Kalistani Major History

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Carrangus responds to Lodamun
"They have their opinion, we have the facts."
Kaliburg Ananto
December 4, 4104


Premier Carrangus discusses Withdrawal from the Lodamun's NSTOC

Premier Carrangus issued a brief comment about a recent article which appears in Lodamun's paper, News from Lodamun.

"And then we read in Lodamun's paper that Kalistan is overestimating its importance in the NSTOC.  The Minister pointed out that we represented less than 5% of the operating company capital.  Well-  they have their opinion, but we have the facts.  Obviously, the Minister missed the fact that our passage of the treaty included an ongoing, yearly commitment to the Train operating company from our national surplus of 20 billion rubles a year.  Unless other countries have similarly contributed at the same level as Kalistan, which is entirely possible, then the drafts we have been sending to Lodamun have been either misappropriated or ignored entirely.  But someone cashed those checks.  So it may be incumbent upon us to ask Lodamun to audit its train operating company, if it maintains that despite the initial purchase of stock representing 21% of the company's capital at the outset and then for eighty years plus of annual contributions, we represent a mere pittance of the company's interest. 

"The Minister puts this action on spite:  As if apparently Lodamun is so important to us that we should deliberately work against our own economic interests just to stick it to them.  Framing our withdrawal from their treaty in these terms is pretty typical of Kalistan-Lodamun relations, and is totally expected.  But no matter:  Our concern returns once more to the question of fiduciary responsibility. When the treaty was passed, our contribution represented the acquisition of the second greatest percentage of the shares of the company.  It was our explicit goal to be among the largest players in the Train Operating Company.  And since we have not seen an annual accounting of the shares sold or additional investment from the board, we think that this is the least to ask the Minister. 

"At the end of the day, we are writing off those losses-  they are at this point unrecoverable, and furthermore, since we have seen no public financial accounting or even any attempt by other countries save one to buy into the company after Kalistan, we have to assume that any additional investment in the NSTOC would be a complete waste of money.  Especially since we have an alternative vehicle to invest in Northern Selayan development known as the the North Selayan Economic Community, which Lodamun, for all of its claims of being interested in development of Selaya, conveniently has opted to not join.  We will happily write off our losses to the TOC, and be done with it.

"We wish Lodamun would adopt a less hostile attitude toward its neighbors, and perhaps at some point in the future we will have the opportunity to discuss the regularly belligerent position it takes toward Kalistan at seemingly random intervals.  But now is not the time.  I look forward to, and will personally relish my role in disconnecting Lodamun's rail network from Kalistan's."

The Premier of the Republic did not take questions following her statements.