Axis Mundi Zen Collective

The Axis Mundi Zen Collective is a political party in Keymon. It is committed to the twin ideals of furthering Zen Buddhism in Keymon as well as promoting collective ownership of production and overall equality. As of this it names freedom of religion, nationalisation, welfare initiatives, a strong central government and non-violence as its key principles.

Kaoism
Kaoism, named after the first Grand Master of the AMZC, is the unofficial name for the ideology the party follows. Whilst they have never acknowledged Kaoism as such as official ideology it ties in directly to the way the party acts. Kaoism is effectively based upon three principles:

1. Religious Freedom 2. Economic Equality 3. Pacifism

October 2273 Party Manifesto: Mandate for Change
"We the Axis Mundi Zen Collective, beaten down and banned during the fascist invasion of the 2260's, our leader arrested and our people raped of dignity and life, have been given an opportunity now for change. The people have seen the shining light of the future and the glowing embers of hope and they have seen them reflect in the eyes of our party. We declare ourselves to be devoid of corruption and personal gain and we serve only to improve the lives of the Zen Buddhists as well as the entire population, of Keymon. This is our manifesto for the future, our mandate for change.

1. Restore State Energy Provision - Everyone has a right to have access to the necessities of life. State Energy Provision not only ensures that the poor are not punished but also allows sector employment to be controlled. Furthermore it is essentially more efficient as private firms are unable to compete effectivelty due to barriers to entry and its status as a natural monopoly. 2. Agrarian Reform - The poor farmers of Keymon struggle to make a living but cannot due to the unfair laws. Currently farm land is controlled by very few individuals who treat their workers badly and use damaging fertilisers. The introduction of farm size regulation would ensure that every agrarian labourer would be able to make a decent living. 3. Resore the Forest Protection Programme - Our environment is what keeps us alive and what will keep our future generations alive. A coalition of parties at the moment wish to see it destroyed and have already begun by dismantling the Bryce Leigh Royal Forest. We will strive to restore the programme. 4. Maintain the Neutrality of Keymon - Our neutrality is what keeps us safe, what protects us and what ensures we are not invaded on a regular scale. The recent Likaonia Crisis has shown that some nations do not respect this but that they vast majority of Terra does. If we were to withdraw from the Neutrality Agreement it would all collapse and we would have nothing, it must remain! 5. Complete Disarmament of the Keymon Military - Armies only serve to kill, to maim, to hurt, we wish to see a future without bloodshed and where all people can live side by side without fear of military involvment. Destroy the guns and kiss the flowers. 6. See Jonah Mallory Sentanced to Life Imprisonment - Jonah Mallory was responsible not only for banning our party and arresting our leader but also for killing up to 30,000 of our people. Furthermore he attempted to overthrow the Grand Duke himself and seize power. Her must suffer for his crimes and although we would fight against the death penalty we feel life imprisonment is a perfectly fair for such a crime as genocide and treason. 7. Reform the Church of Keymon Treaty - Religious freedom and protection from religious tyranny is essential but so to is religious equality. At the moment and whilst this treaty has many good points, it gives an unfair advantage to the Christian faith by implanting it in national law and forcing children to pray to its God. This damamges the Buddhist population of Keymon and must be reformed. First and formost the existence of a state religion must go, we call for complete disestablishment of the Church. 8. Re-ratification of the Global Emancipation Treaty - Slavery is the greaters crime on Terra. For many years and since the National Front collapsed we have been free from its evil claws but now it appears that a coalition of parties wish to see it return. We will fight against this with every breath in our bodies and this must begin with the return of this sacred treaty. 9. Ratification of The Keymon Defence Alliance Treaty - The recent Likatonia Crisis was disastorous for all and could quite concivably happen again in the future. We as a nation do not wish to fight and wish to remain neutral, yet if another nation decides to ignore that then we will not be able to fend them off. Thus we must gain international support and this treaty will ensure that we are protected. 10.Ratification of The Three Nation Territorial And Economic Alliance - We like many others wish to see Hobrazia, Keymon and Likatonia emerge as a strong regional economic power. This treaty would ensure this whilst also allowing us to screeen who travels through our shores."

People! This is the future, this is the what we believe in and this is what, if we all work together, we can see accomplished."

-- Suzanna Kukai, Grand Master of the Zen Collective

Party Name History

 * 2220’s – March 2232 – Partisan Political Front
 * March 2232 – 2237: Socialist Solidarity Movement
 * 2237 – February 2248: AM Socialist Solidarity Movement
 * February 2248 – 2255: N/A
 * 2255 – November 2260: Gustav Petroleum Memorial List
 * November 2260 – December 2263: Keymon Sovereignty Movement (ZC)
 * December 2263 – October 2269: Free Shih Kao!
 * October 2269 - Today: Axis Mundi Zen Collective


 * (November 2257 – Today: Zen Collective)

The PPF/The SSM/The AMSSM and the Collapse
The Partisan Political Front existed in Keymon in various forms since the early 2220's as a clandestine revolutionary committee. It involved itself mainly in literacy programmes for the nations poorest as well as minimal attacks on major banking companies. Yet in March 2232 and following the departure of the Red Star Movement from Keymont he PPF was officially transformed into the Socialist Solidarity Movement (SSM) and ventured into party politics to fill the gap vacated on the left. This involved the formation of a central committee of Chairman Gustav Petroleum and General Secretary Missak Sergei Manouchian who, as their first move, founded the Hobrazia-Keymon-Likatonia United Left Front in February 2235. In its first election (October 2237) the party was able to pick up 19 seats and become the third largest party as well as strengthening its international ties by joining the Axis Mundi organisation and officially changing its name to the Axis Mundi Socialist Solidarity Movement (AMSSM). However the July 2243 election was not as successful as had been hoped. Although the AMSSM remained the third largest party and the largest opposition party, it lost two seats whilst the Christian Democrat coalition dramatically improved its situation. Furthermore in the December 2247 election the AMSSM lost one more seat. The party still remained politically strong however just two months later disaster struck as Gustav Petroluem was assassinated whilst walking through a Isthmus market. The result was a catastrophe for the AMSSM as it effectively collapsed and fell out of Keymon politics. No one was able to maintain control and various factions began blaming various people. A notably bloody event was when members of the moderate Evolution faction murdered twelve members of the more radical ¡Ya basta! faction, claiming that they were responsible for the death of the party chairman.

The Reformation
For nearly a decade nothing was heard from the party until in the mid 2250's members of the former AMSSM central committee began reuniting with the aim of once again returning to politics. This was motivated not only by the desire to bring change to Keymon but also by the threat of the Likaton Fascist Front and so in 2255 the party was reformed as the Gustav Petroluem Memorial List as a tribute to the deceased Chairman Petroleum. However in November 2257 the party was once again reformed, this time taken a dramatic turn and establishing itself as the Zen Collective. This was done with the blessings of both the Supreme Patriach of Keymon His Holiness Tep Vong and the General Secretary of the Unified Trade Union Congress of Keymon (UTUCK) Gregory Peterson. Yet it planned to continue operating under the GPML name until the December 2261 election.

At this point in time four high command members of the AMSSM remained in the party hierarchy; Igor Sologub remained as Finance Spokesperson, François Moustaki remained as Justice Spokesperson, Gevorg Adamov remained as Food and Agriculture Spokesperson and Elizabeth Camus remained as Internal Affairs Spokesperson, although by now she had changed her name to Elizabeth Kerouac, in recognition of William Kerouac. Serge Yamagata remained briefly in the role of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson until Maha Ghosananda of the RCNL replaced him.The remaining positions in the central committee were taken up mostly by members of the RCNL although the position of Grand Master (forged by the unification of the previous AMSSM posts of General Secretary and Chairman) was filled by Shih Kao, a spiritual and political leader of the Zen Community. This was significant of the fact that rather than being a continuation of the AMSSM, the Zen Collective was a union of various organisation. At the time of the 2257 reformation affiliated organisations included:


 * Socialist Solidarity Movement (SSM). The SSM although no longer an official political party does exist in a clandestine format, much as the Partisan Political Front did prior to 2232. Yet as it is no longer a fully-fledged political party it has been forced to drop the Axis Mundi prefix (led by the current Internal Affairs Spokesperson Elizabeth Kerouac).
 * Revolutionary Committee of Natural Law (RCNL) (led by the current Health and Social Services Spokesperson Kelzang Choklang).
 * Radical Literary Circle of Keymon (RLCK) Originating as a small book club, the RLCK now exists as a nationwide organisation and is used as a major cultural think tank by the Zen Collective (led by the current Education and Culture Spokesperson Petr Asek).
 * Unified Trade Union Congress of Keymon (UTUCK). Although not officially linked to the party, policy directives tend to be discussed with UTUCK. In addition to this in 2261 General Secretary Gregory Peterson officially joined the party as Foreign Affairs Spokesperson. The following members of UTUCK are officially tied to the party:
 * Independent Workers of Keymon (IWK) (led by the current Trade and Industry Spokesperson Dipankara Copani)
 * Solidarity Amongst Farmers (SAF) (led by the current Food and Agriculture Spokesperson Samuel Mersault)
 * Dharma Autonomy International - Keymon Branch (DAI-KB). A controversial organisation that has branches in more than 20 nations and argues for seperate Buddhist states. The Zen Collective hierachy however argues that it merely believes in equal rights for Buddhists (led by the current Justice Spokesperson Loetla Nabhalai)
 * Anarcho-Democratic Foundation (ADF). The ADF has devised its own ideology of Democratic Anarchism by which by existing as an organisation it hopes to wither away the state before disbanding itself. It has been largely disowned by most anarchists and to the majority of political commentators is not anarchist at all.
 * Peacenik Federation (PK). A extreme anti war organisation that sees the Zen Collective as the best passage to complete disarmament of Keymon.

The Keymon Sovereignty Movement
In November 2260 the term of the GPML was cut short when the party reorganised itself as the Keymon Sovereignty Movement (ZC) in the hope that other parties would join them. This followed Director General Jaques Phargle's permission of Likaton troops to enter Keymon and a yes vote by the Christian Democrats on a referendum as to whether to join Greater Likatonia. Unfortunately soon after this, and despite being joined in the KSM by the DPP and the KGP, Grand Master Shih Kao was arrested by police and military units in 'Black November' and placed into custody. Elizabeth Kerouac subsequently took on the role as Provisional Party Chairman and in April 2261, following continued Likaton and Christian Democrat supression of the population the KSM (ZC) signed the Keymon Loyalists Agreement along with the other members of the KSM, the Keymon Ruling Party and the Liberal Representatives. Yet as this included a clause to support the AGK it resulted in a mass split in the party. As well as many party members and the Peacenik Federation leaving the organisation, the party also lost Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Maha Ghosananda (replaced by Gregory Peterson of the Unified Trade Union Congress of Keymon), Justice Spokesperson François Moustaki (replaced by Loetla Nabhalai of Dharma Autonomy International - Keymon Branch) and Environment and Tourism Spokesperson Ramji Ambedkar (replaced by Pierre Hunt of Dharma Autonomy International - Keymon Branch).

In the December 2261 election the KSM (ZC) was only able to pick up 8 seats. The election itself caused political stagnation as both the Keymon Unitary List and the Keymon Loyalists Agreement had 58 seats. A cabinet was proposed by the Liberal Representatives which encompassed the Keymon Loyalists Agreement parties and the 4 seats of the Fig Party yet it failed due to the KSM (KGP) abstaining. Furthermore in December 2263, Elizabeth Kerouac dissolved the Zen Collective wing of the Keymon Sovereignty Movement and reformed the party as Free Shih Kao!

Free Shih Kao!
By January 2264 the Christian Democrats had managed to force through legislation calling for new elections. FSK! was able to obtain 6 more seats giving a total of 14. However the Unitary List also improved its position as it now had 60 seats, 2 more than the Loyalist Agreement parties.

Under the legislation of the CD run State of Emergency the government in this time began a campaign of political suppression, including what the party refers to as ‘The Keymon Genocide’ in which up to 30,000 Zen Buddhists were murdered under the supervision of Acting Director General Jonah Mallory. Due to continued protests against this policy as well as the continued imprisonment of Shih Kao, in August 2265 the party was declared illegal and banned from the political process. However following the May 2267 election in which a coalition of liberal parties was able to form a cabinet the State of Emergency was repealed and the party once again legalised. In October 2269 Shih Kao was finally released through an Assembly vote and the party once again renamed as Axis Mundi Zen Collective. Below is a news report on the release of Shih Kao:

''"At 7.30 AM on 3rd October 2269, a armoured vehicle arrived at the central police station of Keymon City from a secure military location. The military personnel quickly made their way into the station leading with them a small man in prison clothing. To some this may have been simply a case of 'one more prisoner' but to many, and to those that caught a slight glimpse of the man in question it was much more. Within an hour large crowds had gathered outside and at 10.12 the official party leader of the Zen Collective Grand Master Shih Kao, arrested during the clampdown of 'Black November' 2260 and imprisoned without trial for nearly nine years, walked free. He was greeted by scenes of mass jubilation not only from Zen Collective supporters but also from the entire Buddhist community as well as general well wishers. Upon the steps of the station he was met by both by both the Provisional Party Chairman of the Zen Collective Elizabeth Kerouac and the Supreme Patriach of Keymon, His Holiness Thibau Mingyinyo, himself only elected in January this year. They quickly embraced before all three turned to face the crowds with their hand raised in the air. Shih Kao was then handed a microphone into which he uttered only the following:''

"Today a man was not released from jail, today freedom itself was once again thrust upon the people of Keymon. My children, I will die, you will die, we will all die, but liberty, sovereignty, freedom never shall. Long live equality! Long live freedom! Long live Keymon!"

''This was then followed by a rousing rendition of the national anthem before the Shih Kao, Elizabeth Kerouac and Thibau Mingyinyo drove away in an open topped car whilst onlookers rained confetti down upon them. It was then revealed that the Grand Master was being taken for an independent doctor assessment to ascertain the full extent of his injuries sustained and that the Zen Collective would be holding a press conference later on this week."''

-- Keymon Press Agency Report

The Press Conference was called and it can be read below:

(Grand Master Shih Kao takes the stand)

"Greetings, let me first say that it's good to be free!"

(Mass cheering and applause from the audience)

"Thank you, thank you, your compassion is great beyond comparison. As I said it is good to be free and not just that it is good to see Keymon free from the state of emergency that so long imprisoned me. I was arrested because I dared to speak out against the fact that the government was not only threatening the sovereignty of our nation but also butchering our people. Now I have been in jail for nine years and have had no contact with the outside world but I have been informed that up to 30,000 Buddhists have been KILLED! This is genocide, nothing more, nothing less, we may have a new government in power, the Christian Democrats may have been removed from it, but justice has not yet been brought to the victims. As such we will immediately push forward with the trial of the chief instigator of this, Jonah Mallory and let me be the first to say, may he spend the rest of his life the way I have spent the last nine years of mine."

(More cheering)

"There are a few more items of business however, first I wish to announce that Free Shih Kao! has served its purpose and shall now be reformed to its true form, as such the party will be once again renamed the Axis Mundi Zen Collective, this not only shows a return to our true nature but also ascertains once again our committment to international solidarity, even with Likatonia, and on the subject of Likatonia I have been informed that the Likaton Fascist Front have been firmly ousted from power and have subsequently disbanded."

(Intense cheering, Shih Kao is heard to shout over it "Good riddance to bad fascists!")

"Yes yes it is a great achievement indeed. As I said the party will continue to fight but under the name of the Axis Mundi Zen Collective (pause) I however, shall not be leading it"

(The audience appears shocked)

''"I led this party to this best of my ability and I tried to serve the people on Keymon but this is a new dawn and I am a 71 year old man, I must hand over power to a new leader so as to propel this party and this nation into the future. Elizabeth Kerouac will continue as Provisional Party Chairman until a new leader is elected, until then I leave you with these words and they will be my final words in the realm of Keymon politics as tomorrow I retire to the temples of Keymon: 'People come and people go, but as long as you can feel within your body your heart beating with the desire for change, as long as you can see a better future, as long as there is just one man left in one village willing to stand up and say No! No I will not be beaten down! I will not take this lying down! and as long as there is one man willing to look a policeman in the eye and instead of hitting him, hand him flower and as long as there is one man who still believes we can change the world, then freedom my children, freedom will never die! Goodbye!"''

(Grand Master Shih Kao exists to thunderous applause)

The Return To Prominence
Following his release, Shih Kao immediately resigned from the position of Grand Master and in the May 2270 Party Conference Suzanna Kukai was elected to the position. Immediately Kukai faced a situation whereby the shadow cabinet had been cut of many members and so her first move was to organise a mass shake up.

In May 2273 the AMZC fought its first election since being legalised and it was a great success. The party was able to jump into second place with 20 seats and hold mass sway in the Assembly. It was given five cabinet posts in a coalition government with the Progressive Capitalists and Keymon Social Democrats however by May 2277 both these parties had collapsed following assassinations and the AMZC proposed a new Provisional Power Sharing Agreement with their old enemies the Christian Democrats. This included Suzanna Kukai taking the role of Director General, a first for an openly leftist party in Keymon and also the first for an Axis Mundi Party. The party could now claim to be the most dominant in the nation, despite the Assembly only having 67 out of its 120 seats filled, as it was the largest party as well as controlling the roles of Director General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence and Minister of Justice.

Around this time the situation of the parliamentary wings of the affiliated organisations of the AMZC (the factions) was dramatically reshaped as the 12th August Movement, under the leadership of Petr Asek regrouped and subsequently took control of the Socialist Solidarity Movement, the Radical Literary Circle of Keymon and the Anarcho-Democratic Foundation. In response to this the Revolutionary Committee of Natural Law and Dharma Autonomy International-Keymon Branch merged to form Religious Freedom. As such the party was now home to only three factions with voting power as follows:


 * 12 August Movement for International Rejectionism (8)
 * Religious Freedom (7)
 * Independent Workers of Keymon/Solidarity Amongst Farmers (2)

In addition to this non-affiliated members of the AMZC were still given a voting bloc of 3.

Shadow Cabinet History of the Zen Collective
N.B. Shown in brackets is the affiliated organisation to which the individual belongs to, N/A indicated a neutral party member - Grand Master - Foreign Affairs Spokesperson - Internal Affairs Spokesperson - Finance Spokesperson - Defence Spokesperson - Justice Spokesperson - Infrastructure and Transport Spokesperson - Health and Social Services Spokesperson - Education and Culture Spokesperson - Science and Technology Spokesperson - Food and Agriculture Spokesperson - Environment and Tourism Spokesperson - Trade and Industry Spokesperson -
 * Shih Kao, November 2257 - May 2270 (N/A)
 * Provisional Party Chairman: Elizabeth Kerouac - November 2260 - October 2269
 * Suzanna Kukai, May 2270 - Today (IWK/SAF)
 * Serge Yamagata, November 2257 - November 2257 (SSM)
 * Maha Ghosananda, November 2257 - April 2261 (RCNL)
 * Gregory Peterson, April 2261 - May 2270 (UTUCK)
 * Run by the Grand Master, May 2270 - April 2272
 * Kelzang Choklang, April 2272 - Today (RCNL)
 * Elizabeth Kerouac, November 2257 - May 2270 (SSM)
 * Run by the Grand Master, May 2270 - April 2272
 * Alexander Petroleum, April 2272 - Today (N/A)
 * Igor Sologub, November 2257 - Today (SSM)
 * Dámó, November 2257 - May 2270 (N/A)
 * Run by the Grand Master, May 2270 - April 2272
 * Teitaro, April 2272 - Today (RCNL)
 * François Moustaki, November 2257 - April 2261 (SSM)
 * Loetla Nabhalai, April 2261 - Today (DAI-KB)
 * Zhi Loujiachan, November 2257 - Today (RCNL)
 * Kelzang Choklang, November 2257 - April 2272 (RCNL)
 * Tarthang Wangyal, April 2271 - Today (IWK/SAF)
 * Petr Asek, November 2257 - Today (RLCK)
 * Samuel Mersault, November 2257 - Today (IWK/SAF)
 * Gevorg Adamov, November 2257 - May 2270 (SSM)
 * Run by the Grand Master, May 2270 - April 2272
 * Michael Kydd, April 2272 - Today (SSM)
 * Ramji Ambedkar, November 2257 - April 2261 (RCNL)
 * Pierre Hunt, April 2261 - Today (DAI-KB)
 * Dipankara Copani, November 2257 - Today (IWK/SAF)

Cabinet History
Director General - Minister of Foreign Affairs - Minister of Internal Affairs - Minister of Finance - Minister of Defence - Minister of Justice - Minister of Infrastructure and Transport - Minister of Health and Social Services - Minister of Education and Culture - Minister of Science and Technology - Minister of Environment and Tourism - Minister of Trade and Industry -
 * Suzanna Kukai, May 2277
 * Kelzang Choklang, December 2273 -
 * Teitaro, May 2277
 * Loetla Nabhalai, December 2273 -
 * Tarthang Wangyal, May 2277 -
 * Petr Asek, December 2273 -
 * Samuel Mersault, December 2273 -
 * Pierre Hunt, December 2273

Party Conferences
These are held in November each year.

International Organisations
The Zen Collective participates in the following:


 * Socialist International (Full)
 * Anti-Fascist Front (Full)
 * Keymon Society (Full)
 * Synodus Axis Mundi (Leadership)
 * Hobrazia-Keymon-Likatonia United Left Front (Leadership)
 * Makon Progressive Coalition (Full)