Neyveli Agreement

The Neyveli Agreement (French reformed: Accord d'Neveli; Arabic: اتفاق النايفيلي; Persian: توافق نايفيلي) was signed in 1984 by Gylias and Mansuriyyah. It established a population transfer mechanism whereby Mansuri "undesirables" were provided visas to move to Gylias, which would cover all costs, in exchange for cash payments from Mansuriyyah.

Initially kept secret, the agreement has been publicised in 1998, and has attracted controversy. The exchange has been criticised as deportation for money. It has also been characterised as an "escape valve" for Mansuri dissidents that would be otherwise subject to persecution.

Background

Gylias and Mansuriyyah have had inimical relations dating back to the Quliyasi Jihad. Both countries do not have diplomatic relations. Instead, Tennai acts as a protecting power of Gylian interests in Mansuriyyah, reflecting traditional close ties.

Mansuri governments began to worry about Gylian cultural influence reaching the country as a result of the Gylian Invasion. The then-ruler, Hassan al-Khatib, established a special commission to come up with plans to reduce Gylian–Mansuri contact. The commission returned with several proposals, and among the ones he accepted was to create a mechanism for deportation of "undesirables".

Mansuri diplomats initiated communication through Tennai as an intermediary. At the time, Gylias' Aén Ďanez government had been reduced to a minority of just the Revolutionary Rally and Independent Regional Alliance for Minorities, deepening the crises of the wretched decade. Aén's designs to increase Gylias' leftist influence abroad made her receptive to the proposal, particularly since it could now be kept secret.

The agreement came to light in 1998, after a Megelanese immigration researcher stumbled across a steady flow of Mansuri migrants into Gylias. Contacting the Ministry of Equality and Integration for more information, officials nonchalantly confirmed the existence of the recently declassified agreement.

Agreement

The Gylian and Mansuri delegations met in Neyveli, Tennai, and signed the agreement on 29 February 1984. The terms of the agreement were as follows:

• The Mansuri government established a mechanism to classify "undesirable" persons, and offer the chance to move to Gylias.
• The Gylian government would cover all costs of relocation, with the understanding that the relocated person wouldn't be allowed to return to Mansuriyyah.
• The Mansuri government would pay cash to the Gylian government in exchange for issuing exit visas for Mansuri "undesirables".

The agreement specified a quota of some 1.500 transfers per year, but actual numbers vary greatly year to year. Since 2013 when Muhammad Salih’s government took office, numbers were greatly reduced in an apparent effort to tighten eligibility and limit transfers to only the ‘worst’ cases.

Consequences

Mansuriyyah used the Neyveli Agreement to not only deport "undesirables" — particularly dissidents, leftists, atheists, LGBT activists — but also in some cases to deport criminals to Gylias. Hassan al-Khatib reportedly remarked to his advisors that "we could just empty our prisons and dump the lot of 'em on the Gylians".

Aén initially used the cash payments from Mansuriyyah to establish a slush fund that could support various groups. One of these was the Republican Faction, and the exposure of it triggered the Ossorian war crisis and the collapse of the government.

When the Filomena Pinheiro government took office, Filomena chose to continue the agreement, justifying the decision on the basis that it served to rescue Mansuri dissidents from a gruesome fate in the Mansuri legal system.

When the agreement was made public, it provoked controversy. Critics lambasted it as a "deportation for money" scheme. However, the agreement remains in force, and has been a significant contributor to the Persian and Arab population of Gylias, which as a community is strongly secular and leftist.

Mansuriyyah denied the deal was controversial, with officials remarking that allowing dissidents to move to a place more in line with their own worldview is more ‘humane’ than permanently locking them in isolation camps, in reference to Gylias’ social quarantine areas, with then foreign minister Abdul-Latif al-Sawi offering to take on Gylian dissidents. Mansuriyyah however has consistently denied having deported ‘common’ criminals.