Intergalactic Summit

Thank you, all three of you, for honest and thought out answers.

I can't really disagree with any of your positions as clarified. If people were executing raids into the State and stealing our citizens away into slavery I would be all kinds of angry. Said anger would almost certainly be delivered via warhead technology.

I must clarify myself, that I am in no way suggesting that the Republic lay supine under the blows delivered by a harsh universe. Not only would that be a supreme betrayal of the Matari character, it would abandon your citizens to desolation and the exploitation of a hundred different types of vermin and criminal.

You have my support in your destruction of any Caldari State vessels you find carrying out illegal slave raiding in your territory. I hesitate to use the facile excuse that these people are acting against State Policy as its possible some idiot of a Director is encouraging these acts as a way of artificially padding their bottom line. The only way you can really combat this is to ensure that such activity remains as unprofitable as it is illegal. You have my blessing.

That said, it remains an iron-clad argument for the Empire to claim that not only would giving you what you want destroy them, it would destroy YOU. They have neither the need nor the inclination to change their policy until the ball is firmly in their court - and it won't be until Matari demands make more sense.

Well said...

Jueshi Zhost,

Forgive me but I would like to address a few matters you have raised here, understanding of course that I know little and surely wouldn't claim to have any wisdom regarding Federal matters.

Firstly the notion that the Federation is centralised: power in the Federation is heavily decentralised as result of the reforms of President Yiona amongst the various districts; the governmental authorities of signatories to the Federal Charter which may take a myriad of forms with only a few restrictions (universal suffrage. regular elections, etc.); the central Federal authorities, such as the Senate or President, are able to assist member states of the Federation however this can only be done with specific remit from said member state; for the most part the Federation legislates foreign affairs and interstellar security - this being explicitly stated by the Federal Charter and Constitution as the central Federal authority's (or FedGov) primary role. I have been brief here, but am happy to expand upon the matter and explore in detail the structure of the Federation if I am asked to.

Secondly the notion that millions of Federal citizens are not held in slavery: recall the democratic nature of the Federation, and further remember that 30% of our population are Minmatar - that is one fifth of all Minmatar people. As a result this significant portion of the population, far larger than my own people's which make up only 5%, represents a powerful influence on Federal politics, elections, campaigns, and policy. As such I would reckon that these Federal citizens would, and do, strongly argue that the Federation indeed has people enslaved. Not forgetting of course that there are slaves of other ethnicities, albeit at a smaller number, though I think the scale of the horror doesn't necessarily reduce it.

Please forgive me my ignorance, and I hope that I have humbly been of assistance.

Sang Do Xun Yu

A recent Gutter Press survey amongst Minmatar capsuleers found several critics of the current situation.

One veteran capsuleer made the bold assertion that there were "no true Minmatar left", and that all existing Minmatar capsule pilots were "merely imitations of true Minmatar".

That bold assertion was challenged by several others, who said that such claims were "the inane gumflapping of a bitter old woman", and "Is she still going on about that ? For Spirit's sake, why doesn't she give it a rest".

The Republic is a land of contrasts. While scenes of deprivation and refugee camps feature often in the media, the reality is quite different. Slums and camps are more common on Matar itself, rather than on the more developed worlds, due to Matar's central importance as the Home World. Prosperous systems such as Eystur, Edmalbrurdus, or Hek, contain settlements that rival any of the large cities of New Eden, though that prosperity is seldom mentioned by the media.

What the Republic needs, is more infrastructure. The slums of Matar are not a problem that is solvable, there will always be slums on Matar, because every member of the Minmatar diaspora sees Matar as the ancestral home world, and wishes to go there, which means there will always be overcrowding and social problems.

The less developed worlds of the Republic need more infrastructure. Some of the backwater worlds have had no infrastructure development since the time of the Liberation, and remain undeveloped. While Amarr colonial architecture may be of interest to some Republic University academics, not every former colonial world needs to be kept as a museum. Develop those worlds and their industry, and with the Minmatar work ethic, they will become a powerhouse of the economy, allowing the other problems to be alleviated, even if they are unsolvable.

As regards the Amarr question. Because of the Elder Fleet raid on the Amarr worlds, I think it is highly unlikely that the Empire would agree to any kind of peace, except on its terms. And those terms will most certainly not be beneficial to the Minmatar people, and so perhaps there will never be peace again. In which case, perhaps the stargates between Minmatar and Amarr space should be dismantled, preventing most contact between us, and greatly limiting the scope of the war. Though, that isolation may cause other problems later on.

It's a very difficult question.

What is this bile? Has Constantly Outraged Sebiestor finally succumbed to the temptation to...

...

To...

I can hardly say it; give me a moment. Yes. No, I'm sorry.

...to make a good post?

I'll get it out of the way--I wasn't raised in the Republic, and my seven years there were spent wearing jade-colored glasses. But I can assure you that whatever we Matari were before the Day of Darkness is an eternity from what the 'Tribes' are today. Anybody who were to try to convince you otherwise is either lying or a politician.

For better or for worse, the Republic was founded to escape generations of enslavement under the Amarr, and it is defined today by the polarizing reality of the Elder Invasion against the Amarr. Were they to vanish, it would require a titanic level national introspection for the Republic to redefine itself. And you know, sadly? I doubt anything less than the wholesale rapture of the entire Empire could provoke such a needed change.

Gratitude for past aid does not mean overlooking newer incidents. We will always be grateful to the Gallente people for their friendship. That doesn't mean things like assassinations get whitewashed away. We are, deep down, a people of deep feeling and long memory.

Xun Yu raised a valuable point about the Tribal immigrant community living within the Federation, but it is clear there are cultural frictions between our people that have yet to be honestly addressed. It was a mistake of the Gallente to think their political institutions and economic policies would so easily graft onto the Matari psyche, but many of the Tribe's problems are also of our own making.

We are a people rising out of bondage, rebuilding our institutions and defining our place in our galaxy. For a lack of a better term, there are "growing pains" which come with it. Considering where we have come from within the span of a single century, the progress has been remarkable, but there have clearly been mistakes. The Tribal Fleet's incursion into the Federation several years ago was an utter waste of lives, for example. Our first attempts at building a Parliamentary democracy was doomed to failure, and the government's handling of insurgent organizations like The Bloody Hand left much to be desired. Thankfully, however, we learn from our mistakes quickly. We rebuild, we rise, we sharpen our blades, so to speak, and prepare for what is next to come. We are building a new nation from the ashes of our past, and we are building it with a speed seldom seen in history.

I suppose it is the only way to ensure our next generation never returns to chains.

You are correct, the Minmatar now are just a pale shadow of what possibly could have been. I agree it would lead to a titanic level in nationanl introspection. However the abrupt disappearance of the Amarr from the political scene is, like previoously said, most likely a magical event, so wasting too much thought on it is a useless endeavour.

I wouldn't be as pessimistic on as could the tribes redefine the Republic - they already have, in a sense. The "dethroning" of the parliament in favour of the Tribal Councli is one enormous step towards healing and a new, more prosperous future. A lot more will need to happen for the Matari to find a new way of life, one that is not dominated by the threat of the Amarr, but even the longest of journeys start with a single step.

Ah, I'm rambling.

But, what I'm trying to say is that the Matari, I firmly believe, can and will change, for the better. We need wise leaders to do that, and while I am not extensively familiar with all of them, I would say the current tribal leaders could very well be those wise leaders we need. I have been particularly impressed with Acassa Midular and the newly reformed Nefantar and Starkmanir tribes' chieftains, Eleca Valkanir and Jeoran Setul. I can only hope that they will bring fresh ideas and plans for the tribes' future to front, and that they will inspire the other tribes to re-evaluate their priorities.

Some would say... but then there is the truth.