Ziya EL-HASHEM, counsel for Thubat wrote:"Mr. Chief Justice, before I begin my client would like to state for the record that it does not believe that the Chief Justice can in good conscience deliver a decision in a case where not only is he a member of the administration which is accused of electoral tampering, but also is of the same family as the accused - we had hoped the Chief Justice would have recused himself prior to the beginning of the case, and have serious doubts now as to whether justice will be done in this case. We also wish to point out that the Justice department was recently granted an enormous budget increase by the Chann family without due debate (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=454957) - perhaps to purchase the vote of this court? We will state our case nonetheless, so that Kafuristan and the world can know what transpired in the election of March, 3945.
"Our case shall revolve around two points: first, that the government of Kafuristan, led by Arthur Chann, actively and unilaterally enacted legislation which disenfranchised Kafuris of Majatran descent, thus awarding its minority Gao-Solentian ethnic voting base power disproportionate to its size; and second, that the government of Kafuristan, led by Arthur Chann, created an atmosphere of fear and cynicism in which even those Majatran Kafuris who *could* vote were discouraged from doing so. As we shall see, these two circumstances led to a Channese electoral victory in spite of the fact that nearly half a million more votes were cast in favor of Thubat than in favor of the Noble House of Chann.
"On our first point, I direct the court to the Chann Immigration Reform & Overhaul Act of 3932 (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=452252) and to the Language Curriculum and Mandate Act of 3932 (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=452332) both of which were passed unilaterally by the Channs within months of one another. The latter removed all education in Majatran and forced the majority of the population - Majatrans - to learn a new language in order to do business, seek education, and interact with the government. The former established that citizenship in Kafuristan would now longer be a right of all nationals, but instead only should be extended to those who could pass a qualifying exam. That exam is proctored only in the Solentian language, and as such many Majatrans are unable to pass - the number of new citizens of Majatran ethnicity in the years since the passage of these two acts has fallen drastically, and the number of new citizens of Gao-Solentian ethnicity has risen disproportionately. It was in this environment that the election of 3945 took place, and it is no wonder that the Chann family's political arm has won sixty three seats in the Senate despite representing an ethnicity that comprises only fifteen percent of the population - they have disenfranchised the Majatran Kafuri - even those born nationals of this nation must pass a test written by the Channs in the Channese language! We can see, therefore, that the Chann government has conspired to disenfranchise those of Majatran ethnicity in favor of those of Gao-Solentian ethnicity since at least 3932.
"On our second point, it is our contention that the Chann government has created a general political atmosphere in Kafuristan which is discouraging to Majatran participation in the political process. The government has continuously boasted about its intentions to change the national character of Kafuristan from Majatran to Gao-Showan, and has even gone so far as to imply that Kafuristan should join in a nonsensical empire of Gao-Showan nations (
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6491#p93759). Such a statement can hardly give hope to those of Majatran ethnicity, who as we have previously established find themselves with less and less say in the matter as their nation is taken further and further from its Majatran roots. Furthermore, the Chann government has engaged in practices which inspire fear in the Majatran populace. Let us not forget that the Chann government was installed at the tip of a sword in the early 3930s, and that only *after* invasion was a democratic face put onto the regime. The Chann family used its considerable private income to finance a mercenary and corporate takeover of Kafuristan, and dissent has been silenced. Even now the Majatran population cowers in fear as the Chann family authorizes a shady militia, loyal to the Chann family and outside of the control of the official government, illegal under the laws of Kafuristan, the Dragon Assassins, for an ill defined mission in response to a minor and isolated threat (
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3913&start=280#p93856). Let us not forget, either, the violence with which the police force of this nation, much of which is comprised of mercenary veterans of the Chann invasion, responded to recent unrest in al-Kasraj, when it wounded seventeen and killed one in defense of Gao-Solentian property (
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3913&start=280#p93878). With such fears in mind, it is no wonder that only thirty-one percent of voters cast ballots in the election (
http://classic.particracy.net/viewnews. ... sid=484210).
"In conclusion, we have now established that, first, the Chann government has unilaterally enacted legislation which grants disproportionate influence and political power to their key voters and that, second, the Chann government has created an atmosphere of fear in Kafuristan which discourages Majatrans from participating in the political process. We again reiterate our doubts that we shall have a fair trial when Chann judges Chann, but we rest our case in the hopes that the world may notice."
