CORONA, EL-HUSSAQ REPUBLIC - A recent flurry of activity in the Great Powers Forum (GPF) has revived the controversy of whether Congressional Parliament's (CP) use of the Forum is justified.

The current controversy began with the passage of Forum Resolution 9, which called for the non-militarization of Terra Occidentale, by the Forum. By imposing the will of five nations on 23 others, the GPF raised eyebrows around the Mapp. On February 25, the East El-Hussaqi ambassador to CP made a formal protest against the adoption of Resolution 9. The Wendorrans also viewed the resolution negatively. Consequently, the Secretary-General stated that he would request retroactive approval of Resolution 9 in an upcoming Congress.

However, with the Miketonian and Pauldelphian invasion of Shannli and the subsequent avalanche of activity in the GPF, many feared that the will of the international community was being sidelined for the sake of expediency (the Forum is designed as a body composed of the Great Powers that authorizes quick action in urgent situations whereas Congresses, the main way by which CP works, is designed as a collective assembly of all CP members in deciding an international response to a particular issue).

As a result, the President of East El-Hussaq, El Cid II, went to CP headquarters and floated a radical idea. He would abdicate from East El-Hussaq and relinquish control to an independent El-Hussaqi authority in order to become the next Secretary-General. Shocked Congressional officials replied that East El-Hussaq was free to put forth that issue in an upcoming Congress.

In the meantime, the Congressional ambassador from Marcusburg has also suggested that the Great Powers Forum be somehow expanded into a "Great Forum" that would be a more egalitarian mechanism to deal with urgent situations, such as the inclusion of passive non-Great observers in the forum.

CP has now appeared to cross a threshold of sorts that some say will lead to inevitable reform. The momentum for change began with the Hanseatic Jared Bills and evolved into the Embargo Termination Scandal. However in that controversy, CP conveniently sidestepped the matter by addressing the matter of the Denisian embargo directly and ignoring the greater question of when use of the GPF is justified. Outraged, Marcusburg then demanded radical change to CP, culminating in the announcement of the first-ever Congressional elections to be held in early March 2003.

Many speculate that this gradual opening up of CP to international accountability may have emboldened El Cid II to make this radical move.