The Arco-Lunaesa Affair
 (Top) A TRIAD delegate condemns the alleged incidence and occurences of spying by the OPSNS during the conference; (Bottom) Eubunga Executive Airport, the alleged port-of-entry for the Arcerion intelligence operatives. | |
| Date | September 4-16, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Location | Eubunga, Washakara |
| Also known as | Cronan Spy Affair |
| Type | Political and Intelligence Scandal |
| Target | TRIAD, Delegates from prospective South Cronan Nations |
| First reporter | Cape Town Free Press |
| Participants | Washakara, TRIAD, Arcerion (alleged) |
| Outcome | Political scandal, retracted report by Cape Town Free Press, damaged relations between Arcerion-TRIAD-Washakara |
The Arco-Lunaesa Affair was an alleged incident of intelligence activities conducted against Washakara and members of TRIAD by operatives of Arcerion's Office of Public Safety and National Security (OPSNS). A leak in September of 2014 alleged that two intelligence teams made up of members of the OPSNS had arrived via Eubunga Executive Airport, a private airfield North of Eubunga, the capital city of Washakara, and were actively surveilling and collecting intelligence on communist and socialist delegates attending a conference on Crona's role and future membership opportunities for the Treaty of International Assistance and Development.
The event was named after Arcerion and the President of Washakara, Breua Lunaesa.
History
Arcerion prior to the event had a long history of battling communism and actively seeking out opportunities to degrade and deny socialist access to South Crona. Washakara invited TRIAD ans senior members of several prominent indigenous nations from the immediate geographical region (notably including Malentina and Kelekona) to discuss future opportunities for cooperation and potential membership.
The conference was scheduled to take place for a week, between September 4th-11th, 2014 and hosted at the Eubunga National Convention Centre, for roughly six hundred delegates and staff. Arcerion openly had objected to the conference, saying that the subversion of the Arcosphere and the meeting of terrorist elements presented a clear and present danger to its national interest. The itnernational community remained mixed in its response, however the conference took place as scheduled.
On the 10th of September, the Cape Town Free Press, a newspaper based out of The Cape, reported that a source inside the Washakaran State Security service had confirmed that there were agents belonging to Arcerion operating inside Washakara that had arrived undeclared to conduct clandestine missions against the people and government of Washakara. Further, it mentioned that two teams, 'Emile' and 'Francis,' had access to the hotels, conference halls, and private offices of many of the delegates and Washakaran politicians. The report detailed that the teams had arrived on board privately-chartered aircraft through South Crona Air, a company that had a long history of supporting the government of Arcerion and had been considered a covertly owned and operated element of the Office of Public Safety and National Security.
Arcerion was quick to condemn the report through official channels, the Foreign Office and Home Office both denouncing the report as outlandish, unprofessional, and an affront to well-researched journalism and contrary to the values of a free and independent press. The Foreign Secretary of Arcerion alleged that this was an attempt by the Supreme National Assembly of the Cape to degrade Arcer influence in South Crona and damage the international reputation of their perceived strategic enemy. The Cape Town Free Press eventually retracted their statement through an official redaction on the 16th of September, effectively ending the incident without further reporting or new information coming to light.
Evidence of Surveillance and Spying
The Cape Town Free Press was unable when asked for further comment to highlight additional information after the initial article was published. The unnamed source in the Washakaran State Security service was rumoured to be Deputy Director Manea Totohu, who had a long history of conducting what the Arcer government considered state-sponsored acts of terrorism by supporting Indigenous rebels in both Telekona and Washakara that conducted attacks against Arcerion. The evidence stemmed from the landing of two separate private charter small jet aircraft at the Eubunga Executive Airport. The unnamed source alleged that this carried a pair of teams from the Office of Public Safety and National Security, and by extension other press agencies and news sources commented this was likely members of the OPSNS' Operations Directorate. The source said that the teams had infiltrated several of the hotels and residences of many Washakaran politicians and foreign diplomats, and also said they had conducted activities within the conference hall and event venue itself.
Beyond these facts the Cape Town Free Press was unable to provide further specifics or commentary on the events or personalities involed.
Political Reactions
Washakara
The government of Washakara openly condemned the notion that Arcerion was attempting to spy on an otherwise peaceful and productive diplomatic meeting. Both major parties in Washakara joined together for a joint statement denouncing the Confederate Parliament, emphasizing that these kinds of activities were undemocratic and contributed to violation of Washakaran and Indigenous sovereignty. The Washakaran Department of the Interior summoned the Ambassador for Arcerion to the Presidential Palace, to formally answer for the allegations.
Arcerion
The Government of Arcerion openly disregarded and denied the claims by both the Cape Town Free Press and Washakara. They identified that there was no verifiable proof or substantial evidence that identified members of the Arcer state conducting such activities. Further, they said the Attorney General of Arcerion would be engaging with international partners to seek out civil legal actions by suing the Cape Town Free Press. The Arcerion Home Office also revoked the journalistic authorities and licenses for the Cape Town Free Press and the Washakaran-based South Crona Morning Post, which garnered a surge of political support in Arcerion for strong government action against libel and slanderous reporting.
Other
Legacy and Aftermath
While the long-term effects were minimal, it brought the Office of Public Safety and National Security into the forefront of the public view and increased scrutiny on the agency's activities. Then Director of the OPSNS, Frederick Smith, was called before a closed-door session of the Arcerion Security and Intelligence Committee to answer to Parliament for the embarrassment and assure governing officials that the allegations were false. No official record was produced but the Prime Minister's Office later commented that Smith had provided reasonable assurances that the government of Arcerion would not be implicated in the affair any further than it already had been, but refused to comment further on the issue as it was deemed a matter of national security.
The OPSNS was assessed by public think tanks and foreign media to continue its conduct of surveillance and intelligence gathering in Washakara, but these claims again have never been verifiably proven.