Government Responds to Missile, Possible Sanctions

By Lionel Krutch

The Hindopian Department of Defence released a statement today exposing the missile that hit near the town of Tooine last week as originating from the nation of Borucistan, a small island nation to the south east of Nanganis. The revelation is sure to have extensive consequences for the isolated nation as it is not the first time that a Borucistinian missile has hit Hindopian soil.

Defence Secretary Robert Forrest met with the press at the Senatorial Auditorium this morning to release the statement. He opened the gathering by expressing the government’s condolences to the family of Joseph Crane, the man who was killed by the missile.
“The entire Hindopian Government wishes to express our deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Crane, who was so violently and unnecessarily taken from this world.”

He went on to say that the missile’s origin had been confirmed to be from the People’s Republic of Borucistan and that several courses of action were being considered.
“After several days of intensive investigation we have now determined with absolute certainty that the missile originated from Gardinia Air Force Base in the Borucistinian capital of Movana. We have contacted the Borucistinian government with the intent of pursuing diplomatic negotiations and they have responded negatively. They have taken no responsibility for the missile’s failure and the resulting death of Mr. Crane.”
“A range of responses are currently being considered by the President and his Cabinet but as there is no definite option being considered at this time I will not elaborate.”

Political analysts at the Jed-Iye Institute say that the government is most likely considering economic sanctions over military involvement. Jerry Wads, who leads the group, argues that it would be the better starting option.
“If the [Hindopian] government uses the military rather than economic sanctions then it risks the Borucistan government using their military as well which will end only in bloodshed. The Borucistan government stands to lose a massive amount of money if they decide to move their missile testing area elsewhere so the government needs to show them that they stand to lose even more if they continue their testing so close to Hindopia.”

Others are calling for the government to launch a military strike against Borucistan. Senator Manteisgar, representative for Nanganis, last week called the incident an “act of war” and called for the government to respond with force. Today, the webmaster of the internet website “Citizens: Fight!”said that the only response the government should consider is a military one.
“Our nation is under attack by some backwards psycho dictatorship who is too stupid to realise that we have the superior capabilities in this conflict. We should launch a few missiles to show them what we’re capable of!”

In the international community, several of Hindopia’s allies in the Global Liberty Alliance have expressed their concern and condolences over the recent incident. The Chief Foreign Affairs Minister in the Armed Republic of Tibilasi Kate Kragshaw expressed concern over tourists from her country being safe in the current climate and several politicians in the government of The Most Serene Republic of Romanidolia expressed their sympathy for Hindopia and her people.

Secretary of State Kenneth Obi said the government was thankful for the outpouring of sympathy and concern and wanted to assure the governments whose citizens were in Hindopia that every measure was being taken to ensure the safety of those inside the borders.
“We want to assure them that no harm will come to their citizens as every precaution is being taken to protect the citizens and residents of our country.”

Meanwhile, the DEFCON rating for the east coast has dropped to level 4 as the strong military presence starts to dissipate from the streets. The rest of the military resides at DEFCON 5, peacetime readiness.