Secretary of State Curtis Fondaden is at the pin point of a fresh controversy for the Bishop administration, though this time, the controversy stems back nearly 30 years. The details of newly de-classified documents show that Zamastanian special forces involved in the backing of the [nation]Libertas Omnium Maximus[/nation] government during the 1991 Bjeorg Revolution possibly committed a series of atrocities, including the illegal detainment of civilians and torture methods against captured enemy combatants. Digging deeper into the controversy, Secretary Fondaden, at the time a twenty year old sergeant, is mentioned on page 32, sec. 12S, as having commanded a squad that participated in the killings of six captured enemy combatants.
The declassified documents come after months of back and forths in the Congressional Hall over the release of several thousand classified materials containing sensitive topics in relation to Zamastanian special forces operations and Z.I.S. operations approved during the Cassious Castovia administration. President Zacharias Castovia, the former's son and successor, approved the release of 56 documents in January, 2019, before his resignation. Those documents highlighted domestic operations against the Free Pahlan Insurgency, which was an armed resistance movement aiming to secede a sliver of coastline from the Zamastanian government. That group provided illegally smuggled weapons and bomb making materials to the rebel forces operating in LOM during the 1991 uprising. Upon President Anya Bishop's inauguration, she released an additional 4 documents, one of which narrated President Cassious Castovia's approval to authorize the use of force and covert air-raids, some of which were recorded to have resulted in civilian deaths under current war crimes laws. The civilian deaths recorded in the documents state that those killed never exceeded 60 individuals, though the number is still significant in relation to the amount of special forces killed over the course of the conflict.
Fondaden will no doubt face a congressional subpeona fight, as liberal and conservatives alike will be interested in finding out more about the covert use of special forces and the release of even more classified materials. Speaker Sakzi said as much during a campaign rally in Abagene on Wednesday morning: "I know the Zamastanian people want to learn from the past, and how can we create reparations for our standing in the IDU if we don't know the extent of our misdeeds? President Bishop should declassify the remaining 15,092 documents and allow for a congressional subpeona without needing us to go through the voting process. Otherwise, she is complicit in hiding something."
Secretary Fondaden has served since 2016 under President Zacharias Castovia. As secretary, he most notably oversaw and advised Castovia on military operations in Danaska during the Gladysynthia Crisis. He has also overseen special operations and commands against terror organizations in Vulkaria.
Before serving as the Secretary of Defense, he was a member of the Zamastanian Armed Forces, serving in the infantry during the First War in Vulkaria, deployed in the later stage of the war in 1988. He saw action in several operations which awarded him numerous awards from the military. The documents provided in the declassified materials show his involvement in the Bjeorg Campaign. He progressed through the ranks and was back in combat as a general in the Second War in Vulkaria. He eventually was promoted by President Cassious Castovia to that of three-star general. He oversaw the rest of combat operations and the removal of Zamastanian troops as the war concluded in 2005. He continued to serve in his military position before accepting Zacharias Castovia's nomination. He has also continued under the current Bishop administration.