Sanctus – Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kathryn Stewart today called for calm in Roucourt, addressing the House of Deputies on the escalating, and sudden, conflict in the eastern Caxcanan state. Speaking on the unfolding events, Stewart said that it was the Sanctarian position that “conflict should cease, negotiations should begin, and calm should prevail”.
Notably refusing to explicitly back the embattled incumbent General Secretary of State Svetlana Leclerc, whose rumoured mental decline is understood to have been a catalyst to the breakout of civil war, Stewart expressed her concern for the citizens of Roucourt. “A people already under intense stress and hardship now face indiscriminate bombing of their cities, coercion into fighting for cruel ideologies, and undoubtedly grief beyond measure. A civil war is not the solution to real and valid grievances with government; negotiation, compromise, and listening to the people is the only way out of everlasting conflict.”
Secretary Stewart also briefly touched on the recent Xiomeran intervention into the state, ostensibly to protect their own resources. “We have spoken with our friends who form the Union of Caxcanan States and stressed to them the importance of their voices in this matter. We believe they, and not foreign states acting unilaterally, are uniquely positioned to help resolve this crisis, and help the people of Roucourt bring this conflict to a speedy end.” Stewart however dismissed calls from the Sanctarian Conservative Party for direct Sanctarian intervention, saying “there will be no Sanctarian boots on the ground without widespread support from an international coalition. Unlike our friends in the SCP, who clearly wish to see a modern revival of a Sanctarian empire, we believe in democracy, self-determination, and a structured and negotiated end to this civil war.”
On the question of Sanctarian citizens in Roucourt, Stewart confirmed that evacuations had taken place over the past few days as tensions were rising, and that the Sanctarian Ambassador and his family were removed from the nation as soon as bombs started falling. “We are confident we have offered every Sanctarian in Roucourt who wished to leave an avenue to do so”, she told the House.
Stewart also confirmed that she was hoping the newly empanelled Security Council of the League of IDU Nations would take an interest in the growing conflict in Roucourt. “We believe that in conjunction with the UCS, LIDUN has a role to play in resolving the issues that have intensified the conflict. Roucourt may not be a member of the organisation, but the organisation does have a role to play in ensuring international harmony. Through LIDUN, international coalitions can be built to help end this civil war without nations needing to resort to separate campaigns of their own.”
When questioned on this by a member of the opposition, the Foreign Secretary dismissed again their suggested unilateral Sanctarian action, “this is not a simple case of one faction against another. We have splinter groups wishing to establish their own new nation, we have the internationally recognised Roucourtian government trying to regain control, we have pro-democracy groups using the conflict as a staging ground for mounting regime change, and we have elements of the military wishing to establish a military dictatorship; unilateral action will not result in a lasting amity between these groups with an accepted compromise.”
The Foreign Secretary’s statement today made clear that although the government wished to see this crisis end, and would do what it could in LIDUN and with other international bodies, it was not willing to intervene, either with peacekeepers or even with resources, without an international coalition. According to government sources, both Stewart and Homeland Security Secretary Nicola Allman spoke at cabinet about how the different factions in the war make meddling more difficult. “The Sanctarian government doesn’t want to just pick one faction and give them arms or financial support without the international community agreeing that is the right faction to support. Otherwise you may have a situation with Sanctaria supporting one group, Laeral supporting another, Xiomera another, and so on. It would result in proxy wars between even allied and friendly nations, which could cause a breakdown in the global order”, one foreign policy analyst suggested.
A wait-and-see approach has been the Sanctarian modus operandi for some years now, notably in the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War where the government only intervened to end the conflict when it was apparent Lauchenoirian diaspora, as well as those from the other combatant nations, in Sanctaria were beginning to have violent interactions of their own. Though not an ideal situation, it may be the government are hoping for a swift end with a status quo ante bellum result. Consistency is key for the Sanctarian government.
SOULLA WILDE, Political Correspondent
