La Gazzetta di Messelia

Palazzo Malzo Denies War Rumours
Marta Pezzaloni

A rumour has spread that the Senate has voted in secret to declare war on Akarus

Messelia. A spokesperson for the Palazzo Malzo has denied the rumours on social media that the Senate secretly passed a declaration of war on Akarus.

This denial came in response to increasing rumours, which originated in the popular discussion website Gnosi, that the Senate had meet in secret on Friday to vote on a declaration of war against Akarus, which is currently engaged in a military conflict with Vallen over the sovereignty of certain islands. Rumours escalated after they were picked up by the Trevescan News Network (RTN). While the news report made clear that the story was a rumour at best, and a hoax at worst, this only led to a dramatic increase in the attention paid to related posts on Gnosi.

There are a simultaneous statement from the Sartorian Embassy in Andropen, which indicated that "the Embassy has no knowledge of any armed conflict between Sartoria and Akarus, and remains committed to keeping peaceful and cooperative relations between the two countries".

While the Senate did hold a reserved meeting on Friday, its public schedule indicated that the meeting was reserved so senators could discuss certain classified spending matters, namely related to special appropriations for the Carabinieri and the Royal Eastern Security Service. These matters, according to the Rules of the Senate, are automatically held in a reserved status, unless a majority of all senators vote otherwise. There is no indication in the public record that the Senate either debated or voted on any matters other than the special appropriations.

[05 February 2018]