Friday 23 May 2014

Aurora Arcology Crisis, Minmatar Divided: Security advice & assistance

As mentioned in our census-report 'Over 8.000 new arrivals at the Aurora Arcology' , the crisis in the Arcology station isn't over yet.
Minmatar hardliners have continued recruiting additional members for their factional milita despite the fact recruitment was forbidden due to the riot incident.

As management of the Aurora Project recognized they couldn't contain this crisis reliably by themselves, CEO J. Ymladris reached out for assistance to bring back peace & safety for all to the Arcology Station.

Agiri Falken & Pieter Tuulinen, both security experts, have offered their help in the matter. Their first step was a full analysis of the situation, locating problems and offering solutions on both short as long term.
Below is the detailed analysis offered by Pieter Tuulinen, who has expertise in managing mixed populations.

Part One: Analysis of the population and the risks aboard a closed environment (Station)

The current situation within the Arcology is perilous. Although there is no currently active insurgency, the Minmatar militia that is forming within that sub-culture is likely to transition to the status of an armed insurgency within a month or two if steps are not taken to counter its growth.

As soon as the Minmatar Insurgency begins taking action against the Amarrian population, they will quickly organise around their churches and religious leaders into similar groups and you will have what is, in effect, a civil war. At the point that the two populations are in open hostilities you are likely to see intervention on a clandestine level from Republic and Empire forces and openly by whichever Okusaiken has authority over the space that the Arcology is berthed in. If one of the Okusaiken becomes involved then the Arcology’s parent company will likely face criminal and civil proceedings aimed at recouping the cost of whatever police action is necessary to enforce order.

Currently there are several factors that are combining to make the situation untenable.

• Sealed environment
• Climate of security permissibility
• Uncontrolled ethnic populations
• Uncontrolled political activism

A sealed, artificial, environment operates according to very different public safety laws than a planetary population. Specifically the issues are those of protection of infrastructure and conservation of volume. Protection of infrastructure in a sealed environment is always the top of the Security Forces mandate. Everything needs to be assessed primarily from the point of view of ‘Does this threaten the viability of the station?’ A riot that might merely be contained and allowed to run its course in a planetary population centre may require immediate suppression (perhaps with lethal force) in a sealed environment, lest it threaten the viability of the entire biome or facility.

It is; therefore, quite self-evident that any act of civil disobedience with the goal of affecting station infrastructure must be punished using extreme methods.

The Arcology presents a number of specific security challenges that place its security establishment somewhat at odds with its general mission. Medical care, habitation assistance, nutrition and vocational assistance – all these programs are aimed at caring for and getting the refugee population on their feet, giving them a second chance. Security, on the other hand CANNOT EVER GIVE THEM EVEN ONE CHANCE.

Security must be run from a standpoint of ZERO permissibility, ZERO tolerance for deviation from regulations, and ZERO compromise. If it is allowed to run any other way, the door is opened for a catastrophic event that could kill everyone aboard the Arcology.

CEO comments:
This analysis already highlights a major problem in the Arcology: currently the internal security is very easy on the people, due to what they went through. However, as highlighted by security experts, this only leads to much larger problems later when it is not rooted out at the start. Being a refugee cannot be a reason to be excluded from security checks & regulations.

Part Two: Population control and the need for internal intelligence networks

I have spoken previously about the need to create encysted populations of ethnic minorities, to contain them and keep them manageable, whilst still giving them the necessary degree of self-determination and identity. Generally speaking, a population that has access to indigenous spiritual support and the correct ethnic food, housing and community is much easier to maintain and less likely to organise in protest.

That said, these ‘encysted’ populations must always be immersed in a sea of homogenous conformity and order. If the size of the ‘encysted’ population grows too large then it will begin pushing back against the baseline population culture. I believe that this has started to occur on the Arcology.

The ethnic controlled districts must be STRICTLY limited in size and self-dependency. Whilst they should be permitted to return to relax in ethnically familiar enclaves, every citizen must be forced to engage with the baseline culture population, to remind them what the rules are. Whilst ‘encysted’ populations should be allowed to adjudicate internal squabbles according to their own culture (there must be exceptions – see Security Forces primary mandate) they must be encouraged to avoid infractions outside of their own enclave. It is very important that large-scale populations are not allowed to develop and districts must be broken up and kept small and weak.

I have previously said that it is very important that you allow the ‘encysted’ populations to determine their own leadership – whether this be a Bishop, Shaman, Governor or Manager. A leader imposed upon the ‘encysted’ population from outside, even if that leader is nominally one of their own, will never enjoy their trust or respect. You should strictly stay out of the appointment process EXCEPT to indicate when a chosen representative is unacceptable to you.

Obviously the criteria for acceptability must be public, but essentially you are looking to weed out any undesirable extremists who have an agenda that is unsuitable for the Arcology. Client populations are NOT part of the management of the station and should have NO say on policy, save where it specifically affects their own ethnic grouping.

Note that you cannot afford to be reactive in this area. You must have extensive counter-intelligence operations within the ethnic enclaves. You should, ideally, already know the political leanings of any politically active members of the ‘encysted’ populations. You should also remember that if someone is unsuitable to be the leader of a population, he is also unsuitable to be a member of that population. Remove early and remove often. An Administrator must never be afraid of being accused of acts necessary to the security of the Arcology. You must take this maxim so much to heart that you do not fear to strike at those closest to you.


CEO comments:
Part of the reforms that are currently undergoing is to improve the communications & cooperation between different populations.
Also, to address the issue of unsuitable leaders, our intelligence network agents will undergo training to be able to handle internal security & intelligence operations better.
Once more it's repeated here: our security force must act much stricter in the future, with the idea of future stability in mind.

Part Three: Internal security divisions & Kameiras

“Who guards the guards?” – The first step is to perform a thorough vetting of your existing security troops. Anyone with dubious connections will be fired with cause and replaced. Regrettably, anyone recruited from the ethnic minority pool (Amarrian/Gallente/Matari) cannot be trusted. These people will be immediately moved to ‘Community Relations’ and surveilled as part of Counter-Insurgency.

I have a battalion of Marines who are trained in counter-insurgency. I suggest splitting the Security load between Public Order (which will be handled by my force) and Public Safety which will be handled by your existing security apparatus.

Public Order will be concerned with reacting to Civil Disobedience, patrolling, counter-insurgency and other similar tasks. My troops will deploy with full tactical loadout and will be on-call to assist with Public Safety when and where necessary, at the discretion of your Security Chief. They will answer to their own hierarchy only where Public Order is concerned.

Public Safety will be concerned with protection of the Station Infrastructure, immigration, policing and community relations. Your existing security troops have the local knowledge to succeed at these tasks and the continuity gained from allowing them to maintain their mandate in these areas will reap dividends.

My Troops deploy. Initially we focus on maintaining Public Order and Safety as we iron out the wrinkles. We publish new regulations and let people get used to the new enforcement paradigms – letting them get accustomed to search and seizure, carrying ID cards and so forth. We let the situation find a new plateau before taking any radical actions.

As part of Stage One we conduct Counter-Insurgency operations that are mostly directed towards establishing a robust Counter Intelligence organisation. We monitor galnet traffic, monitor communications, gather HUMINT and SIGINT and start to identify the size and capability of the Insurgent organisations to assess what we’re dealing with here. As we begin to establish our networks we take no overt action aimed at these organisations – the changes we impose as part of Stage One should generate LOTS of chatter to allow us to build our maps.

Once we have mapped out the Insurgent network maps, we begin to move against them. Initially we strike at the most dangerous elements, the Kameira, weapons stockpiles and leadership. The operation will then develop as required – hopefully the shock and dislocation will convince large swathes of the Insurgency membership to abandon their cause. It should be noted that the effect may be to initially stiffen resistance and galvanise them to violent action. This also works to our advantage – we should have the intelligence battle won already and it is unlikely that they will perceive the extent of our infiltration. If they become violent then we move to purge them quickly and efficiently. We should easily have the forces required.

The Kameira deserve special mention. I support your move to relocate them outside the Arcology by donating them to the PIE program for handling this situation. I would step up this commitment and aim to have ALL Kameira out by the time we move to Stage Three. If Kameira remain on the station then I would recommend assigning Agiri Falklen a small contingent of DUST mercs in addition to her TO&E. Dusties should be able to suppress and neutralise hostile Kameira swiftly and completely.

CEO Comments:
The plan laid out here is fully supported by the CEO. While parts of this plan can cause serious upheaval within the project, it will be good in the long run, allowing for a more consistent stability and a much more efficient security force once they are reformed and the foreign security troops have done their part.
On the Kameiras, in agreement with the Amarr administration aboard the Arcology, the majority of them will join the PIE Kameira Program, both as positive gesture towards the Empire as an effort to reduce tensions on the Arcology station, as Kameira presence is very troubling for the Minmatar.

Part Four: Actions to take once the situation has normalized again

Through counter intelligence it should be possible to identify potential troublemakers and neutralise them. By the end of this process we should be left with manageable leadership to negotiate with. It is vitally important to conduct negotiations in good faith – allow them to negotiate the end of special security regulations within their communities and normalise relations. Make it clear what your ‘red line’ requirements (such as the break-up of the larger districts) are and stick to your guns, however.

As part of the negotiations in Stage Four, you will likely negotiate to normalise security protocols. This will mean the phasing out of my troops and a return to Public Order duties of your own security forces. This is entirely natural and you should pursue this line yourself once things quieten down.

As relations normalise, my forces will retire and their deployment will end. I suggest you recruit some heavy formations for your own forces to keep in reserve. In addition you should probably recruit and train your own counter-intelligence establishment before mine withdraws. I can tender to provide this training, should you require it.

CEO Comments:
The transition period will be used to let people get used to a much stricter security. This should pave the way for an easier way to maintain stability & order on the Arcology in the long run.
The Intelligence Network will undergo training to be able to handle internal matters better. With the help of Agiri Falken & Pieter Tuulinen, this would be a great boost, due to their expertise in the field.

Conclusion of the security presentation

I like to thank Pieter Tuulinen for this detailed security presentation, giving me a better insight on how it all works, and the reasons of it all.
The first major part is the need for a much stricter security force, and an improved intelligence network, one that is focused on internal matters.
The Arcology Project has a large security force present, but most of them are aimed towards guarding against external threats, not internal ones. This is the same for our intel division.
With the assistance of Agiri Falken and Pieter Tuulinen, this shall be corrected, putting a much greater focus on internal security, allowing for a much improved stability and allowing people to feel much more secure under this new approach.

May the Aurora project endure, and continue to help much more people in the years to come! With an improved security that can truly guarantee their safety aboard!



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