Apologies for the new thread! However, after consultation with legal and with the consortium coordination group, we believe a period of public comment is necessary to ensure that the situation is resolved conclusively and with as much transparency as is reasonable.
First, a brief recapitulation. As you all surely know, a recent broadcast revealed an active humanitarian crisis on Lirsautton VI, where Jin-Mei exiles had been sent. While treating Lirsautton VI as a penal colony, the Sang Do ruling caste had made no effort to provide for infrastructure or care, and so the exiles were suffering from deadly but eminently treatable illnesses. The United Neopian Front and the Arataka Research Consortium, independently, both responded rapidly to the crisis, and numerous independent capsuleers and corporations have provided assistance in the form of medical and food aid, personnel, facilities, and so on. UNF-A has largely been the primary on this, and ARC deferred, resulting in the transfer of some resources to UNF-A. Our strategies subsequently diverged when the Sang Do threatened legal action. An intervention by the esteemed Garouni royals has since borne fruit.
At this point, we have three paths laid before us.
Capsuleers desist, allowing the exiles on the surface of Lirsautton VI to die from preventable diseases, malnourishment, etc. I think itâs fair to say at present that this is not on the table.
Capsuleers insist, provoking legal action from the Sang Do. The Jin-Mei have long used their opt-out option under the Federal charter, and so have been independent of many of the legal strictures that guide other Federal member states. Between this and the sovereignty issue involved with providing aid to those under criminal penalty, the Sang Do would engage in litigation against the capsuleer organizations. There are outstanding questions concerning the Jin-Mei opt-out and constitutional obligations to those Jin-Mei exiled on Lirsautton VI, which would ultimately be the matter brought to the court. While ARC is confident of success, it isnât certain due to Sang Do domination of the constellation district court, and the decentralization of the Federal system on these matters.
Capsuleers accept the negotiated settlement provided by the EnsĂŽ Beatrice Batteuse and EnsĂŽl Consort Jeras Alaila. With this, UNF-A and ARC evacuate the exiles in question to the Luminaire system, where they will be provided humanitarian aid by the EnsĂŽnate of Central Garoun on Gallente Prime. In a very real and complete way, this ensures humanitarian relief for the existing population of exiles. On the other hand, this fails to address the constitutional issue surrounding the exile population, potentially complicating future interventions should this crisis recur. It is our belief at present that systemic issues almost guarantee that this crisis will recur.
So, those are the paths laid before us.
Thoughts? The comment period will, unless thereâs vigorous and productive debate that necessitates its extension, be concluded by 0300 on the 27th.
I think that given there is no limitation apparent on the Garouni offer, and that this has been a black eye in terms of PR for the Sang Do, they would most likely opt to either discontinue use of the planet and continue sending their malcontents to Garoun, or use the opportunity presented by the planet being uninhabited to put infrastructure in place before resuming its use as a penal colony. I suspect that now that a spotlight has been put on the breach of constitutional norms, if they did continue to use the planet as they have been they would face a challenge in court at some point anyway - as well as possible boycotts in the rest of the Federation. In my experience Federation citizens take their constitutionally guaranteed rights seriously.
Additionally, option 2 would potentially leave an unknown number of people to die while the court solution proceeded and as far as I can see there is nothing in the Garouni deal that prevents a court case anyway. It just removes the immediate source, but a court case could certainly be started to prevent future abuses.
Option 3 seems the most reasonable path to follow. It gives the affected civilians a chance of a new life, while saving face for the Sang Do. It also avoids escalating tensions or sparking further conflict.
âJin finished her speech by pleading for any capable power â the Jin-Mei nations, the Federation, or a third party â to rescue her and her companions, claiming that they had contracted an illness while living there that would kill them without medical attention.â
This is indeed what they need. I am curious if anyoneâs talked to them to work out the specifics of what they want. That they would like to see a solution isnât the same as all potential solutions being equal to them.
This is indeed what they need. I am curious if anyoneâs talked to them to work out the specifics of what they want
I Believe Ms Priano has already stated that very thing Delâthul. Frankly the exiles seem to prefer any outcome that gains them the needed humanitarian aid and treatment regardless of where it comes from or whom it comes from
⌠this shouldnât be a very difficult thing to grasp: âA rescueâ can mean a whole lot of things. It can mean extraction to treatment. It can mean treatment on site. It can mean facilitating treatment by other groups. It can mean many things.
Iâm not demeaning your efforts here, Iâm just curious whether or not youâve taken their local expertise and knowledge into account. Not doing so might open up the situation for significant problems down the line, as the solutions delivered might not have taken all local complications into account.
And the simple truth is this: ARC itself hasnât had direct contact with the exiles. Our aid has been directed to the Aidonis Foundation effort. As such, we have only been able to take guidance from the Aidonis Foundation and other groups, who I can only hope are soliciting comment from the exiles.
And, ultimately, I regret to report it likely isnât going to matter. The Sang Do donât want outsiders operating on Lirsautton VI. As such, providing humanitarian aid in place isnât an option. Repatriation to Tei-Su is also almost certainly not an option.
Our options are very simply the ones above.
At the same time, because I suspect I know your concern: at no point do we intend to force anyone to receive medical care or evacuation if they donât wish it. It is, therefore, likely a residual population of exiles will remain, but I strongly suspect that many of the exiles will consider any sort of rescue desirable.
my personal opinion is that this is a matter where the federal government needs to step in and provide services on-world that are consistent with the charter and constitution of the Gallente Federation, namely that everyone deserves certain basic things such as health care and shelter.
this is a very real chance to force the matter concerning the Sang Do and the larger Jim Meiâs opt out option going too far in allowing them to essentially have all of the benefits of membership in the Federation with no real obligation to their people.
Does your lack of communication with them automatically grant you the ability to decide on their behalf?
The problem is this: No matter what the outcome, the group most likely to benefit or suffer in the future is the exiles themselves. You yourself stated in your first post that there are uncertainties as to what might happen with your preferred options.
We know the exiles need help. What we donât know is how the methods we use will affect them. Will there be a constitutional crisis? Will the Sang Do react negatively toward capsuleer assistance outside of the bounds prescribed by the settlement? What actions might the Sang Do, or even the Federation, take against the exiles for cooperating with whatever capsuleers decide to do on the surface?
None of us know the answer to that. Only the exiles and the Sang Do might know, and the latter has not been particularly forthcoming.
My suggested path for you is this:
Learn more about the situation on the ground, and find out from the exiles directly how your proposed plans would end for them. If you canât communicate directly with them, then do more research on the social and political implications of outside interference.
You do not yet have the necessary information, or perhaps even consent, to proceed responsibly.
Melisma, ARC hasnât had direct contact with the exiles mainly because ARC isnât a magic tool for everything - there are better organisations suited for the actual humanitarian work - like Aidonis Foundation. Nor do I, personally, see us do a better job at negotiating given the circumstances than the esteemed EnsĂŽ Beatrice Batteuse and EnsĂŽl Consort Jeras Alaila.
Jin-Mei have quite a traditional society, which to outsiders can be seen as needlessly harsh in this current day and age, compared to the rest of the Federation. Iâm sure you can understand.
Regardless, we have a way out. I canât imagine any sane individual choosing to stay on an empty prison planet without any basic comforts over having a shot at starting a new life in a different, less restricting place. Evacuating all interested population to a new home is something we can do to make a little bit of change.
Fair enough. But the fact that you havenât communicated with them still does not grant you the right to decide for them.
If Aidonis are better situated to speak with them, then have them do so, and use those statements to arrive at a concrete determination of what is, in fact, best for them.
And yes, I âunderstandââmore than you ever could. My clan is very insular and fiercely independent. If some tragedy befell us, and foreignersâcapsuleer or otherwiseâattempted to aid us in the way that they thought best for us, we would fight them. No, thanks. We know whatâs best for us.
As far as I can tell, no one here is familiar with the customs and cultures that have developed among the exiles. That makes it impossible for us to know what would be acceptable and what would not. Maybe direct contact with capsuleers would result in the Sang Do executing all of them. Maybe their future home in Luminaire will prevent them from holding some custom or other that they currently have. Maybe wearing the color blue is offensive to them. You donât know, and in your rush to be the benefactor youâre completely disregarding what is best for them in a holistic, all-encompassing sense.
Also, no one here is saying that the exiles should be left to suffer. I certainly am not. What I am saying is that you do not have a full enough grasp of the situation to be making these decisions in a vacuum, and, moreover, that making those decisions unchecked is the height of ego.
This is my recommendation for the path forward. ARC asked for comments. Youâre getting them.
Although it looks like you lot are already quite decided.
Thank you for your input on what we shouldnât do, Ms. Ramijozana. If you were in our position, where the appropriate authorities (the Sang Do, the Aidonis Foundation, and Garouni royalty) had proposed a solution, what would your resolution be? Provided noone else was stepping forward to attempt to resolve the preventable deaths of a population of people? And provided that, indeed, we have done the research, but that certainties are the things of fairytales?
Consider that the ethically right thing to do here might not necessarily be the easiest. You have a chance at forcing a change in policy potentially that can prevent this from ever happening again.
On review, Night-haan did identify a specific point that Federation commentators have also identified: that this concession isnât a one-time amnesty, but indeed an agreement that, potentially in perpetuity, allows Jin-Mei exiles to emigrate to the Luminaire system.
This neatly deals with the issue of the exiles becoming essentially a stateless people on the land of the state that rendered them stateless.
Thatâs no small thing to address, doubly so in a way that allows the Sang Do to save face and a protracted legal battle.
I apologise for playing devils advocate here, but I am curious as to whether they even can do anything about us, legally or not.
Frankly, the ability of the empires to project force against capsuleers has, in the last few years, at the very least been brought into serious question. It is clear that our manufacturing, logistical, and economic capacity at least rivals, if not exceeds those of the empires. Our vessels are also, tonne for tonne, more powerful. Everyone here has acted against one empire or another at the behest of another empire or organisation, and we have seen just how much damage even one of our ships can do to entire fleets.
I am genuinely curious what the Sang Do could even do should we simply decide to ignore them on this matter.