OMNI Summit (Grand Haven)

Landgrave Ulrich De Witte-Beulen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of New Tarajan, raises up from his chair, addressing all the participants:
"As representative of His Royal Majesty the King of New Tarajan, it is my honor and privilege to declare this Summit as officially open. I hereby request to the members to submit their proposals. Thank you."

Ambassador Angelos Karamanlis came to his feet upon the Tarajani Prime Minister’s invitation. “If I may, the Sultanate of Morea would like to bring forward a proposal for OMNI’s consideration,” he began. “For some time now, the Sultanate has championed a policy of integrating and assimilating the refugees of the world, who have been invited without question into Morea and the other areas of Achaian control. This policy was initially devised as a method of defense, in order to acquire greater manpower than was naturally available in Morea for military and productive uses, thereby closing the gap to more powerful states that might threaten our nation in various ways. However, this has been something of a work in progress in many respects. Under His Majesty Sultan Ioannis, refugees met a great deal of resistance from the Achaian Church, and even today they are not entirely welcomed by local populations who live outside of the immediate range of the Eurasian border. Meanwhile, there is no certain way to prevent those who mean Achaians harm from entering the country among those who sincerely wish to live a peaceful life in safety. While Her Majesty Sultana Aikaterini fully intends to maintain this policy, her government greatly desires some assistance from the rest of OMNI in order to house and employ these refugees in such a way that they can be made welcome—and useful—without unduly stretching the resources and the patience of the Achaian people.

“Therefore, Her Anointed Majesty has charged me with proposing for OMNI’s consideration a proposal to pool our resources to develop special zones for refugee settlement within our various states. These zones could take the form of new towns, complete with established infrastructure for day-to-day living as well as social and economic integration: schools and universities, factories and banks, and—perhaps most importantly of all—military barracks and recruitment centers. As per the hopes of our departed Sultan, after all, this refugee policy was intended to improve and strengthen the Achaian military, and OMNI itself is a military alliance. Her Majesty the Sultana proposes that we use our greater collective resources to establish these refugee colonies throughout all the nations of OMNI in such a way that these people’s new employment prospects will primarily benefit the military prospects of their host nations, and OMNI as a whole as a result.”

The ambassador frowned slightly as he added, “There are obvious difficulties with such plans as they stand, of course,” he said. “We must be careful to prevent these new refugee colonies from becoming nothing more than squalid refugee camps such as are already present throughout the world today. We must restrict the number of people who can live in such places so as to ensure that their numbers do not overwhelm the economic situation that has been developed for them. And we must be capable of moving these people throughout OMNI in order to place them where they are most needed, and to alleviate the strains that exist where they live now. But Her Anointed Majesty and I are completely confident that a determined OMNI can overcome these obstacles and achieve the goal of greater military strength by utilizing this untapped source of manpower and productivity in a much more efficient manner than can be managed by each nation acting alone.”

His Highness, Sebastian Valerian Higencourt, stands up and take the word after the representative of Achaian Morea "We are sincerely happy to see, another time, the representatives of OMNI reunited in a summit. Before exposing our proposals for this meeting, I will gladly, in few words, respond to the ambassador of Morea about his proposal.

First of all, we wish to congratulate and thanks Morea for has welcomed so many refugees in the past years, with all the efficiency possible in a similar situation. You made a great, indefatigable work to give a home and a place to stay to all this refugees. Antanares was a destination of immigration too, in the past years. We understand all the difficulties you encountered and all the obstacles. We appreciate also the proposal you moved. But we find some weak points in your exposition. We are totally against the creation of "refugee colonies" where put them and, at the same time, the view of the refugee as a simple resource to utilize. We share the opinion that all the members of OMNI can share part of the refugee's flux, with a system that can be studied and implemented, of course. But Antanares will never construct a ghetto, or many of them, for its refugees. We will welcome them in our lands and cities, as we do in the past, and try to integrate them in our way of life. As people, no as resource. I hope that is clear.

Second of all, Antanares propose to steady the strength of our alliance reinforcing the links between, first of all, our armies. We must reinforce our shared commands and the regional commands, sharing the command lines and trying to improve the coordination between us. Not only in the strictly military field, but also in the military research and in the foreign politics. We must create a united front, capable of granting stability and cohesion between us.
Of course, our citizens and our economics could only benefit from a major unity between us. Antanares is ready to take all the steps necessary to grant that"

President Naveen Garagen stands up to address the committee following His Highness Sebastian Higencourt

"First of all, I'm glad to see all of you gathered here in this conference hall. I'll start by appologizing for the heavy military presence and security both here in the Capitol Estate and around Grand Haven in general, but the threats that accompany such a monumentally important gathering make it necessary. In response to the Morean delegations proposals on Refugee camps, we too would like to make certain changes, albeit in a different direction to the Antanaresian ones. Previous legislations and public sentiment in the Social Democracy is very pragmatic in regards to refugees or illegal immigrants as some would term them. We are more than happy to set up and operate refugee camps as proposed by the Morean delegation, as this is something we already do. However the Federal Government is to have no direct ties with the management and treatment of persons who aren't citizens of New-Zealand, and as such the facilities are managed by the private firm SERCO funded through the Federal Governments Humanitarian Aid budget. So in regards to the proposal, we wish to ammend it to allow for the use of privately managed facilities. I would also like to take this moment to address the Antanerian delegation and reassure them that our facilities are of a high standard and nothing like the shanty towns described in the previous address. 

Now onto the second point of order. We propose expanding the OMNI to function not primarily as a military alliance but also economically. Todays world is dictated not by warfare but by economic superiority, and as such OMNI needs to work together and co-operate in order to ensure that we remain the most powerful geopolitical alliance on the planet. I propose large scale free trade agreements as well as strong encouragement for co-operation and cross investment between our private sectors. I'd also like to suggest we greatly drop travel and migration restrictions between our nations and make it possible for our citizens to easily work and travel in eachothers' countries."

Ambassador Karamanlis nodded toward Prince Sebastien and the Antanaresian delegation. “I thank Your Highness for your words of support,” the ambassador began. “Please allow me to clarify some points of the Sultanate’s proposal so as to assure Your Highness and the people of Antanares that we are in no way advocating the construction of ghettos for the disadvantaged. On the contrary, our proposal today is intended to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, the number of such ghettos that have already sprung up in Morea as a result of our current inefficiency, and provide a firm foundation for community growth and national assimilation.

“This proposal is intended to develop real and well-established towns and cities specifically for the use of our refugee populations,” Karamanlis elaborated. “It is meant to request the use of international resources in order to put an end to ‘shanty town’-like refugee camps that, despite the Sultanate’s efforts, are all too common in Morea today. Our intention is to improve the lot of our refugees, either within or outside of our borders, with the help of OMNI as a whole. And as Your Highness points out, as does Your Excellency,” Karamanlis added, nodding toward President Garagen as well, “such a project aids those living in many OMNI nations, not just our own. While I do not doubt that the refugees of Antanares and New-Zealand are luckier than most in the care they receive from their hosts, they remain nonetheless a people apart, supported by their neighbors, and largely unable to contribute to their own and the national welfare. Her Majesty the Sultana hopes that, with your aid, OMNI as a whole can accomplish what the Sultanate alone could not: turning these refugees into productive, permanent citizens and subjects, content in their new homes.”

The ambassador shook his head. “To be sure, Her Majesty has selfish reasons for her proposal, as did His Majesty Sultan Ioannis when he first opened the borders of Morea to those fleeing danger elsewhere. Manpower is a resource, and a strong government utilizes it whenever it can. That is not to say that the Sultanate proposes to make slaves of those who have come to us in desperation. The opposite, in fact: We intend to make homes for them, and jobs, and all the means of self-support. We intend to construct permanent towns and cities that will become strongholds of production, boasting a motivated workforce and an educated younger generation. We intend to profit only from the profits of our new residents, not at their expense. And if the military profits most of all from the industries that we bring to these new cities and towns in their opening stages, our nations are made stronger for it while our people are no less productive and no more unhappy.”

Karamanlis turned his attention to President Garagen. “As I have said, of course, construction of these new colonies would require a close cooperation with the private sector, or at least those elements of it whose expansion can provide employment for these refugees and supplies for our national militaries. And while it is not Her Anointed Majesty’s intention to sell the rights of these towns’ physical construction to private individuals and companies, she does not intend for this proposal to outright prevent it, either. I believe that my clarifications have demonstrated the difficulty of expecting the private sector to govern these colonies to any great extent, however, as they are intended from the first to be permanent additions to the host nation of no less stature than any other town or city. That said, those employers who are established in these places in their infancy can be expected to wield greater influence among their workers than in other communities with more varied economic opportunities. I do not believe we should begrudge them this influence, as long as it serves the national interest—although,” the ambassador added with another glance toward the Antanaresian delegation, “our governments should not hesitate to interfere in matters if private employers take advantage of their employment monopolies to the detriment of their refugee employees. Furthermore, our proposal assumes that one important employer available to these newly-settled refugees is the military itself, in the form of recruitment. The Sultanate, at least, does not intend to turn its military over to private economic interests at present.” It was enough, Karamanlis thought privately, that the Sultanate’s military was third- or fourth-best in its own borders, outstripped by Tarajani, Antanaresian, and Montferrati visitors whose equipment and training was far better than that provided at home. It did not need to compete with private military contractors at home or abroad as well.

Ambassador Karamanlis paused as he shifted his attention away from the Morean proposal. “As far as the Antanaresian proposal of closer military and economic cooperation is concerned, the Sultanate absolutely supports every effort that will allow for greater coordination in the face of any worldwide threat to OMNI or any of its members. The Sultanate believes that some kind of international command structure is necessary to effectively coordinate the various national elements currently standing guard against foreign aggression, or else our different armed forces will stumble over one another in confusion if they are unleashed against a common foe. Furthermore, if intelligence obtained by one nation is not effectively shared among its allies and friends, each nation will inevitably develop different strategies that will interfere with and undermine one another. The Sultanate fully supports any measure that will minimize these kinds of wasteful and deadly mistakes.” Karamanlis once again turned his attention from Prince Sebastien to President Garagen. “It likewise desires closer economic cooperation among our nations, as Your Excellency proposes. While perhaps it is too much to suggest that we should entirely eliminate all barriers to free trade and free movement from nation to nation within OMNI, the Sultanate has already established one of the most porous borders in Esamir in terms of the movement of peoples into our nation, and we are not about to close those borders to anyone who desires to live in productive peace among the Achaian people. We would like to evaluate the situation and determine whether or not the benefits of investment from foreign firms within Morea will help to stem any flow of Achaian labor out of our nation toward nations with better economic prospects at present. In principle, however, closer economic ties with our neighbors in OMNI are always to be welcomed, and I tentatively support Your Excellency’s proposal with the caveat that we support the incremental lowering of these barriers to free movement and free trade while further study is conducted to determine the impacts on individual national economies in the long term.” Quite simply, as everyone in the room knew even if Karamanlis wasn’t going to admit it aloud, Morean companies couldn’t compete on an equal footing with economic giants like Chrysler, while allowing the Sultanate’s subjects to emigrate without acquiring dispensation from the government first was likely to encourage Achaian moderates—and the majority of the disenchanted refugees—to flee the Sultanate in droves, leaving behind a homogeneous population of ultra-conservative theocratic supporters whose constant calls for Bishop Akakios’s return and rehabilitation were already an embarrassment for Sultana Aikaterini’s government, and a threat to the legitimacy of the Sultana herself. Aikaterini needed moderates and foreign refugees to stay in Morea as a counterweight to places like Mystras. Agreeing to the unregulated movement of peoples across borders, out of as well as into the country, would be a disaster for Aikaterini and a blow to any attempts to modernize the Sultanate’s political and social systems.

“Perhaps it is best that we attempt to integrate our refugee populations before we attempt to utilize the potential advantages they bring to us,” Ambassador Karamanlis granted. “I will bring the council’s objections to Her Anointed Majesty, and will do my utmost to work with OMNI to adopt a less extreme proposal that will suit the needs of the refugees as well as the host nations.” Nodding to Prime Minister De Witte-Beulen, Karamanlis added, “If OMNI agrees to the creation of the OMNI HCR, the Sultanate for one would be pleased to have its assistance in the future. In the meantime, we will work with OMNI to develop our military strength through more conventional means.

“On that note,” Karamanlis continued, “I would like to speak on the Zack concerns regarding OMNI military organization. I agree with Prime Minister Tharoor that going so far as to combine all of our militaries into a single organization would be a mistake, not only due to the—God grant that I speak hypothetically—possibility of military issues between member states, but also due to the difficulties of integration and cooperation between units of many different nationalities and languages. Nonetheless, the Prime Minister has also suggested a compromise of military bases and units under OMNI’s collective authority, ensuring that all participating nations are involved in the defense of our allies and friends. Assuming that these bases would be manned by units that were intended from their inception to be multi-national, we would be able to establish such unified military cooperation on a small scale, alleviating the problems while still giving us a measure of the rewards of this course of action. All in all, the Sultanate will support the Zack proposal.”

Prime Minister De Witte-Beulen speaks again:
"So, perhaps we could proceed with submitting the official proposals on both issues and vote.
About the refugee issues, the proposal is as follow:
- Creation of the OMNI HRC, with all the details already submitted by us."

On the note of the OMNI HCR and Refugee situation, I feel it best to maintain a level of honesty and inform you all of our plans on the matter. We have struck a deal with the our Morean associates, and as a result most, if not all, refugees and illegal immigrants arriving at the borders of the Social Democracy will be handed over forthwith to the equivalent Morean agencies to handle and process. Rather than expand on our own, albeit limited, refugee programs through the private SERCO firm we have chosen to financially compensate and employ the Morean state managed alternative instead. We feel that this will be more beneficial to the refugees than the privately managed proposal previously put forward by us. 

In addition we also push strongly for a more aggressive economic stance. We strongly advocate for the relatively rapid de-regulation and opening of our respective markets, and firmly believe that the free market will balance itself in due time. Protectionist policies, while holding their own merits, are detrimental to the growth and internal stability of our OMNI alliance. If we truly wish to dominate the world market we must be willing to let our industries face the ultimate test and survive themselves on the open market against foreign competition. While certain industries may be hurt in the process, the benefits to others will balance these losses over all, and the increased overall productivity of our international alliance will enable us to maintain and secure long term global dominance economically.

Ambassador Karamanlis grimaced at the thought of Morean companies trying to compete with Kiwi and Tarajani conglomerates on an even playing field, but… well, they could certainly make use of the highly-expanded market that was soon to make its way into Oriento, and with all that available manpower there would be no shortage of labor to develop the area as quickly as possible. ‘The Sultana will figure it out,’ he thought to himself, and left it alone.

“I can corroborate the agreement I have made on behalf of Her Anointed Majesty with President Garagen,” the ambassador said. “Between our two nations, we intend to provide new opportunities for any refugee with nowhere else to go. With funding from the Social Democracy—and, we certainly hope, the aid of OMNI HCR, which the Sultanate fully endorses and will support with its vote—I am confident that the Sultanate can overcome its existing troubles with the existing refugee population and become much more capable of taking in and assimilating ever more new guests.”

"Antanares supports both the idea of a OMNI HRC and the de-regulations. We think this would be the best hope and way to assure cooperation between the members and create prosperity between all of us. We totally support this idea"

The following are the official Zack Proposals.

1. Strategic OMNI Military Bases
Establishment of OMNI Military Bases at several locations within our borders and other strategically important locations across the world, as unanimously decided by all members of the OMNI.
These bases will have members of the military in proportion to its proximity to a member nation. (If a base is eq-distant from the UKZ and New Tarajan but much farther away from New-Zealand, Zack And Tarajani military will have a greater and equal presence than that of New-Zealand)

2. Establishment of the United OMNI Satellite Framework (UOSF).
The Zack Space Research Organization (ZSRO) would like to begin development of a united network of satellites for the use of OMNI members for initially military use in the hope that it can expand for civilian use in the future.

The ZSRO will cover all expenses for the same.

3. Establishment of the OMNI Research Insitute
In the hope to promote scientific advancement for all our people and our militaries, the UKZ proposed the creation of the OMNI research institute.

Research of new military technology, climate change mitigation, military tactics, economic policy, refugee handling and crop improvement and even bioprospection and similar fields can be studied here at this institute. All research coming out of this institute will be patented under the OMNI

It will provide employment and educational opportunities for only OMNI Member states.

We propose building this institute in Sonia, Province of Agusta (On the Pony-Tail peninsula), UKZ.