A Protector's Failure

Instructions

Grand Peace Monument, Noorpuri. September 17, 9:40 AM --------------------------------- "Three decades and five years ago, an age of darkness descended upon our people. Three decades and five years ago, the ultranationalist Mr. Aarav Bijoy took power over this subcontinent. Under his rule, and later under his son, Mr. Arjun Bijoy, we would see an age of darkness unparalleled by any regime in the past, present, or future. When we were finally liberated in January of twenty twenty-eight, we made a promise to ourselves, a promise that never again would we ever repeat even the smallest of the Bijoys' crimes. Looking back to the present, we like to think of ourselves as liberators. A bastion of hope. A sanctuary of mercy. Never would we have thought the dark ages would ever come back to haunt us. Regretfully, I have come to inform you otherwise. For the past week, under the leadership of Emergency Secretary Catlaf Hanbal, this Federation has been a perpetrator of crimes against the innocent. A violator of international law. For a dark time, we were devoid of mercy. On the fourteenth of September, this Federation murdered two thousand innocent people, all under the guise of "collaboration." In the days before, we starved the town of Mentovi, denied the civilians of Karakia the healthcare they desperately needed, and sent refugees to illegal concentration camps that were built in Vanga. They all happened. They were all committed under our flag. This is the truth, my beloved people. There is no point in hiding our atrocities behind a wall of lies. Hanbal has been arrested. He will face justice, and those who participated in his actions will be held accountable. Let me make this clear, though: never will we let the actions of one man define who we are. Our past will not be forgotten, but it defines us no longer. We will learn from Mentovi. We will protect the people who have entrusted their lives to us. We will uphold international law. We will defend the dignity of every civilian, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or allegiance! When we were liberated, we made a promise; today we will renew it. Never again. Never again!" --------------------------------- In the hours following the address, Mulli reportedly withdrew from his staff and remained alone in his office. Those close to him, including Siddharta Mughlai, recalled that he wept privately over the events in Mentovi. He would particularly recall Private Arjan's warning, which he initially dismissed as battlefield trauma, and the thousand children who would never breathe again. Mulli would later describe the incident as a failure he could never forgive himself for.