Rattanjeetland Permits Merger
Novara Given Independence

At 9:11 AM on January 6, 2002, Ethnarch Jussolini of Rattanjeetland gave Novara his full blessing and gave a Josephville-Novara merger the green light.

His official statement said, "The Ethnarch, and all of Rattanjeetland, wishes to state that though Novara broke away from Rattanjeetland, she will be forever seen as a true ally in every sense of the word. Rattanjeetland notes that for a merger between Josephville and Novara to occur, it needs to give Josephville permission to do such an act. Rattanjeetland does give Josephville this permission, and will be an active participant to allow both Novara's and Josephville's dream of unity to become a reality."

The Ethnarch's press release shocked many who never expected Novara to successfully acquire independence peacefully as previous Novaran attempts at independence had been blocked time and time again. Talk of a merger in the past had been dismissed repeatedly as well.

In the meantime, many are confused as to Rattanjeetland's 'active participation' in a Novara-Josephville merger. Because Novara would effectively assimilate Josephville as the dominant member in the merger, the question of Josephvillain independence was considered a fait accompli. Many wonder how the Ethnarch can continue to actively exert influence in an enlarged Novara that is fully independent. Nevertheless, Novaran and Josephvillain citizens are celebrating the unison of their two countries - and birth rates are expected to increase accordingly.