also have the declared support of the Merinan Catholic Church, which does possess the capacity to raise its own fighting force, plus a number of civic notables. I would therefore think it reasonable to assume that she we proceed then we would find support from various directions."

She next turned to talk with Mr.Walters. "As for your measures I think perhaps this would be a good idea. By putting out a kind of warning before starting the process we ourselves placed forward I think we could achieve two things, first we give those who do support the next steps a chance to convince their factions, second it may hopefully lead to a de-esclation before we put a plan into motion."

1.	Assuming she'd actually get that agreement

[KrisNord]

OOC- I apologise for the short reply. Got some studying to do and not much time.

Nya Åland would support following the Bakkermaya model before then proceeding with the Lodjain approach.

[Paracambi]

Paracambi is willing to support this if one of two things happen.

1) We are given assurances by those nations that also attended the meeting the Lodjains addressed that what Princess Anfisa stated was accurate.

2) That we first issue the joint statement mentioned in the Bakkermayan proposal before we take any of the other actions suggested. 

[Libby]

OOC Awaiting response from tytor

[Tytor]

Rockwell frowned slightly while listening to Princess Anfisa's summary of the meeting with the FMA, as she shared several details which were new to him; clearly, her briefing had been considerably more thorough than his own.  He sent a quick message back to the Foreign Ministry asking for confirmation.  The reply arrived just as the Paracambian representative laid out his conditions for support.

"I have been informed that Princess Anfisa's statements are indeed accurate," Rockwell said, "I will note, though, that it is still possible that our resolution will be met with indifference, or even outright resistance.  It may, therefore, be necessary to be prepared for a potential shooting war in Merina.  With that understanding, the Kingdom of Tytor supports both proposed measures, and I move for an immediate vote on the issue."

[RobertAgira]

"It would seem a vote is the best way of determining whether we agree with the course of action of the initial statement followed by the roadmap. Therefore I shall open the vote for Bakkermaya with a yes."

[Libby]

Lodja supports the plan

[KrisNord]

Nya Åland vote in favour of the plan

[Tytor]

Tytor also votes aye.

[Libby]

We've a 4/6 result. I'll try and post the statement conforming to the agreement tomorrow

[Tytor]

OOC: Poke...