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Jagged Blue |
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Saturday, July 31, 301 AP
Web posted at 1318 UST.
The beleaguered President of Rovens has finally caved into pressure and announced his resignation to the Rovenian provisional National Assembly, which was broadcast live on national television.
"It is clear that the people of Rovens hold me responsible for the assassination of Rhosei Penyassa, and for the failures of this government, and as the man at the top, I am ultimately responsible."
Protests
The President made the announcement as a million-strong protest assembled in the capital for the second day in a row. This followed a week of strikes and protests nationwide, which followed riots that seized control of numerous cities two weekend's ago, in response to the assassination of the prominent but hardline communist twelve days ago.
The President took full responsibility for the government's failures and called on all of his government's opponents to "lay down the guillotine" and to back the new President "with all of your passion that you have shown in opposition to my Presidency".
The President denied that he was directly responsible for the assassination of Penyassa, and hoped that an independent investigation would be "allowed to run its full course", and the culprit found.
Replacement
The question now is who will replace him. Several candidates have put themselves forward
for the nomination of the PIMR coalition government. Delegates for the PIMR have suggested
Amea Kope, the Minister for National Security, Janomi Kontoy, the President's spokeswoman,
Yuri Kalin, the Exterior Minister, and Juni Kpotha, radical socialist member of the
coalition, and Agriculture Minister. Several other nominations have been made outside the
coalition.
Whoever it will be will need the support of the PIMR government which controls 98 of the 174 seats in the provisional National Assembly, being 62 from the PIMR coalition, 12 from the Democratic Reform Alliance and 24 from the Peoples Party of Gvonj. The Pataki Communist Party, formerly of the PIMR coalition, is confirmed as attending the Assembly after K'yonte's announcement, and has 53 seats in the Assembly, while other opposition parties have 23 seats.
Kontoy is a woman with excellent media and communication skills, but little proven leadership abilities, but she has the support of several members from her centrist democratic faction. Kpotha will have the support of the communists, unless they make their own nomination, but few others -- she is outspoken and her election will certainly evoke strong reaction from the powerful military.
The man with the support of the PPG, which controls 24 seats in the Assembly, is Amea Kope,
a local hero, who is credited with bringing the forty year war with the communists to an end.
However, K'yonte was also from Gvonj and many members of the Assembly believe Kope may have
been too close to the failures of K'yonte's regime. Leaving the ethnic-Guwimithian Kalin,
who will certainly receive endorsement from many in the non-communist opposition, but few
in the PIMR government -- he is a Guwimithian, and will be more easily accused of supporting
the military than others.
In any case, finding a new leader amongst the fragmented coalition will be difficult, but the country so desperately needs it.
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©Zeitgeist Magazine, 300 AP.
<TECH> ©Mike Ham, 2000. All rights reserved. No reproduction without, at least, tacit approval. ;-) |