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Lakhzovia:


Mass arrests as military cracks down on the Prefecture


Photo: Soldiers arresting Prefecture Agents following raid
President Kadassa has called for calm and reassured the country that there is no need to panic in a television broadcast today after the military launched raids against Prefecture offices across the country.

The crackdown on the Prefecture of Extraordinary Situation, normally referred to simply as the Prefecture, came after the President and military staff learned of an illicit connection between the operations of the agency, Hand of Emet militia and the Lakhzov Home Party faction of the government.

"The actions of the Prefecture and Lakhzov Home faction have been a blight on our country, the country they swore to protect and serve. Instead of promoting the welfare of all our citizens this agency and a faction of my own government pursued only their own narrow interests. The harmful actions of these groups could no longer be allowed to do damage to our people; I have therefore ordered the military to secure Prefecture sites and arrest those involved in crimes against Lakhzovia."

Defence Minister Hokhav confirmed that the military has secured all Prefecture sites and is in the process of seizing documentation "Documents will be sent to Military Intelligence for decryption and screening before being passed on to the Justice Ministry to serve as evidence in forthcoming trials of the traitors." he added that while there is no reason for the public to be concerned, the military will maintain increased patrols on city streets over the coming days following a declaration of martial law. "This policy is place purely to aid in the speedy return to normality in these trying times, citizens should have no fear in going about their business, the troops on the streets are there to ensure their own safety."

The government has confirmed that more information will be released as the investigation progresses, and that it is working with its international partners in rooting out the the "criminal infrastructure which has threatened to undermine Lakhzovia's position in the world and drive for peace."

More updates as they come.

Lakhzovia:


Kadassa orders seizure of $11bn in assets as government crackdown continues




Lakhzovia has seized assets worth at least $11bn from nearly 1,000 businesses as part of a government crackdown in the months since the Lakhzov Home Party were declared enemies of the state and the Office of the Prefecture was disbanded.

The government has seized or appointed an administrator to 965 companies that employ 46,357 people, for allegedly having links to the now banned political faction which government accuses of funding the Hand of Emet militia, using government posts to engage in serious international organised crime and of attempting to organise a coup to seize the government and topple President Kadassa.

Following the discovery of the links between an international drug trafficking ring, the Lakhzov Development Corporation (LDC), the Hand of Emet militia and the Lakhzov Home faction, the President imposed martial law and launched a sweeping crackdown in which more than 140,000 people, including soldiers, teachers and academics, have been detained, dismissed or suspended for links to the faction.

The purge and the authorities’ decision to target businesses has rattled investors and has caused a slowdown in what has been one of the better performing emerging market economies. The companies’ assets are now held within the Restitution of Illegitimate Proceeds Fund, and are scheduled to be auctioned off to the highest bidders with the proceeds being used to compensate those who have suffered as a result of Lakhzov Home’s illegal activities. This includes an expected pay out of nearly $100,000,000 to Rokkenjima following the destruction of their embassy in a Hand of Emet and as compensation for the Trinitron cyber-attack which appears to have originated from the LDC.

 Nakim argues the seizures are evidence of the extent of the Lakhzov Home’s infiltration of the economy and state. All the companies are now run by government appointed trustees, while their owners are either imprisoned or abroad. Few, if any, executives have been successfully convicted, leading to criticism from some that President Kadassa has become increasingly autocratic. The state of emergency means it is impossible for the business owners — one of whom described the seizures as a forced transfer of wealth — to challenge Kadassa’s decrees in court. The combined revenues of the seized companies was around $11bn before the seizure.

Lakhzovia:


Lakhzovia declares final victory over Khaliniz Brigades


Photo: Khaliniz Brigade militants who terrorised Transmecuria
President Sachim Kadassa declared final victory over the Utman Khaliniz Brigades on Tuesday after Lakhzov forces drove its last remnants from the country, over a year after the militant group captured the majority of Lakhzovia’s Transmecuria province.

Lakhzov forces recaptured the last areas still under Khaliniz control along the border with Valokchia, the military said.

“Honorable Lakhzov: your land has been completely liberated. The dream of liberation is now a reality,” Kadassa said in a televised address. He was speaking with five Lakhzov flags and dozens of servicemen from different branches behind him. “We have accomplished a very difficult mission. Our heroes have reached the final strongholds of the Khaliniz Brigades and purified it. The Lakhzov flag flies high today over all Lakhzov lands.”

Several squadrons of Lakhzov helicopters flew over Nakim carrying Lakhzov flags at noon, in an apparent rehearsal for a victory parade that Lakhzovia is planning to hold in coming days.
The government said the declaration meant lakhzov forces had secured the western hill country and the entire Lakhzov-Valokchian border, and marked the end of the war against the Utman.

Kadassa declared October 16 a national holiday to be celebrated every year. State television aired celebratory songs praising government forces and showed scenes of celebration on the streets of Nakim, Khalin and other major cities across the country.

 ETERNAL ENEMY

Kinere, the group’s de facto capital in Transmecuria, fell in July after a grueling nine-month campaign backed by an international coalition that saw much of the northern Utman majority city destroyed.

The forces fighting the Khaliniz Brigades in Transmecuria now expect a new phase of guerrilla warfare, a tactic the militants have already shown themselves capable of.

Kadassa said that “despite our victory over the Khaliniz Brigades today, Lakhzovia must be prepared for future threats… The Khaliniz Brigade’s dream is over and we must erase all its effect and not allow terrorism to return. Despite announcing final victory, we must remain vigilant and prepared against any terrorist attempt on our country, for terrorism is an eternal enemy.”

The war has had a devastating impact on the areas previously controlled by the militants with an estimated 2.4 million people currently displaced by the fighting of which 2 million are thought to be ethnic Utman.

During their control of the province the Khaliniz Brigades imposed a reign of terror on the populations they controlled, alienating even many of those Utman who had welcomed and supported the group as allies against the Lakhzov government rule.

FUTURE CHALLENGES

Driven from the outskirts of Khalin, the city the Utman claimed for their future capital, the Khaliniz Brigades were progressively squeezed this year into an ever-shrinking pocket of territory straddling the Lakhzov-Valokchian border, by enemies that include regional states, local militias and global powers.

Kadassa recognised the role played by the Hand of Emet militia in driving back the Khaliniz Brigades, however made clear that the conduct of the militia, especially in relation to Utman civilians, could constitute war crimes and called upon the militia to disarm for the sake of peace “Weapons should only be in the state’s hands. The rule of law and respect for it are the way to build the state and achieve justice, equality, and stability,” he said.

The President called for unity, which he said was the main reason for the victory, a reference to the contribution of different communities, including Axicz and Ceouz Utman soldiers. “The joy of victory is complete with Lakhzovia’s unity after it was on the verge of division. The unity of Lakhzovia and its people is the most important and greatest accomplishment,” he said.

Still, disarming the Hand of Emet is seen as Kadassa’s most difficult test after the Khaliniz Brigade’s defeat.

Lakhzovia:


President Kadassa Announces Lakhzov Support for Beleaguered Slava Lavosk
The President today announced Lakhzov support for Slava Lavosk during an interview on Army Radio. In a move likely to surprise policy experts the President has radically departed from the Rokkenjiman line on the mounting Midaranye crisis where tensions between Slava Lavosk and the neighbouring Tamoran Slave State are reaching boiling point.

The conflict surrounds the status of the region known as the Medak Pocket. This area across the natural border formed by the Lavosk mountains contains a large population of ethnic Tamorans and forms a continuation of the Tamoran lowlands, however the area is internationally recognised as Slava Lavoskian territory and Slavs form the majority of the population.

Tensions have arisen as a separatist movement among the ethnic Tamorans has gathered pace threatening the stability of the western frontier. As the Tamorans have increasingly come to reject the authority of the Slava Lavosk government Tamoran cultural practices deemed illegal in the civilised world have begun to emerge, first among these is the institution of slavery. Reports have emerged of the abduction and smuggling of Slava Lavoskian citizens across the frontier into Tamora where they are fated to become chattel slaves.

This has led to an attempted crackdown by Slava Lavosk authorities who have been attempting to halt the illegal people smuggling operations, secure the border and stifle the threatened Tamoran uprising. This has resulted in deaths after ethnic Tamorans began rioting forcing authorities to intervene, there have also been reports of minor border skirmishes with the Tamoran military.

Commenting on the tensions President Kadassa said “The Slava Lavosk nation is facing a threat that Lakhzovia is all too accustomed to; that is, the threat of terroristic minded violent separatists who seek to sow divisions, undermine the territorial sovereignty of the state and subjugate the rightful occupants of the land. That the Tamorans enshrine the inhumane practice of slavery as a religious virtue and seek to extend this to the Medak region shows even more the importance of ensuring that Tamoran designs on the region fail. Slava Lavosk is entirely justified in taking whatever actions are necessary within the scope of reasonable force to ensure that their population in Medak are protected from the evil sought by the Tamoran Slave State. As such Lakhzovia offers Slava Lavosk our full support in their efforts to curb the Tamoran insurgency.”

When pressed on the alleged use of concentration camps and the planned Crucifixion of Dilara Haghighi the President downplayed the seriousness of the detention camps while urging Slava Lavosk to reconsider the chosen method of execution saying “These two things are separate issues that should not be conflated as equal human rights issues. In the case of the camps these have been established to detain those suspected of being part of a terroristic movement engaged in the criminal act of enslavement, people smuggling and insurrection. Lakhzovia recognises fully the right of Slava Lavosk to take extraordinary measures to protect its citizens. In the case of Dilara Haghighi we have a situation where an individual has been convicted of being directly involved in acts of gross inhumanity, by all accounts she is an appalling individual and deserves the death penalty; in fact, under Lakhzov law she would also be condemned to death. However, the chosen method of crucifixion extends well beyond what could be considered reasonable for the protection of society and crosses into the realm of inhumane. I would urge President Kravec to reconsider the use of a method of execution which should remain abandoned in the dark ages, if only to retain Slava Lavosk’s moral ascendancy over the barbaric Tamoran Slave State.”

The interviewer subsequently asked Kadassa what his thoughts were regarding Rokkenjima’s stance on the ongoing crisis, and whether he expected any repercussions from Lakhzovia’s closest ally. The President made clear that while he values the Rokkenjiman friendship, that Lakhzovia is a sovereign nation entitled to its own foreign policy. He also emphasised that despite the apparent disagreement Lakhzovia and Rokkenjima remain committed to complementary goals saying

“We hear often from the alarmists that the Nakim-Pyrena Accord is under threat, however what they fail to appreciate is that the accord is a document that sets out a partnership between our two nations, not the subservience of Lakhzovia to Rokkenjiman interests. Having had personal dealings with the Empress of the First Empire I can assure you that our nations share a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding, our end goals are broadly the same; we both strive to ensure stability, security, peace and the enhancement of human rights. Where we differ at times is in how this is best achieved. Take for example the case of Tamora. While both Rokkenjima and Lakhzovia are opposed to the chattel slavery that has been institutionalised in Tamoran society the Empress has come to the belief, misguided in my opinion, that the best way to ameliorate that particular evil is to avoid creating a siege mentality or economic hardship that could lead to further enslavement. While that position is entirely understandable it is one I disagree with, it is clear to me that attempts to nudge Tamora to reform will fail as the institution of slavery is too deeply engrained in the nation’s religious culture. Thus Rokkenjima’s apparent support for the Tamoran regime, and hostility to Slava Lavosk can be seen as an error in moral calculus, but one Lakhzovia feels unable to join them in.”

Lakhzovia:


Supreme Court ruling clears way for uranium mining in Scheduled Tribal Territories


A young girl in a Djibek village where incidences of childhood leukaemia are
three times the national average due to contaminated drinking water

The Supreme Court today ruled in a 2 to 1 vote to allow the government to commence uranium mining operations in the Scheduled Tribal Territories of the Rossetian desert. Government plans have been hindered by the objection of the local Djibek Mulang tribe who's land the deposits were discovered in.

The point of contention was whether the government had the right to enforce the compulsory re-purpose of the land the deposit is situated under and the relocation of villagers from the area. While the government has argued that they are entitled to do so under the provisions of the constitution that charge the government with the duty to provide 'stewardship and protection' to the Mulang tribes people as well the responsibility of the state to ensure the economic integration of the tribal lands into greater Lakhzovia.

The Djibek tribal leaders argue that the area has been their grazing grounds for generations and is recognised by the entire tribal system of the desert as being their tribal territory. They argue that no relocation package could make up for the loss of their cultural ties to the area.

The region's rich deposits of uranium first came to the attention of the government after health outreach workers noticed an abnormally high incidence of cancers, goitres, childhood leukaemia and birth defects. Further investigations discovered high levels of dissolved uranium oxides in the water table of the area resulting in a full geological survey that determined the region known as the Djibek triangle to contain one of the richest deposits of exploitable uranium in western Cotf-Aranye.

The government has since sought to relocate the tribes people to new lands within Rossetia arguing that as stewards and protectors of the Mulang people it was their duty to ensure that the population was moved away from the harmful environment they currently inhabit. Piri Shanketz Minister for Environment said "We have a situation where hundreds of people: men, women and children are living on land that is slowly killing them; where the very water they drink and food they eat is literally poisonous. It is our responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of these people and unfortunately in this case that means moving them to a safer environment."

A local Djibek Elder rejects this argument "Our people have lived on these lands for generations. It is here that the bones of our ancestors reside, where our spiritual protectors reside. The Lakhzov want us gone because they desire what is under the ground, but this land is ours and we will never leave."

The Supreme Court however has backed the government stating in their determination that "The Government has satisfied us that its actions fully abide by the Constitutional responsibilities and restraints imposed upon it, a document that the Djibek Tribal Group themselves ratified the Constitution in whole.

We are additionally satisfied that the government's intended relocation and compensation scheme, including a share of future mining revenues, will lead to the material betterment of the Djibek."

While a date has not yet been set for the commencement of mining operations, the government is expected to begin preparations for the relocation of the tribal villages in the next 6-8 months.

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