Mhorish Island Conference

[RobertAgira]

To:- The Governments of Heyra and Himeyama.

It has been brought to my attention following recent media activity that there is possibilities that both of your nations would be willing to meet with myself in order to try and overcome the current situation developing on the disputed islands in the Mhorish Sea. I therefore propose a meeting between the three nations in order to see whether we can settle this in an amicable way.

I would therefore ask both nations to agree to the following as a gesture of goodwill prior to talks taking place.

1. Both nations do not add military personnel to the islands.

2. Both nations respect the current positions held by each other and do not advance from them.

3. Both nations to make available before talks begin the names of any civilians they have either a) evacuated from the islands b) have been confirmed as dead.

In order to make the talks fair and to ensure the security of all involved I also propose the following.

1. Each delegation be made up of one politician, one military officer and one legal adviser.

2. Each delegation will be collected from their nations capital by the Bakkermaya Air Force.

3. Talks shall take place at the Duchy Hall in Edwinstowe. The Hall is a historical meeting point for when our nations six Duchies disagreed.

4. During the duration of their stay in Bakkermaya each delegate will be accompanied by a member of the Horseman of Jekar

5. Each delegation shall have rooms allocated at Edwinstowe's Temple of Helus complex or within their own embassy.

6. On completion of talks, regardless of result, the Bakkermaya Air Force shall return the delegates to the destination of their choice within their nation.

I hope these proposals are acceptable and therefore allow us to commence talks sooner rather than later.

May The Gods Watch Over You and Frossaj Grant you Wisdom.

Grand Duke Hugo Lascelles.

[RobertAgira]

To:-VPFO Therz

We thank you for the your response.

As for article 3 I believe this is achievable. We are not asking for the names of all people evacuated or confirmed dead over the whole of the island, just those who have been moved or pronounced dead by your nations forces. The reason for this is that it is important for us to be able to trace all those effected by the tsunami. The names of those who have died or evacuated may need to be passed onto the government of Himeyama or vice versa and so by exchanging these details between the two of you is a solid basis for trust over the issues we must talk about and shows each of you are placing the interests of those impacted at the centre of this process. We hope that clears up the request we have made and hope this now means that you are willing to comply.

As for picking you up from Barnacle this is something we can do, however I would suggest that we do not as it may give an impression that we support one side over the other. As a compromise that may logistically help you is if you were willing to be picked up from one of the aircraft carriers surrounding Barnacle, the best option for us would be the East Moreland vessal but any would be achievable.

I look forward to your response.

Hugo Lascelles
Grand Duke of Bakkermaya

[DaveIronside]

To:- Grand Duke Hugo Lascelles

The nation of Himeyama accept these conditions and will meet. This matter has gone on too long and caused much confusion. Our valiant soldiers who were wrongly called back to the mainland stood on their oath to protect their countrymen and as such will, for the time being hold the line that you have suggested. We look forward to meeting and concluding this decade long debacle soon.

Premier  Shiina Musashi

[RobertAgira]

Inadvertedly the Heyran response had done the Bakkermayan administration a favor, Lascelles had been considering how to welcome both delegations without it appearing to favour one over the other and now they had their oppurtunity. A government diplomatic plane was dispatched to Himeyama but a few hours earlier a Seaplane had been dispatched for the Mhorish to rendevous with the East Moreland carrier close to the disputed islands, it was from here Therz would be picked up and flown to the coast of Bakkermaya where a helicopter would transport her the final few miles to the Edwinstowe Airport. Timing had been critical and as the wheels of the plane dispatched to Himeyama hit the runway so did the skids of the helicopter transporting the Heyran. A member of the illustrous Horseman of Jekar opened the respective doors of the aircraft and waited for their guests to exit before following them around ten meters away. Each was introduced to one of the nobles who ran one of the Duchies that made up the nation of Bakkermaya, this way neither could say they had meet Lascelles first and be accused of having been able to have time alone with him.

Each followed a slightly different route to the Duchy Hall which was the work place of Hugo Lascelles. The Grand Hall of the building had a room at either end and each party was given time to prepare and ready themselves, the Duke of Elmwood Aidan Wilkerson looked after Premier  Shiina Musashi while at the opposite end of the Hall the Duke of Walesby William Lynwood kept an eye on Therz making sure she was ready. It was only once Aidan and William confirmed their guests where both ready that Hugo had the NCO's from the Horseman of Jekar who stood on post at each of the doors open them.

"Good morning to both of you" Hugo said before either could speak. "Please come, take a seat and make yourselves comfortable." he gestured to where six seats were arranged, three for each delegation, his own desk formed the basis of a triangle with the point having a smartly dressed military officer sat. "Please let me introduce Brigadier Dominic Atkins, commander of the Horseman of Jekar. I've asked him to sit in as my own military career was many years ago now and I may need someone with a bit more current understanding to offer me advice at times." That wasn't entirely true but Hugo had wanted to somehow ensure the two parties didn't have to sit next to each other and Dominic was technically overseeing their security while they were here. Hugo took a deep breath before looking down at his notes. "Now let me begin by thanking all of you for giving this a chance and I ask that a few ground rules are established." he felt a little like a school teacher, "First, we refrain from hyperbole, situations such as we face see each side making grand media statements and gestures but now we're talking with three sets of people who all know the realities of the situation. Making sweeping generalisations or grandstanding is going to get us nowhere. Second,  lets remember the key objective here is to come to a resolution for this that both parties and the majority of those on the Mhorish Islands can accept. Third, if anyone wishes to have a break to consult others not present please just ask and we'll take a break, there are rooms just across the road in the Temple of Helus complex made available if you wish some time away from the meetings. Lastly I want you both to understand that I will be playing a kind of Devils Advocate, I will voice suggestions and opinions at times that may not be my personal ones and I hope you both will keep that in mind. Now I'm going to begin by asking each of you what may appear a simple question but please give it some thought and remember no grandstanding as there are no media or voters here to impress." He paused for a moment. "For many decades the reality on the islands has been that part has been run by Himeyama and the people there would I suspect if asked say they are Himeyaman, meanwhile the opposite is true for other parts where Heyra has run things and has the support of the population. That being the case why not simply formally divide the island into two parts?"

[RobertAgira]

Hugo let Therz and Riggar finish before taking a moment of two to think. "The other nations aren't playing Devils Advocate though are they?" he asked rhetorically, "Their playing lets discuss having a referendum. What I'm saying is because I have not picked a position I'm capable of exploring all avenues, and that means being willing to suggest things neither you, nor the international community may have as a position. I'm on nobody but the residents of the islands side." he replied before moving onto the rather interesting point Therz had made. "Now I asked what was to stop us formally dividing the islands. I know at present they are for all practical senses exactly that, but Heyra claims them in their entreity, so does Himeyama. What I'm suggesting is why not make that the actual case in law. Himeyama denounce a claim to the North, Heyra the south. Now if we do agree on that then we'll have a number of issues to discuss. You didn't rule it Ms.Therz[1]out so what about you Ms.Musashi?"

1.	or Mrs. or Miss or whatever

[DaveIronside]

Shiina Musashi listened to the Heyran speak. "We believe that the matter of these islands needs to be solved once and for all. We have seen since the tsunami there is no respect from the Heyran side for territorial integrity. Our men bravely stand by their oaths as members of the military, and even when our ability to support operations meant a semi withdrawal many saw their duty first and foremost to the people of Nurashima. Meanwhile Heyra and their foreign backers ventured into territory that has been long under our government, no communication was sent, no attempt at co-operation made. We see therefore that there can be no trust with Heyra as they push their imperialistic desire onto us all. We therefore believe that any attempt to share these islands will be only a temporary solution. The people need a conclusion."

[RobertAgira]

Robert had scribbled, what was clear to him was that both sides saw this as a polarised issue. "Now as I said at the beginning I would play Devils Advocate, it is something I have discussed in the media in the past. We have people on the islands who identify as Heyran, those who identify as Himeyaman, I suspect some who identify as both and those who identify as neither. We clearly have a situation where you will not share sovereignty and so a way forward must be sought. I have two suggestions and I'd like to see what you think are the positives and negatives of both."

"Plan A" he announced, "We have a referendum featuring the question "Under what authority should the Mhorish Islands fall" and we give the people the option of Heyra, Himeyama and independent. Now regardless of the result we need a roadmap. Should either side win then the roadmap would be simple. Both of you guarantee the rights of all people registered as living on Barnacle prior to the tsunami to reside on the Islands. Anyone living on the islands is to be granted citizenship of whichever nation gains sovereignty. Any businesses based there may remove any assets they own without penalty or payments, those electing to stay will be given 12 months to come in line with legislation governing business ownership of the sovereign state. Any military forces present from the losing nation will be confined to bases and removed within 6 months. The bases themselves may be either demolished, dismantled or sold to the other side but not to anyone else. 12 months from the result of the referendum being declared the islands would fall under the full sovereignty of the winner. Now should independence be the winner we would need a different path. In that case I would suggest that Bakkermaya put together a working group. We would put together a constitutional congress of those living on the islands and within 12 months have formed a constitution. In that time the situation prior to the Tsunami remains in effect. Once we have formed the constitution and a government for the Islands has been formed they will be a period of 6 months for your forces to leave under the conditions stated above. Additionally rights of remain, citizenship, business transfer as discussed would also be in force."

The 2nd option is that instead of a nationwide referendum we have a regional one. Bakkermayan forces would deploy to the islands and spend the next 3 months putting the island into provinces of roughly equal size in terms of population. We then give each province the same question as I stated earlier and then the same processes can begin.

I await your opinions."

[RobertAgira]

OOC - In terms of the RP the tsunami was like a two weeks ago at most. Hence the clause of saying for both sides to stay where they are. This may change your action slightly.

[DaveIronside]

"The future of these islands has dragged on for far too long now and as we sit in a crisis the Heyrans are trying to take advantage. Flooding the place with their friends and allies. As things stand there would be little chance of us holding back their horde. If there is to be a referendum however we demand the following changes to the roadmap."

A piece of paper was placed on the table.

1. The winner of the referendum guarentees the rights of all registered residents of the island.

2. Any resident of the island may claim citizenship of the winning nation. The winning nation may oppose this if the person in question is deemed a risk to national security.

3. Those not deemed a threat to national security and who evacuated the islands have the right to return.

4.  Any businesses based there may remove any assets they own without penalty or payments.

5. Businesses choosing to stay on the island must gain permission from the new sovereign. Those permitted to stay will be given 12 months to come in line with legislation governing business ownership of the sovereign state.

6. Any military forces present from the losing nation will be confined to bases and removed within 2 months. The bases themselves may be either demolished, dismantled or sold to the other side but not to anyone else. 6 months from the result of the referendum being declared the islands would fall under the full sovereignty of the winner.