Foreign Shipments Surcharge Stamp Act - 2016.11.12
To provide funds for the Federal Refugee Funds, all international shipments are to display a CW1 surcharge stamp. This stamp is to be provided and distributed by the respective postal corporations at no charge, the full sales value to be transferred to the Federal Refugee Funds. The surcharge stamps are to display a motive related to the Refugee issue and the text "Federal Refugee Funds Surcharge".
Declaration on the Election of Donald Trump as President of the United States - 2016.11.10
On 2016.11.09, Donald J. Trump has been elected as President of the United States. Although FMSD analysts did not exclude this result, they gave it a probability of about 20%. Together with the Twin Tower attack on 2001.09.11, this election will be seen as a watershed in 21th century history. The Federated Micronations are worrying that this election will accelerate the current economical and political crises and bring them to a breaking point in the next four years.
The geographic distribution of the election results makes it clear that the United States are not only divided politically, or between young and old or rural and urban, they are also divided geographically into several distinct zones. There are "red" zones supporting Trump and revolting against the establishment, and there are "blue" zones supporting liberal politics. The most important "blue" zones are the Pacific coast states and several New England states including parts of New York and Pennsylvania.
The Federated Micronations expect that the Trump administration will threaten the safety and welfare of the citizens and residents of the U.S. with a number of policies announced publicly by the candidate. It is mandatory to defend those zones not ruled by his supporters. Therefore, the Federated Micronations have decided to recognize the independence of the following entities to strengthen their sovereignty:
The Kingdom of Hawai'i has already been recognized by the Federated Micronations.
As of now, no economic boycott measures are declared against any territory of the United States.
Addendum 2016.10.12:
As of today, active movements for secession have risen in California and Oregon, with resonance in mainstream media. The F.M.S.D. expects this to rise in the following years and pledges its diplomatic and material support to these movements.
Declaration on the English EU Referendum - 2016.06.24
On 2016.06.23, the majorities of voters in the "United Kingdom" voted to leave the European Union. While the Federated Micronations do see the current structure of the European Union critically, we recognize it as a pillar of stability in a time of rising instability. The EU will be critically weakened by the UK leaving it.
But it will be worse for the "United Kingdom". Scotland, Northern Ireland, London and Gibraltar voted against Brexit, while the rest of England and Wales voted in favour of it, on all sides with substantial majorities. We expect Scotland to prepare for leaving the UK within the next two years, before the UK-EU negotiations have been completed. The situation in Northern Ireland will not be resolved compareable easily, though, as the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland will become a customs border of the E.U.. We expect Northern Ireland to further dissociate into smaller territories, partly seeking to join the Republic of Ireland. The situation around Gibraltar will be interesting, too - Gibraltar has been ceded by Spain to the United Kingdom (existing as such since 1707 as union between England and Scotland) in 1711. When this union breaks up, Spain might claim Gibraltar as "abandoned property", if only to psychologically offset its pending loss of Catalonia. In any case, we expect armed conflicts around both Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.
On the positive side, England now has the chance to become a nation in its own right, again. The psychology of post-imperial states is difficult, with Russia/USSR and Austria/KuK proving it even in the 21th century, but England has a good chance to recover its identity, with London a strong weight in favour of openness to the world. Wales has decided to throw their lot together with England. We decided to title this declaration "English EU Referendum", because that is what it really was. In a way, the UKIP politician Nigel Farage is correct speaking of "Independence Day" - Independence for England, though, not for the soon to be Former United Kingdom.
For the rest of Europe, and the world, though, the Brexit will be the starting point of an economical and political maelstrom. The wars around Europe which have expanded in 2014, the refugee crisis exploding in 2015 and now the economic crisis will lead to a self-enhancing loop of crises also endangering the Federation.
Declaration on the Rise of Authoritarian States in Europe - 2016.01.21
On 2015.10.25, the conservative party PiS won a majority in the Polish pariament, the Seim. This was generally expected and should usually not have been a critical event for Poland and Europe. Surprisingly, though, the newly elected government decided to quickly take control of the Polish Supreme Court, by electing 5 new members, citing a transgression of the previous parliament which had selected another 5 members although their authority allowed only to select 2. This, as such, would have been understandable, but the PiS majority decided to change the rules for the Supreme Court, effectively blocking it from performing its role as a controlling instance of Polish law.
In further steps, the PiS-led government took full control of the State broadcasting agencies and of the state prosecutors. Further steps in this direction are expected.
The stated goal is to build an illiberal state, similar to what has been built in Hungary in the years since 2010. In Hungary, the majority supporting this concept is solid, only endangered by parties supporting an even more authoritarian, even fascist, state. In Poland, the PiS majority is less strong, and the Polish people are more accustomed to resistance against an authoritarian state. This resistance is already growing.
To morally support this resistance, the State Department of the Federated Micronations has decided to unilaterally recognize the following entities, although they, to our knowledge, do not yet exist:
- Underground Government of the Polish Republic
- Exile Government of the Hungarian Republic
We believe that there are Polish and Hungarian Citizens who are prepared to make an effort to protect the honour and freedom of their nations against reactionary organisations trying to establish authoritarian states, We will respect the form of organisation those Citizens decide to take, and will support them. The difference between the recognitions of the Polish and Hungarian Governments comes from our estimate of current popular support for any form of peaceful resistance in Hungary and Poland. We might be wrong - in 1953, the Hungarians have proven that they, too, are courageous, although their armed resistance against the Soviet Army was not successful, in contrast to the peaceful Solidarnosc movement in Poland.
Declaration on the Prelude to World War III - 2015.10.22
A World War may be defined by an alignment of regional conflicts spinning out of control, with alliances between partners which are no natural allies, in different regions of the world. This alignment happened between Germany, Italy, Japan and Finland on one side and the British Empire, the U.S., France, China and the USSR on the other side. The all-out war had regional preludes with the occupation of the Czechoslovak Republic and Austria and the Chinese-Japanese conflict. Similar observations can be made for the First World War.
Currently, we are seeing an alignment of conflicts in Ukraine, Mideast and the South China Sea. Fueled by the desire of Russia to again become a Great Power, that nation has allied itself with the Shiites centered around Iran, and with China - all authoritarian nations, but with very different and potentially conflicting interests. The other side is no love-marriage either, with NATO countries allied with conservative Sunni Arab Kingdoms, a semi-authoritarian Turkey, Israel and a Japan which is pushed into nationalism by conservative politicians.
This pattern of conflict alignment and the resulting alliances remind strongly of the years before 1939.
At the moment, all great powers do their best to avoid direct conflict. On the other side, smaller powers may try to draw them into conflict to improve their position. There is active diplomacy ongoing with the goal of calming and resolving the conflicts, similar to the prelude to WW II, where diplomacy seemed to solve the Czechoslovakia conflict and claimed to have won "Peace for Our Time".
The situation is worsened by the fact that at least 6 nations involved in the conflict own nuclear weapons, with Iran and Saudi Arabia (via Pakistan) as potential nuclear powers. If full scale war breaks out according to the "World War" pattern, it is highly probable that nuclear weapons will be used at a later stage of the conflict.
Even if that does not happen, such a conflict will cost the whole planet much more than WW II, as conventional weapons have also improved, and as the ecological situation of the planet is at a tipping point. The refugee situation will become uncontrollable, the trade-based economy of the world will break down. Most nations are highly indebted right now, which means that such a conflict will break down the current financial system due to several nations defaulting on their debts.
The question is, what can be done to stop the escalating conflicts, or at least de-entangle them? In our view, only a worldwide dialog can do this. The efforts of politicians like F.-W. Steinmeier are highly esteemed, but probably will not be enough. In a connected world, it is necessary to open dialog between cultures, religions and nations on a person by person basis. The Federated Micronations are open to those efforts and strive to use various platforms for such a dialog. We believe that Micronations may have a chance to have positive influence on this dialog as they are no threat to anyone.
Addendum - 2016.01.20
On an European level, we currently observe rising authoritarian movements in Poland, Hungary, France, Austria and Germany, while in Southern Europe, unconventional leftist parties are growing in strength. The willingness of European states to cooperate, e.g. in the Refugee Crisis or the Euro / Debt Crisis, is falling quickly. The UK might leave the Union after a referendum in 2016. The last "colonial" provinces in Western Europe, e.g. Scotland, Catalonia, Flanders and Corsica, get more restive and may try to gain their independence. Looking to the U.S., the leading Republican presidential candidates for the 2016 elections are isolationist, as is the strong Democrat contender Bernie Sanders.
The political patterns we see resonate with those preceding Word War I and II, like the conflict patterns listed above. Also, they make conflict resolution more difficult. There is hope, though, in the fact that core countries like the U.S., Germany and France still invest much in conflict resolution, and that the political forces in those countries supporting this still seem to have support of a majority of voters.
Declaration on the European Refugee Crisis - 2015.09.01
According to various sources, around 20'000 refugees have died while trying to reach Europe in the last few years. At the same time, the European Union has reduced its involvement in rescue activities on the Mediterranean Sea and has displayed an undignified show of moving the refugees around. Hungary has built a new Berlin Wall against the refugees. Many Eastern European countries are refusing to take any refugees, countries which have received much aid and solidarity in the past 25 years. In East Germany, another region which has received much aid in the past, pogrom-like attacks on refugees are barely controlled by police. The social atmosphere is turning toward rejection of refugees and "foreigners", with otherwise reasonable people using hate language against refugees.
The Governments of the States of the Federated Micronations, together with the State Department of the Federated Micronations, have decided on the following steps:
1) Suspending the Unilateral Recognition of all states on the Unilateral Recognition List which have implemented major anti-refugee measures or condoned xenophobic behaviour. Valid from 2015.09.01, this currently extends to the Free State of Bavaria and the Repubblica Veneta.
2) Actively supporting refugees on the territories of the Federated Micronations and beyond, by financial support for maritime rescue and by local support for refugee centers. "Refugee Aid" stamps will be issued by Posta tal Musograd and Capricornia Post, with full sales proceeds to be donated towards maritime rescue of refugees. A Federal Agency will be set up to manage refugee support and education.
3) Declaring persons who use hate language against refugees in the presence of Citizens of the Federation to be "Enemies of the Federation", with political and economic sanctions to be determined.
4) Starting investigations on the responsibility of certain EU and member state politicians regarding the victims of the refugee crisis. The list of politicians under scrunity will not be published at the current time.
5) Protecting the Federation from political instability and physical attack by appropriate measures, through the Federal Agencies FADO and FEDEVAC.
Addendum - 2016.01.07
Steps 1 and 2 have been fully implemented. In addition to the concrete steps listed, the F.M. have become involved in regional refugee support projects. Step 3 has also been followed actively, leading to conflicts and cease of communication with several individuals. Actions on Steps 4 and 5 are ongoing, but confidential.
Addendum - 2016.03.29
To the above list, the following step has been added:
6) Declaring a full economic boycott against members of organisations or states which deny the universality of human rights and incite religious or ethnic hate. This boycott is to be executed by all F.M. based corporations. The list is to be updated by the SDFM, covering individuals with economic contact in the past. Regarding individuals without previous economic contact, due diligence is expected.
Currently, the boycott covers the following individuals (initials only):
- K.K., Berlin, Germany
- G.K., Schnellroda, Germany
- C.T., New York, USA
Declaration on Irregular Militants in territories controlled by the German state - 2015.02.22
The State Department of the Federated Micronations strongly condemns the article "Danke, liebe Antifa" published in the German newspaper "Tagesspiegel", authored by one Sebastian Leber, because the article condones the use of force by irregular "Antifa" militia organisations against irregular Fascist militants active in the Eastern Territories. All irregular forces active in the territories bordering the F.M. are seen as a threat to the existence of the F.M., and therefore we demand both the German State and allied authorities to control and dissolve any irregular militant organisations within their territory by use of armed police or military force, as deemed applicable.
Declaration on the continuos Russian aggression in Ukraine - 2015.02.06
Almost one year after the Russian attack on Ukraine has started, the Russian-supported irregular forces in Donbass continue to attack the Ukrainian army, breaking every agreement which has been reached. Luckily, Russia is slowly loosing the propaganda war as the public voices "understanding" Russia slowly loose credibility.
The F.M. support a dual-track strategy which temporarily accepts the territorial losses of Ukraine, even easing the sanctions against Russia, but which maintains the right of the Ukrainian people to freely choose their international allegiances. As soon as the situation has stabilized, both Ukraine and Georgia (being in a similar situation) need to become associated members of the Western defense alliance and be supplied with all means to defend themselves.
It must be understood that the alternatives are dire - an occupied Ukraine would end up in a long and bloody partisan war, possibly leading to an European war if Russia decides to try out in Estonia and Latvia what worked so well in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldavia. The other alternative would be an impoverished Ukraine between west and east, for which the only logical path would be re-armament with nuclear weapons. The technical experience available in Ukraine, together with the available Uranium reserves and nuclear equipment would enable Ukraine to follow this path if required.
The F.M. call to all sides to avoid these alternatives by quickly coming to a resolution of this conflict.
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