Sunday, August 22, 2004

 

Hanover/Calormen: Interview with Sir Wyatt-James

Sir Wyatt-James:

Thank you for agreeing to speak to The Morovian Telegraph regarding the Congress of Bergen.

It is my pleasure Mr. Bekkenhuis, the Morovian Telegraph is the one of my favorite papers and the I enjoy the work that you do to bringnews to our community both of a Hanoverian perspective and a foreign perspective.


1) First, bring us up to date, if you would, on the history of Calormen and its relation to Hanover.


Calormen was an independent nation at one point under the Emperor Christopher Anderson, to the best of my understanding the nation - in the height of it's glory had an active citizenship of 4 or five citizens. Under King James of Hanover Emperor Christopher brought Calormen into the Commonwealth of Hanover thus finding itself the second nation of a Hanoverian Commonwealth. Over time the now former Emperor of Calormen, now Prince, found himself inactive and under the reign of King Alexander of Hanover it became necessary to attempt to discover whom had what title and position in the old Calormeni regime. Prince Christopher was contacted but never responded and found his claims to his titles thus forfeited due to a lack of a written history of Calormeni. Daniel Dreesbach, then a Marquis, found himself ascend to the title of Prince of Silesia and the head of the government in the nation.

We have seen our shares of trials over the past few month especially but we have also seen a great Calormeni revival - the founding of the Calormeni Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the application of new citizens including Ambassador Kevin Hood, Richard Williams and a man who I hope will take over the Royal Hanoverian Bar Association Brian Cowell. This great revival had forced us to re-examine our relationship with Hanover and to be free to do this as Calormen. In the Calormeni National Council we discovered that we do not believe the commonwealth is a working formula for our people. We petitioned the King that we be allowed to begin work to renegiotiate our place in the Kingdom. As such His Majesty called the Congress of Bergen to discuss Calormen's place in a reformulated Hanoverian Constitution.


2) I understand Christopher Anderson (I'd appreciate his correct title if you have it) to be the founder of Calormen as Prince Justin, I believe, is the founder of Athenoi. Has there been any recent contact between Christopher Anderson and Hanover or any of its citizens, as far as you know?


Prince Christopher has been in contact with King Alexander, the exact details I am not at liberty to say, but it was in regards to his titles. King Alexander - not knowing what his titles were who's - contacted all citizens of Calormen to please write him and claim their title due to the lack of paperwork before Calormen went into the Commonwealth. Prince Christopher never responded within a clearly laid timeline laid out by the King but did respond. King Alexander, an understanding and reaspnable man tried to work out an agreement with the Prince but to this date it is my understanding that Prince Christopher has not been in contact with the Royal Court.


3) My personal remembrance of Christopher Anderson was that his online access was very tenuous and intermittent. Do you believe it is possible that Christopher Anderson could be contacted and that he might still have a copy of the original Treaty of Annexation (if that is what it was called) between Calormen and Hanover? Would it make any significant difference at this late date?


Prince Christopher has been contacted and his contact has been sporadic at best. I do not think his contact would make a difference, though his Calormen still holds the same Germanic heritage as a proud part of it's identity for the Calormeni people it is also a different place that has proven loyalty to a Calormeni identity rather to any person. I do not know he would recognise what Calormen is now with it's new citizenry and the advancements made. We do have a copy of the Hanoverian-Calormeni Treaty signed the 2nd of February of 2003 that brought Calormen into the Hanoverian Commonwealth and it is rather skimpy so to spek on the details and so that would make little difference is my belief. We are no longer just Calormeni, we are Calormeni-Hanoverian and this broadens our idea of wha it means to be a part of the great heritage that belongs to us. We are loyal to the crown of Calormen which is now seated ont he head of King Alexander as Emperor of Calormen and we stand by that affirmation, not to just one king but to all subsequent kings as well.


4) From your point of view, where is the origin point of the sequence of events leading up to the Congress of Bergen? From whence the recent and outspoken emergence of Calormeni nationalism?


This is really a two part question and as such needs a bit longer of an explanation but I am happy to attempt to divulge it.

The Origin of the Congress of Bergen was not so much an origin as much of a catalyst that lead to the emergence of a need fo a new constitutional forum. It was apparent that the Commonwealth was not working, we lacked a charter, we lacked a unity that was necessary and we needed clearly defined powers and roles. This was not met at the time and it was causing many conflicts to the Calormeni people. The defining point was not the Calormeni Lutheran Church as some might pre-suppose but rather was the role of Calormeni Foreign Affairs that came to head when Ambassador Hood was appointed to be the Calormeni Ambassador to Gotzborg. As brethren of a German tradition we felt a special tie to the people of King Augustus Charles and we felt as such that it would be good to formalise the ties of the Germanic Monarchists. This lead to talk of a treaty but we could not have one it seemed between Calormen and Gotzborg.

Our relationship, though not clearly defined by any document, just that we were part of a Hanoverian Commonwealth, had left us with the assumption that we were a similar Pre-Statute of Westminster Commonwealth of the British, we hadd autonomy but no control over foreign affairs. Calormeni is growing and growing in leaps and bounds, it became thus necessary to define what it meant to be to be a Calormeni-Hanoverian. His Majesty thus sought Calormeni discussion on the future of Calormen and we felt, as a people, that it was needed to discuss Calormen in a different role not out of Hanover but as a part of Hanover. The Prime Minister and King of Hanover both agreed and we saw the ascension of the Congress of Bergen to negiotiae a stronger and free Hanoverian Union.

The idea of Calormeni nationalism is not a new idea, as Germanic Monarchists we are a proud people who believe firmly in a Calormeni national idea and a alormeni national idea, even if the Calormen Nation ceased to exit there would still be a Calormeni nationalism. This is not an emergance but rather a revival of Calormeni and a re-emergence of the Calormeni people, we are, as I have said, growing. We are a strong partner in the Kingdom of Hanover, and we wish to see what our role is as clearly defined. We are nationalistic but we are also respectful and mindful of our roles and the part we are to play in Hanover. We may be outspoken but this is because we have remained in the wilderness too long and we are attempted to restore our glory for a legacy that we all, as Calormeni, can be proud of.

So to answer your question in he most round about way possible - there is no real emergence, just a people trying to revive a national image and national identity that we are proud of.


5) Would you consider the relationships between Hanover and Athenoi, on the one hand, and Hanover and Calormen, on the other, to be symmetric? Why? (or why not?)


We are seperate peope then the people of Athenoi and we firmly believe that, but as all Hanoverian people, whether of Calormeni or Athenoi descent, we have a futuer that does tie together, that does intersect. I firmly believe that though the commonwealth is unworkable that there is a new formula for Calormen and Athenoi to tie itself to Hanover that is both workable and desirable for our people. The Calormen and Athenoi identity has, for better or worse, been tied to Hanovr in a marriage that has been deserable and good to Athenoi and Calormen. I believe there must be a point when this union becomes one and corresponds together as one united Hanoverian line.


6) Art Linkletter used to
have a TV show called "Kids Say the Darndest Things!" in which his young guests would say funny things about life at home. Some things were so embarrassing that parents would brief the kids with, 'now don't say anything about Uncle Charley who drinks too much, or...", etc. Linkletter would get the kids on the show and say, "so what did your parents tell you not to talk about?" and the kid would dutifully count down the list.

So, Sir Wyatt-James, any instructions from the Crown on what not to talk about? :-)

Well now if I said what I was not to talk about I suppose that I would be talking about it would I not Mr. Bekkenhuis. Very tricky there.

Seriously though there are sensitive issues that are not discussed but they are more of conflicts that have since been resolved and the Congress is moving on and moving forward united for a solution that is desirable for all parties. One I suppose is one of the more difficult discussions is the role and place of a Hanoverian Parliament - we are workign at it and many discussions have been had on what form it will take. If there is one stumbling block it will be the parliament but there has been such wonderful co-operation at this time that I am sure that we can work something out that is a hybrid solution of what everyone wants or is one that is desirable to all people.


7) What do you believe will be the final outcome of the Congress of Bergen?


It is my sincere hope that this will lead to unification, an end to the Hanoverian Commonwealth that has been a bit of a flop and a new United Kingdom of Hanover that unifies all the people of the Hanoverian Commonwealth into one nation under one crown. I believe, or have to believe, that it will lead to a new Hanover that revives all peoples sense of Hanoverian pride and drives us further to our dreams, our goals of sovereignty as a united people standing strong and free under allegiance to the crown.


8) Do you believe that the Calormeni People want independence?


No, I believe that we want a national agenda tht draws us closer to the crown and defines our roles as Hanoverians. We know what it means to be Calormeni already but we need to know how that ties to being Hanoverian and what we can do to define that role that leads us in service to the crown. We are an independent people but our nation must be tied to Hanover to survive, we all firmly believe this. Furthermore our time in Hanover has been fruitful and lead to a second golden age of Calormen that may not have had happened alone and I believe would not have. Hanover has been very good to us and it is a mutually beneficial relationship, to not recognise it and build our ties closer for it and for the future would be a flaw that could see our own demise. We see that and we realize that and we are building on that not breaking from it.


Thank you for your time.


You are most certainly welcome Mr. Bekkenhuis, thank you for giving me this opportunity and for your interest in this process. Do keep up the wonderful work you do with the Telegraph.

The Right Honourable Viscount Sir Wyatt-James T. McIntyre of Lancaster, A.A. B.A., DOR, KOA
Chief Justice of the High Court of the Kingdom of Hanover
Member of the Royal Council of State
The Arch Bishop of Baden - Wittenburg Cathedral, Calormen (CCELS)
Honourary President of the Royal Hanoverian Bar Association



Comments:
On the subject of Calormen (but not the recent events), it might interest your readers to know something that has recently come to my attention: the name "Calormen" refers, in the the "Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S.Lewis, to an empire to the south of Narnia which is Arabic in style and vaguely evil in nature. The word used for people of Calormen is "Calormenes" and the adjective is "Calormene".

Sincerely, Tom Cutterham
 
Another interesting historical footnote: During the reign of the evil Emperor James I, an overly-ambitious subject named Daniel Dreesbach declared himself "Chancellor" and insisted that then Governor-General Prince Christopher (the former emperor and founder of Calormen)be styled "kaiser" which, of course, means "emperor" (caesar).

Marchmain Palace was compelled, of course, to intervene, reminding Mr. Dreesbach that he enjoyed no mandate from the Crown to act in any official capacity whatsoever and that Calormen already had a "kaiser" in James I. The Governor-General was grilled by the palace and it was discovered that he had simply allowed himself to be manipulated by the self-proclaimed "Chancellor".

The explanations which each man gave to the Palace convinced the Crown that the Governor-General and private citizen Dreesbach were simply acting completely out of context with the reality of the situation due to a sort of cluelessness with regard to the status of Calormen and also with regard to their own status as Calormenes. Both gentlemen expressed their apologies to the Crown, recanted their illicit declarations and that was that.

That was also the first emergence of the Germanic fetish in Calormen. These first krautish urges were quickly crushed by the Palace, which had no taste for the Germanic, referring to Mr. Dreesbach and others as "Germaniacs".

In light of everything that's been said, I think it's important to point out that Calormen's German-styled "culture" is but a very recent contrivance and has nothing to do with Calormen prior to the accession of Governor-General Dreesbach. Following the abdication of James I, Thomas I appointed Christopher Wyndham Governor-General, and he declared himself some sort of Russian Orthodox style prelate and began his personal effort to "Russify" Calormen. The culture was decidedly Russian in flavour until Wyndham was replaced by that upstart from the Jacobean Era, Daniel Dreesbach, who, naturally, toppled the onion domes, so to speak, and brought the Fourth Reich goose-stepping into the Commonwealth.

Calormen was named afted Lewis's land of myth and never amounted to anything more than a near-dormant ezbord prior to her inclusion in the Commonwealth.
 
Thank you, The Rt. Hon. Thomas Cutterham, and thank you for the literary note (regarding C. S. Lewis' "Chronicals of Narnia" and Calormen).

Note: The Rt. Hon. Thomas Cutterham is the founder of The Morovian Telegraph and the current editors sincerely hope that he is not mortified by what his successor has done with his noble, serious, journalistic project.

Warmest Regards,
Bill Bekkenhuis
Editor, The Morovian Telegraph
bekkenhuis@fast.net
 
"Another interesting historical footnote: During the reign of the evil Emperor James I, an overly-ambitious subject named Daniel Dreesbach declared himself "Chancellor" and insisted that then Governor-General Prince Christopher (the former emperor and founder of Calormen)be styled "kaiser" which, of course, means "emperor" (caesar)."

The Editorial staff of The Morovian Telegraph believes it is fully confident in the identity of the above poster.

...but believes it would be impolite to be indiscrete.

...and is thankful for the contribution to our knowlege of Calormen's relation to Hanover, nonetheless.

The Editors
The Morovian Telegraph
bekkenhuis@fast.net
 
Mea culpa. I but inadvertantly neglected to sign my name, which is, of course...

King Louis of Varennes
 
I'm just glad the name lives on, and something at least is being published. The standard of journalism is beyond reproach, but the current number of angry-letters-to-the-editor is no match for that of the old edition!

TC
 
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