Address to the Citizens of Siggary by Her Majesty Queen Amidala
October 4, 2001

"The People of Siggary:

"Recently there has been a matter of dispute concerning a territory in Terra Incognita known as Kamostopol. We are here today to clarify the situation and to quell the rumors that inevitably arise from such matters.

"During the recent land rush, the Chieftain of Kamostopol was given a plot of land in Terra Incognita. Due simply to chance by the randometer, this area happened to be in the midst [of] our zone of control. As it seemed neither advantageous to us nor to Kamostopol that his territory be entirely surrounded by [ours], We attempted to contact the Cheiftain to discuss territorial boundaries as it is customary to do following the establishment of zones of control in land rushes.

"However, before the Chieftain could be reached, the nascent power was [annexed] by Buenos Altos on 15 September 2001. We were aware that We had no control over [the] events of Kamostopol although it lay in the midst of our territory. We did not at this time consider that Buenos Altos acted against Siggary and thus did not reply to this action in such a manner.

"As our concern was still that of the geographic location of the foreign territory, We tried to ascertain the rightful ownership of the Kamostopol territory. After being satisfied that the Chieftain had given up his right to reply to the invasion by the Secretary General of Congressional Parliament, We cautiously proceeded to engage in talks with Buenos Altos on 20 September 2001.

"Negotiations with Buenos Altos were more difficult than initially expected and became stalled. Shortly after, Buenos Altos made a unilateral demarcation of his borders that encroached on our zone of control, and proceeded to rally other nations to recognize the border. Siggary was caught in a difficult situation since We could not passively allow other nations to declare rights over what had been tentatively established as our land, nor did We wish to escalate the situation by militarily acting against Buenos Altos. Our chief principle and directive has always been peace. In no way did We wish to bring about military conflict, however noble and righteous the cause.

"We managed to contact Buenos Altos and begin the negotiations anew, unilateral demarcation rescinded. On the evening of 29 September 2001, the sale of Kamostopol was concluded. We, concerned with possible further dispute over the land, suggested that Kamostopol be held in trust by Congressional Parliament until Buenos Altos was cleared of wrongdoing, and his right to negotiate for Kamostopol, and subsequently, the legitimacy of our purchase recognized[;] however Buenos Altos felt that this was an unnecessary complication and that there was a possibility to renegade on the concluded deal if it were prolonged. Accordingly, We agreed to purchase the land.

"Shortly after, We received intelligence that there was a remote possibility that Kamostopolian territory was still in conflict. We then thought it best to proceed as We would have liked to at the beginning, and so communicated to Congressional Parliament on 1 October 2001 that We would like CP to hold Kamostopol until rightful ownership could be determined by a congress. As well, We attempted to contact the former Chieftain, but were unable to. A message to Kamostopol was sent via the Secretary General that same night.

"It was with shock that, on 2 October 2001, at 730PM MST, We received an ultimatum from El Cid II of East El-Hussaq, with the apparent backing of the Ethnarch of Rattanjeetland, to evacuate Kamostopol by 600PM MST 2 October 2001. Later that night, the ultimatum was modified to allow 2 hours, upon receiving it, to reply. Frantic attempts to contact the Secretary General of CP regarding our proposal of 1 October 2001 were unsuccessful. We put the Siggarian military force in that area on the alert to surrender the territory to Congressional Parliament forces (peacecorps), a communiqué drafted to the Secretary General, and a reply to the East El-Hussaqi ultimatum. They have been sent and We are awaiting a response.

"In the ultimatum, El Cid II makes accuses Siggary of ‘seizing [their] land,’ ‘trading with stolen property’ and ‘ignor[ing] peoples' right for a free choice.’ We are sure that the citizens of Siggary are incensed and indignant at this accusation. We have made it clear to [the Siggarian people and the world] that We did not seize the land by force, traded with Buenos Altos on the understanding that this was rightfully his, by word of Congressional Parliament itself, and attempted to contact the people of Kamostopol, of whom We are accused of taking civil liberties from. As [well], even before it was made clear to Us that the territory may still be in dispute, We petitioned [Congressional Parliament] to accept the territory as a congressional mandate until the issue of lawful ownership could be determined.

"Perhaps it was in nationalistic fervor that El Cid II issued the ultimatum to Siggary, because had he known that the territory was in the process of being temporarily transferred to Congressional Parliament, he may not have made such a rash declaration and acted to conscript all the forces available to him to combat our peaceful nation, when We had hardly the intention of withholding the land. It should be noted that We were not ceding the territory to El-Hussaq but releasing it to Congressional Parliament so that its rightful ownership could be determined.

"Despite our more than competent military forces, We will relinquish Kamostopol to the Peacecorps until We can come to an agreement with President El Cid II or until a decision on legal possession of the territory can be made by a congress. We will do our utmost to ensure that the situation is resolved peacefully and to our best interests, notwithstanding the bad press already generated by this situation and the unfounded accusations made in the East El-Hussaqi ultimatum."

Her Majesty Queen Amidala of the Republic of Siggary