"Arms embargo, import and export sanctions, travel bans, natural resource sanctions, financial sanctions, and even freezing the assets of citizens that are held in banks outside our country, including our own foreign currency reserve that's currently held in trust with the US Federal Reserve. Man they're desperate to get their hands on our tech," Aron said as he read the nearly endless list of sanctions.
The list had details of what exactly in those specified categories were being banned. For the financial sanctions it included freezing of the assets of every high-ranking member of the government, including John and the other generals of ARES, together with Alexander and his cabinet members. Aron was only saved from it since he had nothing connecting him to the government that would warrant his inclusion in the sanctions, at least not publicly.
Together with their assets being frozen, money that was owed to Eden from other countries that hadn't paid them yet was also frozen. That included the 65 billion that China was supposed to pay for the oil delivery that had started the whole mess. It was very obvious that the Chinese had added that clause to avoid, or at least delay the payment as long as possible; they would benefit either way.
The same people were also included in the travel ban, meaning that Alexander had very few countries he could visit at the moment without breaking any of the sanctions.
"They really banned us from buying weapons," Aron chuckled when he read the details about the arms embargo. They were banned from buying weapons from any member of the UN, but oddly enough, they weren't banned from selling them.
"So they banned the sale of all natural resources coming from our country. Except oil, that is, but we can't even sell that since our buyers can't pay us without violating the sanctions. Do they really take us for morons?" Aron muttered as he read the natural resources sanctions.
"But the biggest hit will be the import and export sanctions. That can at least harm the economy a bit, but our companies are explicitly listed as exceptions. I guess it's because we have things that they can't replicate yet," Aron said when he realized that they were going to be choked in the import department. It might not harm his companies, since they were self-sufficient, but the rest of the country would be heavily affected by the import sanctions.
"How long until Alexander's address?" Aron asked.
[Seventeen minutes, sir,] Nova responded, materializing a countdown timer.
...
"We've already read and understand the unfair sanctions being imposed on us by the UN in order to harm both our short- and long-term development plans," Alexander said after greeting the Edenians watching his address.
He had decided to do the announcement personally, not through his spokesperson, as he wanted to avoid a rebellion, no matter how unlikely one was. The citizens knew that they already had things much better under him than any of the other politicians in the country, much less the dictators who came before him.
"And in order to alleviate the chokehold they're trying to afflict on us, I called an emergency parliament session last night. In that session, we drafted and I signed a bill to reduce the harm of the import and export sanctions. That bill gives Hephaestus Industries and Manufacturing permission to produce all of the sanctioned products without having to license the relevant technology from its creators. If they're so determined to do us financial harm, then I am more than willing to return that harm directly to them," he said, causing the room full of reporters to have a mild brain malfunction. They hadn't expected that he would have such a drastic reaction to the sanctions, but with such an explosive beginning to his presidential address, they prepared themselves for what would follow as best as they could.
"As for the financial sanctions, there's nothing we can do to mitigate the harm they've already inflicted upon our great nation. Many of our country's overseas assets have been frozen, and the payments foreign companies and governments owe us are going unpaid. But that doesn't mean we have to dwell on it, as merely dwelling on a problem does nothing to resolve it. Thus, we further resolved to implement a solution to prevent further financial attacks on us.
"With that goal in mind, I had an emergency meeting with President Inez of Esparia and signed an agreement forming a central currency between our nations. The agreement will strengthen our economy and spending power, while also making it difficult to sanction us. Over the next month we will discuss the agreement in detail—what the currency will be, what powers the central bank will have, and how its rollout will take place with the minimum amount of fuss and hassle for the citizens of both of our countries.
"Together with the formation of a central bank, we're going to officially enter the financial marketplace. I met with the CEO of Connect, and he agreed to launch a subsidiary company that will be responsible for buying, selling, and trading shares in public companies by the time the new currency begins being rolled out. We will also implement policies that will make it profitable for companies to do business and have their shares traded in Eden, similar to the way Hong Kong and China handle their separate markets." Alexander was killing two birds with one stone and creating a virtuous cycle. First, the market trading would strengthen the new currency, and second, the new currency would make it more attractive to do business in Eden, thus increasing the volume of the share trades on the nascent market.
The saying "tough times make tougher people" was just as true on a national scale as it was on an individual scale.
"For the arms embargo, it's laughable. They're imposing these sanctions specifically because they want the weapons and equipment that we have, and the fact that we're prohibited from buying weapons we don't need while being explicitly allowed to sell our weapons to people who are outclassed by our military only serves to highlight the hypocrisy and greed of the people that decided to implement these ridiculous sanctions. I tell you this," he looked directly into the camera, "what we have is ours, and you will NEVER be able to take it from us!
"As for the natural resource export ban, although it'll harm us in the short term, it'll also allow us to focus on building up our domestic industries, as well as force us to innovate in those fields just as much as we did in the defense industry. Our nation has always been perceived as poor and impoverished by outsiders, and it's about time we change that.
"The people whose corruption and greed made them think they could prevent us from developing, prevent us from industrializing, prevent us from buying and selling, and prevent us from traveling haven't realized the strength of our spirit that we honed through generations of revolution against evil men like them. We have suffered, and through suffering, grown stronger. We persevere, through famine and flood, through fires and storms. We have the heart, the courage, and the determination to suffer adversity, and through suffering, we thrive. We are tougher than them, we are more just than them, we are more determined than them, and we are more resolved than them.
"We are a country that, instead of silently and meekly suffering the injustices done to us, choose to fight. And though this may not be a fight that's won with guns, we will learn to fight on this new political battlefield and we, will, win!" Alexander hammered his clenched fist against the podium with each of the last three words for emphasis.
"Dear citizens," he continued after a pause to recollect himself and change mental gears.
"Although it might seem like we're nearing hard times again, and no matter how true that might be, we have to remember that what we're facing now is something we were bound to face one day or another, as we grow stronger and begin threatening others' interests. I know that many of you may think that we could've just accepted their demands and our lives would continue as they are now, but you'd be mistaken. The people behind these sanctions are bullies, and like bullies, they're only empowered by surrender. Giving in will only hand them more power over us, and the moment we give in on one thing, we'll be forced to give in on another. And another. And another. We'll be forced to give so much that there will be no difference between what we are today as a nation and what we were in the past when we suffered under the yoke of dictator after dictator. We will be bled by them until we have no more blood to give, then they will devour our flesh and build cudgels from our bones that they'll use to beat others into the same position as we were in just a few short years ago.
"Are we that naive? Are we that gullible? That shortsighted?
"To that, I say: no! We are NOT naive! We are NOT gullible! We are NOT shortsighted! We are more than capable of standing on our own and making minor sacrifices now for great gains later.
"I stand here today, the president of this great nation, and I issue you this promise: we will be self-sustaining within a year, or I will resign as president of this great nation and surrender myself to you, the citizens of Eden, to be judged."
His address finished, Alexander introduced his press secretary, who would answer a few questions from the press. Later, the press department would send out releases with more details on the plan that had been drafted to deal with the issues at hand.
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