[Earth] “District, No More” Asks Vietnamese

"District, No More” Asks Vietnamese

by Anita Wu, Vox Populi

EARTH - Placards, posters, and pickets have defined life just outside the the Alliance’s regional administrative zone in the port city of Haiphong, the center of SATAE’s provisional authority in Vietnam. Every day, the thirty nine soldiers guarding its’ single checkpoint look out at an ever-growing crowd of students, veterans, and nationalists waving signs boldly condemning Hackett, condemning the Systems Alliance, and demanding that SATAE’s military administration in the region be disintegrated.

“No one was asked. No one was consulted,” said an anonymous former civil servant, as he aired out his frustrations with Vox Populi. “Vietnam liberated Vietnam. When the Reapers came, the Alliance did not rescue us. When we fought, we fought for a nation, and as a nation. On our own blood, sweat, and tears. And when the war came to an end, it was only then that the Alliance came with troops and tanks, and only then to make our decisions for us - to unmake the nation we thought we were fighting for.”

Despite that, the Alliance has not budged; and business continues as usual, unmoved by mounting discontent just outside the gates of the city’s administrative zone and throughout the former nation.

“I know how they must feel, and it’s regrettable, but we can’t just pack up and leave. Hanoi is still a complete mess, and we’re still pulling out bodies from Ho Chi Minh City. Expecting them to recover without Alliance resources is insane,” said Staff Commander Nguyen Quan when asked for a statement.

“They keep saying five more years, five more years. Why do we need to wait?” Phan Thị Yin complained - a veteran of the Reaper War, who’d spent five months engaged in the costly urban war in Hanoi. A war she firmly believes was fought by the Vietnamese People’s Army. “Why should we believe them? They think we’re children, unable to take responsibility for ourselves, unable to make our own decisions. Every day, people wake up, look out their apartment and they don’t see Haiphong, they see a district. If we want to go it alone, why should they stop us?”

Not surprised, considering Vietnam's history of resisting foreign occupation. China, France and the old United States learned that the hard way.

Though that statement of finding bodies in Saigon/HCM City makes me think that region got the short stick in regards to prioritizing reconstruction efforts.

Let me just step right in and say that these complaints are lodged by only a vocal minority of the Vietnamese population. The majority of the population sees great benefits to the SATAE presence and its efforts.

Without the Alliance there would be a distinct lack of basic security services and utilities, and our presence makes sure the economy remains functional. Once our 5 year plan has been completed we are confident that people will be able handle their own administration and fill-in their own security requirements, until that moment –that is not as far away as one might think– it is the duty for each of us to stand together and work towards our common goals.

Uppity response to your comment in T-minus five...four...three...two...one...

unity is bootlicker!

how that?

Fill in nationality where appropriate.

You know I vaguely remember a time when national governments ran things on Earth and nobody cared what the Alliance thought. Not the other way around. Well as they say, the times they are a-changin'.

I also seem to remember when they had career politicians who hadn't been turned into so much Reaper slurry, too. What was that about the times? Oh, right, that they're "a-changin'."

So when does the Alliance start bombing them?

You know, since they're trying so hard to be Turians.

I'm sure they're considering that idea on Eden Prime Hammerhead, considering that the Primers had a gov't, just not one Admiral Whack-it approved of.

More Alliance crap funneled each day across the globe like it was Christmas. Earth is inhabited by dozens of unique ethnic groups, not a collective "identity". If the Alliance thinks that by leading the war effort they've earned the right to disrespect the rights of sovereign nations, the only result will be increased tensions and social unrest.

Right. Bombing.

Gotta love how you're stuffing words into the SATAE official's mouth there, when absolutely nothing in that statement had to do with race, nations or trying to create some sort of collective identity.

Damn it, I was afraid this was going to happen eventually, though I did think it will be the colonies that would start to go first. I know the Alliance has the best intentions, but they need to tread careful as hell, make a mistake here and an armed insurgency or worse could happen.

It seems every bloody week there's an article painting the SATAE like arse. Do you people running it's name through the dirt fucking realize that i'ts only been two years since the war? How about that other transitional governments took close to a decade to regulate other post-war nations?

Compare Japan after World War 2- That was four years. Germany, same conflict? Another four years from the end to the creation of a republic. These things take time and continuing to run our government's name through the dirt isn't going to change anything.
Five more years. If you don't like it, keep running your mouth on the extranet.

SATAE is a military junta. That is a fact. Another fact, historically many populations on Earth have been royally fucked over by military governments. Yet another fact is that one of SATAE's early acts was to replace a legally elected official with their own military governor. Whether the reasons behind that were selfless, selfish, or more likely a mix of both does not matter. It makes SATAE look not just like a military government but a military dictatorship. There will be rumblings of discontent. A lot of them.

And you should expect no less than this from the media. The media is not there to tell the truth. The media is there to make money. Scandal and paranoia sell, they always have. It is in the media's best interest to report things like this, and to continue to report things like this. People eat it up.

Compare this article (scandal) with an article posted here a few days back. An article about the well known clan Linron which recieved 16 new members. There were a few people posting there, mostly to complain it wasn't newsworthy or interesting. People don't want to hear about those things, they aren't exciting, they aren't news. SATAE running roughshod over people's rights? That's news. How true it is doesn't matter, all that matters is that it sells.

I know, but Vox Populi is the one that seems to be slinging the most mud.

Reading over the early definitions in human language- yeah, SATAE's a dictatorship in the old sense. Given absolute power in an emergency for a limited time.

Start complaining if they don't step down when they said they would.

It's a newspaper called 'Vox Populi,' it doesn't get much more pretentious than that.

Yeah no.

I know people like to paint the Alliance as evul!11! But no.


Now you're just making shit up. SATAE is rebuilding Earth (and yes, pissing people off in the process) not creating some kind of empire.

People don't seem to get this, but building a government from scratch is hard. Particularly when you have to build hundreds at the same time on a planet that now lacks basic infrastructure. It's not as easy as saying 'hey, have a government'. For better or worse, the military was the single coherent organisation capable of rebuilding Earth and when the Five Year Plan is over we will give power back to the nations and the Parliament (once we rebuild it).

People keep bringing up 'if' we give power back. What exactly do we have to gain by continuing it? I want my country to exist again-my family's fought for Australia in plenty of wars back on Earth. Even Hackett is an Earther-he's Argentinian.

Hey you tracerheaded fuck, didn't you SATAE knuckledraggers inprison Gov. Stetson just because he was an asshole. Last I checked, that wasn't a crime.