SerfNES II - Legacy of Versailles

[~Darkening~]

A one word answer to the person who sent me a pm: no. And no, its not because of the personal grudge, buth rather the fact that even I am outraged at the increadibly OOC-ness of the move.

 

[Justo]

OOC: Claiming Poland.

To: The world
From: Poland

We would like to thank all nations who helped Poland gain its independence. May prosperity come to all those who supported our freedom.

 

[Shadowbound]

OOC: What? I never put Romania's ridicuous demands for northern Bulgaria in any of my drafts. I, and the other members of the Big Three, specifically rejected them when they were proposed.

Otherwise, good start.

 

[Fuschia]

OOC: Now that I think about it, I would prefer to take one of the newly formed nations and make it from the ground up. Can I switch to the Free Zone of the Straits? And a great start, Serf!

 

[Head Serf]

OOC: What? I never put Romania's ridicuous demands for northern Bulgaria in any of my drafts. I, and the other members of the Big Three, specifically rejected them when they were proposed.

Otherwise, good start.

**** it, you're right. Sorry about that.

OOC: Now that I think about it, I would prefer to take one of the newly formed nations and make it from the ground up. Can I switch to the Free Zone of the Straits? And a great start, Serf!

Yes, that's fine.

@ Everyone :
We really need a player for Japan!

 

[The Loser]

**** it, you're right. Sorry about that.



Yes, that's fine.

@ Everyone :
We really need a player for Japan!

I could switch to Japan, if you want to.
Norway isn't that exciting anyways

 

[Fuschia]

From: Alexander Mehmed, Executor of the Free Zone of the Straits
To: The World

The Free Zone of Straits is now proclaiming its neutrality in all conflicts; this includes not only war, but all conflicts of interest between nations, religions, and various ethnicities.

The city of Istanbul is, without a doubt, one of the most historically rich and cosmopolitan of all cities. It stands on an area of extreme economic importance, as well as the intersection of many major ethnic and religious groups. It is also the capital of our newly-formed nation and covers a large majority of its territory.

In fact, our nation can be classified much like the polises of Ancient Greece. We will base our government on models such as these, and all people will have an equal say in that which happens in Istanbul and the surrounding territories; this includes laws, both punishment and enforcement, and foreign policy.

The Free Zone of the Straits shall not construct embassies in any foreign capitals to aid in our commitment to neutrality; as such, we urge all nations looking for a closer relationship with the Free Zone of the Straits to establish an embassy within Istanbul to allow for quick communications between ourselves and the various governments of the world.

The most important part of this announcement, however, is our wish for aid in the reconstruction of Istanbul from the governments and peoples of the world. To help in achieving this, Istanbul is removing all tariffs on trade with all nations around the world and opening its borders to immigration by all peoples, and all immigrants shall be immediately accepted as citizens.

The only restrictions on travel and business through the Free Zone of the Straits shall be in shipping through the Bosporus, which we shall toll until such a time as the city of Istanbul is wholly rebuilt and capable of sustaining an economy without such crude measures.

To: Greece, Turkey, Italy
From: Alexander Mehmed

We wish to increase economic cooperation between ourselves and our various neighbors. In order to achieve this, we have removed all tariffs between ourselves and the nations of the world; we ask that you do the same in relation to the Free Zone of the Straits. This will benefit all and, as an additional bonus, we will remove any toll on your shipping through the Bosporus Straits if you do so.


OOC: Now to get busy writing my own Constitution!

 

[Head Serf]

I could switch to Japan, if you want to.
Norway isn't that exciting anyways

So, do you want to be Japan? I kind of need a yes or a no. If you don't want to, that's fine.

 

[Abaddon]

hiding my stupidity...

 

[Fuschia]

Constitution of the Free Zone of the Straits​

Preamble

The people of the Free Zone of the Straits, in order to ensure mutual prosperity and to prevent future conflict, do hereby form their government from this document, the Constitution of the Free Zone of the Straits.

Article I: Legislation

Legislation may be proposed by any citizen of the Free Zone of the Straits as long as the proposed legislation carries at least one hundred signatures, which shall be counted automatically as affirmative votes.

Legislation shall only be enacted through a majority affirmative vote by all citizens of the Free Zone of the Straits; those who do not vote shall be counted as against the proposed legislation.

No citizen may be deprived of the right to vote by any means.

Any citizen may choose to give his or her vote to a representative to vote for them; this representative's vote shall count as both his own vote and the vote of those he represents. If any person who is being represented instead decides to vote on his or her own, that vote will be counted and one vote will be subtracted from the representative's vote.

Any proposed legislation must assign the duties of executing the legislation to either an existing organization or form a new organization to execute the legislation to the fullest of their ability.

Any proposed legislation that involves restriction must propose a single general punishment for breaking that particular restriction.

This document may itself be modified by a 3/4 affirmative vote for any proposed change.

Article II: The Executor

The Executor shall be an elected position. The position shall be given to the representative with the most votes at any given time.

Any change to the number of votes that each representative carries that would cause a change in the Executor position will result in an immediate change in the position; term limits or protection are not to be permitted the Executor in the pursuit of holding his position without popular support.

The Executor shall be both the presiding officer over any meeting to enact legislation and the head of State, capable of signing treaties and other agreements with other nations; these treaties shall remain in place until an Executor chooses to end them.

No treaties with built-in time limits will be signed by any Executor, as these shall be seen as an attempt to influence the Free Zone of the Straits after said Executor is ousted from office.

Any treaty made by an Executor can be overruled by passing legislation to that effect; in addition, legislation can also form agreements with other nations without the Executor's approval.

Article III: Judgment

Their shall be no judges in the Free Zones of the Strait. All decisions pertaining guilty or not guilty will be made by a jury of 50 citizens and any number of additional volunteer jurors, all of whom must be citizens. This will ensure that the decisions of any court will be the decisions of the Free Zone as a whole.

The accuser and the indicted will present their cases to the jury, either by themselves or through a proxy. The jury will then deliberate and decide on a verdict of guilty or not guilty.

Available punishments for any crime should the indicted be found guilty shall be three: one proposed by the indicted, one by the accuser, and one by the legislation enacted by the citizens of the Free Zone of the Straits. This shall ensure fair and just punishment of any criminal.

--

The Constitution was written and brought forth by Alexander Mehmed, a politician of mixed Greek and Turkic descent. It was signed quickly enough by the many groups and peoples found in the Free Zone of the Straits, as there was little in it that any group could oppose. Alexander Mehmed went on to be the Executor for the new government of the Free Zone of the Straits.

--

Important Early Laws

Citizenship shall be granted to any person capable of proving his or her residence in the Free Zone of the Straits for at least one month and being at least 16 years of age. Citizens shall be given the right to vote as set forth in the Constitution.

Legislation can only be enacted in a meeting in which the Executor is available to be the presiding officer; if he is not available and a meeting is necessary, he will assign someone to be presiding officer.
All voting must occur at these meetings; however, all meetings must be held in accessible, public areas and any prevention of access to these meetings shall be met harshly with a proposed penalty of exile.

The borders of the Free Zone of the Straits shall be open to all immigration, both outward and inward. All immigrants shall be granted citizenship after at least one week's residence within the Free Zone of the Straits.

The Free Zone of the Straits shall not tax the import or export of goods.

The Free Zone of the Straits shall remain neutral in all conflicts, although it will stand against conflict itself.

The Free Zone of the Straits shall tax all vessels passing through the Bosporus Straits a reasonable amount, although vessels carrying military equipment of any kind shall be taxed a much greater amount than those carrying trade goods; in addition, all nations currently involved in a conflict of any kind shall find the taxation for trade through the Bosporus Straits to be greatly increased. The Executor is capable of overriding this law in respect to eliminating the taxation of non-military goods of any nation with which he has formed an agreement stating thus.

All races, religions, and nationalities are equal within the Free Zone of the Straits. No programs shall be undertaken by the government to the advantage or disadvantage of any of these groups.

 

[Abaddon]

(EVERYONE can vote? Perhaps you should be at least over 18 to vote? Currently even a toddler can vote!.. also criminals/mental etc?)

 

[Fuschia]

(EVERYONE can vote? Perhaps you should be at least over 18 to vote? Currently even a toddler can vote!.. also criminals/mental etc?)

Anyone who can make it to one of the meetings can vote; also, one of the stipulations for citizenry is at least 16 years of age, and only citizens may vote (see important early laws). This basically eliminates both problems, although it might cause a few if people try to prevent others from making it to the meetings, so I guess I should make a law about that...

EDIT: Before anyone asks, any citizens vote will be counted only if they can get to the meeting or if they give their vote to one of the representatives. And, on another note, representatives are paid for any time taken up to represent the interests of other citizens.

Also, some of this government is part of a theory in a book I am writing, so don't write about it without acknowledgment or I will be utterly pissed. Not that I don't trust you all....

 

[Daniel Khan]

I'll take Ukraine.

 

[Azale]

Good update Head Serf.

From: Italy
To: Free Istanbul

We will open our markets to your trade I suppose...we can not promise a free trade reciprocation however.

 

[Fuschia]

From: Italy
To: Free Istanbul

We will open our markets to your trade I suppose...we can not promise a free trade reciprocation however.

To: Italy
From: Alexander Mehmed, Executor of the Free Zone of the Straits

Unfortunately, this means that I cannot guarantee that your trading shall go through the Straits without taxation; as we are in a poor spot at the moment, we need all the funding we can get. The rebuilding of Istanbul and the formation of a proper national identity for the Free Zone of the Straits is my highest priority for the moment, and if this requires taxing Italian ships than I shall do so.

However, Italy shall be among the first nations to have the tax revoked should I near the ending of these goals; I thank you for the trade and the good will, and hope that there be peace and prosperity for you in all things.

 

[Fëanor]

The USA does not recognize the Authority of the Free Zone of the Straits to Collect tolls and instructs its merchant marine to not pay any tolls they find unreasonable. Also, the USA believes that renaming Constantinople to Istanbul and opening the area to unlimited Immigration are in direct violation to the principles for which the Free Zone was created and urges the European powers to intervene, remove this pro-Turkish regent and restore the zone to its intended state of neutrality.

 

[Daniel Khan]

Ukraine also disputes the right of the Free Zone to unilaterally levy such taxation on foreign trading vessels.

 

[TaylorFlame]

I request to play as the Irish Republican Army. It'll be fun to see if I can put enough pressure on the UK to give up Ireland.

 

[Fuschia]

The USA does not recognize the Authority of the Free Zone of the Straits to Collect tolls and instructs its merchant marine to not pay any tolls they find unreasonable. Also, the USA believes that renaming Constantinople to Istanbul and opening the area to unlimited Immigration are in direct violation to the principles for which the Free Zone was created and urges the European powers to intervene, remove this pro-Turkish regent and restore the zone to its intended state of neutrality.

From: Alexander Mehmed, Executor of the Free Zone of the Straits
To: The United States of America

I would like to refer my good friends in America to a document called the Treaty of Versailles, where it states quite clearly that I am allowed to collect tolls; however, as I have said, the tolls will not be unreasonable.

As for unlimited immigration, there is nothing in the Treaty of Versailles nor anywhere else that states that the Free Zone of the Straits cannot open ourselves to unlimited immigration; I kindly ask the United States not to push its own ideals about immigration on other nations, especially neutral ones.

Again, we are neutral, and we do not support Turkey, or any nation, over another; our Constitution clearly makes us the most direct democracy in the world and, as such, everything that is done is done with the will of the people of the Free Zone of the Straits. Even though this is clearly the case, I do not attempt to take the high ground and criticize the United States for its "democracy," and I ask you not to criticize the Free Zone of the Straits for its decisions either.

Ukraine also disputes the right of the Free Zone to unilaterally levy such taxation on foreign trading vessels.

To: Ukraine
From: Alexander Mehmed

As I did for the United States, I will point you to the Treaty of Versailles, which says, quite clearly, that the Free Zone of the Straits can tax any vessel wishing to go through the Bosporus Straits. If my good friends in Ukraine wish to have better access to the Bosporus, they can negotiate with me rather than mocking the Treaty that gave them independence.

To: The World
From: Alexander Mehmed

It has come to my attention that the taxation that the Free Zone of the Straits will be levying on trade moving through the Bosporus Straits may be undesirable for many nations; however, as the majority of you have signed the Treaty of Versailles, we have the right to do so. Any nation contesting this is contesting this is contesting the Treaty of Versailles and, as such, is an enemy of peace. We do, however, see the need for some nations to have greater and more free access then others and ask those who feel they need this access to come forward and to discuss with us terms for lowering or eliminating taxation on their vessels.

I have declared myself and my nation to be neutral in all conflicts, and our nation is the most direct democracy in the world; as such, those who come forward and call the government pro-Turkic or, indeed, for or against any faction are instead calling the people of the Free Zone of the Straits for or against that particular faction. For the moment, however, the people of the Free Zone of the Straits see neutrality as their greatest asset beyond their location and, therefore, the majority are against passing any legislation that would require directly favoring one nation over the other and, if I were to do anything of the kind, I would quickly be removed from office.

Neutrality in the Free Zone of the Straits is a given for the moment, as is the taxation of all vessels until such a time as Istanbul and the rest of the Free Zone of the Straits is rebuilt and can sustain an economy without such taxation. If you disagree, go and remove your signature from the Treaty of Versailles and begin another war.

 

[Disenfrancised]

lurker's comment: Head Serf: Remember that the entente owes large amounts of money to the US and the UK for the war. (The UK owes a lot to the US as well, but is a net creditor overall)