As you may know, armed persons claiming to be under your banner were found in Athens recently.
As Athens is part of Hispania and these armed men not permitted by is government, its sovereignty was violated by this act.
As such, an explanation for this violation of our borders would be expected. Why were their armed men under your banner in our country?
Empress Dowager Sophia de Trastamara nee Mandromenos, Duchess of Athens
((Reapperance! Had some trouble with classtests and an... unfair... teacher.)) Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos has passed in his bed.
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Name: Lluis Kardinal Martínez Siechta
DoB: 13.04.1751
Class: Clergy (Bishop) Religion: Catholic
House: Assembly
Faction: Edredon
Bio: Lluis was the youngest son of a merchant. His mother died early, when she gave birth to a sister that would soon follow her mother into death. He was weak, and illness made him suffer even more. Really early he knew that he wanted to become a priest. He admired their discipline. But Lluis only knew the monks who lived near the small town he grew up in. He never knew how... lustfull the other priest were. How greedy, how ambitious. But when he started his Theologian studies he did not even thought priests could be bad men, how naiv he was. With 16 he started his studies in Montepellierre, in France, continued them in Rome and ended them in Granada. In Montepellierre he met a corrupt priest and a lustfull bishop. In Rome he saw the decadance, and in Granada he heard of the intrigues. He tried to withstand these sins, and he thought these were sins, but soon all his resitance fall appart, and became on of these... "bad priests". With 27 he had ended his studies, with 30 he already lead a big church, and now, with 47 he's leading a bishopric and hopes for the title of a Archbishop of Sevilla.
((So if you would make me a Archbishop I would request Sevilla.))
You would even condemn a newborn child, someone who cannot even speak let alone act to death? I know that is what you justice is. Death to all you see as guilty for things as simple as relation? Does the Lord and his Church teach that such things are sinful?
Truly, the people of Byzantium have legitimate grievances with the Basileus and the nobility, but executing all of them is not the answer. I propose a discussion between your leaders and the Basileus and his advisors, under the mediation of the Emperor of Hispania and his Cabinet so this affair can end peacefully on the island of Rhodes, under Hispanian jurisdiction. Hopefully this will result in an beneficial agreement to all.
Federalization of Italy Act
((replaces the Italian Autonomy Act))
The provinces of Italy, defined as those provinces whose citizens identify primarily as Italian and those provinces located in the historical region of Italy, shall be organized into the Kingdom of Italy. This Kingdom is to be a federation of all of the Italian provinces under the administration of a Governor, who shall serve as head of government of the Kingdom. The head of state shall be the Emperor of Hispania.
The Governor holds executive authority within the Kingdom of Italy, although the Emperor may override his actions at will. The Governor shall be chosen by the Emperor from a suitable candidate in the Italian Parliament (which is explained in a clause below).
The Kingdom of Italy shall be organized into the following administrative provinces: Sicily, Naples, Sardinia and Corsica, Apulia, Campania, Abruzzo, Lazio, Umbria, Venice, Tuscany, Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia, Romagna, and Verona. Each of these provinces may determine their own form of local government via popular referendum.
The Parliament of Italy shall be established as follows: the Upper House, or Senate, where each province may have two senators to represent their interests, and the Lower House, or the House of Commons, where each province may send a number of representatives proportional to their population levels to represent them. These senators and representatives will be elected by the people of the relevant provinces every four years unless the province in question votes in the initial referendum to not have an elected form of government. In such cases the provincial government may nominate their senators and representatives for a four year term.
General and provincial elections will be held every four years in provinces with an elected form of government.
All provinces must respect the supremacy of both the Italian Parliament and the Hispanian government. The Italian Parliament will respect the supremacy of the Hispanian government.
Each province is granted the right to set local tax rates and the right to establish official languages for use in government and commerce. The Italian Parliament may pass legislation that applies within the borders of the Kingdom of Italy and establish a common Hispanian-style court system for all provinces.
The citizens of the Kingdom of Italy are exempt from any laws passed by the Hispanian government which do not explicitly concern them.
The citizens of Istria will hold a popular referendum on whether to join with the new Kingdom of Italy or remain under direct Hispanian administration.
The capital of this Kingdom of Italy will be determined by popular referendum.
All citizens of the Kingdom of Italy shall remain citizens of Hispania and are thus entitled to all of the benefits that Hispanian citizens enjoy, such as free movement, representation in the Hispanian Parliament, and freedom of religion.
((Raise Italian autonomy.))
The Empress Dowager decided to reveal the words of the leader of the rebellion to the Emperor to see what he thinks of this madness.
((Privately of course))
Fernando stands up again.
"After being reviewed several times by the senior members of the Reconquista Party and taking in the advice of many esteemed members of Parliament, we have decided to amend the Italian Autonomy Act as follows, taking inspiration from other proposals put forth by other members of Parliament. I apologize for any inconveniences in incorporating other proposals' ideas.
Again, please provide constructive criticism on this proposal so that we can determine its benefits and limitations and improve on it.
I yield the floor. Thank you for your patience."
"Your Majesty," said Fernando, "I am concerned that we may have to use force to defeat the Greek revolutionaries. I do not want it to come to that. I believe it is time that we forced the Basileus and his government, or whatever is left of it, to accept Hispanian style reforms both to bring their state into the modern era and to end the rebel threat before more people get hurt. I propose a meeting between the rebel leaders and representatives from Constantinople to negotiate a reformed Greek government, with Hispanian mediation of course. Failing that, I am ready to lead an army into the Greek lands to eliminate the rebels and locate the Basileus and his family, but if it comes to that we must still force Constantinople to adopt reforms."
((Private - Ministry of Justice))*A memo is passed down from the Minister of Justice's Office to the Bureau of the National Police*
'It is a matter of immense importance that the Basilissa is placed under the custody of the National Police. Details are enclosed as to her whereabouts. Furthermore, an investigation into the precise nature of the Empress Dowager's use of office - particularly communiques - should be examined.'
~ Salcedo
_____________*The two thugs are sitting, tied to very austere wooden chairs. Numerous local police guard the somewhat makeshift prison cell from the outside, but the only ones accompanying the prisoners are two dark figures in plain clothing. Their distinctive tricorn hats had been long removed for fear of damage.*
((Private - Interrogation Room))
"Now, pecadores, who shall be the first to speak as to the identities and whereabouts of your leaders?"
((Interrogate the thugs to find precise information about who is in charge.))
((Okay, I understand. I'm editing the bill to make it so that they just gain autonomy. Let me know if that brings up more issues.))First, I need to point out creating Italy in-game would conflict with several points of your act. For one, doing that instantly makes it so all taxes go to them, not just local taxes, and they gain the ability to create their own army. They would also not be granted any representation in our Parliament because they technically would not be part of Hispania anymore. If you want them to be an actual in-game nation, it needs to be made clear they would be granted their own army. The condition about them gaining representation will need to be removed since we would no longer be able to directly influence any of those provinces represented. Now if the Italian Parliament is merely a regional one beneath our current one and Italy would simply be a kingdom in Hispania, it makes more sense for there not to be an in-game nation and just raise autonomy instead.
A parliamentary secretary points out that the Confirmation of the Appointment Replacement Act does indeed require the approval of the Cortz according to Section IV, Clause B of the Inter-Parliamentary Relations Act, due to it altering the membership requirements of the Assembly. The Chamberlain is also required to approve the Cortz Election Act for a vote as designated by Section III of the Inter-Parliamentary Relations Act.
Regional Governance ActI. The regional assemblies (renamed to areal assemblies) of the areas can decide to create an assembly together with at least one other area, thereby creating a region.
II. The areal assemblies can transfer what rights they deem better administered on regional level to these regional assemblies.
((Okay, I understand. I'm editing the bill to make it so that they just gain autonomy. Let me know if that brings up more issues.))
"I am well aware of the law. An act that doesn't simply consist of Section IV, Clause B. There is also Section V, and Section IV, Clause A. Now why should there be V if IV is clear? Because IV gives examples, a guideline if you want. Section V unmistakenly gives the responsibility of deciding if a law affects only one house. There is a good reason why this section has been written into the act, to clear any dispute. And for my faction, the Appointment Replacement Act and therefore also its confirmation falls mainly under Clause A, or at least between the two Clauses, as the main point is to change the procedure: votes of appointed members are reduced to zero. Membership requirements stay the same. There is no word lost about how one attains membership, and I interprete it as a procedural action as stated in Clause A. Now I see that you do not share my opinion. But this is exactly why the Speaker and Chamberlain are given that responsibility. And if both of them are saying that the act only affects the Assembly and should be voted on by it - then it does.
Chamberlain Spoleto recognized the character of my proposed Cortz Election Act - it is ridiculous. The same is true for the appointment, and even some appointed themselves have shown their approval in the last vote! Now why should the Cortz be able to block that revocation, while the Assembly can't create a similar structure in the Cortz? Why can they block the revocation of something negative for the Assembly? While the Assembly itself cannot block the revocation of a deeply rooted injustice in the Cortz, for there is none? The character of this law has been made clear as one only concerning the Assembly. The Chamberlain, as well as our new Speaker will, sees this true character and acknowledges the competence for this law. There is hardly room for discussion, especially with this vile attempt to silence the majority of the Assembly for good!
As Minister of the Interior, I will continue to encourage greter production all across Hispania. ((keep manufacturing)) And to achieve that goal, I would like to gain the support of the CJC. Instead of focusing on war, something that we should aim to reduce to the past, the CJC shall encourage peace, prosperity, abolish existing limits, encourage the values of the empire and the CJC."
((Church Aspects: Revoke 'Saints Accept Prayers' and 'Holy Sacraments'. Institute 'Individual Creeds' and 'Allow Usury'.))
((Cabinet))
With the Dowager Empress involved in these letters, whose universal solution I have presented in the Parliament lately, I can only assume that this 'breach of sovereignty' has been two drunk revolutionaries who just happened to have a pitchfork in their hand and made one step into the county. Hardly an invasion. And with Byzantium's status, nothing could be further away from a breach of sovereignty than such a, I wouldn't dream of calling it that way, 'incident'. Byzantine troops and civilians can cross the border as they please, to reach the Peloponnese, to visit their family, whatever. For centuries. I am sure there have been drunk soldiers in Athens before, this is hardly new. If these poor drunken peasants are even to be considered soldiers, that is. If Athens sees things like the revolutionaries, they will have the referendum to prove it. That Byzantium claims lands it lost centuries ago is not new.
As far as I see it, the demands of the Greeks are reasonable. Centuries of oppression have left their marks, and it is not like the Basileus had no chance to change it, or didn't see it coming. He must answer for these mistakes, and if he found guilty, then so be it. Any fears of a show trial could be answered with a trial in front of a Hispanian court, in accordance to the Byzantine laws; the independence of our jurisdiction should guarantee a fair trial for both the revolutionaries and the Basileus.
Intervention causes only more death, resentment and an eventual backlash. The revolution should run its course. The government of Byzantium has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and if that is the case, there is nothing to salvage. Only a greatly modernizing reform can restore the legitimacy. Of course, negotiations are advisable, but I doubt that the Basileus, who has shown no willingness to negotiate before, will do it now when he stands to lose much. If he loses the trial, it may well be everything. And Hispania let this loss of legitmacy happen. Protection of the Greeks can also be achieved in a more loosely organized alliance.
((Private - Cabinet))
Perhaps the details were not made clear enough then. The Basileus and his wife were attacked in the streets of Athens. This is no drunken brawl. Admittedly, our relations with Byzantium has allowed free travel to occur between our two empires. Regardless, I do not take the attack on my cousin and another sovereign on our soil lightly.
There is also the matter of whether the Basileus should even be permitted to be placed on trial, or if this rebellion should be given any legitimacy at all, if we even have the power to dictate so. The Greeks have legitimate grievances, but allowing this all to happen could set a dangerous precedent. It may be better to use our influence to force a settlement between the two so the monarchy remains intact but in a shape better suited to fit the needs of the Greek people.
- His Imperial Highness, Alfons IX de Trastámara, Emperor of Hispania, Caesar of Rome, King of Transdacia, Duke of Bavaria, & Protector of the Greeks