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Government of the United States of Argonath
Re: Millennium Centre
The is a statement issued on behalf of the Government and the Vice City Police Department concerning a state-held property which was recently usurped.
The Millennium Centre was 'seized' by a member of the public, [EAF]Lherekov through support from a group that they are affiliated with. The Millennium Centre serves as Vice City's civilian bureau and serves several key functions, from managing public services (such as the Citizenship and Migration Board in the past and future, when needed) to being of use to the city's law enforcement.
One man (or a group of people) taking control of the building - and putting up a sign saying "FBIHQ seized by EAF" - seems like an act of selfishness and bold defiance against the citizens of Argonath and the state of Vice City. The building should not have been handed over, unlawfully, to anyone other than a government authority. The result of this has led to a number of serious consequences. The events have been outlined below.
Background Information [Non-RP/Semi-RP]
• In early 2011 the skyscraper located in the Business Area of Downtown was purchased by the government for use by law enforcement.
• It had not been previously set as a full property, so the whole building was added for the first time. Especially given that it was set around other commercial centres, rather than make it "free" we thought we'd set a price on it and raise money to buy it in a fully just manner.
• Government funds secured the location and building was put into operation.
• It's operative functions have varied, although all this while it has remained a civilian bureau, essential for law enforcement, government licensing, passports and border control etc.
• A degree of script support exists. Certain state vehicles are parked on location.
• It is not a 'private' building as it is funded by the government and operated as such. Traditionally, it has been left as a business/administrative centre due to its location. Ownership has remained with the government and the state, there is no individual owner, although in virtue it is an administrative property of President Ronnel and Prime Minister RON.
• For the last 2 years it has had a custodian who simply looked over its operations on behalf of the state. It could have been set as a full government property, without a price attached. However, as said before, the VCPD Command Staff at the time - who the government secured the property for - wished to pay for it with their own personal funds, rather than have it free. Therefore, I believe, it was scripted simply and has not caused any problems. It sticks to tradition and respects the fact that it is in the business hub of the city. It has served a great roleplay purpose. Despite being a fully government property, we left it as it was to maintain its roleplay value and to observe its past.
• Without warning it was "taken over" by the unlawful member of the public already mentioned above, without any reason other than for self gain, possibly out of malevolence.
• A roleplay has been initiated rather than to directly put things right in any other way.
Outline of Recent Events [RP]
In order to better establish the situation government officials made contact with the person in question and organised a meeting with them. At first no signs of wanting to cause harm was exhibited and the full situation was explained to them. However, they did not wish to comply with government requests and wished to proceed with a lawyer present. This lawyer still has not made any attempts to contact us.
Lherekov had been notified that the government would take forceful actions provided that they had no legal rights to hold the property, which in this case is a state building, no less. Gradually there has been a growing suspicion of malcontent, and their actions have resulted in a vital arm of the city's law enforcement being hampered and the state left without a citizen embassy.
More discussions continued and government representatives have requested the person in question to withdraw, in good faith. This is not an act of expropriation on the government's part as the building was purchased directly from the open construction market and already owned by the state and still remains as its asset. All actions taken have been based on constitutional grounds. The government has not given any right for a single individual or group of individuals to brashly seize the building. In any case no government agencies or its benefactors have been compensated or within law been paid for this action.
The building is specially designed for government use and serves some crucial functions, as already noted. The Millennium Centre, if in the wrong hands, could be a major security threat and so has gone into a self-initated process of shutdown, with only the entry floor being open. Much of its internal infrastructure is not accessible during this time, electronic data has been transfered and electricity as well as communication lines have been withdrawn. It is not some extravagant penthouse or any private property at all for that matter and must not be treated as one. The FBI and SWAT teams of the VCPD are currently maintaining a presence and operatives have checked the building to ensure that it has not been compromised.
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We had warned that this issue may have to be brought into the public domain, although it was not our wish to. The hope is that this statement has outlined some key information; this has not only become a concern for the government, but the public at large.
Signed,
Legend
VCPD Chief
p.p. The Heads of State, the Government