Provisional Government of the Republic of Canespa

Flag of the PGRC

The Provisional Government of the Republic of Canespa (PGRC), also called the Canespan government-in-exile in some sources, is a political movement and paramilitary organization that claims for itself status as the legitimate government of Canespa and as organizing umbrella organization for the Canespan opposition.

The organization was established in June of 2034 in Port St. Charles by a number of Canespan emigres and academics living in New Harren. In the midst of the 2034 Urceo-Canespan diplomatic standoff, it received legitimate combatant status by Urcea, New Harren, and other members of NSTA, allowing them to purchase arms. In 2035, Urcea removed recognition of the PGRC and expelled it from NSTA-area countries following a restoration of relations with Canespa after its government reforms and the Treaty of Port St. Charles.

The PGRC was criticized by the Canasta government as a Urcean-backed terrorist organization and has questioned the ethnic heritage of the organization's members.

Ideological aims

The ideology of the PGRC is established in its founding charter, the "Call of the Canespan Patriot", which lays out the organization's reason for existing as well as providing for its basic structure. In the Call, the PGRC describes itself as an umbrella organization, seeking to unify and organize various disparate resistance movements within Canespa toward a single goal: removing the Canasta government and establishing a sovereign national republic. Accordingly, the PGRC's ideological framework argues that, in its present form, Canespa is not a legitimate sovereign country as such, but is instead a corporate fiefdom not dissimilar to an international charter city. The Call states that, though the Canespan people may have a role in the administration of the country, it is still ultimately a subsidiary owned by a predatory corporation and the state is not owned by the people themselves, as is the case in nearly every other country. The PGRC acknowledges the wide range of political and philosophical backgrounds that its members and future subordinate organizations will come from, but argues these wide disagreements are healthy and commonplace in modern republics and ultimately can be resolved in the post-resistance democratic process.

Structure

The PGRC has one primary organ with two subsidiary organizations. The State Council of the Provisional Government (SCPG) is the primary decision-making body within the PGRC and claims for itself executive, legislative, and judicial authority within the provisional government apparatus. It is comprised of thirteen members who elect, for terms of three years, a three-member executive committee. The executive committee has a rotating chairperson which also serves as the organizational chair of the SCPG. The SCPG, as supreme authority within the PGRC, has direct oversight of and appoints leadership of the two subordinate organizations that are part of the PGRC: the Political Organizing Division and the Armed Resistance Division.

The Political Organizing Division (POD) is a body of political operatives responsible for maintaining ties between the SCPG and various on-the-ground resistance movements; in many cases, the POD has been accused of organizing and funding said resistance movements, both peaceful and non-peaceful. In addition to this role, which can include organizing both espionage and sabotage operations, the POD operates as a normal political office, drafting and issuing the statements, missions, and other various documents issued by the PGRC. The head of the POD is the Chief of Staff of the Provisional Government.

The Armed Resistance Division (ARD) is the body responsible for the creation of a military resistance to the Canasta government. This includes the creation of a regular army, the Canespan Home Guard (CHG), which is outfitted with weapons procured internationally and whose personnel are trained in locations abroad. The ARD is also responsible for making contact with and organizing, to the extent possible, any armed resistance cells already within Canespa. In this responsibility, the ARD coordinates with the POD to incorporate different organizations, some of whom have widely varied political and socioeconomic goals, under a single umbrella organization with significant autonomy. The ARD-Local Operator agreement system provides so-called "local operators" with wide latitude to operate under their normal aims while requiring them to participate in any large scale operation devised by the ARD; in return, local operators are provided with cash and military equipment for their cooperation. The head of the POD is the General-in-Chief of the Canespan Provisional Armed Forces.

As of 2034, the PGRC is a small organization with few local operators or local political partners.