Kalistani Major History

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Kalsie drops dramatically as effects of financial changes take hold
Protests against Police Force and economy remain peaceful
Sulari, Suldanor
January 20, 5400


Protestors peacefully demanding reversal of Conservative Financial Policies are surveilled by Police

Thousands of Protestors took to the streets in Sulari this week in what promises to be the first of many protests in the weeks and months to come against policies of the Conservative Government. The protests come on the heels of a bloody week in the Kalsie, which saw National stocks and private securites drop more than 29 percent over the past month, and more than 13 percent last week alone. The reason is a falling confidence that the Republican Government will maintain the stability that Investors repeatedly state they want.

"Kalistan has been long viewed as a rock solid investment," said Dr. Nathan Atchinson, of Kaliburg Republican University. "It is a safe place where investors from around the world can park their investments which they are trying to shield from volitility. The Kalistani Ruble has floated between =/-.05% for the last two hundred years, maintaining value that both limits economic growth, but also protects the society from exogenous shocks like the ones we are seeing in the petroleum markets in Majatra right now. Our stock exchange, the Kalsie similarly hovers at right around 2% growth a year, and has been this way over its history. Its growth investors can count on, as long as economic liberals aren't monkeying around with the mechanism of the economy. But, Conservative Policies signal a desire to do just that, and it is giving investors palpitations."

The policy changes at the Central Bank, the imposition of the Sales Tax, which is highly regressive, and places a high burden only on the poor, and the undermining of union power in setting wages and salaries that was forced through by the barest majority in the National Assembly, has hinted that Kalistan's savings and economic future are no longer certain. This artificial and capricious introduction of uncertainty into the economic system has finally generated ripples in the economic institutions of the Republic and has been met by popular outcry. That outcry is now manifesting in protests, primarily in Suldanor. The protests are remaining peaceful at the moment.

"We are calling for the National Government to pull back its moves toward Liberalism," said Allison Hughes, Student and protest leader. "These moves put my future and the future of my generation in jeopardy and strengthen the hands of capitalist actors who seek to prey upon the people and the working class of this nation. We will keep the peace; Kalistanis are willing to work within the system as long as the system allows us to do so. But if things get worse and we start looking like a liberal dystopia, and if the Government forecloses more and more avenues to peaceful social and political change, the calls for change will certainly get more intense and our action will certainly become more direct."

Elements of the Sulari Police Force, newly reorganizing under Conservative guidelines to appear more threatening and militaristic, were observed at the protest march, though they largely let the crowd pass unharassed. No elements of the much reduced Kalistani Regular Force were present, though members of the Socialist Rifle Association were clearly visible in the crowds, with banners calling for military reformation and re-establishment of the Militia. "We are here to ensure that our side remains orderly," said Frank Weiss, of the SRA, "and to ensure that cops do not practice their craft with impunity. They are out here watching us, but we want to let them know that we are watching them too, and as long as nobody starts nothing, there won't be nothing, you know what I'm saying?" There were no arrests made at the protest.

The future of Kalistan's economy is more uncertain now than at any point in the recent past, and people are genuinely worried. "We want to make sure there is still a future for Kalistani workers," said Hughes. "There are countless examples of capitalists being allowed to run roughshod all over workers in other countries, extracting every cent of wealth from workers whenever possible. Kalistani's are better than that: We have a better, more stable economic system than one that allows a segment of the population to thrive off the life blood of the rest of the society. The last thing we want, and I think the last thing we will allow in this Republic, is for our Government to drag us down that path." Hughes resolutely finished before marching on, "We will resist."