An Open Letter to the Kingdom of Lusatia

[callmedelta]

The following letter was sent to the Franerri embassy in Lusatia by telegram, to be sent to any newspapers inside the nation for publishing.

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Citizens of Lusatia, my name is King Dante Emil Soleil Della Rosa II, Sovereign of Franerre, Shield of Her People, Defender of the Foa Restoration and Mordred’s Revolution. Our nations have an extensive history with one another - stretching all the way to Lusatian colonization to the friendly relations our nations have with each other today. Many of my citizens here in Franerre are of fully Lusatian or mixed Luso-Franerri descent, some even holding dual citizenship between our countries. It is these same citizens who are currently fighting for their lives on the front lines in Elenerre against Kumosenkan. Hours ago as this letter arrives to you, Kumosenkan attacked our nation when all Franerre wanted was peace. They seek the city of Elenerre and its surrounding territory, a place 85% Franerri by birth and that has been Franerri for the past four centuries.

Yet, even when given the outlandish demands to cede the city, I sought peace. I dispatched diplomats to both Kumosenkan and Koi, asking the latter as a firmly neutral power between our nations, to arbitrate our dispute. Even now, I host two diplomats from Koi in our nation’s capital of Pareau, still ready to host talks whenever we get the chance. The only response Kumosenkan saw fit to send were artillery shells and a naval blockade.

I send this open letter to both the people and the government of Lusatia, because Franerre needs help to win this war. This is not a war between two forces on equal footing. Just the Autonomous Kumosenkan Prefecture of Elenria is larger and more populated than Franerre, not to mention Kumosenkan’s mainland proper. Kumosenkan’s navy is the envy of the world. They are one of the richest nations on the planet. Franerre is the furthest from any of these things.

Your government has already taken steps to assist us, and for that I applaud them. Yet, I fear it may not be enough. Even now, a Lusatian military base in the city of Elenerre, lawful Lusatian territory, is under threat by Kumosenkan, if it has not already been targeted. Lusatian citizens residing and fighting in Franerre have died. Some may claim that this is not Lusatia’s fight - I fear it has already become just that.

Now, the astute among you may wonder what Kumosenkan may have to claim in response to this. I cannot claim to know much for certain in this chaotic period Franerre finds itself in, but Kumosenkan has no moral footing to stand on in this matter. ‘But what about Franere’s military buildup in the disputed region?’ they may try to claim. My nation was simply preparing for the worst possible outcome - one that has sadly come true. ‘But what about past crimes committed by the Kingdom of Franerre?’ It is true that my nation cannot entirely be called blameless. The Kingdom did forcefully expel Elenrians out of their newly conquered territory four centuries ago, but four centuries have past since then. The Kingdom did treat its Inselni citizens as unequal, but that was eighty years ago. You will hardly be able to find a Franerri citizen alive who can remember the Inseni being anything but equal to them. And yes, with the long lives the Inselni live, there are those who can viscerally remember every single thing that past Franerri governments have done to them, often bearing the scars. I am deeply sorry for what has been done to them, and can think of any number of ways that Franerre may begin to repay them. But none of those could come to pass without Kumosenkan sitting down at the table to negotiate, which they have shown by now that they are not willing to do.



I hope the above illustrates a central truth about the war - no matter what excuses Kumosenkan may give, they are nothing but a bully preying on those they see as weak and helpless, wrapped in a flimsy veneer of righting pasts wrongs.’ Two wrongs, however, do not make the world right. What is right is the defense of one’s homes, one’s brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters behind them. What is right is to act, to condemn Kumosenkan’s invasion and blockade, and to assist Franerre in this desperate struggle to defend ourselves when all we wanted was peace. Thank you.

[alxeu]

The letter would have the expected outcome with the populace in Lusatia. Across the country, protests in favor of Franerre and of joining their war effort broke out in every major city. Several major newspapers published columns of young men who had indicated they'd volunteer for enlistment the moment hostilities were declared. Many local officials had issued statements of solidarity with Franerre, and local charitable collections were put together to raise money for medical supplies and other civilian aid for Franerre.

Pressure, however, would gradually begin to focus and hone in on two locations in Kazimierzgrad: the Kumosenkan Embassy and the Sejm.

At the Kumosenkan Embassy, as soon as the government got wind of the outbreak of war, the gendarmerie was positioned around the building to warn off protestors from trying anything that could cause a diplomatic incident. Nonetheless, more than a few arrests would occur over the coming days as several members of the crowds outside the embassy would get too close to violence.

At the Sejm, large crowds would show up day after day, increasingly wondering when Lusatia would intervene in the war. After all, they had to, didn't they? Lusatians were endangered, if the Franerri were to be believed.

In the Sejm, itself, opposition politicians from the left and right called for war. Hardline Conservatives were outraged that Lusatia's sphere of influence was under attack; Socialists were united in resolve to defend the weak and defenseless against Kumosenkan, a right-wing authoritarian regime that seemed hell-bent on destroying peace and oppressing all peoples of the world. Within the coalition of Liberals and Pragmatists, however, confusion and increasing division were being born. Within both parties, there were significant pro-war factions and anti-war factions, with the pro-war faction arguing that national pride and honor were at stake, that Lusatia had effectively promised protection to Franerre and it owed Franerre its aid. Anti-war politicians feared that getting dragged into war with Kumosenkan would not only put the nation into a war it could not win, but siphon off desperately needed resources for a future war with Galra. If Lusatia committed itself to a war in Touli, untold numbers of ships and men would be locked away, unable to be retrieved if a greater war broke out.

The Cabinet was of a single mind: Lusatian intervention in the war was to be avoided at all costs. Lusatia would do all in its power to supply Franerre and keep the nation from total collapse and defeat, as well as work endlessly to end the conflict before Franerre starts sustaining losses that would only further increase Kumosenkan's control over Touli. This, however, was not the majority position in the Sejm, as the pro-war faction in the coalition reached a majority of the remaining delegates when voting in concert with the Socialists and Hardliners.

Therefore, a bit of political shenanigans would have to be done. The Sejm couldn't vote to declare war if it didn't have a quorum. With the resignation of Socialist delegates a previous year already leaving some vacancies, the anti-war faction, in cooperation with the Agrarian Party (which opposed a war that would overwhelming see farmers' sons be sent off to a far-off land to die) staged a boycott of Sejm meetings. A handful of these groups would attend Sejm meetings daily for the sole purpose of calling a count of those present to prove there is not a quorum, forcing the Sejm to disband for another day.

Prime Minister Komorowski knew a stunt would doom his Ministry the moment the Sejm met once more, but he also knew that as long as he maintained public order and demonstrated a workable compromise policy, the King would enable his dubiously legal actions for the good of the nation.