IMTO Dissolution Scandal

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IMTO Dissolution Scandal
Date: April 11, 2012
Events
Hamlin conversation with Small
Lostisland withdraws
Dissolution of the IMTO
People
Casey Hamlin
Riley Small
John Gordon
Yaroslav Mar
Various St. Charlian Officials

The Inter-Micronational Treaty Organization Dissolution Scandal, also referred by a minority as IMTOgate was a scandal which oversaw that disestablishment of the organization. It began on April 11, 2012, when the St.Charlian Observer released an article which revealed that then-Secretary-General Casey Hamlin had planned to use a coordinated leak of information, via President of Kozuc Riley Small, to court public pressure upon then members Inspector Yaroslav Mar to vote in support of the embattled organization's dissolution.

Outraged by the allegations, Mar pulled the Republic of Lostisland out of the IMTO, giving Hamlin the votes needed to end the organization, declaring it dissolved at 3:34 pm EST. The resulting controversy saw Hamlin's poor reputation in the community further diminished, prompting him to step out of public life for the most part until the creation of the Oasis Islands. The micronational media lauded the end of the IMTO, which had been openly predicted for some time before the scandal, while at the same time criticizing Hamlin's handling of the situation as bizarre and secretive. Occurring after the dissolution of the Organisation of Active Micronations, the Grand Unified Micronational was the only remaining major organization of the MicroWiki community.

Background

On January 23, 2012, President of the Hamlinian Republic Casey Hamlin was elected Secretary-General of the IMTO after John Gordon had devastated the organization by dissolving it in an alleged Sakasarian intelligence operation. While several members left the organization, other members decided to stay and re-created the IMTO. After Hamlin's election, the organization came to a standstill, with few members and facing fierce criticism from the MicroWiki Community. According to Hamlin's Official IMTO blog, he was lying in bed at a hotel in Savannah, Georgia, United States when, "reality hit me square in the face, it’s over. We’ve hit the end of the road."[1]

On the night of April 10, 2012, Hamlin conversed with President of Kozuc Riley Small, requesting him to leak information about the IMTO's secret dissolution process with hopes that the knowledge of the imminent dissolution would point public pressure on Yaroslav Mar to support a resolution to dissolve the embattled organization. In the process, Hamlin also called the IMTO a "sick dog", saying it needed to be "put down", also saying that he was "very much so" happy to get it the dissolution process over with.[2]

Although Small was known to vandalize the IMTO's forums and antagonize the organization as a whole, Hamlin confided in Small due to regained trust, which resulted from a conversation that they, along with Gordon, had to resolve any tension caused by Small's meddling in the IMTO's affairs.

Conversation released

On April 11, 2012, the St.Charlian Observer released screenshots of the previously classified conversation, directly defying Hamlin's wishes to keep the conversation private.

Lostisland withdrawal and IMTO dissolution

Later that afternoon, Mar announced that Lostisland was withdrawing from the IMTO, saying "there is no place for the Republic of Lostisland in an organization which is lead by a person who starts a dubious venture in order to smoke us out. We are withdrawing from the IMTO and expressly disclaim any liability for this organization." [3]

At 3:34 pm Eastern Standard Time, Hamlin announced that the IMTO had been dissolved. In a statement shortly after, Hamlin wished the best to the organization's former members, denied any follow-up organization, and apologized to Mar, stating "My language in calling him 'stubborn' was not appropriate for a person who has helped the IMTO and myself so much, a person who never gave up on the IMTO and always stood by us." In all of this, Hamlin refused to apologize for the incident, stating that playing backroom politics was needed and later stating that "the end justified the means".

Response

Response to the scandal was varied amongst the micronational community. Many community members had been placing bets on when the IMTO would eventually dissolve, openly celebrating the end of the embattled organization. St.Charlie and Riley Small were lauded for their roles in exposing the scandal and, by proxy, ending the IMTO. Satirical talk of awarding medals, which are famously associated with St.Charlie, swirled on the MicroGroup Facebook page, along with other pictures and memes celebrating the organization's dissolution. Hamlin was criticized by the community for his bizarre and mismanaged handling of the dissolution, although he believed the criticism was overshadowed by the dissolution, thus softening the negative effects on himself.

Media response

Some micronational medias responded to the scandal. The St.Charlian Observer, the paper that first leaked the conversation, pondered on who exactly ended the IMTO, deciding that the failed policies and lack of mission were to blame, stating that "The collapse of the IMTO was authored by the IMTO itself."[4] The Domanglia news service addressed the scandal, stating that Hamlin's original plan was "secretive" and stated the discontent with him keeping the dissolution plans from other members.[5] The "On the Sector" blog administered by Überstadt analyzed the event, noting how the IMTO fell like most of the other United Nations style organizations of the day including the Organisation of Active Micronations.[6]

References