And just when I thought this was not going to be controversial.
Some thoughts...
1) The events in Lazarus go beyond any R/D action, as seen by the support the government in exile has received from raiders and imperialists...essentially, one of Lazarus's own allies utilized their members in high places to seize control of the region so they can create a puppet state. This is something they themselves confirmed without shame, and without any regard for what anyone else thought of it, from the natives of Lazarus to their own diplomatic partners. Again, they did not merely support a coup, they used their influence to mastermind a takeover of an allied region. My proposal is not based on a defender mindset, but on a desire to do the utmost to take steps to make an impact against a regime that has committed an atrocity and simply doesn't care about world opinion.
2) Speaking of which, the fact of the matter is there are very few ways to make an impact on the NPO at this point. They've held ironclad control over The Pacific for over 11 years now, and no army of any size could change that right now. Even with the world working together, just liberating Lazarus will be a tall measure, although we will do our part when the time comes. In order to make an impact, regions will have to adopt unconventional measures such as this and hold by them for a long period of time. And I'm not under any illusions that anything we do alone will have an impact, but it is my hope that other regions will take up measures like this and that collectively we can make an impact.
3) Short of advocating forum destruction or some real-life illegal action, I don't think it would be possible to "embarrass ourselves" in this matter...the actions committed are that universally abhorrent. However, I don't believe fear of embarrassing ourselves should prevent us from taking bold, principled stances. We opposed the coup in Osiris and the resultant Osiris Fraternal Order long after all other regions had accepted it, and one could argue our stance was detrimental to the region, but I do not regret having made that stance and I wouldn't regret making other globally unpopular stances for a good cause. However, I assure you that it would be nearly impossible to make an unpopular stance against the NPO at this point.
4) I'm very troubled with the idea that we shouldn't do this because it will 'restrict' our Citizens, because it implies that we should allow them to do whatever they damn well please. I've watched too many other regions in the past simply stand by and claim they couldn't do anything about events such as this because their people are conducting actions as private Citizens...are we to be the same? While I don't take any measure that restricts Citizens lightly, I do believe that at some point you have to accept that it's incompatible to be a Citizen of this region and to take or provide material support for certain things, actions that are beyond the pale and go beyond merely opposing each other on the gameplay battlefield.
5) It is true that it would be impossible to completely enforce this law, but the same could be said for many other laws both in NS and in RL, and that alone should not be a reason not to make them. Our
persona non grata declarations could be overcome with a proxy or VPN and providing fake information. Many laws could be skirted by committing them out of the public eye, but it would be silly to just not have laws. Regardless of the law, of course it can only be enforced if the people violating it are caught.
6) The proposed "Malicious Involvement in Outside Regions Act" goes far beyond what I believe is necessary. Again, this is not a mere R/D fight, but a very unique, abhorrent, nearly universally condemned event conducted by a single entity: the NPO. I don't believe it's necessary to have a framework, because I don't foresee another instance of these events occuring for some time, if for no other reason than most regions and organizations give a damn about their reputations. Having an outright framework is unnecessary, and long-term could only lead to arguments between defenders and non-defender, whereas there's no disagreement on
this particular event.
I hope I covered all the bases...apologize if I missed something, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the debate.