The Man Himself

Ave, Civilae de Sandus et le Camaradae de le Partio:

Over the past week, the Office of the Sôgmô has released an invitation for M. Robert Lethler to return to the community and act as a special advisor to micronationalists within it so that they may pursue progressive policies for their advancement. This action was taken in accordance with our goals of Realism and our intention to create the seasonal placement of the 27th of September foreign affairs policy. As our State begins to enter Summer, we shall follow in the ageless tradition of our ancestors and revolutionary fore-bearers and wage our closest example of war against our enemies, both ideological and aggressive. This invitation was to restore our hope for a professional and serious community; this policy shall now be aided and conducted by a third party, further indicative of our State’s good-will on the matter for all micronationalists.

Comrades of the Party and of the State, our invitation has been responded to.
M. Lethler has released this statement on the invitation:

Dear friends and colleagues,

Recently, the Sôgmô of the State of Sandus authored an article, publicly endorsed by five other prominent community figures and reportedly endorsed privately by numerous others, which extended an invitation to me to rejoin the MicroWiki Community, so that the community can benefit again – as it has in the past – from my extensive micronational experience and unique understanding of the community and its affairs. It is in response to that article that I write this letter.

As many of you will no doubt recall, it was my intention around the time of the Yablokogate controversy, when I made my most recent return to the community, to remain in the community on a permanent basis. A general consensus that this would be desirable and permissible had been agreed upon at the time, as had a general plan of action that would enable me to work within the community whilst adequately allaying the fears of those who remained cautious about my return. I am afraid that that planned return to the community was made abruptly impossible thanks to a serious motoring accident which, though thankfully free of fatality or any permanent injury, I have had to spend months making a painful recovery from. In the aftermath of that accident and my recovery, there were naturally more pressing matters for me to attend to in my personal and professional life, and micronationalism slipped from my attention for a time.

I was naturally surprised when a former colleague of mine went to great lengths to ensure I saw the Sôgmô’s article. Indeed, only a couple of weeks before micronationalism had begun to creep back into my mind, and I had been contemplating making contact with the community again in a few months time. It was my hope that in my absence, given the great optimism with which my ideas were welcomed by many members of the community when I made my last return, that the community would have moved back towards the values of professional competence that I have always sought to champion. All though it is too early for me to make any absolute judgements on the state of the community, from what I have seen and read in the Sôgmô’s article and elsewhere, it seems that the community remains in a state of crisis in this regard.

Certainly, great progress has been made in many areas throughout the community, and as one of the community’s foremost architects, I am exceptionally pleased to see this. Yet it is painfully clear to me, based upon the evidence I have thus far been presented with, that there is still much work to do. The problem of unprofessional, non-serious micronationalism continues to be a serious and, it seems, growing problem within the community – whilst it warms my heart greatly to see that the cause of professional micronationalism has been greatly bolstered by converts and by new nations who recognise the importance of professionalism and political competence, it seems to me that professional micronationalism remains under attack and serious threat in the wider community. Perhaps more pressingly, there appears to have been a disturbing breakdown in communal democracy; where administrators were once elected by the community, they are now unilaterally “promoted” from the community by existing administrators – almost three years to the day have now passed since the first administrative elections that saw me become the community’s first elected administrator with 66.6% of the vote, and it saddens and alarms me that this great democratic tradition that began with my election has been lost. Whilst much has been done to bring stability and security to the community in recent times, it has been done at the cost of the community’s diplomatic and political integrity – and that is something which greatly saddens and deeply concerns me.

It is apparent to me that there is a considerably sized body of national leaders within the community that desires my return to its affairs in some way, shape or form, believing that the ideas and communal policies I have always championed can be – in the words of one Mister Mello, who I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting – a “driving force” that “the community today lacks”. I am, in particular, most pleased by the public support of Bradley of Dullahan, Mister Mello and Mister Sanders – individuals who have no sense of personal loyalty towards me, yet recognise the intellectual and political values of the micronational philosophy I have always promoted. I am equally aware that there is a significant body of communal members who oppose my return, though from what I have been able to discern thus far, this body appears to consist primarily of individuals who bear a personal grudge against my character, or who otherwise are fearful that my return might represent a challenge to their personal power.

In spite of that vocal opposition, I have been persuaded that it is in the best interests of my supporters, and indeed the wider MicroWiki community, that I make that permanent return I promised to make several months ago. This letter is, then, a formal declaration of my intent to return to full activity within the MicroWiki community effective as of next week, and to begin considering the best way to manage that return and my gradual integration back into the community. I understand, of course, that this is concerning for some – those who know me well will know that I would be most concerned if the community welcomed me back completely with open arms.

For that reason, I will be adhering to the main pledges that I made when I mounted my most recent return, when concerns were raised about what my return would mean:
• I will return primarily to provide guidance, advice and constructive criticism to the international community, and to make myself available for consultation and advice by individual nations who feel that they can benefit from my experience.
• I will, as I have all ready notified the Chairman of the Quorum, resume my duties as a de facto civil servant and Permanent Advisor to the Grand Unified Micronational, but I shall not seek or accept the nomination of a nation to stand for any existing elected office in the GUM for the foreseeable future, including the Chairmanship.
• I will not seek nor accept a position on the administration. I have neither the desire nor the need to return to the administration – indeed, it is my belief that at the moment, ascension to the administration would make it considerably more difficult for me to be the powerful voice my supporters wish me to be.
• Should I opt to create a new nation, I will take measures to satisfy the international community of its democratic legitimacy and real citizenship, without needing to compromise the privacy of individual citizens in any way, shape or form. Any such nation would be transparent, democratic and have no State ideology.

I am returning to the community to be a champion of professional values and conduct in domestic and international affairs alike; I am prepared, and hope to, work with individuals from across the ideological and micronational spectrums towards promoting positive, progressive reforms in our community. Those who wish to vehemently and aggressively oppose my return and attempt to draw me into full-on conflict with them may do so, if they wish, but I must caution them that I am not prepared to indulge them in any desire for petty conflict. The unity and stability of the wider community has always been my chief concern, and I shall not engage in meaningless feuding with my more emotional and passionate opponents. I respect those who are privately opposed to my return for valid intellectual or personal reasons – those who wish to use my return as a political weapon to bolster themselves or divide the community shall enjoy no such respect from me.

Having said that, I am very much looking forward to working pro-actively within the community once again, and I sincerely look forward to engaging with you all in the coming weeks and months.

Yours sincerely,
Robert Lethler
March 16th 2012

May our State continue to pursue policies of Realism and progressive advancement for ourselves in order to end suffering!

— Sôgmô Sörgel.