Kalistan

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ARCHIVE:  War Dispatches- Emperor Addresses the Nation following Deadly Attacks
"A Fascist is a Fascist," says His Imperial Majesty
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
August 15, 5612

Below is the transcript of the audio only address made by His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Fredrick III Ananto on the night of August 14, 5612, three days after the deadly chemical weapons attacks on Kaliburg, Eshar and Port Swedes.  The audio was pre-recorded and was delivered to KRTVN studios in Sulari because the radio studios in Imperial Hill was destroyed in the fire, for broadcast over all national channels.  The television feed was accompanied by a photo montage of the devastation in the three northern cities, as well as video footage of police, firefighters and everyday citizens all attempting to deal with the absolutely unnecessary and unforgivable destruction.  The KRTVN Feed was also broadcasted internationally on the National Satellite Network to the entire globe.  The speech was also replayed several times on Radio Kaliburg.

Here is His Imperial Majesty.

**Beginning of Transmission**

Ladies and Gentlemen, You are hearing the voice of Emperor Fredrick Ananto.

We have decided to address the nation tonight to let you, the people of Kalistan, know that we are safe.  Ourself, the Empress Consort, the Minor Princess Mary, as well as Princess Michelle and her husband, as well as the Princess of the Empire, our mother Carolina, as all safe and secure.  We were thankfully unharmed by the destruction that was visited upon our nation as we slept, and have been moved to a secure location, as have the Chancellor of the Empire, the Foreign Minister, and the Defense Minister.  All other members of our Government were either not in Kaliburg, Port Swedes or Eshar, or were not affected by the blast.  We have regrettable lost 8 Institutionalist Deputies, one from Port Swedes, 2 from Eshar and five from around the Empire who were at their homes in Kaliburg, and in the interest of privacy, will not announce their names on this recording without permission from their families.

We want you, the people of our Nation to know, that we will do everything to continue to care for the wounded and injured.  The firefighters have begun to tackle the blaze in Eshar at the moment, and report that the damage at Port Swedes is extensive, but the fires are still too hot and the air still too toxic for them to begin to address the fires.  In Kaliburg, most of the smaller fires have been put out, but the largest one, downtown still burns and the city governments are considering possibly demolishing near by buildings around the blaze to act as a firebreak.  It is a slow burning fire, thankfully, but these attacks hit during the dry months, and so the first responders do not have the weather on their side.  

Further hampering efforts to fight the fires are the chemical makeups of the weapons:  chemists testing the air have identified high levels of phosphorus and chlorine in the smoke, along with several other deadly chemicals.  The prevailing breezes this time of year are east to west, so much of it is blowing out to sea, but significant portions of north western Kaliburg have had to be evacuated, and will likely remain uninhabitable for a considerable length of time.  The thick, poisonous smoke, however, makes dousing the fire from above virtually impossible, without heavy protective gas masks and MOPP suits, and that make flying through the smoke much more hazardous for pilots that we are willing to accept.  So all firefighting efforts are occuring at street level. 

We are currently working with both AeroKal and AnantoRail to get affected individuals who are healthy enough to travel to shelter.   So if you are listening to this message, and are in need of shelter, please head to either Republican Station or the Kaliburg International Airport, and AeroKal will put you a flight to your destination without any cost to you.  Do not attempt to bring excess baggage for this flight, and do not attempt to return to your homes.  The area is still not safe and there is no telling how many homes, businesses or other establishments have been affected by the gas.  We repeat, it is not safe for you to return to your homes if your neighborhoods is under mandatory evacuation orders.  The Gas is still very prevalent in the area, and will kill you within minutes, and even if it appears to be clear outside, those homes have become traps for moving air and the gas has seeped through doorways, opened windows and air vents, and is likely trapped inside.  Just head to the Airport or Republican Station and you can get out of town, without any cost to you.

We still have no ideas how extensive the casualties are.  Doctors at Kaliburg National report that of those who come in complaining of respiratory distress from the smoke, there is a troublingly high mortality rate.  At some point directly after the attacks, when mortality rates appeared to be approaching 98%, doctors stopped triaging and simply placed patients with palliative care professionals, who had the very difficult task of explaining what had happened, and what was inevitably going to happen.  At hospitals around Kaliburg, doctors have reported, to date, 4,354 deaths, most from chemical inhalation or severe burns.  They tell us those numbers will rise in the coming days and weeks.  In Eshar, the numbers are much higher, with 8,456 reported deaths.  Much of Eshar has needed to be evacuated, and it will be days before authorities can determine who is missing.  Casualty rates in Port Swedes are somewhat lower, at 2,783 to date who have been reported as having died at the hospital due to inability to treat the horrific situation.  These numbers are also fairly certain to climb before we see the end of this.

While we attempt to deal with the still ongoing disaster in our three cities, we have also given the order for 250,000 men and women of the Regular Army North and Central to begin mobilizing, and we have asked the Institutional Party to mobilize the Militia for home guard defense.  As we are certain that these attacks came from Likatonia, it is important that they shall not escape responsibility.  We do not believe that Likatonia has the capability to develop these kinds of weapons on their own, and IBSI believes that they were supplied by Kundrati.  We have also ordered the 1st Fleet to return to the Artanian Sea to interrupt commerce and military transport between Kundrati and Likatonia.  We expect that this time around a coalition will form:  Hopefully, the world has had enough of seeing Kalistanis die for them, and join us in the fight, but at any rate, the Fascists have taken this war to an extreme, and our response will unfortunately be just as extreme.  We anticipate that Lodamun will at least join us.  Likatonia is a threat to our Constituent Nations just as much as they are to us, as that nation is in the thrall of the fascist murderers in Kasaema.

Our thoughts are with those families who have lost loved ones in this attack.  But thoughts are not all our Government is prepared to offer.  Our goal is to see to it that Kalistan is never attacked like this again, by anyone, ever, and that those who did attack us are held not only accountable, but responsible for the attacks.  There will be justice for them in the grave.  And we will not discriminate between two different kinds of fascist, or between fascists who are under arms, and civilians who merely support fascist governments.  They are all the same now, and will pay all the same.  Our cause is righteous, our fight is just, and if you have lost your home or your loved ones, and feel like taking up arms against the people who took those people and things away from you, the Regular Forces will happily enlist you.  We are all in this together.  We stand as one or we die as one, but our Empire is now in total war.

May you hold the people of our nation who are suffering tonight in the Light.  But then, tomorrow, its time to do something about it.

**end of transmission**

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