NationStates Jolt Archive

IC Thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=584912)


Much needed but prompted by Q's peacekeepers comment, a bit about what Bungussi-Djanvallaland is, who's there, what they're up to, and so on.

Having been French and Spanish colonies before the formation of the new, perhaps more Eurocentric, Roman Empire, the three states of the region known as Bungussi and Djanvallaland are predominantly Catholic by tradition. The region is almost the size of France, but is home to only around six million people, one million of whom are white (French and Spanish in the main, but also probably many British, some Quinntonian, and perhaps Giordanoan and others as well). All three states have apartheid administrations lead by their white minority populations but through quite distinct methods. Two major rebel groups also have differing political outlooks.

So, now to work out who, if anyone, in the world at large is backing or opposing each major faction in the region.

Factions- help wanted!

-Djanval del Norte has an estimated 150,000 whites and 450,000 blacks. It has an elite of largely Spanish extraction, and is currently facing the most determined and organised insurgency. It is a dictatorship lead by Major José Luis Torres and brutally committed to free-market policies... so long as blacks don't own property, because they can't be trusted to manage it to its maximum potential. The junta's treatment of the native population has been described even by some of its supporters abroad as needlessly cruel. The capital is at Djatini (Bata) and current reports are conflicting on whether this is in rebel hands, though certainly DANLA fighters are present in and around the city of 70,000 souls, which may essentially be both out of control and under siege... the government has retreated to Malabo. Corresponds territorially to Equatorial Guinea. GDP per capita for whites is in line with major Western European nations.

-Djanvalla African National Liberation Army (DANLA) and Djanvalla African National Union (DANU), are based primarily in DdN with recently increasing activities in SD as well. Lead by Derek Igomo and Colin Olongwe and currently riding a wave of military success against Torres, who appears to have underestimated their strength. Clearly somebody is backing DANLA with arms and training. Is it you? DANU advocates the unification of Djanvallaland under a majority government, and though sometimes left-leaning in its political propaganda is generally considered to be committed only to the ideology of apartheid's overthrow and has to this point said little about what it would do with the economy. DANLA has been accused of killing civilians in indiscriminate bomb attacks in both DdN and SD and of taking hostages, but allegations of the use of child soldiers have so far been more difficult to confirm, and DANU supporters call this false propaganda.

-Sud Djanval has perhaps as many as 600,000 whites and some 1,000,000 blacks. Traditionally French-lead, it has attracted the most white immigrants of any amongst the three nations, making this the region in which the ratio of blacks-to-whites is narrowest. Its government is lead by the elderly national-hero Lumboldt Kircher, who is elected by the white population, and has proved to be essentially beyond challenge due to his ingrained popularity as the man who lead the unilateral declaration of independence from France following its accession to the new Roman Empire. Due to its large gendarmerie and relatively advanced infrastructure it has proved harder for DANLA to operate in SD, but DANU's popularity is said to be exploding as SD's black population -while perhaps less directly brutalised than in DdN- is acutely aware of its deliberate exclusion from a booming economy that has made over 12,000 whites into millionaires and is yet to do likewise for even one black person. Almost certainly by some distance the richest nation in Africa, Sud Djanval's white minority enjoys a per capita GDP greater than that of Quinntonia, while for the native populace the figure is below that of Dra-pol. The capital is at Kircherstadt (Libreville). Corresponds to the coastal divisions of Gabon and the Republic of the Congo.

-Bungussi is home to roughly 200,000 whites and 3,600,000 blacks. Predominantly French in colonial terms, it has attracted enterprising businessmen in recent times due to its considerable natural resources. It has been the most peaceful nation of the three, and its government is the most unusual. Its capital is at Makenbury (Brazzaville). Though this is the least wealthy of the three states, the white population still enjoys domination of what would be classed as a high-income economy dominated by logging, limited oil and gas extraction, mining of gold, copper, zinc, and uranium, and small areas dedicated to livestock raising and the growing of sugar, coffee, and other cash crops, while black citizens unable to find employment in anything but menial labour are condemned to subsistence lifestyles and poaching, smuggling, and so forth. President Tanneguy Letourneur is elected by the white population, while at Franceville a Black Advisory Administration sits with Mini Sinkala at its head, elected by the black population. The 'BAA', it goes without saying, is ridiculed as a 'government of sheep' guided by Makenbury's crook, and turnout at 'black elections' has plummeted to 26%, a fact used by the establishment to 'prove' that the natives can not rule themselves and have no interest in affairs of government, which are 'taxing to the simple constitution of the black man' as Letourneur has put it. The BAA may be necessary simply because Makenbury lacks the (white) manpower to control its vast territory, and so many black citizens live much of their lives without seeing white people. Bungussi makes up the vast hinterland beyond the Djanval strip.

-Bungussi African People's Union (BAPU) and Bungussi Revolutionary People's Army (BIRPA) are based in Bungussi, which has been the most peaceful nation of the three, perhaps due to the moderating influence of the ineffectual BAA's elections and an attendent political disenchantment. However, in recent years BAPU, lead by an exciting young man named Abel Sara, has taken to defying official bans from Makenbury to attend political events and campaign for 'protest votes' in the BAA elections. In the last national black vote 'Sara' write-ins narrowly surpassed Sinkala's total votes but were counted as spoiled ballots due to the illegality of BAPU, thanks to its association with BIRPA, which is listed by Makenbury as a terrorist organisation and is lead by one George Tanko. BAPU is overtly Igovian-Communist in its propaganda, and aims at not simply the end of apartheid but also the institution in Bungussi of a Socialist state. Some of its fighters -Tanko included- have trained with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, but a desperate lack of funding, arms and equipment limit the activities of the militants, who are known to patrol some of their rainforest camps armed with spears and crossbows. It is probably only the shortage of manpower (and hard-pressed nature of white allies in the Djanval) that prevent Makenbury from launching a major offensive at this time.

DANLA and DANU certainly sound like the sort of organisations the People's Republic of Spyr would support... left-leaning resistance against Franco-Spanish colonialism fits snugly into the Popular Front its tried to push onto the world's leftist organisations, and Spyr has money to burn (or at least weapons and training). Given Cold War divisions, they're also best placed to try and pull Britain-Quinntonia-Germany on side.

Of course, there would likely be significant friction between DANLA/DANU and Spyr over certain issues... Spyr's 'Popular Front' paints a picture of global progress as occuring in stages. In stage one, the leftist world unites with the West against the feudalists of Rome and Kiev. Once they've been beaten that set of foes, THEN comes time to resolve any conflicts with London or Washington. If Igomo is anything like his old-AMW self, he may be irked when Spyr asks him to edit 'Africa for the Africans' into 'French Africa for the Africans and dont worry about British Sudan'.

Sensing that the government is likely to collapse and knowing what its like to be subjugated, the Baltic Federation may be willing to supply arms (that have just been phased out) to DANLA in the hope that they will become a democracy when they gain power. They will also be another country to trade with.

What resources does the country have and which of these are in rebel hands?

Djanvalla del Norte has 1.1 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, 36.8 billion cubic metres of proven natural gas, plus timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, and clay.

Sud Djanval has 3.6 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, 118.9 billion cubic metres of proven natural gas, and timber.

Bungussi has uranium, iron ore, niobium, manganese, zinc, lead, potash, phosphates, diamonds, gold, and timber.

BANU/BIRPA have de facto control over some of Bungussi's resources, but limited means for their exploitation, and minor rebel/warlord/criminal elements also control bits and pieces. DANU/DANLA have just (in IC time basically today) unilaterally proclaimed themselves masters of mainland Djanvalla del Norte, but the petrochemicals are off-shore, and as such controled by the patrol boats of government that is regrouping on the islands.

Are unarmed trade ships able to get to Djanvalla del Norte or would the government patrol boats stop them. They officially contain "relief aid". ;)

The equipment is recently phased out with little chance of resale, the Baltic Federation won't be too bothered if you are unable to pay us back, the main idea here is to create a good relationship with DANU (although we cannot officially recognize state for diplomatic reasons).

Is it worth setting up a RP thread for this?

That is the general idea, yes :)

As to the relief aid, if it comes from a source that hasn't previously expressed hostility towards Djatini or sympathy for DANLA or even DANU and is a properly schedueled arrival, there shouldn't be a problem with it entering DdN's waters, but the situation on the mainland would almost certainly mean that the government would demand the ships dock at one of the islands, which, despite unrest, are quite firmly under government control, which I suppose in itself could cause some controversy if the mission is supposed to be humanitarian and the government won't allow it to reach the embattled mainland.

Edit: Here we go... (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=584912)

I'm interested in getting in on this too. Eric Bundu is all for black control of Africa, so a few shipments of small arms might be able to be smuggled down to your rebel groups through the jungles and smuggler's boat's holds. Do DANLA/DANU/BANU/BIRPA have any conflicts with each other? TBH the USAR would look more favorably on BANU/BIRPA than the other two, but they would support all four if given the chance.

Just re-read my opening post, which really I ought to have done before I confirmed it, and noticed that I made a typo -BANU, when it ought to have been BAPU- which since then I've taken to copying time and again.

We'll chalk that one up to misreporting in the international media, which knows relatively little about BAPU/BIRPA compared with the more high-profile DANU/DANLA.

So far BAPU and DANU have had relatively little contact, largely because DANU is busy and BAPU is very young and only just taking off, and so far nobody has taken it seriously. I suppose even mentioning it is almost undue OOC attention given how little it has done so far. Ah well. It will start doing things in that new thread I linked in my prior post.

OOC: hey! you're back, where ya been?

Well there you go, Djan. The USAR's mission in Bungussi-Djanvallaland is to strengthen BAPU and its Communist teachings and to connect their leaders with DANU, uniting the resistance groups for the overthrow of the whites. With Republican leadership, of course.

A couple of questions/comments/ramblings relating to possible PRS support for DANU/DANLA.

- If the PRS has been providing support, they would probably be able to deliver small arms in quantity, along with anti-tank rockets and man-portable SAMs. Lighter artillery pieces would also be viable.. man-portable mortars, rocket systems along the lines of Indonesia's NDL-40, and the like. Can't see how we'd manage to deliver tanks or aircraft, but those are probably not much in demand anyhow.
- Training might be somewhat more valuable... Spyr's military fought its own revolutionary war in the 1940s, and has prepared since for a more conventional conflict against Kiev, so they've their share of lessons to convey (though DANLA at this point likely has its own grasp of how best to conduct war based on local circumstances). Camps could certainly have been set up in Spyr for training of some DANLA soldiers, who might return to train others back home (with or without being accompanied by Spyran military advisors, depending on the needs/views of the movement). Non-military training... medical, technical, or provision of university degrees for example... would also be available, to create a body of DANU experts/officials for post-conflict administration. Assuming, of course, DANU/DANLA saw a need for such experts... a trained infantryman may well have been more valuable than an economist if victory had seemed a long way off before this most recent set of successes.
- If DANU had been openly associated with Spyr, they'd likely have been invited to join the International Union of Progressive Parties (Progintern (http://z7.invisionfree.com/A_Modern_World/index.php?showtopic=12&view=findpost&p=17152798)).
- Spyr has a tradition of 'barefoot doctors', medics who travel rural areas providing health care. I'd imagined some of these being sent around the globe as a form of aid, in a similar vein to RL Cuba... if DANU/DANLA are receiving Spyran aid, medics would likely be sent in, and may be present even if DANU's backing comes from a source other than Spyr. I can see such medics being needed amongst the black populations in all three Djanval-Bungussi states, though given Spyran politics the apartheid governments of those states would probably have tried to keep them out (?).

The Republic of Ceylon would definitely want to support DANU/DANLA and to a lesser extent BAPU/BIRPA, though, Ceylon being Ceylon, any assistance provided would necessarily be limited, and closely tied to Spyrian efforts. Still, I'd imagine that it would be within the Republic's capabilities to provide arms and equipment on occasion, and for the Ceylonese intelligence services to maintain a few liaisons on the ground with rebel forces. Relevant intelligence would also be passed-on to the various rebel forces, and Ceylon might also try and set up some kind of signals intercept station somewhere nearby.

This is probably beyond the scope of Ceylon's relevant concerns, given the distance involved and the Republic's status as a nation of only moderate significance on the world stage, but Ceylon's leadership does like to see itself as participating in the fight against feudalism and oppressive government worldwide.

Ceylon's intelligence services would probably be keen to begin some kind of espionage operation in Bungussi and Djanvallaland proper. Would this be reasonable or possible?

I suppose it all just depends how people proceed.

All three states are keen to be accepted by the major powers and want to see themselves -and be seen- as a new kind of African, a sort of European-African that is a distinct and respected identity obliterating the old Africa that mostly exists only in their own racist propaganda and replacing it a white Africa that is another Quinntonia, one might say. European, but not.

Those who don't overtly challenge this view will be accepted as diplomatic and trade partners and gain significant access to the nation. Others will be regarded with real spite and hostility, because the million whites, outnumbered five to one in their own triumvirate of nations by the black man of whom they've made themselves terrified, share a collective insecurity at odds with their ideas of superiority, and anything touching that nerve is likely to cause an over-reaction.

As the white population is concentrated on the coastal (and island) regions of the Djanval, and infrastructure there is almost comparable to any in Europe, there are major challenges to contact with and supply of rebel groups through the major ports and airports. However, Bungussi is an area of several hundred thousand square kilometres in which only a couple of hundred thousand whites live. The borders are pathetically policed, and the scope for forest clearings to be turned into roughfield airstrips without Makenbury even noticing is not insignificant. Makenbury also suffers from being far the least wealthy of the three minority governments, so radar coverage over the nation is spotty at best. Similarly, borders between Bungussi and the Djanval are -while better controlled than Bungussi's other frontiers- less concrete than those between the Djanval and unrelated African states.

In a way, BAPU and BIRPA might come to prominence as agents in the supply of aid to the more high-profile DANU/DANLA front. Spyrians et cetera may find Abel Sara's lot a good deal more interested in how to create a Socialist state, while Igomo's mob are fixated on kicking arse. Of course whether they take Sara's thus-far relatively timid movement half as seriously as Papa Africa's bombastic stormtrooper set-up is another matter.

OOC: hey! you're back, where ya been?

Ah, didn't see you there. Yeah, sorry, I moved, and kinda lost track of NS in the process. Now I'm just sticking to AMW, because it's a little slower paced, and I don't feel like I have to check the forums every couple of hours, or I'd get back into the whole colonial war thing. Ah well, maybe some day.