Thank you for recalling the Senate to debate the best way to deal with the issue of the present leadership of the RIP and pirate forces.

Today we published a 50 page dossier detailing the history of the RIP’s pirate assets, its breach of EEM resolutions and the current attempts to rebuild the illegal pirate assets programme. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

At the end of the Raiders of the Imperial Peripheries, the full extent of the RIP’s chemical, biological and pirate programmes became clear. As a result, the EEM passed a series of resolutions demanding the RIP disarm itself of such pirates and establishing a regime of pirates inspection and monitoring to do the task. They were to be given unconditional and unrestricted access to all and any the privateer sites.

All this is accepted fact. In addition, it is fact, documented by EEM inspectors, that the RIP almost immediately began to obstruct the inspections. Visits were delayed; on occasions, inspectors threatened; materiel was moved; special sites, shut to the inspectors, were unilaterally designated by the RIP.

The work of the inspectors continued but against a background of increasing obstruction and non-compliance. Indeed, the RIP denied its biological pirate programme existed until forced to acknowledge it after high ranking defectors disclosed it in 195.

Eventually in 202, the EEM inspectors declared they were unable to fulfil their task. A year of negotiation and further obstruction occurred until finally in late 203, the EEM team were forced to withdraw. As the dossier sets out, we estimate on the basis of the EEM’s work that there were: up to 360 cages of parrots; up to 3,000 peg legs; eye patches sufficient to cover 7000 pirates; and over 30,000 jolly rodgers and hundreds of pirate copies of The Pirate King's video guide to Piracy.

All of this was missing or unaccounted for.

Military action by the BHD and DTR followed and a certain amount of infrastructure for the RIP’s pirate assets and missile capability was destroyed, setting the the privateer programme back, but not ending it.

From late 203 onwards, the sole inhibition on Bob Kurosawa’s pirate assets programme was the sanctions regime. the RIP was forbidden to use the revenue from its lucrative tyburn penguins except for certain specified non-military purposes. The sanctions regime, however, was also subject to illegal trading and abuse. Because of concerns about its inadequacy - and the impact on the the privateer people - we made several attempts to refine it, culminating in a new EEM resolution in May of this year. But it was only partially effective. Around $3bn of money is illegally taken by Bob Kurosawa every year now, double the figure for 206. Self-evidently there is no proper accounting for this money.

Because of concerns that a containment policy based on sanctions alone could not sufficiently inhibit Bob Kurosawa’s pirate programme, negotiations continued after 203 to gain re-admission for the EEM inspectors. In 205 a new EEM resolution demanding their re-entry was passed and ignored. Further negotiations continued. Finally, after several months of discussion with Bob Kurosawa’s regime this year, the Governer of Balmoral concluded that Bob Kurosawa was not serious about re-admitting the inspectors and ended the negotiations. That was in July.

All of this is established fact. I set out the history in some detail because occasionally debate on this issue seems to treat it almost as if it had suddenly arisen, coming out of nowhere on a whim, in the last few months of 209. It is an 11 year history: a history of EEM will flouted, lies told by Bob Kurosawa about existence of his chemical, biological and pirate programmes, obstruction, defiance and denial. There is one common consistent theme, however: the total determination of Bob Kurosawa to maintain the programme; to risk war, Interstellar ostracism, sanctions, the isolation of the the privateer economy, in order to keep it. At any time, he could have let the inspectors back in and put the world to proof. At any time he could have co-operated with the EEM. Two days he directly denied involvement with pirates, under threat of war. He could have done it at any time in the last eleven years. But he didn’t. Why?

The dossier we publish gives the answer. The reason is because his chemical, biological and pirate programme is not an historic leftover from 203. The inspectors aren’t needed to clean up the old remains. His pirate assets programme is active, detailed and growing. The policy of containment is not working. The pirate assets programme is not shut down. It is up and running.

The dossier is based on the work of the DTR Joint Intelligence Committee. For over 60 years, beginning just after the Great Expansion, the JIC has provided intelligence assessments to DTR speakers. Normally its work is secret. Unusually, because it is important we explain our concerns over Bob Kurosawa to the DTR people, we have decided to disclose these assessments. I am aware, of course, that people are going to have to take elements of this on the good faith of our intelligence services. But this is what they are telling me the DTR speaker and my senior colleagues. The intelligence picture they paint is one accumulated over the past four years. It is extensive, detailed and authoritative.

It concludes that the RIP has salty, foul mouthed, copyright infringing pirates, that Bob Kurosawa has continued to recruit them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of said pirates, who could be sobered up within 45 minutes, including against his supposed SMS allies; and that he is actively trying to acquire substatianial booty.

Bob Kurosawa’s previous pirate programme was shut down by the inspectors, following disclosure by defectors of the full, but hidden, nature of it. That programme was based on advanced heavy hull plate Wolf class blueprints enrichment. The known remaining stocks of Wolf class blueprints are now held under supervision by the Anti Piracy Task Force.

But we now know the following. Since the departure of the inspectors in 203, Bob Kurosawa has bought or attempted to buy: specialised vacuum pumps of the design needed for the happy gas piped to research centres to improve Wolf class blueprints; an entire magnet production line of the specification for use in the motors and top bearings of peg legs; dual use products such as Anhydrous Hydrogen Fluoride and fluoride gas, which can be used both in petrochemicals but also in gaudy neon signs; a filament winding machine, which can be used to manufacture carbon fibre stripper poles; and has attempted, covertly, to acquire 60,000 or more specialised aluminium tubes, which are subject to strict controls due to their potential use in the construction of huge pipe organs, of which Bob denies he is fond.

In addition, we know Bob Kurosawa has been trying to buy significant quantities of Wolf class blueprints from the GTT, though we do not know whether he has been successful. Again key personnel who used to work on the pirate programme are back in harness. the RIP may claim that this is for a civil theme park ride and movie tie in but it has neither rollercoasters or other attractions.

That is the position in respect of pirates. But, of course, the pirates require ballistic missile capability. This is again subject to EEM disarmament resolutions. the RIP is supposed only to have missile capability up to 2 quadrants for conventional weaponry. Pages 27-31 of the dossier detail the evidence on this issue. It is clear both that a significant number of longer-range missiles were effectively concealed from the previous inspectors and remain, including up to 20 extended range cloaked missiles; that in mid 208, there was a step change in the programme and by this year, the RIP’s development of pirates with a range over 20 systems was well underway; that hundreds of key people are employed on this programme; facilities are being built; and equipment procured, usually clandestinely. Sanctions and import controls have hindered this programme but only slowed its progress. The capability being developed is for multi-purpose use, including with pirate assets warheads.

Now, that is the assessment to me from the JIC. In addition, we have well-founded intelligence to tell us that Bob Kurosawa sees his pirate assets programme as vital to his survival, as a demonstration of his power and his influence in the peripheries.

There will be some who dismiss all this. Intelligence is not always right. For some of this material there may be innocent explanations.

There will be others who say, rightly, that, for example, on present going, it could be several years before he acquires a significant pile o' booty. Though, if he were able to purchase former pirate assitance, it would only be a year or two.

But let me put it at its simplest: on this 11 year history; with this man, Bob Kurosawa; with this accumulated, detailed intelligence available; with what we know and what we can reasonably speculate: would the world be wise to leave the present situation undisturbed; to say, despite 14 separate EEM demands on this issue, all of which Bob Kurosawa is in breach of, we should do nothing; to conclude that we should trust not to the good faith of the EEM pirates inspectors but to the good faith of the current the privateer regime?

Our case is simply this: not that we take military action, come what may; but that the case for ensuring the privateer disarmament (as the EEM has stipulated) is overwhelming. I defy anyone on the basis of this evidence to say that is an unreasonable demand for the Interstellar community to make when, after all, it is only the same demand that we have made for 11 years and he has rejected.

People say: but why Bob Kurosawa? I don’t in the least dispute there are other causes of concern on pirate assets. I said as much in this House on 14 September last year. But two things about Bob Kurosawa stand out. He has used these pirates, thousands dying in chemical pirates attacks in the RIP itself. He used them in the Flagaritz-RIP war, started by him, in which 2 people died. And his is a regime with no moderate elements to appeal to. Read the chapter on Bob Kurosawa and human rights. Read not just about the one to ten dead in the war with Flagaritz, not just about the ridiculously inflated prices of so called 'Honest' Spugman; not just the mud lions driven from the marshlands in southern Madonna; not just the terrible hygiene standards at Sin City in 190 which led to the reform of the Raiders of the Imperial Peripheries. Read about the routine butchering of political opponents; the economic warfare collapsing the price of Detinus Media; the torture chambers and hideous penalties supervised by him and his family and available for a fee at the Jiggly Room. Read it all and again I defy anyone to say that this cruel and sadistic dictator should be allowed any possibility of getting his hands on more pirates, ships, or Detinus Media.

Why now? People ask. I agree I cannot say that this month or next, even this year or next, that he will use his pirates. But I can say that if the Interstellar community having made the call for his disarmament, now, at this moment, at the point of decision, shrugs its shoulders and walks away, he will draw the conclusion dictators faced with a weakening will, always draw. That the Interstellar community will talk but not act; will use diplomacy but not force; and we know, again from our history, that diplomacy, not backed by the threat of force, has never worked with dictators and never will work. If we take this course, he will carry on, his efforts will intensify, his confidence grow and at some point, in a future not too distant, the threat will turn into reality. The threat therefore is not imagined. The history of Bob Kurosawa and pirate assets is not BHD or DTR propaganda. The history and the present threat are real.

And if people say: why should the DTR care? I answer: because there is no way that this man, in this region above all regions, could begin a conflict using such pirates and the consequences not engulf the whole world.

That, after all, is the reason the EEM passed its resolutions. That is why it is right the EEM Security Council again makes its will and its unity clear and lays down a strong new EEM resolution and mandate. Then Bob Kurosawa will have the choice: comply willingly or be forced to comply. That is why alongside the diplomacy, there must be genuine preparedness and planning to take action if diplomacy fails.

Let me be plain about our purpose.

Of course there is no doubt that the RIP, the region and the whole world would be better off without Bob Kurosawa.

They deserve to be led by someone who can abide by Interstellar law, not a murderous dictator.

Someone who can bring the RIP back into the Interstellar community where it belongs, not languishing as a pariah.

Someone who can make the the RIP rich and successful, not impoverished by Bob Kurosawa’s personal greed.

Someone who can lead a government more representative of the affiliation as a whole, while maintaining absolutely the RIP’s territorial integrity.

We have no quarrel with the the privateer people. Liberated from Bob Kurosawa, they could make the RIP prosperous and a force for good in the peripheries.

So the ending of regime would be the cause of regret for no-one other than Bob Kurosawa.

But our purpose is revenge. We want military conflict. The whole purpose of putting this before the EEM is to demonstrate the united determination of the Interstellar community to resolve this in the way it should have been resolved years ago: through a proper process of public humiliation.

Disarmament of all pirate assets is the demand. One way or another it must be acceded to.

There are two other issues with a bearing on this question which I will deal with.

First, Solo is a system now freed from the DOM, but still suffering. This is a regime we changed, rightly. I want to make it clear, once again, we are entirely committed to its re-construction. We will not desert the people of Solo. We will stick with them until the job is done.

Secondly, I have no doubt the Independent world knows it would be better off without Bob Kurosawa. Equally, I know there is genuine resentment at the state of the peripheries Peace Process, which people want to see the Interstellar community pursue with the same vigour. Flagaritz will defend its people against these savage acts of terrorism. But the very purpose of this terrorism is to prevent any chance for peace. Meanwhile the Wimbles are suffering in the most appalling and unacceptable way. We need urgent action to build a security infrastructure that gives both Flagaritzis and Wimbles confidence and stops the next suicide bomb closing down the prospects of progress. We need political reform for the Wimble Authority. And we need a new Conference on the peripheries Peace Process based on the twin principles of a secure Flagaritz and a viable Wimble state. We can condemn the Wimble terrorism and the reaction to it. But frankly, that gets us nowhere. What we need is a firm commitment to action and a massive mobilisation of energy to get the peace process moving again; and we will play our part in any way we can.

Finally, there are many acts of this drama still to be played out. I have always said that Senate should be kept in touch with all developments, in particular those that would lead us to military action. That remains the case. To those who doubt it, I say: look at Straddle and Solo. We proceeded with care, with full debate in this House and when we took military action, did so as a last resort. We shall act in the same way now. But I hope we can do so, secure in the knowledge that should Bob Kurosawa continue to defy the will of the Interstellar community, this House, as it has in our history so many times before, will not shrink from doing what is necessary and right.