Shireroth

Shireroth acknowledges that our long-time ally, the Kingdom of Babkha, has recently been engaging in a private fantasy of control over Shireroth. The Kaiser's government has known about this for some time, but has kept the information secret to avoid embarrassing the Babkhans unnecessarily. Though Babkha may have fallen on hard times, with a post per month barely one-twentieth of our own, we still respect them for the glory years of their past and did not want to drag their dirty laundry in front of the international community, especially considering the potential damage it could do to their relationship with important powers such as Alexandria.

No one was harmed by leading Babkhans playing a legally ingenious game of make-believe among themselves on a secret forum. Indeed, the Babkhan game benefited Shireroth in many ways. Hasan's importation of a Babkhan-based economic system was mostly successful, Ardashir made an excellent Minister of Military Affairs, and when the Babkhans' imagination ran out, most of them left the country quietly while others settled down and assisted the transition into the reign of Kaiser Loki III and his Steward, Oroigawa.

However, the media has unfortunately picked up on the story, leaving us no choice but to comment. We of course deny the Babkhan claim to Shireroth. Although Kaiser Hasan and Kaiser Ayreon were both legitimate rulers of Shireroth, neither made an official Imperial Decree changing the Imperial Republic's relationship with Babkha. Had they done so, they would have of course been politely but firmly shown the door just as our last overly generous Kaiser, Mog I was so many years ago.

We realize that Babkha has little left but its daydreams, and we are not so hard-hearted to begrudge them these. We declare a blanket amnesty for our current Babkhan dual citizens, not because of Hasan's ill-starred attempts to declare legal immunity for himself and his co-conspirators, but because we like them. Ardashir and Hesam have not yet expressed a desire to re-enter the Imperial Republic, but we will have a policy ready by the time they do. We urge Alexandria to be similarly merciful in dealing with the Babkhans' stated intentions against their country as well.

Or we can ignore them because they are fools. There is no legal premise behind their claim.

Meh...