Noumonde

[Aquinas]

13 November 4432

General Strike brings Noumonde to standstill


Alliance supporters protesting in central Nouville

Millions of Noumon workers have defied the King by participating in a General Strike in protest at the King's suspension of parliamentary democracy and imposition of emergency rule.

Industrial action is rare in Noumonde, where going on strike is technically a criminal offence. This is the largest mass walk-out in living memory, and is causing unprecedented interruption to economic and social life in the country.


Land seizures break out across countryside



Reports are coming in of large tracts of Canrillaise (OOC: French)-owned farms being vandalised, invaded and seized by Malgy (OOC: Madagascan) agricultural labours resentful of the phenomenal differences in living standards between themselves and the landowners. As well as demanding the restoration of democracy, they are also calling for a radical land redistribution program.

[Aquinas]

14 November 4432

BREAKING NEWS... Cardinal Pierre Carrel, the Archbishop of Nouville, has just delivered the following important speech to the World Congress:

Fellow delegates,

Greetings to you all, and may peace be with you.

I have travelled here today from my home country, Noumonde, where we have been experiencing heightened political instability since 2nd October.

I have had the opportunity to speak both to His Majesty King Norbert and the opposition leader Tombovelo Tsitohery, who is currently under house arrest. They both assure me they seek a peaceful resolution to the difficulties.

In order to facilitate negotiations, Tsitohery has agreed to at least temporarily call off the General Strike and the protests, and His Majesty King Norbert has agreed to release Tsitohery and the other senior opposition leaders from house arrest.

Both His Majesty and Tsitohery believe it would be helpful to the situation if the World Congress could send an official representative, ideally an experienced and respected statesperson of international standing, in order to be present during the negotiations and to assist with mediating between the two sides. I am present here today in order to pass this on as a request.

Fellow delegates, your efforts and your prayers for my country are most needed during this painful time.

[Edmund]

King Norbert's response to the opposition in full

[Aquinas]

Political negotiations begin at Royal Palace

January 4433


The Royal Palace in Nouville

Crucial political negotiations that could determine the future of Nouville are now taking place at the Royal Palace. In the Emerald Room today, direct face-to-face meetings will take place between the four key participants, King Norbert, Prime Minister Louis Poullain, opposition leader Tombovelo Tsitohery and World Congress mediator Tambethra Dyshini. Meetings involving other key individuals, including government ministers and senior government and opposition MPs, will be taking place in other parts of the Palace.

An uneasy truce is currently holding between the two sides. Opposition protests have calmed down, whilst on the government side, senior opposition leaders have been released from house arrest, and several who had been held in prison have now been released. However, most observers predict that if the talks break down, the the stand-off between the two sides will recommence.

Dyshini, the President of the World Congress General Assembly, who is widely respected as a diplomat without parallel, is believed to be hoping to guide the two sides to a power-sharing agreement, where the monarchy is retained but important concessions are made by the Canrillaise establishment to the Malgy majority.

[Edmund]

LIVE: King Norbert negotiates with the opposition

[Aquinas]

February 4433

King Norbert and Tombovelo Tsitohery sign historic power-sharing agreement


Praying for peace: Noumons at Nouville Cathedral last night

After weeks of painstaking negotiations and with the patient and skilled assistance of the World Congress's Tambethra Dyshini, a peace deal and power-sharing agreement has been reached between the Canrillaise (OOC: French) establishment and the Malgy (OOC: Madagascan) opposition. Amongst the main points are the following:

- The monarchy will be retained and King Norbert will continue to reign, despite demands from the opposition Alliance for Progress for the monarchy to be abolished or at least for King Norbert to abdicate.

- Parliament will finally be reopened.

- Alliance leader Tombovelo Tsitohery will become Prime Minister, with Louis Poullain, the National Party leader and outgoing Prime Minister, becoming Deputy Prime Minister. The rest of the Cabinet positions will be split evenly between Alliance and National Party members.

- No laws will be passed unless they are supported by separate majorities amongst both Alliance and National Party MPs.

- There will be no changes to senior positions in the army, police, judiciary or civil service without the agreement of all sides. However, a Royal Commission will be appointed to examine why the Malgy are under-represented in these institutions and to propose solutions for this.

- Land redistribution in favour of poor and landless persons (who are overwhelmingly Malgy) has been agreed in principle. This is to be done through the government voluntarily purchasing land from Canrillaise landlords. Funding from the international community will be sought to help pay for this program. King Norbert will voluntary give up a sixth of his land from the Royal Estate for the benefit of the redistribution program. The Aurorian Patriachal Church in Noumonde has also agreed to give up some of its land for these purposes as well.

- A judicial inquiry will be held into allegations of abuse by members of the army and police service during the recent political turmoil.

- More resources to be provided for health, education, social services and infrastructure in poor Malgy areas.

- A Royal Commission will be established to examine "institutional racism" in the university system and propose remedies.

- The University of Nouville, Noumonde's premier university, will offer one-tenth of its places as free scholarships for Malgy students.

[Aquinas]

International Nomounde Fund for Land Redistribution

Brother Marc Morel appeals for land redistribution funds at World Congress General Assembly

[Edmund]

King Norbert on the power-sharing agreement

[CCP]

OOC: Not meaning to butt in guys, but just curious if you guys would rather use pictures of actual Malagasy people in the news articles? Their phenotypes tend to be notably different from the continental Africans or Haitians used in some of the recent news articles. A picture says a thousand words after all. Though I'm not sure if there is some RP reason not to use Malagasy pictures?

(Note: I'm speaking here just as a player who's enjoying your story, not as a GRC member.)

[Aquinas]

OOC: Agreed, and I have generally tried to use Madagascan photos, although there have been times when I've not been able to easily find the type of photograph I've been looking for, so I've used a photograph from somewhere else instead.

There is some variety in terms of the appearance of Malagasy people, BTW. If you will forgive me for putting it in terms that may be somewhat crude, some are more Asian-looking and some much more obviously African-looking (to Western eyes, I mean).