Istalia

[XanderOne]

The Emperor signs the law: the Imperial Gendarmerie returns to be the Fourth Armed Force of the State

After the confirmation by part of the Congress, the Corps returns to be an autonomous military and police force, between national security needs and internal pressures within the Army

June 5667 (OOC: backdated)

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ROMULA - With the solemn signature affixed today by Emperor Alessandro V, the government law that establishes the full institutional autonomy of the Imperial Gendarmerie Corps was officially promulgated, restoring its rank as the Fourth Armed Force of the State.

The measure, adopted as emergency measure by the Government March, has been confirmed by the Parliament and marks the return of the Gendarmerie to a prominent position in the framework of national defense, after decades in which it had been reabsorbed within the Army, of which it was considered the First Force during the period of the Socialist Republic.

The Minister of Defense, Air Brigade General Amilcare Tanzi, illustrated the scope of the reform, specifying that:

The National Gendarmerie will once again find an autonomous position within the Ministry of Defense, with the rank of Armed Force and military police force with general competence.

The new configuration will restore full hierarchical autonomy to the Corps within the Ministry of Defense, while maintaining a functional dependence on the Ministry of the Interior and other ministries, according to the operational activities assigned. The tasks envisaged are multiple and articulated:

• Military defense of the territory;
  
• Military police, with exclusive jurisdiction over the other Armed Forces;
  
• Military security and counter-espionage;
  
• Military judicial police;
  
• Public security and judicial police, with public order and territorial protection functions;
  
• Escort service for the Crown, as the Imperial Guard remains an internal division of the Gendarmerie, as well as for the State institutions and the Judiciary;
  
• Border control and road control on periferic and ordinary roads.
  

The decision comes at a time of growing tension on the national security front, with the increase in the activity of criminal organizations and the increasingly felt need for an efficient, militarized police force with a widespread presence throughout the territory. And precisely in conjunction with the return to autonomy, the Anti-Mafia Investigation Department (RIA) was recreated inside the Gendarmerie, and also restructured and expanded, in order to become one of the main resources of the State in the fight against the Ndragatìa.

The reform also takes on a significant political value given the peculiar institutional system of Istalia providing for the partecipation of the Armed Forces. Until now, in fact, members of the Imperial Gendarmerie participated in the elections of military representatives by voting jointly with the rest of the Army, without a distinction between the different bodies. The methods of selection and designation of candidates within the military sector, determined by specific rules and influenced by internal dynamics and power relations between the bodies, have led to an unbalanced parliamentary representation, with a clear prevalence of officers from the traditional Arms of the Army, to the detriment of the Gendarmerie.

With the recognition of the autonomy of the Gendarmerie as an Armed Force in its own right, members of the Corps will now vote exclusively for representatives within their own Force, thus ensuring a more direct, informed and participatory voice in institutional venues. And given that the Gendarmerie is expected to came back to be the Armed Force with more effectives, the Gendarmerie will be the most represented into the Congress. A reform, therefore, that strengthens not only operational efficiency, but also the balance and plurality of military representation in Parliament.

And it was the Emperor himself, in his speech on the occasion of the promulgation of the law, who underlined this last aspect of the reform:

With today's signature, not only is the institutional dignity and operational function of the Imperial Gendarmerie recognized as the Fourth Armed Force of the State, but the profound pact between the Nation and one of its Corps closest to the people is also renewed.

The Gendarmerie for centuries was present every day in our streets, in our communities, on our borders. It was in direct contact with citizens, interpreter and guarantor of daily security. For this reason, its autonomy is not only an act of military reorganization, but a gesture of trust towards a Force that will come back to be an integral part of the civil fabric of the country.

In our institutional system that sees the participation of the Armed Forces in the democratic life of the country, it is significant that from today the members of the Gendarmerie will exclusively elect their representatives from among the ranks of their own Force. It is my hope, and my belief, that these parliamentarians will be able to bring to the Congress a more aware, attentive and participatory voice of the needs of a Corps so integrated in the society, and, above all, of the challenges that await our Istalia.

I'm sure that thanks to these features, the Gendarmerie will come back to be a pivotal tool in fighting the organized crime, in contrasting on the territory, even the most remote spot, the expansion of the ramifacations of this disease that came back to plague our country.

To all the gendarmes in service and to those who will come, I extend my most sincere wishes and my appreciation for the duty that they continue to perform, in the name of the law, security and the Fatherland.

With the reform promulgated today, a long cycle that began with the loss of autonomy more than a century ago symbolically closes, restoring to the Corps not only a central role in the Defense of the Imperial State, but also a fully recognized and strengthened institutional identity.