Mala'anje Repatriation Act

The Mala'anje Repatriation Act is a piece of legislation enacted by the Grand Duchy of Lac Glacei in 1705 AN. The act allocates funding and services to the indigenous Mala'anje people who have had a long history intertwined with that of Lac Glacei. The act further grants indigenous Mala'anje right-of-return; meaning they are guaranteed provision to secure passage to their native homeland in eastern Keltia. It also clears the way for Lac Glacei to establish a First Nation Territory for the Mala'anje to return to, effectively granting the government the right to colonize the Mala'anje's ancestral lands and establish a dependent territory for them at that location. Provisions within the act include the construction of public amenities such as schools and hospitals, as well as providing guidance in establishing a local indigenous government for the territory. The act is the first official legislation to grant indigenous rights to the Mala'anje. At present the Lac Glaceian government has declared Windsor Island and Qorali as lands falling within the FNT.

The Mala FNT

Rollout

The MRA is a phased plan that will be implemented over the course of several years, if not longer. Phase One will be in a voluntary documentation of all Mala'anje within Lac Glacei. This will include establishing a national database and requiring those who declare themselves of indigenous ancestry to either show documented proof of lineage or submit to DNA sampling. Those who are registered within the database are then eligible for Phase Two which will be signing up to receive repatriation benefits. Grants are awarded based on skillsets and family size. For example, a large family with an agricultural background may be eligible for a grant of sizable acreage and then tasked with establishing a farm in the FNT. Once enough people sign up for benefits and grants have been awarded, the government will then begin Phase Three which will be the resettlement of those persons in their ancestral homeland. Communities will be carefully planned with optimization of natural resources and the skills offered by those who choose to resettle.

Phase One

Phase One began with the successful creation of a state-operated database registry for all Mala'anje living within Lac Glacei. As expected, the majority of those to register came from Jacaringia, where there is a sizable ethnic population on the Tigra Isles. Within a few days of launch the database had already amassed over 15,000 persons. Given the success of this the government agreed to fast-track the deployment of a survey and security team to eastern Keltia and the former territories of Windsor Island and Mala. This team will survey and establish borders as outlined within the MRA and deploy security personnel to protect the area while supplies and construction crews can be deployed.

In early 1706 two expeditionary GARD teams were deployed; one to Windsor Island and the other to Qorali. Each team consisted of one-thousand marines and included an armored escort consisting of several IFVs. Little resistance was met in either location, both being long-abandoned. A small rabble of squatters was discovered in the remains of Dianaville, mostly living in squalid conditions. These few people were escorted to makeshift shelters while GARD forces secured the island and city. Qorali was found in a further state of deterioration, having been abandoned completely for at least a decade and with most of the city overrun by nature. Here Lac Glaceian forces were able to secure the city's perimeter with very little effort. By late 1706 ferries had begun to offload construction equipment and establish worker camps to begin construction of settlements. These crews will be tasked with clearing rubble and overgrowth from the choked cities and building the first housing for settlers.

Phase Two

By early 1707 Phase Two had begun with construction crews having made significant headway in clearing the streets and taking down structurally-unsound buildings in Dianaville while repairing those that could be salvaged. By late spring settlers began arriving via ferry and moving in to the refurbished homes in the city. Squatters who had been previously living in the ruins were also granted new homes and a fresh start; although if they were non-Mala'anje they would have to register as foreigners in the reservation. Farm plots were also laid out in lands north of the city where the ground was favorable for agriculture and grants given to settlers who had applied through Phase One.

In Qorali, though progress had been made, due to the extensive deterioration of the city more work was needed before settlers could safely arrive. As of 1707.5 over 25,000 people had registered as ethnic Mala'anje and submitted to DNA testing to confirm their lineage. A further 2,500 people were permanently living on the Imperial-sponsored sovereign base areas, with others residing here attached to shipboard commands in the Imperial Navy. The funds from Saigon base and the purchase of territory to form the sovereign base areas will be directly funneled to the FNT to help fund continued reconstruction.

Phase Three

As of 1710 over 75,000 ethnic Mala'anje had opted to register and migrate to the newly-established Mala First Nation. Windsor Island has absorbed most of the influx of population, with Qorali receiving around twenty-thousand immigrants. The Lac Glaceian government has continued to supply resources for rebuilding Dianaville and Qorali, though both have been restored enough that they have begun to provide their own industry and reduce reliance on the mainland. Qorali, with its foothold on Keltia, has opened several mines and lumberyards to ship raw materials to Windsor, while the island has begun developing a strong tech industry, providing services both to the territory and abroad. The presence of the Imperial Federation's bases Saigon and Chi-Nam has also helped spread economic growth, increasing commerce with the soldiers at those locations. Much infrastructure still needs repair - while roads have been restored over the past four years, and both areas have state-operated electric utilities - other services such as public water and gas are not operational yet. Lac Glacei has reaffirmed its commitment to continue restoration efforts while ramping up the territorial government's budget to begin taking on some of these tasks itself.

Treaty with the Imperial Federation

A treaty was also negotiated with the Imperial Federation granting them a long-term lease on a naval base (Naval Base Saigon) located off the coast to the south. Additionally, those from the Imperial Federation who had already settled the island were relocated north, and a treaty was signed for a sovereign base accommodating any Imperials living there, with a strictly defined border checkpoint included to prevent Imperial settlement past their allotted "sovereign base areas" two small, hilly areas on north fringes of the island. The islanders and the Lac Glacei government was compensated well for the bases, as part of a compromise over the Imperial Federation's desire to maintain control of the surrounding seas.