[Zamastan]

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[/hr]Zamastan | World - IDU | Politics | Economy | Opinion

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The Tofino Times
Click Here to Visit The Tofino Times Website
Monday, December 30th, 2019

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[/hr]VOL. XXXII .. Num. 6320 | In the News: A Tumultuous Political Year

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[color=#FF0000]BREAKING NEWS
A Tumultuous Political Year
3 Presidents, Too Many Stories

Above: President Zacharias Castovia, President Anya Bishop, and President Foley Sakzi

In January 2019, a Presidential scandal set the stage for what would become a year of political turmoil for the Imperial Republic of Zamastan.

On January 13th, President Zacharias Castovia was accused of bribery charges by Congressman Cormac Hammer. Those charges were eventually debated in Congressional Hall, and despite being found to have committed no wrongdoing, several members of the President’s staff, including Chief of Staff Emily Miranda, were found guilty of their own misconducts. President Castovia resigned amidst that turmoil, leading the way to an emergency election that put BCP Congresswoman Anya Bishop into office on January 23rd.

In February, President Bishop hosted the 2019 Tofino Leaders Summit, which saw heads of state and other important foreign dignitaries from 15 nations visiting Zamastan to discuss economic and energy policies. During the conference, President Bishop had a fiery encounter with a Kerlian delegation, threatening them with tariffs if they interfered with the Aelurian independence referendum, and hinting at harsher action. Experts have stated that this could have been one of the driving forces behind much of the foreign diplomatic disputes between the two nations during the remainder of Bishop’s administration.

In March, flooding ravaged the river valley’s of Pahl and Redeemer’s Land, causing nearly 100 deaths and billions of dollars in damage. President Bishop’s administration began to be heavily criticized because of a perceived lack of care for the lower-class communities that were overwhelmingly affected by the flooding.

In April, Zamastan performed their first self-launched manned space mission. Prior to the launch, they had sent people into space with allied rockets, but April 17th’s launch was a huge step forward for Zamastan’s space program and overall scientific endeavors.

In May, protests erupted across Zamastan in response to President Anya Bishop’s economic policies. The “PoverTea” Protests were on record for being the largest ever protests in Zamastanian history. They lasted until November.

In June, Speaker of the Chamber and BCP member Foley Sakzi stunned the political spectrum and much of the world by announcing a 2020 Presidential bid against fellow BCP President Anya Bishop. The move shifted towards a deeper partisan divide in the Blue Conservative Party, but Speaker Sakzi gained a huge 30 point lead in the polls.

In July of 2019, journalists from the nation of Xiomera who had hidden in exile in Lauchenoiria, Laeral, and Zamastan, were the topic of an extradition crisis. Bishop denied the extradition of the journalists back to Xiomera and imposed sanctions on the nation. In response, the Xiomeran government did the same. Following a hack on Kerlile's national broadcasting service, Kerlile also imposed sanctions on Zamastan. The trade war continued into mid-september, when it finally died down after a mediation conference hosted by Eiria settled the dispute. Bishop was widely criticized for her role in the dispute, mostly for her reluctance to begin negotiations and her impulsive persistence to add more sanctions and tariffs as the dispute progressed.

In August, following a series of deadly shootings in Zamastan, one of which killed 11 people in a nightclub, Bishop signed legislation passed 428-72 in the Congress that banned most kinds of semi-automatic rifle style weapons and initiated a buy-back program. This move was widely praised by nations such as Sanctaria and Laeral, which had their own gun control measures.

On August 31st, the world watched in horror as Zamastan was struck by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck the coastal valley region of Zamastan, devastating the city of Kelowna and killing over 4,300 people. The international community rallied behind Zamastan and assisted in rebuilding. This as widely considered by Zamastanian experts to be one of Bishop's most showing signs of a lack of leadership, as she greatly assumed politics and blamed party and politician for the poor preparation for the earthquake. Meanwhile, 2020 Presidential Race opponents including GLP Cain Blackwater and BCP Foley Sakzi assisted in rescue relief efforts.

In September, almost half a million classified war documents spanning the First and Second Wars in Vulkaria, the 1991 Bjeorg Conflict, and the Gladysynthia Crisis were leaked by hackers onto the internet in Zamastan’s largest ever data breach. The documents highlighted more than 60 instances of falsified enemy casualty figures, 4 instances of covered-up war crimes, and more than 3,000 instances of misconduct.

In October, a Gladysynthian military operation on the border sparked fears of a reignited conflict in the region.

In November, Bishop ordered military forces to intervene in violent “PoverTea” protests, resulting in the deaths of three protesters and injuries of hundreds more. A condemnation and resulting Vote of No-Confidence removed a resolute Bishop from office - the first time a President had ever been removed from office in Zamastanian history. An emergency election put Foley Sakzi into the Presidency, meaning Zamastan had seen 3 Presidents in one year.

President Sakzi’s time in office, however, has already been tumultuous. A naval standoff in the South Xiomeran Sea has led to an international condemnation of Zamastan, and a recent flare up of violence in Vulkaria has reignited fears of further Zamastanian military involvement, especially following a bombing in the Vulkarian city of Amstelveen targeting the Vulkarian President killed 48 citizens and an ambush on coalition forces that killed 8 Zamastanian soldiers.


See full article here: https://zkcastor.wixsite.com/thetofinotimes