Sanctus – In a hastily convened press conference this evening at the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Nicola Allman condemned the burning of the Monolith Manufacturing building in Buttercity, Lauchenoiria by the extremist environmentalist group Warriors of Our Earth. In addition, she said that the group would be placed on the terror watchlist and would be designated a terrorist group under Sanctarian law.
“We have been observing the actions of the group Warriors of Our Earth for some time now, and grow increasingly concerned at the growing violence and wilful disregard for innocent life of their actions. The Sanctarian government has been crystal clear with our counterparts in Lauchenoiria that should the group continue their violent ways, then we will act to ensure Sanctarian security and safety would not be compromised. Our announcement today that the Warriors of Our Earth will be designated a terrorist group is the first step to secure Sanctarian interests at home and abroad”, Allman declared at the conference.
Allman also announced that the government would be heightening security at their embassy in Buttercity and that the Federal Intelligence Agency would be identifying any members of the group currently in Sanctaria. “We have been insistent that the Lauchenoirian government must act swiftly to contain and neutralise this group. Any members of the Warriors of Our Earth found to be in Sanctaria will be returned to Lauchenoiria or their country of origin. Any Sanctarian members will be arrested and tried under domestic terrorism laws. This government will not allow extremist groups exported from other countries to disrupt our nation, take advantage of our services, or dwell in Sanctarian prisons. It is time for those countries to start accepting responsibility.”
The sister group Watchdogs of Our Earth was also targeted by Allman in her announcement today. “Our intelligence suggests Warriors of Our Earth is successfully using the founding group Watchdogs of Our Earth as a fertile recruiting ground. While we will not be extending the terror group designation to Watchdogs at this time, we are giving them public notice that the Sanctarian security services consider them to be “groups of interest” – their leadership in Sanctaria and abroad should take note of this and act to ensure extremist elements do not continue their infiltration and recruitment efforts. The right to non-violent protest is sacrosanct, and this government will not impede the abilities of Watchdogs of Our Earth to organise and protest, but Sanctaria will not tolerate groups or individuals using violence and terror to push their agenda, especially if those illegitimate actors are using legitimate groups as cover.”
Secretary Allman expressed her relief that the attack on the Monolith Manufacturing building in Buttercity didn’t result in any deaths, but did add “this is just a warning shot from the group. They are escalating and intelligence suggests their targets number in the hundreds, and not just limited to Lauchenoiria. Sanctaria is taking steps now to limit disruption in this country.”
BRIAN DeNOBLE, Defence & Security Correspondent
