Gentlefolk,
I am Siyu Shan “Seriphyn” Inhonores, chief commander of the Elusenian Protection, Intelligence, and Defence Activity (ELPIDA). I speak on behalf of the Director-General, Directorate, Senate, and Agora of the Cooperative Republic of Elusenia on Vale IV. Our mission to extinguish the pretender state of the Obsequious Underclade of Elusenia sees further successes with a wider internecine conflict between the Svarog and Veles Clades on our homeworld opening up multiple strategic opportunities for our forces and partners in the Vale Federal Resistance Movement. However, it is not this particular set of news that is the subject of today’s press conference.
The Cooperative Republic of Elusenia, along with its partners amidst the surviving states of Vale IV, has just lodged a formal request for clarification addressed to the Republic Government, with our Ambassador to Non-Federation Entities Criren Juimmus submitting our letter in person at a Minmatar consulate office aboard the Republic Security Services station in orbit of Adrel IV-9 in the Essence region. While we do not expect to receive a direct reply from the Minmatar Republic (given that the other major super-polities of the cluster do not officially recognize the individual member-states of the Federation), we believe it is nonetheless important to add to the dialogue. This formal request for clarification regards the current and future position of the Minmatar Republic Government towards the sizable segment of the Federation population that identify as Minmatar following the Caldari-Minmatar Security Conference in the Airaken System.
The letter, written by Ambassador to Non-Federation Entities Criren Juimmus, is as follows…
Ambassador Keitan Yun,
Allow the Cooperative Republic of Elusenia, a humble member-state of the Gallente Federation, to congratulate you on yet another year representing the Minmatar Republic at the clusterwide stage. Another decade under your belt in pursuit of interstellar diplomacy and peace remains laudable.
Let us also congratulate you on the successful Caldari-Minmatar Security Conference in the Airaken System insofar as the logistics and manpower required to plan and execute an interstellar event of such a scale. Unfortunately, along with the speculation from the Republic press, we find this turn of events outright baffling and bewildering.
The Federation census of YC114 estimated that the total population of the union was 19.991 trillion, 35% of which was identified (self- or otherwise) as Minmatar, numbering at 6.997 trillion, which at the time was estimated to be one-fifth of all Minmatar in the cluster. In fact, in YC114, there were more Minmatar in the Federation than in the Republic (6.556 trillion)! Indeed, being 35% of the Federation in YC114 made this demographic larger than the ethnicities of the major non-Luminaire signatories of the Charter itself! While this number is said to have dwindled a good amount in the intervening time period, especially with the commendable resurgence of the tribal republic in the face of the depraved Empire of Amarr, the number of Minmatar residing in the Federation remains significant.
Now, it would be ridiculous to leverage this political and social reality to strongarm a perpetual alliance, that much is certain (especially considering that the Federation Minmatar are not homogeneous). But what exactly motivates the flirtation of security cooperation with the Caldari State, and the potential suspension of the military alliance with the Federation? The Scope, in their increasingly reckless and cavalier reporting, compares the Amarr and Gallente super-polities as both being ‘ruthless and militaristic’ as being the onus behind a possible strategic realignment.
I ask you, Ambassador, what is more ruthless?
- The militarization of the Federation’s second-most important star system with a recent history of repeated enemy military incursion by the Caldari State, including attempts at planetary invasion.
- The destruction of the Turnur star system by the Amarr Empire using technology salvaged from a genocidal force that, in extremely recent memory, has been responsible for the deaths of countless souls across New Eden.
With regards to the first point, the Elusenian government had the position of outright condemnation for the initial unilateralism, though with the Intaki Assembly providing its apparent consent in the months hence, we have since revised our position to one of skepticism in addition to a more generalized disapproval. I would implore you to ask the Scope what makes this ‘ruthless’ in comparison to the Turnur Incident? Perhaps I would also ask the Scope why the Caldari State’s continued efforts to occupy the contested systems (which no doubt include many Minmatar residents) along with their previous military operations on the surface of Intaki Prime is not considered “ruthless” as well?
Moreover, let us not forget that the Caldari State’s Serthoulde campaign to extract Triglavian technology is a particularly egregious violation of Federation sovereignty, even considering the CEMWPA. Allegedly, they intend to use shipcasting technology for further military campaigns against the Federation, in a war they wage for no particular reason other than megacorporate profits now that the Caldari Prime flashpoint has been settled.
How the Federation’s militarization of the Intaki system (controversial as it is) is portrayed as “ruthless” and problematic by the Scope when legal consent has been provided, and the Caldari’s past incursions into that same system (the looting of the Serthoulde constellation aside) is glossed over, befuddles many of us in Elusenia and beyond.
What does the Republic hope to achieve by a closer security relationship with the Caldari State and/or suspension of the military alliance with the Gallente Federation? Trillions of Federation Minmatar would be alienated or perhaps even abandoned by the Republic. Would the Republic Fleet be set against the Federation Navy, of which we can thank countless Minmatar for their service fighting Caldari and Amarrian aggression? Would the Tribal Liberation Force aid the State Protectorate in conquering Federation systems in Placid, including the colonies of not just the Intaki but Minmatar as well (and countless other Federal nationalities)? I am sure you have heard of the amateurish and naive attempts to compare a Caldari megacorporation to a Minmatar tribe, but I could not imagine no greater insult and debasement. How can a Minmatar tribe with its rich eclectic culture and traditions be compared to totalitarian megacorporations whose sole purpose is maximizing profit?
What exactly is the Minmatar Republic’s position? Why does the Gallente Federation’s consensual (and, yes, controversial) militarization of its own major systems warrant alarm, but not the Caldari State’s repeated military aggression against systems it does not own? Why is this same Intaki issue considered with the same severity as Amarr’s destruction of the Turnur system and continued flagrant use of Triglavian technology?
We hope that the esteemed Ambassador of great interstellar import may find the time to respond to our request for clarification, even if we are but a singular planetary territory amidst the innumerable found across the Gallente Federation. Certainly, the honour would be immeasurable should we be graced with a reply.
With respect and admiration,
Dr. Criren Juimmus
Ambassador to Non-Federation Entities
The Cooperative Republic of Elusenia
Vale IV
Thus concludes our communique sent to the Minmatar Republic on behalf of the Elusenian government-in-exile and other partner states. I will do my best to answer questions and clarify any ambiguities here.