The threat of violence and your complete disregard for federal law has led to this situation: I am sure the Confederate Party is in no position to deny that claim. As I am sure our hosts now, the Confederates claim that the state of Bailon should become independent from the rest of Beluzia. We do not have an issue - and I am sure all other parties would agree - with any party campaigning and protesting peacefully for the independence of any state: people have the right to do so and their concerns must be heard and they are obviously perfectly legitimate. However, the Confederates must accept and admit that they have been very wrong in the way they have attempted to push their agenda.
The Confederates have been very vocal about independence for Bailon, and we have no problem with supporters of independence. However, all other parties in Beluzia have strongly opposed the way they have tried to do this. Whilst we obviously disagree with the Confederates in almost every way - including what they claim to be their attempt to protect of states' rights - we appreciate they feel strongly about this issue and that they are now willing to negotiate with the coalition cabinet that still exists in Beluzia despite their victory. More serious problems arose when Parliament passed the
Abolition of Paramilitaries Act of August 3956 (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=456981) - a bill that the Confederates strongly opposed - and they made this very clear to Parliament. They said that they would refuse to disband their militia even the bill passed - and it did: the only party voting against the bill was the Confederate Party. Since the Confederate Party failed to disband their militia in accordance with the law, we put a resolution before Parliament: the
Abolition of Confederate Militia (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=457217). The resolution urged that the Confederates disband their militia at once: again, the resolution passed. We then proposed the
Eminent Domain Act of November 3957: a bill which allowed the government to seize private property for vital government works. A compensation plan was already in place for those affected by eminent domain and we had made that very clear in our reasoning. However, the Confederates threatened to "protect all those in Bailon who are victims of eminent domain ... [a]ny government structures illegally built over a citizen's property (without their consent) will be demolished, occupied or blockaded through any means". Another example of where the Confederates have publicly stated they essentially do not have any respect for the rule of law in Beluzia. Whilst we were reasonable and told them that those affected are provided with generous compensation, they threatened to block the government.
They had clearly overstepped the boundaries by this point, so we - at the time in power - issued them a final warning (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=457495). We gave them several months to disband their militia, and they told Parliament they "will not surrender". Furthermore, several articles have been written in Beluzia investigating the nature of the militia the Confederate Party operates. The 150,000 militants are thought to be heavily armed with modern military equipment - a danger in itself. Furthermore, they have actively sought to 'deal' with illegal immigrants themselves. Current law dictates that illegal immigrants found should be put in to reintegration centres, rather than prosecuted. However, the Confederate Militia is known to have gone on patrols for illegal immigrants - or as the Confederates affectionately call them: "invaders" - with the intention to take matters in to their own hands, and we can be quite sure their midnight patrols are not conducted with the purpose of welcoming illegal immigrants in to the country.
They have been aggressive towards our government and their treatment of immigrants and those who vocally disagree with them is disgusting. Why they ever believed they had the right to raise and arm their paramilitary to secure "states' rights" when they have never been able to secure a majority in Bailon - let alone Parliament itself - is well beyond me.