Temania

[Pragma]

NUP Legislator Kidnapped By Kahedean Communists
Oyo Kohinda was taken from his home in the early hours of the morning
January 4802


A legislator from the centre-right National Unity Party has been kidnapped by communists from the Kahedea region, who are demanding political concessions in exchange for his release. Oyo Kohinda is a NUP local politician of Kurageri origins who has been accused of voter suppression in the past by his political rivals. He was abducted from his house in rural Kahedea at around 2 in the morning, with communists gaining access to the property via a broken window. Police said the scene displays 'clear signs of a struggle' as Kohinda's extensive techno CD collection had been smashed, presumably as Kohinda had been tackled onto the large stack.

The communists are demanding greater powers from the Kahedean Regional Assembly, which is dominated by the Homeland Front - an extreme pro-secession party in Kahedea. They are also demanding that the NUP's leader, Minister for Justice Bathsheba Sapa, apologise publicly for her involvement in the 'ostracisation of the Kahedean people. The government has stated that they 'have no interest in negotiating with terrorists'. A video of Kohinda begging for the government's help has gone viral, with eagle-eyed viewers noting that the boom-mic used to record the audio continued to drop into shot, frequently distracting Kohinda.

[Pragma]

Kahedean Communists Exchange Local Official For Arrested Preacher
Oyo Kohinda and Otoy Sesep have been exchanged as part of the hostage negotiations
September 4803


The Kahedean Communist Front has exchanged a number of prominent hostages in exchange for some of the imprisoned 'subversives' arrested by the government in previous years. Local officials like Oyo Kohinda and others had been abducted by the KCF in an attempt to force concessions from the government, which had originally refused to bow to the pressure of governmental reform. Instead, the government has freed some of the clergymen arrested on suspicion of spreading sedition and encouraging the local nationalist movement. Most prominent among these is Otoy Sesep, a preacher who has gained near-mythical status among many Kahedean tribespeople.

Sesep's release has been met with criticism from people in other regions, who question the government's change of heart on 'negotiating with terrorists'. The majority of the country voted for the existing government on a platform of cracking down on regionalism, with the majority Mondesian and Neleyan ethnic groups living in very different circumstances to the Kahedeans. Religious differences are a particular point of contention, with much more conflict generated between Mondesian Ahmadis and Nahedean Hosians than between the Mondesians and the mostly Daenist or Sundarati Temano-Tropicans.

Sesep has suggested in the past that he can communicate with God, building a vast congregation that includes many in the KCF's leadership. His power only grew during his period of imprisonment, with many coming to see him as a messianic figure. The KCF's political organisation is believed to be growing, with significant popular support. In response, the government will have to create a more comprehensive and nuanced policy than the now-abandoned 'arrest and divest' policy. Increased government surveillance is one potential path proposed by government members.

[Pragma]

Protestors Dispersed At Capital

December 4805


Protestors from a number of allied regionalist groups have been dispersed by federal police after a tense standoff over the weekend. The groups, mostly from coastal regions in the east, were showing support for greater devolution to regional governments in a period of increasing strain between the capital and rural or coastal communities. The government maintains a high degree of faith in a more unitarist vision for the nation and remains popular in the central belt of Temania. The protestors were dispersed via both peaceful and forceful methods. Some agreed to leave after being threatened by federal agents with severe penalties, while others were sprayed with pepper spray. Only a small group remained after the use of the spray. These protestors were arrested and are currently awaiting bail from the groups associated.

[ChitinKal]

Liore, Vascania Launch Investment Campaign into North Dovani, Temania

[jamescfm]

     Publication of corruption report to be delayed until next year
          29 September 4914

Temania's right-wing government announced today that the keenly awaited release of a report into corruption would be delayed until next year at the earliest. The decision to postpone the release of the report has already caused controversy with protests breaking out in several large cities this afternoon. Initially commissioned three years ago, the report investigated allegations of institutional corruption within the Temanian political system.

Despite being concluded almost nine months ago, the government has postponed the report's release already citing "security concerns". In recent months, there has been an increasing tide of public anger at pervasive corruption at all levels of the Temanian government. Both the Temanian public and international observers have already acknowledged that the report's continued delay is likely an indication that it implicates members of the current government, while the opposition parties' lack of emphasis on the report as a political issue suggests it may go even further.

Despite it being widely believed that Temanian officials have engaged in criminal actions it is unlikely that any major political figures will be charged due to expansive immunity provisions for legislators in the country. In anticipation of the next general election in 4916, a new political party has already been registered seeking to stand on an explicitly anti-corruption platform. The new party is known as "Tangan Yang Bersih", which literally translates as "clean hands", and draws inspiration from the election of hardline anti-corruption candidate Charlie Nibogora in Kurageri last year.

Following in the footsteps of Nibogora, the party's new leader Purwodarminto has pledged to apply the death penalty to all those implicated in corruption. At the party's launch event in the capital he told a small crowd of supporters, "the one thing that unites all Temanian people is that we are all victims of a corrupt government". After the news of the report's delay this morning, Purwodarminto was quick to talk to the press again. In one interview, he said that his first action as Prime Minister would be "the immediate arrest of every senior NUP and PoS official".

Suara Temania (Temanian Voice) is an independent news outlet in Temania reporting on a variety of subjects including politics, business, sport and culture.

[jamescfm]

     Protestors dead after government delays corruption report again
          29 August 4915

At least eight people are reported to have been killed following deadly clashes between protesters and police in the capital. Hundreds took to the street today to protest the government's decision to delay the release of an infamous report into corruption in Temanian politics for a third time. Last September, the government attracted widespread criticism for the announcement that it would delay the report's release until sometime this year.

Since then the pressure to tackle corruption has only gotten stronger. Radical anti-corruption party Tangan Yang Bersih have experienced an unprecedented surge in the polls partly thanks to the charismatic leadership of its young founder Purwodarminto. Encouraged by the draconian action taken against corruption in Kurageri, Purwodarminto's increasingly hardline stance on the matter has bolstered the insurgent party's popular support.


Above: Polling data from the past twelve months shows a rapid increase in support for Tangan Yang Bersih (orange)

The decision yesterday by the government to postpone the report's release until after the next election only provided further evidence for the claim from Purwodarminto and others that the report will implicate numerous members of the government in corrupt practices. After it became known to the public through a muted press release, he took to the streets to lead protestors in a "march against the legislators" that involved a large crowd storming down the main road leading to the legislative building.

Despite Purwodarminto denying any violent intentions, the crowd refused to stop at a police barricade and were violently repelled by a large assembly of law enforcement officials. Throughout the clashes the crowd broke into various chants against corruption including the now-infamous slogan "hang them all". At present the scale of the casualties is not fully known and it is not clear whether deaths were the result of violence by the police or crowd crushes. Purwodarminto pushed blame onto the government for the deaths, saying "we will avenge these innocents at the polls next year".

Suara Temania (Temanian Voice) is an independent news outlet in Temania reporting on a variety of subjects including politics, business, sport and culture.

[Reddy]

Kurageri Condemns Temanian Government Violence Against Protestors

[jamescfm]

          Purwodarminto set to become Prime Minister following landslide election victory
               26 February 4916

Firebrand anti-corruption activist Purwodarminto will be appointed Prime Minister later, after his Clean Hands party won a massive fifty-seat majority in the Temanian legislature. In the most substantial Temanian election in centuries, the government lost almost two hundred seats and all three major parties were practically wiped out as allegations of corruption eroded any trust in the established political system.

Both of the governing right-wing parties suffered unprecedented losses. From the largest party in the legislature, the National Unity Party saw their seats total reduced by over a hundred to only twenty-one while the National Patriotic Alliance was reduced to just eight seats. The left-wing opposition the Party of Struggle were badly affected too and ended the night with only thirty-six seats.

Elsewhere some minor parties benefited from the collapse of the mainstream parties. Both the liberal-left Advance! and the ultraconservative Nelayan Party made modest gains of around ten seats each, leaving them as the third and fourth largest parties respectively. The election has been hailed as a victory for democracy by many, regardless of the results, thanks to attracting the highest turnout in modern Temanian history.

Throughout the campaign, Purwodarminto emphasised his party's hardline stance against corruption and made a series of "first month promises" of actions he would take within the first month of entering government. Among these were the publication of the long-awaited report into historic political corruption, an end to parliamentary immunity, a new anti-corruption oath for all elected officials and swift action against those found guilty, including capital punishment for the worst offenders.

[jamescfm]

     Purwodarminto establishes "transparency commission" with wide-ranging political powers
          4 January 4917

At a press conference this morning, Prime Minister Purwodarminto announced the creation of a "transparency commission" to investigate all aspects of the Temanian political system and recommend reforms to prevent corruption in the future. The proposal is the beginning of the second phase of the national government's anti-corruption programme that began almost twelve months ago with a landslide election victory for Purwodarminto's political party Clean Hands.

The early tenure of the hardline anti-corruption figure has been both controversial and decisive. With the publication of the long awaited Sopacua report on historic corruption, dozens of former parliamentarians and ministers were arrested by law enforcement with eight already having received the death penalty under new legislation. Both of the two traditional parties of the right have dissolved due to the political impact of the problem while the left-wing Party of Struggle has been completely restructured.

As part of their broader anti-corruption platform, the government has adopted a trade policy that some have referred to as "economic nationalism". In addition to placing tariffs on a range of imported goods (especially in the agricultural centre), numerous foreign companies have been expelled from the country or had assets appropriated. Endralonian tourism company Egzotikus Utazások was among those targeted for "exploiting the nation and enabling corruption". The company was accused of paying bribes to politicians in exchange for access to protected natural areas in the country.

Despite the controversial nature of the government internationally, Purwodarminto is incredibly popular domestically and his party is polling above sixty per cent consistently. Certain sections of the population have become such vehement supporters of the Prime Minister that he has been accused of fostering a cult of personality. Throughout his first election campaign, Purwodarminto was critical of the political institutions in Temania and insisted that they "fostered division between people". At present the country operates according to a decentralised structure formally considered a "confederation". Over the past two centuries, trust in these institutions has been steadily eroded not least by the corruption that swept Clean Hands into power.

Suara Temania (Temanian Voice) is an independent news outlet in Temania reporting on a variety of subjects including politics, business, sport and culture.

[jamescfm]

          Temania celebrates four hundredth anniversary of the Republic
               4 March 5338

National celebrations are ongoing in Temania as the country commemorates four hundred years since the foundation of the modern Republic. Federal government officials have joined crowds in the capital as the months-long celebration of the history of the Republic of Temania gets underway.

Temania has a long post-colonial history. The contemporary constitutional settlement was established through wide-ranging constitutional reforms instituted in 4938. Prior to this, Temania was operated officially as a confederation of three states. The reforms were implemented by long-serving Prime Minister Purwodarminto. At the time, they were fiercely opposed by opposition parties, especially in Dikurniakan.

In the four centuries since the formation of the Republic, the political system in Temania has not always been stable. Ethnic nationalism remained popular in parts of the country in the following decades. Mondesian nationalist groups waged an armed campaign against the federal government for many years. Despite the challenges, the political system has persisted.

A central part of the success of the Temanian constitutional order has been an the promotion of a pan-ethnic Temanian identity. Successive governments have supported a policy of Kanedesian nationalism. “Kanedesia” is a term coined to reflect the Temania’s multi-ethnic society. The term combines the names of the three principal ethnic groups in the country: Kahadeans, Nelayans and Mondesians.

Alongside efforts to promote national unity, the federal government has taken various measures to protect the rights of ethnic groups. In addition to the country’s four official languages, a number of minority languages are recognised at the state and local level. Tropican and Manmerian people have additional protections too.

Although the recent history of Temania has been turbulent, the current constitutional order has provided an unprecedented period of peace. As the country celebrates four hundred years of the Republic, thoughts naturally turn to what the next four hundred years might hold for the country…