DIC Hobrazia

[rep]

Can the Kafuri representative underline the accuses with proper proves?

[AngryMollusc]

Obviously, we can bring one of our observers in to testify before the rest of the commission, if they deem it necessary. Otherwise, we don't exactly understand what the Rutanian representative is asking for, except for a way to continue his personal grudge against the legitimate Hobrazian government, who notably appear to have done nothing wrong during the election process.

[rep]

Of course, we would listen to the testimony of the Kafuri observer with great pleasure, however we would like to see some material evidences as well. Electoral frauds are always provable by discordances in ballot list etc. I think that for greater accuracy we should also wait for the elections of November 2758. Until then I will also finish the document about the guiltiness or innocence of the current regime.

Veronica Mayday,
Rutania

[AngryMollusc]

Of course, we would listen to the testimony of the Kafuri observer with great pleasure, however we would like to see some material evidences as well. Electoral frauds are always provable by discordances in ballot list etc. I think that for greater accuracy we should also wait for the elections of November 2758. Until then I will also finish the document about the guiltiness or innocence of the current regime.

Veronica Mayday,
Rutania

No doubt the Rutanian document will prove most entertaining. In the meantime, we will wait for the slightly more neutral observations of the Barmenian and Voronan delegates on the upcoming elections- we are rather more interested in the dispatches of those without an axe to grind.

[rep]

Ignoring the malicious remarks of the Kafuri Ambassador, Rutania puts forward the following document.

Report on the political situation of Hobrazia

Rutania took into consideration all the scholarly definitions of democracy and decided to operate with the following definition as a working hypothesis: "Democracy is a form of government in a polis in which citizens have rights that are guaranteed and protected"
Respecting the fundamental right of the citizens is a key issue for the UNT and we found several deficiencies in Hobrazia. In Appendix no.1 we highlight the main bills elaborated by the Hobrazia authorities under Emperor Storky. The key issue which we would like to underline is the fact that the Hobrazian ruling parties divided among themselves the territory of the country and invested power of life and death in the hands of this parties. This fact undermines the entire existence of the state. According to accepted principles the state has the monopoly of use of force, no other organizations, parties whatsoever.

The other major issue is the treatment of the opposition. We do not want to decide who is right or who is not, but every political party has the right to function freely. In Appendix no. 2 we have listed the atrocities committed against the First Party of Hobrazia for example. The list is, of course, not complete.

In Appendix no. 3 we propose certain measures which we consider extremely moderate but necessary for the normalization of the situation in Hobrazia.

Respectfully submitted,
Veronica Mayday,
Ambassador of Rutania

Appendix no. 1 - Bills contrary to international norms and human rights.

http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=248537
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=248536
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=248547
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=248582
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=250195

Appendix no. 2 - Penalties committed against the First Party of Hobrazia

- Arrest of FPoH members- so far at least 678 arrested held in prison for being leaders in districts and cities
- Killed FPoH either murdered or shot by army- 334 mostly in Kiduran region
- Killed generally by army or unknown: 299
- All FPoH property has been seized and they now live a subsistence life in the hills and mountains of Kiduran.

We would remark here that another definition of democracy presupposes that the change of power between two groups is peaceful. In this case the new reulers are systematically killing the old leaders of the country.

Appendix no. 3. - Proposals for normalization

a. Recentralization of the state in the hands of a government. It does not matter who control the government but the monopoly of coercive and judiciary power must lie only in the hands of the state and not the parties.

a.1. The creation of a judiciary system completely independent from the other branches of power and of all parties and institutions.

b. The re-legalization of the opposition and giving back their full political rights.

c. Round-table talks between the government and the opposition for the peaceful setting of the situation, under international supervision.

d. Completely free elections guaranteed by the international community.

e. The present DIC will not cease to function for 20 more years to supervise the peaceful and justly resolution of the Hobrazian problems.

[AngryMollusc]

First and foremost, we'd suggest that the Rutanian diplomat avoids copying her intelligence directly from the propaganda of the First Party in future, if she wishes to maintain her credibility. We would also like remind her that the First Party is considered a terrorist organisation by the government of Hobrazia and thus the actions taken against it legitimised by the need to protect her citizens.

As to the rest, while some of it is indeed heinous and reprehensible (and indeed, fully deserving of investigation elsewhere) we do not believe any of it falls under the mandate of this commission. To begin with, we'd suggest a far more appropriate definition of "democracy" for the purpose of this investigation to be:

Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

Given this definition, it becomes apparent that the majority of the Rutanian report is either irrelevant to the charges being investigated presently, or trivial.

[rep]

This is the great issue of democracy...elections. But elections are not enough for a good democracy. It is a requirement but not enough. (OOC: In the Soviet Union or in Eastern European communist states (like my home country) there were elections held on a regular basis. Nevertheless those countries could not be regarded as democracies.) That is why there should be introduced further criteria to properly define democracy. And I would not call the issue of political freedom and human rights irrelevant or trivial as the Kafuri representative claims. I have a strong feeling that Kafuristan opposes our proposals just because Rutania proposed it.

[AngryMollusc]

This is the great issue of democracy...elections. But elections are not enough for a good democracy. It is a requirement but not enough. (OOC: In the Soviet Union or in Eastern European communist states (like my home country) there were elections held on a regular basis. Nevertheless those countries could not be regarded as democracies.) That is why there should be introduced further criteria to properly define democracy. And I would not call the issue of political freedom and human rights irrelevant or trivial as the Kafuri representative claims. I have a strong feeling that Kafuristan opposes our proposals just because Rutania proposed it.

On the contrary, were Hobrazia indeed guilty, your proposals would be excellent. However, we feel that Rutania's well-established vendetta may have blinded it to the importance of the old legal adage, "innocent until proven guilty". The Rutanian representative refers to nations such as Lodamun, where elections are held, but democracy is not vindicated. If this the case in Hobrazia, we challenge Rutania to prove it. Provide us with the evidence that the Hobrazian government have been manipulating these elections, because otherwise, your arguments are worthless.

Once again, we agree that the crimes committed by the Hobrazian government in the sphere of human rights deserve investigation. However, they do not deserve investigation here, where the issue at hand is the nature, democratic or otherwise, of Hobrazia's elections. We suggest Rutania bring this up before the Security Council, for a separate investigation.

[rep]

I cannot emphasize more that human right are an issue of democracy. In no other regimes, be them totalitarian, authoritarian, sultanistic, post-totalitarian, are the human rights preserved and protected. Rutania does not want to prove that elections were falsified or manipulated but that democracy is deficient in Hobrazia. And this concerns the activity of the DIC. I might quote academically more sophisticated definitions of democracy to underline that the issue of human right is integral part of the problematic of democracy.
The DIC is not a commission investigating electoral frauds but investigating democracy. Thus, I firmly believe that human right is a matter of concern for our present commission.

[Rumbold90]

"The Voronan Representitive agrees with the Rutanian ambassador. However, we also await information presented by other DIC members."