Website: Today's Top StoryThis is the most viewed story from the Tian'an Times online homepage - 9 December 4375Grand Assembly fights over bestiality legalization, omnibus restictions3 October 4376Lotus Party Internal Affairs Critic Chatchai Sarikulya, who accused the Communists and Civic Forum of being a "wing of animal rapists"TIAN'AN, Han: Tensions are high in the Grand Assembly as legislators debate two different bills. The first being the Civic Forum's
"Family Freedoms Act" which proposes restrictions on marriages that occur overseas, as well as legalizing bestiality so long as "it causes no harm to the animal concerned."
The Lotus Party lead the charge against the legislation, which is now projected to fail, asking the Civic Forum where their priorities lie.
"While the government is working to break the tide of authoritarianism and make changes that improve the lives of Indralans, the party in opposition has decided to legalize sex with animals," Lotus Party Internal Affairs Critic Chatchai Sarikulya said in debate, "Rather than trying to get out of the "business of the bedroom" this bill wants to... move sexual activity from the "bedroom" to the barnyard."
The Communists defended the decision to permit human-animal coitus with a simple statement from the Party's Yang Xuan, who said "[they] will oppose any bills supported by Lotus Party. And this is a bill for more freedom. So [they] support it."
This response prompted Chatchai to fire back, stating that "There are two wings forming in Indralan politics; the wing of reason and the wing of animal rapists. With this legislation, it is clear where the Civic Forum and Communist Party stand."
The Communists responded to claim that the Lotus Party was showing its disdain for Indralan democracy and threaten armed civil rebellion should the bill fail.
The second contentious policy debate occured around the Lotus Party's LP-131, or
"An Act to Restrict Omnibus Legislation". This legislation, while gaining a majority of support from legislators, is expected to fail as it requires 2/3 support. With the current makeup of the Grand Assembly, that would require unanimous support.
The new and more radical Civic Forum and Communist Parties were the first to announce their disagreement with the bill, followed by the equally young Freedom Party. Civic Forum Leader Jiang Zongren declared that this legislation meant that Indrala is "officially returning to a dictatorship."
In response, the Lotus Party's Chatchai claimed that the bill was put forward to protect Indralan democracy from "extremist parties," clearly targeting the Communist Party in his comments.
The rise in authoritarian and extremist messages from the radical opposition parties has concerned a number of Indralan academics. Yi Zetien, Associate Professor of political science at Indrala University wrote that "Indralan democracy is at greater threat with the Civic Forum and the Communist Party than at any point since the Pua Dictatorship ended in 4258."