Former Republic Admiral hits back at Midular critics

Amamake - At a Fleet dinner today, former Admiral Kanth Filmir spoke out strongly in defense of Republic prime minister Karin Midular against recurring accusations of incompetence. Filmir, veteran of a long and distinguished career with the Republic Fleet, attacked critics of Midular's policies, calling them "short-sighted, war-mongering reactionaries."

The dinner's program originally had him delivering a talk on his dealings with insurgent ex-military unit the Defiants and his relationship with their former commander Karishal Muritor. Instead, the former Admiral spoke at length about the Midular regime and his involvement in it.

"The greatest achievement of Karin Midular is that she came to power five years ago and there was a Minmatar Republic, and she was in office for five years and there is still a Minmatar Republic. Far too many of our people are far too ignorant to realize what an achievement that is, and far too many of them have been instrumental in making it such a challenge."

Filmir directed particularly strong words toward those agitating for war against the Amarr. "To you people, I say simply this. If we go to war with the Amarr today, we will lose. That is the cold hard truth. And if you think they would win with grace and humility, you are delusional. If we had given the Amarr provocation at any time in the last decade they would have crushed us, and they would have made sure we stayed crushed this time. You think Karsoth is a gentle man? A vote for war is a vote for genocide, and an end to all our hopes and dreams."

He was also dismissive of capsuleer forces, calling them "children playing with forces they don't understand for stakes they have no right to wager." Citing capsuleers' influence on the movement known as the "Bloody Hand of Matar," their repeated antagonization of Imperial forces via direct action and their long-term support of the Defiants, he voiced the opinion that they should "go back to their own on the outer rim and leave the Republic alone before their misguided grandstanding gets us all killed."

Perhaps the biggest stir of the evening came at the end of the dinner, when Kanth responded to a shouted question about the Gallente. "They claim to support us," he fired back, "but what are they actually doing? Their economy is booming! They say they're sending us aid. Well, where the hell is it? There should be Gallente convoys streaming across the border every day, but instead it's Minmatar convoys going the other way with our best and brightest on board. Frankly we get more assistance from the Empire than we do from the Federation, and that's the honest truth."

The former Admiral has since issued a one-page statement wherein he points out that the numbers back him up, while denouncing those who claim it makes him an Amarr apologist, calling them "empty-headed radicals who represent everything that's wrong with Minmatar society" for allowing "lazy rhetoric to trump hard facts about the truth of our situation."

The dinner itself was forcibly ended and dispersed by Republic Marines shortly after Filmir's speech concluded.