Unified West Africa
22-06-2004, 21:04
West Africa, 2015
Five years previous, dark days had befell the nations western, subsaharan Africa. Guinea was once again locked into war with Liberia, not over legitimate national grievances, but a brutal struggle for territory waged by cowardly guerilla warlords and their proxy armies. Sierra Leone, despite the defeat of the RUF only a few years back, was set again to collapse into anarchy when rebellion fizzled only days after UN peacekeepers left the country.
The United Nation's patience with the region long since exhausted and Nigeria in no shape to mediate anything with the troubles in their own borders, the conflict quickly spiraled out of control. The conflict became an all out bush war, with governments often at times only controlling the territory around their capital cities and international boundaries reduced to meaningless lines on a map. For awhile it seemed as though the three-way conflict had gained too much momentum to stop.
But discontent with the corrupt establishment was brewing. Army commanders were fed up with their governments, who sent their soldiers with little equipment and less training to fight wars to fill their pockets. The cities bristled with anger, entire populations whose younger generations had known nothing but violence and war lashing out in full-scale riots against the percieved bringers of their misfortune. Even many of the warlords and their tribal armies were coming to realize that the pillaging and death would only bring about the demise of themselves and their men in due time, and some began to make contact with progressive rebel forces in the cities and the military.
Eventually this loose coalition of malcontents got its act together and aquired a name; the Pan-African Unitary Republican Movement, or PAURP. The URP theorized that the bloodshed and rampant poverty of their respective nations was the result of both corrupt, unaccountable leadership and a legacy of colonialism that had left the region with completely illogical boundaries, creating multiethnic states ill-equipped to foster multi-ethnic democracy. In 2010, the rebels made their move.
Because the movement was so widespread and support for the three nation's elite at an all time low, the rebellion lasted a grand total of 3 weeks. That was all it took to seize the capitals, beat off the government-backed militias and force the non-participating army units to switch sides or surrender.
The new government was composed of a council of about 50 leaders picked by the revolutionary forces representing every major ethnic group in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (and Guinea Buissea, which joined the federation out of desperation). The plan they laid out was an ambitious one to say the least; unify three countries into one state which had been at war for as long as anybody could remember. But perhaps it would be easier than a sceptical world community imagined.
The government resolved to correct the mistakes made by the colonialists by completely erasing the boundaries created by the imperial powers and writing their own. These would form the new states of the new republic, and were drawn roughly according to the distribution of the main ethnicities and tribes. This didn't pose a problem in and of itself, as West African nationalism even then was virtually nonexistant; in fact, many welcomed it with open arms. Tribal groups that had been cut in half by intenrational borders were unified, and once oppressed national minorities found themselves with a state of their own and, possibly, a level political playing field. Former national capitals were made states of their own.
A federal system was chosen as the new form of government. Each semi-autonomous tribal state elected its own leadership through a process of their own choosing. Some held democratic elections for a legislative body, others chose to appoint respected community leaders. But each had a say in its own local affairs, and that counted for alot. The national government on the other hand, was structured with a bicameral legislature. One house was elected through a combination of direct first-past-the-poll voting and proportional representation, with representatives from each state based on their proportion to the total population. Another was appointed by the state governments and contained an equal amount of legislators for each state, three. A Prime Minister with control of the new, nonpolitical army and foreign relations would be agreed upon by the ruling party coalition, though one individual could serve only two three-year terms.
It took some time to get a system this complicated together, namely a good five years. But it appears to have paid off. The first parliamentary elections have been held, with the new Social Democratic Party and the African Socialist Party forming a coalition government with a 58% majority. Political violence and voter fraud did occur, but sparsely and sporadically enough that the electin's integrity was not called into question.
Gerald Dubou, a Liberian and former PAURP leader was selected and inaurgurated as prime minister today. He has asked world leaders to grant diplomatic recognition to the new government, and also had this to say:
"While we have come a long way from the dark days of the early part of this century, there is much more progress that can and must be done. Standards of living are rising, but slowly. Much has been done to curtail violent crime and disarm dangerous elements in our society, but easily preventable diseases are still causing far more death than we should. The Social Democratic Coalition, as stated in our campaign platform, will do everything in our power to develop the nation's economy and its badly dilapidated infrastructure, but in order to do it fast, we need to seek the aid of the international community.
"It is my hope that this television broadcast is being watched by national leaders who will listen to our requests for assistance.
"First and foremost, Unified West Africa seeks diplomatic recognition, and the establishment of embassies to enhance trade and international relations.
"Secondly, UWA seeks assistance from foreign governments and contractors in repairing and building up our transportation infrastructure. Our roads our in a woefully poor state, and our railroads even worse. Grain is sometimes left rotting in warehouses because it can't make it to its destination. We produce enough to feed ourselves yet we find millions of our people are going hungry simply because the roads are too wet, and this is simply unacceptable.
"Thirdly, in the interest of defense from external and internal threats, the UWA seeks to create a new National Army, a nonpolitical, patriotic and professional military force. Our men have the dedication and revolutionary zeal to get the job done, but they lack the training, discipline, and modern weapons and vehicles needed to create an effective fighting force. Our goal is to eventually field a well-trained, rapid mobilization force of 60,000 men. This is also an area in which international assistance could be very useful.
"Fourthly, UWA seeks increased trading relations with the outside world to help our economy grow. We wish to find new overseas purchasers for our abundant natural resources, including timber, diamonds, and gold. We would also look into forming alliances or pacts should they be proposed by any nation-state with an interest in seeing the continuation of peace and stability in West Africa."
(OOC: In short, a future version of West Africa where Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have joined up and are just beginning to get their shit together. Have fun.)
Five years previous, dark days had befell the nations western, subsaharan Africa. Guinea was once again locked into war with Liberia, not over legitimate national grievances, but a brutal struggle for territory waged by cowardly guerilla warlords and their proxy armies. Sierra Leone, despite the defeat of the RUF only a few years back, was set again to collapse into anarchy when rebellion fizzled only days after UN peacekeepers left the country.
The United Nation's patience with the region long since exhausted and Nigeria in no shape to mediate anything with the troubles in their own borders, the conflict quickly spiraled out of control. The conflict became an all out bush war, with governments often at times only controlling the territory around their capital cities and international boundaries reduced to meaningless lines on a map. For awhile it seemed as though the three-way conflict had gained too much momentum to stop.
But discontent with the corrupt establishment was brewing. Army commanders were fed up with their governments, who sent their soldiers with little equipment and less training to fight wars to fill their pockets. The cities bristled with anger, entire populations whose younger generations had known nothing but violence and war lashing out in full-scale riots against the percieved bringers of their misfortune. Even many of the warlords and their tribal armies were coming to realize that the pillaging and death would only bring about the demise of themselves and their men in due time, and some began to make contact with progressive rebel forces in the cities and the military.
Eventually this loose coalition of malcontents got its act together and aquired a name; the Pan-African Unitary Republican Movement, or PAURP. The URP theorized that the bloodshed and rampant poverty of their respective nations was the result of both corrupt, unaccountable leadership and a legacy of colonialism that had left the region with completely illogical boundaries, creating multiethnic states ill-equipped to foster multi-ethnic democracy. In 2010, the rebels made their move.
Because the movement was so widespread and support for the three nation's elite at an all time low, the rebellion lasted a grand total of 3 weeks. That was all it took to seize the capitals, beat off the government-backed militias and force the non-participating army units to switch sides or surrender.
The new government was composed of a council of about 50 leaders picked by the revolutionary forces representing every major ethnic group in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (and Guinea Buissea, which joined the federation out of desperation). The plan they laid out was an ambitious one to say the least; unify three countries into one state which had been at war for as long as anybody could remember. But perhaps it would be easier than a sceptical world community imagined.
The government resolved to correct the mistakes made by the colonialists by completely erasing the boundaries created by the imperial powers and writing their own. These would form the new states of the new republic, and were drawn roughly according to the distribution of the main ethnicities and tribes. This didn't pose a problem in and of itself, as West African nationalism even then was virtually nonexistant; in fact, many welcomed it with open arms. Tribal groups that had been cut in half by intenrational borders were unified, and once oppressed national minorities found themselves with a state of their own and, possibly, a level political playing field. Former national capitals were made states of their own.
A federal system was chosen as the new form of government. Each semi-autonomous tribal state elected its own leadership through a process of their own choosing. Some held democratic elections for a legislative body, others chose to appoint respected community leaders. But each had a say in its own local affairs, and that counted for alot. The national government on the other hand, was structured with a bicameral legislature. One house was elected through a combination of direct first-past-the-poll voting and proportional representation, with representatives from each state based on their proportion to the total population. Another was appointed by the state governments and contained an equal amount of legislators for each state, three. A Prime Minister with control of the new, nonpolitical army and foreign relations would be agreed upon by the ruling party coalition, though one individual could serve only two three-year terms.
It took some time to get a system this complicated together, namely a good five years. But it appears to have paid off. The first parliamentary elections have been held, with the new Social Democratic Party and the African Socialist Party forming a coalition government with a 58% majority. Political violence and voter fraud did occur, but sparsely and sporadically enough that the electin's integrity was not called into question.
Gerald Dubou, a Liberian and former PAURP leader was selected and inaurgurated as prime minister today. He has asked world leaders to grant diplomatic recognition to the new government, and also had this to say:
"While we have come a long way from the dark days of the early part of this century, there is much more progress that can and must be done. Standards of living are rising, but slowly. Much has been done to curtail violent crime and disarm dangerous elements in our society, but easily preventable diseases are still causing far more death than we should. The Social Democratic Coalition, as stated in our campaign platform, will do everything in our power to develop the nation's economy and its badly dilapidated infrastructure, but in order to do it fast, we need to seek the aid of the international community.
"It is my hope that this television broadcast is being watched by national leaders who will listen to our requests for assistance.
"First and foremost, Unified West Africa seeks diplomatic recognition, and the establishment of embassies to enhance trade and international relations.
"Secondly, UWA seeks assistance from foreign governments and contractors in repairing and building up our transportation infrastructure. Our roads our in a woefully poor state, and our railroads even worse. Grain is sometimes left rotting in warehouses because it can't make it to its destination. We produce enough to feed ourselves yet we find millions of our people are going hungry simply because the roads are too wet, and this is simply unacceptable.
"Thirdly, in the interest of defense from external and internal threats, the UWA seeks to create a new National Army, a nonpolitical, patriotic and professional military force. Our men have the dedication and revolutionary zeal to get the job done, but they lack the training, discipline, and modern weapons and vehicles needed to create an effective fighting force. Our goal is to eventually field a well-trained, rapid mobilization force of 60,000 men. This is also an area in which international assistance could be very useful.
"Fourthly, UWA seeks increased trading relations with the outside world to help our economy grow. We wish to find new overseas purchasers for our abundant natural resources, including timber, diamonds, and gold. We would also look into forming alliances or pacts should they be proposed by any nation-state with an interest in seeing the continuation of peace and stability in West Africa."
(OOC: In short, a future version of West Africa where Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have joined up and are just beginning to get their shit together. Have fun.)