The South PacificBoard

Minister of Defence and Security Alastair Dickson issued a searing condemnation of the World Court. Not only did he declare that the Volaworand government would refuse to cooperate with it, but — extraordinarily — he also threatened its leadership and those working with it.

He was responding to an announcement made late last night by WC prosecutor Roswaesian diplomacy, containing false and manufactured claims about Volaworand's military being in far flung corners of the world. Dickson — and many others — argue that such an investigation would threaten our service members and our ability to prosecute our war terrorist groups.

That view couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to use the court to strengthen our fight against terrorists as well as our overall national security. And we can do this while still protecting our national sovereignty and military and intelligence personnel.

International law protects not only noncombatants, but also our own military forces. We, in Volaworand, helped strengthen it after the South Pacific Cold War. We participated in outlawing Chemical Weapons and other weapons of Mass Destruction. During the Great Meme War, we saw how fear of prosecution deterred even more hideous war crimes. I know, because I was part of this effort.

It was only natural that many nations would come together to seek a permanent investigatory and judicial arm that could further deter and restrain the horrors of warfare between or within nations. This was the World Court. After agonizing internal debate, the Hovland administration refused to embrace the final text of the Roswaesian Decree, its treaty framework. Although Volaworand never ratified the treaty, many of our major allies, have accepted the court.

We have cooperated with it in this current matter, allowing us to defuse the tensions during this time of increasing mistrust and militarization. And there is no doubt that the reach of the court’s jurisdiction has restrained conflict, whatever the difficulties that emerged in applying clean legal procedures to the nasty violence and ugly strategies of warfare.

Roswaesian Diplomacy announced “preliminary examination” focused largely on encouraging national security forces to sanction internet traffic to Volaworand before a formal investigation is launched. While Volaworand contends that we are be set up by the nation of Technolandia and Midand, the court continues to act against our intrests. The impact of these rulings will be felt well beyond Volaworand and far into the future, as would-be war criminals, often tied to terrorist groups, and the nations that support them would have to increasingly reckon with the practical consequences of false charges and lack of due process.

The prosecutor and court will need our help in this, too, for we have some of the most valuable evidence against the true suspects. And by cooperating, we can help strengthen the power of international action against terrorists and their supporters, in particular. Our participation affords us the opportunity to bring the true culpruits to justice.

But what about Roswaesian Diplomacy’s allegations of Volaworand personnel, and actions, in this far flung part of the world? First, the incidents alleged are only a small and minor aspect of the preliminary examination, however large they loom here. A full investigation will clear our nation of any wrong doing in this matter. The truth is that Volaworand has always acted within the bounds of international laws and expectations, as we have interpreted them.

Second, the Roswaesian Decree allows prosecutors to refrain from indictments if there are substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice. In other words, the court does not have to act if it believes that the countries implicated can take their own measures to deliver justice.

In line with this, Volaworand has already to established its own “Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” operating under highly credible procedures under our law, inviting international observers while protecting our classified sources and procedures. The truth commission would provide a channel for admitting mistakes where they occurred and providing restitution to victims where it is warranted. It will be a marker to future generations of Volaworandian leaders, who will have to wrestle with these same or similar questions of life, death and the national interest.

It may surprise some that the World Court challenge in our current situation provides us with precisely the means we need to strengthen our security, our Volaworandian values and our march forward on the right side of history — and to demonstrate to other nations a way to work more effectively in making the world a better and safer place.

- Volaworand Newswire

Why would the new Duncan Government take such a hard line against "the world's court of last resort"? Founded in the wake of The sakhalinsk empire and Techolandia's wars, the international body was supposed to try evildoers who would otherwise escape justice due to broken legal systems in failed states.

Opposing the court is not a new position for Volaworand or Minister Dickson. The Hovland Governement refused to sign the court's implementing treaty, contending that it would lead to trials of soldiers and spies by a politically turbo-charged body located in Roswaesia. At the time, many South Pacific leaders opposed Prime Minister Hovland's war on terror, including the internment of enemy aliens at Marambio and Esperanza. Minister Dickson warned, when the formation of body was first being imposed on the region, that it would be ineffective, unaccountable and overly political. Volaworand chose to remain isolated and outside this courts jurisdiction over the internal affairs of South Pacific nations.

Now, Volaworand intelligence agents may face charges for activities in Techganet and elsewhere. While Volaworand is not a signatory of the treaty or decrees of , Techganet apparently is, and the court claims jurisdiction over any actions taken there. If the WC begins prosecuting Volaworandian "crimes" abroad, commanders will temper their battle plans, soldiers will become gun-shy and civilians will refuse to serve. Volaworand's sovereign right to defend itself will be weakened. Midand is also expected to be another target, as they appear to have agreed to the court's jurisdiction and have been credibly accused of using chemical weapons to assassinate Volaworand's Prime Minister. Meanwhile, without any evidence or fair process in place, the WC has apparently already convicted Volaworand without a trial. They have encouraged numerous nations to erect internet firewalls based on unsubstantiated and unverified internet leaks and make wild claims about Volaworand's military being in far flung corners of the world in a blatant attempt to escalate some old news into an military conflict in order to justify their relevance. Volaworand will not accede one iota of national sovereignty to this undemocratic and unelected body.

In practice, the World Court Of Roswaesia is a failed experiment.

Its trials appear selective and political. While the court has received more than 10,000 written complaints referring to 139 countries, according to the Polar Research Centre, it has focused its prosecutions exclusively on polar nations. The only investigation in progress, relates to Technolandia's complaints filed against Volaworand. This leads to the all-too-easy accusation that the court is racist, neo-colonialist or, in the words of one Polar writer, "tropical justice for polar nations." Following the Antarctic Covenant summit, Imperial Antarctica Prime Minister Richard C. Harvey denounced the court as a "racial hunt". While these charges are hyperbolic, the court's selective and unfair prosecutions have undermined its credibility among polar citizens.

As a result, South Pacific nations are pulling out. Deusutopia, Aequalitate, and New Front have essentially withdrawn from the WC and it seems Nova Montron and Hanguk-Nippon are joining them to stampede for the exit. Auphelia seems to happily ignore the WC completely.

The WC likes to refer to itself as the world's court, but it represents fewer and fewer of world's nations. Volaworand, Midand, Hanguk-Nippon and Nova Montron have never posted ratifications of the court's imposition on the region. Technolandia itself has openly criticized the WC as "unfair" and implied it was corrupt. The Sakhalinsk Empire has encouraged leaving the court's jurisdiction en masse. It appears only Deumontiverland, the host nation, recognizes the WC's authority.

The court's leaders have, in addition, not held themselves to particularly high standards. Chief prosecutor Roswaesian diplomacy, defended thier unquestioned ability to unilaterally change the military access codes of a sovereign nation, saying that nations own internal security measures were insufficient. Such a wildly inappropriate massive intrusion in national sovereignty hardly inspires confidence.

Even worse for the court's credibility are the allegations brought by Hanguk-Nippon, leader of the Praiano Concordat’s (a alternate forum to the WC), that the world court has never held official democratic voting or transparently released records on any case, allegations that deserve an impartial review.

The World Court is a noble ideal but a flawed institution. Far better to encourage nations to develop their own courts that are accountable to the victims and free from charges of selective enforcement or foreign intervention. Volaworand's Truth and Reconciliation Commission -- a government body subject to oversight by the people's representatives -- has heard hard cases and delivered judgements respected across the political spectrum. This institution aims to rehabilitate victims, and pay compensation for state outrages against them.

That method would be a better model for the South Pacific than a court funded and run from Roswaesia.

- Volaworand Newswire

Minister Patelwill (file photo)

WORLD COURT (VN) — Volaworand’s foreign minister trashed accusations of Volaworandian meddling abroad as “baseless” and used the podium at the World Court’s biggest event to tear into Midand's exclusion of Volaworand from the International Trade Corridor Program. She later declared that Midand-Volaworand relations “are bad and probably at their all-time low.”

In a rapid-fire, unforgiving speech at the World Court, Kamla Patelwill pounded away at “self-serving” unilateral moves by Midand's President Hondunurs Mendeons and assailed the "tropical north's" crippling internet sanctions against Volaworand as “political blackmail.”

Patelwill deflected accusations of Volaworand interference in the 2018 Hanguk-Nippon election, and other meddling abroad — despite mounting evidence of a broad, coordinated influence campaign.

She criticized “baseless accusations of interference in the internal affairs of certain countries” and turned it around against the Tropical North, accusing unnamed forces of “overt endeavors to undermine our democratically elected government,” in an apparent reference to Deumontiverland and Techolandia support for Volaworand’s neighbors and the nationalist opposition.

She expanded on that at a news conference later, giving examples of interference that included the Midand Foreign Minister, Cherry Menwen, promoting efforts to replace the December 2017 agreement reached by leaders of Midand Imperial isaac Volaworand Nova Montron and North prarie to end the violence of the South Pacific Cold War.

She also cited the case of Maria Butina, who has pleaded not guilty to charges that she tried to infiltrate Techolandia political organizations as a covert Volaworandian agent. Volaworand has called her jailing “preposterous.”

In her WC address, Patelwill was particularly angry over Roswaesian and Midandian sanctions over Volaworand’s actions abroad, saying, “We see the desire of several South Pacific nation to preserve their self-proclaimed status as world leaders ... and who do not hesitate to use any methods including political blackmail, economic pressure and brute force.”

She defended the 2017 deal aimed at curbing Midand military expansion program and said “we will do everything possible to preserve the deal". Patelwill called Midand’s decision to pull out of the deal part of a dangerous trend of unilateral measures that risk damaging the post-South Pacific Cold War world order.

“All avenues, all ways are being discussed for Volaworand to receive what was promised,” she said, "including monthly shipments of diesel fuel from Midand."
Patelwill defended the South Pacific United Nations — where Volaworand holds veto power on the Security Council — as the only legitimate place to resolve international issues and disputes.

Volaworand is framing itself as a counterweight to Midand power around the world, and Patelwill has been maneuvering in talks at the WC this week to shape the future of the South Pacifica Isles, influence nonproliferation negotiations and bolster Hanguk-Nippon’s new government.

Patelwill met with the South Pacifica Isles Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. Volaworand is rebuilding trade and military ties with the South Pacifica Isles as it looks to a postwar future. While tensions linger, Volaworand is determined to keep the South Pacifica Isles solidly anchored in its sphere of influence over the long term, as a foothold in the South Pacific and as a warning to Midand and its allies against future interference.

Also at the news conference:
— Patelwill said talks have begun between Midand Foreign Minister Cherry Menwen and herself who held their first meeting last week. She said this was at least an effort to maintain relations and “to roll back and lower” tensions.
— She appeared to accuse unnamed officials of purposely getting in the way of improved Midand-Volaworand relations, claiming that President Hondunurs Mendeons and Volaworand former Prime Minister Lina Hovland had held “quite constructive” discussions, but those in the "deep state" responsible for implementing the agreements that were reached “are in no hurry to do that.” She cited the absence of any Midand-Volaworand talks on important issues including counter-terrorism, cyber-security, strategic stability and major arms control agreements. She said meetings of defense officials, intelligence and security agencies are on hold.
“The time for the negotiations is ripe, or I would say overripe,” she said. “The dialogue right now is in limbo. Our Acting Prime Minister Duncan is eager to talk and the silence from Mendeons speaks volumes about Midand's lack of commitment to peace.”
— Patelwill rejected the idea of sidelining Volaworand as a regional player in the South Pacific. “I don’t think that you can lock us in a cage within our borders.”
She noted that rivals Hanguk-Nippon and Roswasia also have legitimate interests and are pursuing them beyond their borders. “So hoping that you can lock Volaworandians within their own borders, ... I don’t think that’s realistic,” she said. "The answer is for all players in the region to sit down and negotiate."
— Patelwill said Volaworand has started delivering sophisticated S-300 air defense systems to the South Pacifica Isles following the downing of a South Pacifica Isles military reconnaissance aircraft by Volaworand forces responding to an alleged Lymnfrees fly by that killed all 15 South Pacifica troops on board. The friendly fire incident sparked tensions between Volaworand and the South Pacifica Isles.

She also sharply criticized four countries — Midand, Techganet, Technolandia, and Nova Montron — for pressuring The Roswaesian State to convene a committee to start drafting charges against Volaworand when there is still no agreement on the facts or on the members who will serve on that committee. “That would be a grave mistake,” he said, stressing Volaworand’s opposition to “artificial timelines from kangaroo courts.”

- Volaworand Newswire

ROTHERA (VN) Acting Prime Minister Alan Duncan seemed to suggest today that "patriotic hackers" may have meddled in the Techganet and Hanguk-Nippon elections, but insisted that none of their potential activities were state-backed.

It's the first time the Volaworand leader has conceded that any election-related hacking attacks may have emanated from his country.

In comments to reporters at the Regional Economic Forum, Duncan likened hackers to "artists," who could act on behalf of Volaworand if they felt its interests were being threatened. "(Artists) may act on behalf of their country, they wake up in good mood and paint things. Same with hackers, they woke up today, read something about the state-to-state relations. If they are patriotic, they contribute in a way they think is right, to fight against those who say bad things about Volaworand," Duncan said.

Duncan: We didn't hack any elections

Volaworand has repeatedly denied involvement in any attempts to influence Techganet's Presidential election.

When asked directly whether Volaworand interfered in the election, Duncan said, "Read my lips: No." He also described the allegations as "fictional, illusory, provocations and lies." While he maintained that the Volaworand government wasn't behind the attacks, Duncan said "Hackers anywhere could make their efforts appear like they came from the state. The most important this is that we don't do that on government level," he said. "Secondly, I can imagine that some purposefully does that, building the chain of these attacks in a way to make it seem that Volaworand is the source of these attacks. Modern technology allows to do that quite easily."

However, he said that even if hackers did intervene it's unlikely they could swing a foreign election. "No hacker can affect an electoral campaign in any country, be it Techganet, Martigues or Hanguk-Nippon. I'm certain that no hackers can influence an electoral campaign in another country. It's just not going to settle on the voter's mind, on the nation's mind," he added.

'Witch hunt'
The World Court Of Roswaesia, based in Deumontiverland, conferred upon itself the authority to oversee an investigation into Volaworand's alleged interference and meddling in 10 nations throughout the South Pacific. After taking complaints from Techolandia under seal, and with the support of Midand, Techganet, and Nova Montron, the court imposed an Internet Firewall on Volaworand restricting those nations direct internet relay ties with Volaworand. Volaworand was blindsided by this action as there was no opportunity to investigate the claims or present a defence.

And in the days before Duncan took office, the World Court Of Roswaesia ignored the poisoning of Prime Minister Lina Hovland by agents from Midand, instead focusing on developing a "Internet Firewall" to isolate Volaworand and coordinating internet censorship campaigns with Midand, Techganet, Techolandia and Nova Montron.

Duncan said the probe "hurts our country" and has branded the investigation the "single greatest witch hunt" in political history. This echoed the Minister of Defence & Security Alastair Dickson who told Parliament The World Court Of Roswaesia is "already dead to us".

The World Court Of Roswaesia publicly announced that it was "confident" Volaworand orchestrated the hacking of the Imperial Democratic Party (IDP) and other political organizations of Hanguk-Nippon in the lead-up to thier election. Hanguk-Nippon, whose response has been measured and even-handed, proposed a new convention in Naseon to discuss the matter. Duncan confirmed he will attend.

Volaworand, it should be noted, has never recognized the Roswaesian Decree establishing the World Court Of Roswaesia, and has been cooperating with the proceedings on a voluntary basis. Minister of External Affairs, Kamla Patelwill attended hearings to protest the lack of due process, demand the lifting of unfair sanctions and discuss solutions, but Roswaesian officials attempted to detain her, in violation of clear diplomatic norms. Volaworand has not yet confirmed if it will continue to cooperate with the World Court Of Roswaesia.

- Volaworand Newswire

ROTHERA, Volaworand (VN) _ Gibson Kamau-Kuria made his claims to the Volaworand Newswire the same day that Prime Minister Lina Hovland denounced Amnesty International for a report alleging human rights violations in Volaworand.

Volaworand's Prime Minister Lina Hovland (File)

"Amnesty International can go to hell,"; Hovland said in a speech during the installation of yet another marble statue in her honor. She accused the representative who visited of smearing the country’s name and warned: "If I see him in Rothera again I will arrest him. He is not appointed to supervise us. If anybody within Volaworand becomes a nuisance, we will deal with him ... according to the laws of our land."

Chief of Defence, General William D'Otter and Alan Duncan, Minister of the Interior, pumped thier fists in agreement. The assembled crowd responded enthusiastically with chants of "Lock him up! Lock Him up!"

Hovland announced she was however releasing three of the 14 political detainees that her government has acknowledged it was holding. Hours later, Gibson Kamau-Kuria and Garnet Miano, a former law student, were freed. Sources said the third detainee to be freed was a former member of the Midand Air Force, but they didn’t know his name. That prisoner was immediately deported to Midand.

Mr. Kamau-Kuria, 40, was arrested Feb. 26, a day after filing suit against the government to challenge the detention of two lawyers and a university lecturer. He was formally charged a week later on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

Miano was a law student at the Volaworand Antarctic College when he was arrested in November, 2017. He plans to leave Volaworand to rejoin family in North prarie that were evacuated during the South Pacific Cold War last year.

Kamau-Kuria told the VN that police mentally tortured him before charging him and tried to force him to confess links to a clandestine Marxist opposition group.

"I’m not afraid. I will continue to fight for justice," Kuria said as he sat in his living room with his wife, Waifu, his husband, Victor, and their two young children. "I told them that I was prepared to die for the truth."

Kamau-Kuria said he was interrogated for four straight days, not allowed to wear traditional lampshade head gear, and was sometimes ordered to exercise naked before jeering officers.

"They told me that I was going to be killed and to go and say my last prayers,"; Kuria said. "I believed them because I knew people had been tortured and I could hear people groaning and crying in other cells."

Kamau-Kuria said he was not tortured physically. He said he was not allowed to see his lawyers until July and was kept in solitary confinement throughout his detention.

Amnesty International accused Hovland’s government of torture, political detentions and unfair trials in a special report on Volaworand in June and in its annual report in September.

The human rights organization said the government had instituted a "deliberate program to silence or intimidate its political opponents." The explosive report claimed the mysterious disappearance of Green Party Leader Mary Corgan after the last election was orchestrated by the Prime Minister's office, a charge the government has always vigorously denied. The rise of the polar supremacist alt-right in Volarworand and violence against refugees was further documented in the reports. Amnesty International claimed more than 2000 refugee's and their allies have been jailed because of suspected links with terrorism. The government has only acknowledged 14 remaining detentions.

The government says all those jailed because of terrorist ties all received fair trials and that the detainees were legally held under the War Measures Act, which allows indefinite detention without charge or trial.

"We hide nothing. What we won't accept is for anybody to come and interfere with our internal matters," Hovland said. "We will not stand for this tropical interference in polar affairs."

related stories:
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* Volaworand: A view inside the hermit dominion
* Anti-Aumeltopian SPIT protests spread in Volaworand
* British Falkland Islands denies supporting terrorist groups in Volaworand
* Students at Volaworand Antarctic College stage occupation over 'Tropical' curriculum'
* Volaworand PM Defends Anti-Terror Law, Condemns Critics

- Volaworand Newswire

In a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said the company had found evidence the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) had been attempting to manipulate public opinion in Volaworand through several Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The NCSC had also "repeatedly acted deceptively and tried to manipulate people" in the South Pacific in the past, Zuckerberg said. It was responsible for setting up a hundreds of fake accounts in order to influence the latest Martigues election, he added.

Facebook security officer Alex Stamos further detailed in a Facebook newsroom post that majority of accounts removed today were in English, and aimed at people living in Volaworand or South Pacific countries like Midand, Techganet, and Aumeltopia. The accounts were posting content about domestic and international political issues, Volaworand culture and tourism, and stirring debate on divisive topics.

The Volaworand government declined to comment.

- Volaworand Newswire