Government-in-exile of the Republic of Oteki

Template:Infobox Former Country The Government-in-exile of the Republic of Oteki (Luziycan: Respublika i Oteki), commonly known as the Otekian Government-in-Exile (abbreviated as OGIE) is a government-in-exile that claims to be the legitimate representative of the Otekian people. Formed 1971 following the end of the Otekian rebellion in Txotai, the government-in-exile officially supports independence for the region of Oteki (Txotai). It is led by the Otekian Independence Movement (OIM), although at many times the government-in-exile and the OIM are used interchangeably and seen as the identical organization.

The government-in-exile considers itself to be the successor state to the Second Republic of Oteki, the government that ruled most parts of Oteki during the Otekian rebellion. Since creation it was headquartered in Frontiersburg, Luziyca, and oversaw the construction of houses, schools and hospitals for Otekian refugees. It received funding from the East Luziycan government, and for a while maintained an armed wing, the Knights of Saint Luther, although the Knights gradually became its own organization and obtained more autonomy from the government-in-exile.

It officially regards Namorese administration of Oteki as an "illegal military occupation," although some factions within the government are proposing that it recognize Namorese administration and instead support increased autonomy. It holds elections in Frontiersburg and other places around the world with significant Otekian communities to decide who leads the organization. The government-in-exile and its affiliates are banned in Oteki and Namor, where it is branded as a terrorist organization.

In 2015, a schism developed between various factions within the independence movement, leading to Yorskov Lhego resigning and Valeriy Anisim taking over as president after snap elections brought the Christian Otekian Party into power. This led to Democratic Oteki (Demoteki) leaving the government-in-exile and joining the Otekian People's Association (another breakaway group) to form the Otekian National Coalition (ONC).

As of November 2015, OGIE is no longer recognized by the Luziycan government, which accused the organization of tax evasion and arrested Valeriy Anisim and other top leaders of the OGIE. In January 24, Luziycan president Sera Svensson announced the extradition of the arrested leaders to Namor, where they would be tried for treason.

History

Establishment

Valeriy Anisim is the current president of the Otekian government-in-exile

The government-in-exile was founded on New Year's Day of 1971, five days after Namorese forces captured the rebel-controlled city of Kusef (Gusev to the Otekians) and ending the Otekian rebellion. According to figures published by the government-in-exile, 300,000 Otekians fled Oteki as Namorese troops closed in on rebels, some fleeing to South Vyvland by boat and others crossing the border into East Luziyca. The East Luziycan government agreed to build refugee camps in the border town of Frontiersburg in the state of Upper York. On January 1, with East Luziycan help, the government-in-exile was proclaimed by a group of surviving SRO officials, led by Josef Rabovski. The primary aim of the government-in-exile was to represent Otekian refugees abroad and prepare a government that will take power once Namorese occupation of Oteki ends.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the government-in-exile openly supported armed resistance against Namorese forces in Oteki. It formed its own military wing, the Knights of Saint Luther, which would be responsible for many attacks on Namorese military convoys as well as terrorist attacks on civilians. The government-in-exile benefited from East Luziycan aid as well as aid from sympathizing governments, and used most of the money to fund militant activities and build roads, hospitals, schools, churches and homes for Otekian refugees. Due to a deal struck between the government-in-exile and Bethlehem, the government-in-exile was allowed partial administration of places in Frontiersburg dominated by refugees. In 1988, Rabovski stepped down, and Yerskov Lhego took over.

Post-6/28

The June 28 Attacks affected OGIE's ties with the Knights of St. Luther, which was believed to be the government-in-exile's armed wing. Yorskov Lhego stated "we neither condone nor condemn the attacks in Namor," marking the first time the government-in-exile did not outright justify the Knights' actions. This was perceived by the outside world to be a sign that the government-in-exile viewed the Knights as going too far. As the Namorese government responded to the attacks with a "zero tolerance" policy against Otekian separatists, the OGIE formally announced that the Knights are an "independent organization." The government-in-exile released a short statement in response to the death of Breuvi Chikmurdof, Knights commander, at the hands of Namorese authorities.

Chikmurdof's death marked the dysfunction of the Knights, and the organization was officially succeeded by the Otekian People's Association (OPA) led by Jason Shumev. The OPA renounced violence, but proceeded to renounce its support for Otekian independence altogether. Consequently, it was expelled from the government-in-exile.

Schism and establishment of ONC

Protests broke out in Frontiersburg in 2015 demanding that Yorskov Lhego step down as president and that the government-in-exile undergo a leadership change. Calls for change came from two directions - a radical faction that believed the government-in-exile was too weak to stand up to continued Namorese rule, and a moderate faction that believed the government was too radical and needed to readjust its stance in order to make gains in achieving independence.

Lhego bowed to the protesters' demands and announced his resignation as well as snap elections to determine who will succeed him as president. Democratic Oteki boycotted due to suspicions of the election being controlled by the Christian Otekian Party led by Valeriy Anisim, and thus on election day the Christian Otekian Party won big, becoming the largest political party in the congress-in-exile. This led to Democratic Oteki, led by Kolya Vitalik, to leave the Otekian government-in-exile altogether and form the Otekian National Coalition (ONC).

In March 2015, OGIE announced the formation of the Holy Defense Forces, a new armed wing formed through a merger between two militias - the Freedom Brigades and the Liberty Battalion.

Goals

The goals of the government-in-exile of the Republic of Oteki are as follows, listed in the constitution of the government-in-exile. Officials of the government-in-exile have referred to the goals as the "eight points."

• Support self-determination for the Otekian people
• Support the return of Otekians living outside of Oteki back to their homeland
• Set up a form of government to continue the legacy of the First and Second Republics where the authority of God is final
• Restore political, economic, social and religious freedoms of Otekian people, ending present violations of OEN GA Resolution 001, which lists "destruction of cultural identity," "Segregation with the Goal of Affirming Supremacy or Domination of One Racial Group over Another," and "Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilian Populations and Property" as crimes against humanity
• Support the welfare of Otekian people, including economic initiatives that allow them opportunities in life
• Support a voice for the Otekian people in the international stage
• Oppose authoritarian ideologies including communism and Liberationism
• An end to extremism and violence

Other goals pursued by the government-in-exile that are not considered part of the original eight points include membership for an independent Oteki in the Esquarian Union, as well as the formation of a strong alliance between Luziyca and Oteki. The government-in-exile has referred to Luziyca's governmental structure as "one of the most successful in the world" and considers it as a model for the government of an independent Oteki.

Some have criticized the government-in-exile's goals for containing vague wording; the definition of Otekian "self-determination" has come under debate, as the government-in-exile itself has changing opinions on the exact meaning of the term. Although it previously meant total independence from Namor, recently some officials said that the organization supports "self-determination" as in greater autonomy, something Namo says was already given with the establishment of the Txotai AR. There is also a debate on who "Otekian people" include---ethnically Otekian Slavs or ethnic groups residing in the Oteki region, including ethnic Otekians, Kannei and Geads.

The Namorese government dismissed charges of committing crimes against humanity by the government-in-exile stated in its goals, saying that the organization itself is "committed to an agenda against humanity" by supporting militant groups.

Government

The government-in-exile is led by the president, who is currently Yorksov Lhego. The president is elected by registered voters. Voters must be members of the Otekian exile community and hold a "blue book," which certifies their status as "Otekian citizens." Most of the voters reside in Luziyca - since 2000 exiles in Qianrong and Vyvland were allowed to participate. In Txotai and Namor, participation in government-in-exile elections and activities are strictly banned. Elections are held every four years.

The Congress-in-exile (Kongress in Luziycan) is the unicameral legislature of the government-in-exile. Formerly, its seats were occupied by four parties - the Otekian People's Association (OPA), the Otekian Christian Party (OCP), Democratic Oteki (Demoteki), and the Novi Luziyca Party (NLP). The OPA has been banned from participating in the Congress since 2014, and Demoteki left the OGIE in 2015.

Party	Symbol	Description and Ideology
Otekian Christian Party (OCP)	File:Christianoteki.png	The second-largest political party in Congress. Supports total Otekian independence and the establishment of a Christian fundamentalist state "with the Bible (KJV) as the final authority" in Oteki.
Novi Luziyca Party (NLP)	File:CoatOfArmsOfLuciyza.PNG	The smallest party in the government-in-exile. Contrary to the other parties which generally support Otekian independence, the NLP supports Oteki becoming a territory and state of Luziyca. Its official position is that the Oteki region is better off as Luziycan territory, as Otekians' right to worship and free expression will be protected by the Luziycan government.

Holy Defense Forces

The Holy Defense Forces (HDF) is the armed wing of the government-in-exile formed in 2015 with approval from President Valeriy Anisim. According to Anisim, the HDF is "the self-defense force of the Otekian government. Its goal is to defend the Otekian people from all sorts of threats that encounter them and protect our cause through lethal means if necessary." Many experts on the Txotai conflict considered the founding of the HDF to be a sign that the OGIE was returning to militarism.

Involvement in Qianrong

File:HDFarrestedinNamor.jpg

Namorese KGB agents arresting OGIE-linked militants bound for Qianrong

The Otekian government-in-exile is an official supporter of the Qianrongese government in the Second Domestic Terror War. The Holy Defense Forces was formed in response to a string of attacks against ethnic Otekians in Qianrong. Upon founding the HDF, Valeriy Anisim promised to send senior militants to aid the Qianrongese government and local All Saints Militia, an ethnic Otekian Qianrongese militia group that is also involved in the conflict.

It is unknown whether the HDF has any kind of presence in Qianrong. Efforts have been made by both the governments of Namor and Luziyca to obstruct the OGIE from sending fighters to Qianrong, highlighted by an incident in June 10, 2015 in which eight members of the government-in-exile heading to Qianrong from Luziyca on an Air Luziyca flight were arrested by Namorese authorities when the plane entered Namorese airspace. It is believed the OGIE is still trying to send militants to Qianrong, albeit quietly as not to arouse the suspicion of either Luziycan or Namorese authorities.

Criticism

The government-in-exile has come under criticism from many, including the Namorese government as well as separatists who split from the organizaiton.

Allegations of bigotry

The OGIE has been accused of endorsing religious bigotry, both between religions and sects within a religion. The government-in-exile dismisses these claims, stating "We support a free Oteki where Christianity is the state religion, but that does not mean we hate other religions because God loves all people. A Christian Oteki can absolutely tolerate non-Christians, but it cannot permit non-Christians to impose their way of life on Christian Otekians."

Critics point out that OGIE leaders have called Namorese people and some Otekians "godless" and claimed that their "disbelief in God" is the reason behind their supposedly "corrupt" traits. Some, like Josef Rabovski and Yorskov Lhego called for the expulsion of all non-Christians from Oteki.

Lhego said in a speech to supporters of the independence movement: "Oteki is a Christian land. We don't hate non-Christians, we just want them to stay where they came from. Christians and Txoists have their lands drawn for them by God."

Valeriy Anisim called Christians, namely Lutheran Catholics, "superior" to Buddhists (which he assumed to be the main religion in Namor).

Some scholars noted that the OGIE's religious fundamentalist propaganda is a chief cause of anti-Christian sentiment among Namorese.

Allegations of fomenting inter-ethnic tensions

The Namorese government has accused the Otekian government-in-exile of escalating tensions between Otekians and other ethnic groups, mainly Kannei Namorese, for the sake of achieving independence. Critics say the government-in-exile does this by spinning the facts, exaggerating the effects of Namorese policies in Txotai and making outright lies.

Former Txotai Head of State Vang Jun said in an opinion piece written for the Txotai Sibo:

It is a known fact that since the liberation of Txotai, the social and economic situations of all ethnic groups in the region have improved dramatically in an state unseen before. But the so-called "government-in-exile" denies this and makes repeated claims of Otekians being oppressed, all based on the premise that if they come under Namorese rule they have to be oppressed. When they are asked for proof, they provide "testimonies" from Otekians who never set foot in Txotai. In the meantime, they tell Otekians within the country to stop living regular lives and take up arms instead. If that isn't incitement of inter-ethnic tensions, then I don't know what is.

Critics have described the government-in-exile's techniques of arousing support for independence as racist and provocative. John Filat, former Vice President of the OGIE under the administration of Yorskov Lhego, called on Otekians to "remember...the fact that Oteki was once dominated by your kind, the white man. Are you going to stay silent, or are you going to stand for your country and drive out the yellow man?"

Former President-General Alicia Wolf said: "I don't think the purpose of OGIE is to achieve independence. They just like to hate Namorese and make different ethnic groups hate each other. They would be satisfied if Txotai wasn't independent but Kannei and Otekians hated each other nonetheless because that's their goal." Antelope Shohai called the OGIE "the largest Namophobic industry around."

Recognition

Nation	Recognised?	Details
Ainin	No	Ainin solely recognises the People's Republic of Namor's jurisdiction over its current territories and Nantai. The Oteki government-in-exile is considered a treasonous organisation under the Treason and Seditious Organisations Act, whose membership is nominally punishable by death.
Aucuria	No	Aucuria recognized the First and Second Otekian Republics and recognized OGIE until Saulė Valantiejutė switched recognition to Namor and the Txotai AR in 1981. Since then, no Aucurian government has recognized OGIE.
Template:Country data Chorea	No	Chorea solely recognizes Namor's jurisdiction over the Txotai region, and does not recognize the Otekian government-in-exile; however, it does allow the OGIE to sponsor activities in Chorea so long as they are peaceful. There have been incidents where the Chorean government launched investigations into illegal activities allegedly conducted by the OGIE in Chorea, namely the recruitment of Chorean nationals in fighting the Namorese government.
Template:Country data Geadland	No	Geadland solely recognises the People's Republic of Namor's jurisdiction over the Txotai region as legitimate. The OGIE is included by the Geadish Security Service on the list of organisations which are "likely to be extremist", under section 6 of the Insurrection Law. At the same time, the government of Geadland has argued that the Otekians should have "a right to freedom of expression and self-determination through peaceful means" and called for a repeal of the Anti-Secession Law.
Katranjiev	Unclear	Katranjiev does not recognize Otekian sovereignty (and calls Oteki "Txotai"), but recognizes Otekian travel documents if there is no other identification. In addition, its ambassador to Luziyca has also been accredited as the "Special Charges d'Affaires to the Republic of Oteki" since 2007, though it has been criticized by many Katranjians. It also views that the Otekians have a right to self-determination should they request it.
Luziyca	No	Luziyca was by far the largest financial backer of the government-in-exile and hosted the most number of Otekian exiles since the Otekian rebellion ended. Luziyca officially refers to the region as Oteki; since normalization of Namo-Luziycan relations it recognizes the government-in-exile as the sole legitimate representative of the Otekian people. Whether it recognized Oteki as Namorese territory or an independent state had become unclear after the normalization of relations. In January 2016, Sera Svensson extradited top OGIE leaders to Namor, and stated that Luziyca will no longer support the OGIE or the cause of Otekian independence.
Namor	No	The People's Republic of Namor opposed and rejected the government-in-exile since it was established. The Foreign Ministry's official position on the group is that "since the so-called 'government-in-exile' of 'Oteki' is a CIA-backed terrorist organization and was created by traitors who don't even live in Txotai, the group has no right to represent anybody but the people who established it. The so-called 'government-in-exile' was created to subvert democracy and should not be recognized by any decent entity." The government-in-exile and its affiliates are banned in Namor under the Anti-Secession Law and is constantly accused by Namo of funneling money to militant groups and serving as a tool for advancing Luziyca's "anti-Namor" agenda. Namorese intelligence says it has evidence of the government-in-exile leasing property for use of militants.
Nevanmaa	No	Nevanmaa regards the People's Republic of Namor's jurisdiction over Txotai as legitimate.
Pavonistade	No	Pavonistade recognizes the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of Namor over Txotai as sole and legitimate. Conspiracy theorists claim that Pavonistadian authorities would accept Otekian exiles, but the authorities' responses and the existence of such exiles in Pavonistade have yet to be proven. Pavonistadian organizations such as the Purity Congress may have unofficial relations with the OGIE.
File:ISQianrongFlag.png Qianrong	Yes	Qianrong has recognized the Otekian government-in-exile as "the sole legitimate government of the Otekian region and people" since the government-in-exile was created in 1971. The FDRQ accused Namor of ethnic cleansing in Oteki, saying that Namor was moving Kannei into Oteki to destroy Otekian culture and heritage. Some hoped that the Winter Rebellion would change this situation, but the continued prominence of Otekian exiles in Qianrong such as RFQ founder Csedomir Pantejmonov, OQA leader Myhrodniv Klitishko, ASM founder Yevgeniy Karamonikov, and Foreign Affairs Minister Siemyscza Vlasinov quickly dampened these hopes. The SISQ has continued to recognize the Otekian government-in-exile as the sole legitimate legal authority in Oteki; while no official allegations of ethnic cleansing or demographic manipulation in Oteki have been made by the SISQ, many in the Qianrongese government and populace have made such allegations unofficially.
Template:Country data Roubao	No	Roubao recognizes Txotai as Namorese territory and has criticized the government-in-exile of "harboring racist, extremist sentiment."
Tuthina	No	The Most Serene Empire does not recognise the Republic of Oteki as legitimate polity of its claimed jurisdiction. Officially, the Imperial government maintains "a neutral stance towards the dispute" despite its bitter relations with Namor. It is suggested - by an anonymous member of the Foreign Office during an interview conducted by Hosaki Yomiuri - that the Imperial government is "divided between two treasonous republics and one heretical republic", referring to the enmity between the Empire and both the People's Republic of Namor, then-Peitoa-based Republic of Namor, and the government-in-exile of Oteki respectively.
Template:Country data Unolia Unolia/Jahistic Union	No	The Jahistic Union/Unolia stated that "[w]e believe that it was unrightly usurped from Namorese control by Luziyca. We believe that Txotai was usurped from Luziyca. We believe that Roubao was usurped by Namor. It is in the best interests in all three nations to have their land returned to them in due time."