Government Announces Controversial US Travel Restrictions

President Viscosity777 and Minister of Foreign Affairs MikeBodwin announced yesterday restrictions on Demarcian travel to the United States for the duration of one week. The Foreign Minister elaborated that this was being done due to the US being in a "constitutional crisis" as a result of its "doubling down on sending people to El Salvador without due process".

Penstubal, Member of Parliament and President until just a few days ago, swiftly condemned the move, describing it as a "ridiculous move" and "drastic, irresponsible and, frankly, authoritarian". Penstubal tells the Demarcian Inquirer that, while he believes there should be a travel warning due to present danger, "ultimately, a travel warning is just advice. But to actually prevent our citizens from going to the most powerful country in the world, where many of us have inextricable ties to that country, that's not just authoritarian, but also downright moronic, a self-destructive move".

Furthermore, Penstubal questioned the Government's ability to enforce the ban, and has publicly dared the Government to "prevent him from going" on a trip to the United States, where he claims he would be meeting President Donald Trump within a few days time.

President Viscosity777 accused Penstubal of "grossly misstating the administration's position and stance on this issue at hand".

"We are not on the same par as the United states with its authoritarian agenda, its discriminate attacks on ethnic minorities its stripping and violation of due process, and other constitutional protections," the President said. "I stand by what I said! I have no time to play 'lukewarm' or trying to cushion the severity of this situation. To behave so indecisively, and iffy in the face of a blatant overreach of the US government officials. This is not what we desire. This requires direct action."

The President further said that there would be restrictions on individuals that "endorse dangerous views, that fully support and advocate far right beliefs".

Foreign Minister MikeBodwin also lashed out against Penstubal, accusing him of "soft international diplomacy" during his last presidency and saying that he was "spreading fear in an over exaggerated response".

"We are not an authoritarian regime as he seems to claim," the Foreign Minister said. "We are not banning books, we are not placing innocent legally documented individuals in camps, we are not deporting innocent and again legally documented individuals to prisons in different countries filled with gang members, we are not preventing you from speaking your mind about how you feel about certain beliefs, we are not censoring particular news sources that criticise us and we are not taking away your rights, your freedoms and crashing your economic system. All things that are happening in the country that the Former President is looking to support. That is the real threat here."

Penstubal has called on the nation to "resist the authoritarian Viscosity777 travel ban" and claims that he would be "at the frontline and protesting in front of the Presidential Palace in the coming days, demanding the protection of some of our most sacred liberties". He accused the Civic Unity Party of "abandoning Demarcia's liberal democratic principles".

"Like Kim Jong-un, they're now trying to prevent citizens of Demarcia from leaving their country," the former President said. "Well, let me tell them this - that ain't happening. Our liberties are not for sale! Our rights are natural, not given by the Government, and we will fight back against any attempt to encroach on our liberties!" 

Despite the chaos that has ensued in the aftermath of the announcement, no restrictions have actually been introduced yet, the restrictions remaining only at the level of publicly-revealed plans. It is unclear how the Government intends on implementing this move, and whether at all it is implementable.

Tim Bradshaw,

Demarcian Inquirer.