Kalistan

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[img]be there for the Kundrati people when other nations where not[/img]

10 Months of Embargo take their toll
Shortages, reduction of trade Volume for Ananto while Fascists remain unmoved
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
October 15, 5591


Finance Minister Marian Jones discusses Embargo at Polytechnic University

A short symposium on the effects of Kalistan's embargo specifically and economic sanctions in general was held at Kaliburg Polytechnic this week, with the keynote speech given by her Imperial Majesty's Finance Minister, Marian Jones.  Minister Jones was decidedly negative on the effects of the Embargo, saying it has done far more damage to the Kalistani economy than it has to the Fascists in Kundrati.  "They remain obstinate and unmoved," said Jones.

"Her Imperial Majesty has found out two basic facts," continued the Finance Minister during her speech before an audience made up of several hundred of the top economists and foreign policy experts in the nation.  "The first is:  Fascists are immune to the suffering of the people they claim to rule.  Starvation is nothing to a nation whose official policy is to create laws for people to break simply to put them into prison camps in order to provide their evil regime with free labor.  To the Regime in Kundrati who claims to endorse Hosianism, the death of one and the death of a million is no consequence to them, so long as they maintain a fierce totalitarian grip on the lives and minds of the unfortunate people who are imprisoned within the borders of Kundrati."

The second fact, according to Minister Jones is far more troubling.  "Most Nations of the world still trade with Kundrati, whether they do it openly or not, Kundrati is embargoed by far fewer nations than not.  So far we have found evidence of only a handful of nations who support the Embargo:  We can expect Gaduridos, Lodamun and Kalistan to be actively embargoing Kundrati and all three nations are in full compliance with Her Imperial Majesty's Policy, Beiteynu and the Dual Monarchy have both stated that they will embargo Kundrati.  Canrille has, for the most part stepped up to the plate:  Both Lourenne and Alduria joined the sanctions regime early, and there is apparently an unofficial embargo imposed by Kanjor, who stated in 5588 that they are not 'currently' trading with Kundrati.  Luthori carries out its own sanctions regime against Kundrati, and Zardugal has terminated trade relations with Kundrati.  Dundorf has 'shut its boarder' with Kundrati in an attempt to contain the crisis to that country, but there is no comment about whether or not trade is occurring between the two nations via a third party.  While many of these states are large trading economies, this is only a dozen nations in the world: less than 20 percent of nations actively support economic sanctions of any type." 

Minister Jones continued: "Meanwhile, nations like Likatonia, who openly and militantly allied with Kundrati fascism, have promised to 'be there for the Kundrati people when other nations [were] not.' Based on this, the effort to force the fascists from power in Kundrati, which relies on the cooperation of other nations, appears to be being actively undermined by those nations who have refused to take a stand against Kundrati, many who are apparently still helping Kundrati by circumventing the embargo or actively maintaining normal relations with the fascist government. In fact there are nations who have publicly expressed their intent to give the fascists the benefit of the doubt and who stand ready to help create apologism and revisionist history for the human rights abuses in that nation."

The net effect to Kundrati is status quo, said Minister Jones. "Reports that Kundrati is facing economic collapse have, to our estimation, been grossly overstated. Though 12 nations in the world refuse to trade with Kundrati, and those 12 nations are large traders amongst themselves, they are offset by the five dozen nations who either maintain normal trading relationships with them, or are not averse to selling them necessities. Kundrati may be forced to work a little harder to get the things they need to not only survive, but thrive, but the fact remains that they can still acquire all they need to continue operations as normal. We need look no farther than the fact that their two next door neighbors, Endralon and Ikradon have not joined the embargo against Kundrati and still likely serve as conduits for acquisition of basic materials. We can assume that a nation who has not explicitly spoken up for the Embargo is still either willing to sell to Kundrati or is actively selling and buying from Kundrati, either directly or through third Parties, which means the embargo orders aren't worth the paper they are written on as far as our ability to negatively impact fascism in Kundrati, who is allowed, encouraged by the apathetic majority of the world community, to coddle and enable fascism in Kundrati.

"And meanwhile, our policy of not trading with those nations who still maintain trade relationships with Kundrati has caused our own economy to suffer. Imports of foreign goods are down in Kalistan, leading to shortages of some foreign made consumer items that Kalistani consumers used to purchase. This puts upward pressure on domestic production which can't be met in the short term simply by domestic producers. Consequently, either we see increases in price for domestic goods which are available, or if you're Kalistan and have price caps in place, you simply see shortages in the markets. And that's it. Additionally, we are seeing a reduction in demand for shipping containers that we produce in Sulari, and there are fewer commercial shipping orders at all ports. As the effects of the embargo ripple across the world, we also see reduction in demand from foreign nations for Kalistani goods, which while representing a small part of the overall economy due to our production for need model in many sectors, none the less, is not insignificant."

Trade volume affects the economy even in mercantilist states like Kalistan. "No nation can be an autarky in this world, not with close to a hundred million mouths to feed, backs to clothe, and families to drive," said Minister Jones. "Kalistan likes to imagine that someday it might be one, but we all know realistically that it is as linked to international trade networks as any nation. Kundrati likes to claim to be one, but in fact, due to hundreds of years of its open trade mindset, it is far more interconnected than even Kalistan is to world networks and worse, to liberal markets, which Kalistan has at least been able to insulate itself from. But the main advantage Kundrati has over Kalistan is that we have decided to not trade with the dozens of nations who still trade with Kundrati. Our loss in this sense is only their gain. The Embargo is the sole cost of that, and without a more effective tool being brought to bear, such as the complete cutting off of Kundrati from those nations that want to still trade with it, despite the fact that it is a nation run exclusively by and for warcriminals and sociopaths, those nations of the world who are doing the morally correct thing will always lose to those nations of the world who throw normal behavior completely out the window and actively seek out pariah status."

Whether this pain that Kalistan, and likely other nations in the world who are choosing to join the embargo or are doing one of their own, suffer is likely to change policy in Kaliburg, is anyone's guess. "Her Imperial Majesty is committed to the embargo for the time being. To demonstrate her sincerity in the belief that this is the Correct response, she is committed to forcing her nation to endure all the pain of it, if need be. But if that commitment doesn't encourage more nations to take up the cause to transfer that pain solely onto the Kundratian Government, such as it considers itself, then Kalistan will be less willing to endure the suffering on behalf of a bunch of free riders who claim to like a world without fascism and human rights abuses but aren't willing to put any skin in the game. Kalistan and a handful of nations are feeling the pain of this cause, we are paying the price, while Kundrati remains virtually unaffected. Why should we pay so other nations can continue to benefit?"

The somber news and sober evaluation of the situation stunned many of those in attendance, and the keynote speech, which is usually met with applause, was this time met with a subdued, and possibly confused polite applause, followed by a roar of conversation and speculation among the hundreds gathered. A line to speak with the finance minister soon formed and she answered questions and had conversations for two hours following the speech.