Collapse of the Helsonian Union

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Collapse of the Helsonian Union
Kuri unrest.jpg
Riots in Kúri, August 2005
DateJuly 31 – September 8, 2005 (2005-07-31 – 2005-09-08);
18 years ago
LocationHelsonian Union
ParticipantsHelsonian Government
Parliaments of the USHR
Democratic Resistance
OutcomeFall of Kúúlism in Terminia
Dissolution of Helsonia into 6 independent republics


The collapse of the Helsonian Union occurred between 31st July and 8th September 2005. It was a result of years of civil unrest and anti-Kuulist sentiment, set in motion in 1999 by a coup which put an unpopular, authoritarian regime into power. This reversed decades of popular liberal reforms which had been implemented under the leadership of Jáán Vexut. As a result, the federal government was unable to exercise control over the nation, and was unable to prevent the secession of Amerhan in July, the occupation of West Utol by [COUNTRY] in August, and ultimately the splinter of the Kúúlist People's Party in September.

Anti-Kúúlist factions of the KPP, which had in 2000 been able to amass a majority in the Supreme Parliament (largely due to a disregard for the legislature by the authoritarian regime), revolted against the ruling statists and appointed the populist opposition figurehead Váázegy Groz to lead a provisional government overseeing a transition to capitalism and democracy. On the evening of 8th September 2005, the Helsonian flag was lowered over Kúri for the last time and replaced with the green opposition pennant.

Following the collapse, the Statists managed to cling to power in East Utol, while the newly independent republics of Terminia Minor, East Terminia, and West Terminia agreed to reinstate a federal government which would become Cerman. The 2006 invasion of Utol by Cerman effectively reduced the number of de facto Helsonian successor states from five to just two - Cerman and Amerhan - however it remains the objective of the Cermani government and several Amerhani political parties to reunite.

1999

Coup of 1796

In December 1999, the popular leadership of Jáán Vexut, which had succeeded on a platform of liberalisation since 1977, was abruptly brought to an end when members of the authoritarian wing of the KPP, supported by the military, put Vexut under house arrest and performed a purge of liberals from the Helsonian government. Despite a period of passive resistance and general strikes encouraged by Vexut, the coup was successful, and in a period of three days most important government buildings, including the Supreme Parliament, had been stormed by supporters of the coup.

The coup leaders bypassed provisions in the Helsonian constitution and stripped the legislature and the KPP of almost all of its power, returning the USHR to a de facto dictatorship as had been the case in the 1940s and 50s. A prominent old-guard Kúúlist statesman, Vrije Ghagor, declared himself leader of the KPP and made his long-time ally Jectrń Liza President of the Helsonian Union. These developments were widely denounced by regional leaders, members of the parliament, and international observers, and in response the USHR was expelled from several international organisations and suspended from United Sahar.

2000

Unrest in West Utol

Rural areas were badly affected by the strikes, and in early 2000 West Utol (which had been forcefully incorporated into the Helsonian Union following the Great Ekuosian War) began to push for independence and reintegration into [COUNTRY]. In response, Ghagor launched a full-scale military deployment in "volatile" regions, hoping to dissuade other regions from pushing for similar objectives. Various skirmishes in Utol resulted in at least 20 civilian casualties and many more injuries, and exacerbated the unpopularity of the new regime.

Again, these actions were met with international denouncement and sanctions, including cutting Helsonia off from many vital natural resource imports.

2000 Helsonian general election

Ghagor had no intention of granting the legislature any real power, but a shockingly poor showing in the election was an early and embarrassing failure for the regime. Only 36% of elected MPs expressed support for the government, and even fewer (22%) had actually supported the coup. Nevertheless, it was traditionally the case in the Helsonian parliament that all factions of the KPP would remain loyal to the party leaders, an assumption which would prove fatal for Ghogor.

Shortly after the election, Ghogor told supporters in Réét that the pseudo-democratic system put in place by his predecessors was a corruption of true Kúúlist doctrine.

Justice Square riots

In a further crackdown on political opposition, 127 prominent members of the KPP were tried and sentenced for counterrevolution, including Vexut himself who was exiled to Terminia Minor. The judiciary had been filled with supporters of the regime in order to ensure the outcome was set.

These sentencings led to a mass protest outside the Supreme Court in Kúri, which continued for three days in June, until armed police forcibly dispersed the protest in a state-sanctioned display of police brutality. The demonstrations started on the morning of the 3rd November 2000, with 300 to 400 students gathered in Justice Square protesting the jail sentences and fines which were being given to politicians that had previously been popular liberal reformers. The number of protesters swelled to around 10,000 as more and more students joined the protest, which led to an emergency session of the KPP leadership. Metropolitan policemen and secret police were ordered to cordon off the area and videotape protesters.

On the second day, the situation escalated as clashes between police and protesters turned into a wide-scale confrontation. Troops and anti-riot police were deployed, but the clashes could not be brought under control until the 6th November. Official numbers published by the Ghagor's administration estimated the protest had drawn 8,000 people, while estimates by the Ekuosian Union placed the figure closer to 30,000 protesters and 300 fatalities or executions thereafter.

2001

Dissolution of Shomosvan

In March 2001, the Kúúlist Union of Shomosvan was dissolved due to widespread civil unrest and ethnic tensions between Balaks and Gushlis. Determined not to suffer the same fate, Ghagor and his supporters redoubled their efforts to keep control over the nation. The KPP leadership unanimously passed sweeping constitutional reforms which repealed many freedoms guaranteed by Helsonian law since the 80s. Freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of movement were all severely restricted by the new laws.

Although not technically made into law, the secret police were given new, comprehensive emergency powers of arrest, detention without trial, lethal force, and even torture.

Peaceful protests in rural Terminia

Only a few weeks after the laws banning political demonstrations had been put into effect, a series of peaceful protests (organised by the illegal organisation True Voice of the People) took place in several rural regions in Terminia. Originally protesting about environmental concerns and the scrapping of conservation laws, the protests soon became an outlet for anti-government and anti-Kúúlist sentiment.

This was an embarrassing act of defiance against the government, and an early testament to their weakness. Police, reluctant to use the new emergency powers vested in them, attempted to prevent the organisation of the protests but did nothing to stop them once the marches had begun. Several high-ranking members of the police force were court-martialed for their inaction, in a move the government hoped would prevent further "mutiny".

Amerhani parliament rebels

In Amerhan, members of the national legislature on the 16th June voted to remove the President of the Amerhani SHR Joghń Genejmeh who had been appointed to the position in early 2000. Technically, the parliament did not have the power to do so according to the Helsonian Constitution, but the following day, Genejmeh resigned from office after receiving multiple death threats from Amerhani seperatist groups. In a twelve hour parliamentary sitting, MPs passed a series of laws which, amongst other things, replaced the Amerhani flag with a popular seperatist tricolour, recognised two Amerhani patois as official languages of Amerhan, and changed the method of electing the president from a vote in parliament to a popular vote.

At 19:00 on the 17th June 2001, Ghagor ordered that the Amerhani parliament be dissolved and all its MPs arrested. 572 Amerhani MPs (out of 783 total) were eventually convicted of sedition and barred from retaking their seats, leaving only the pro-Ghagor MPs able to partake in parliament. The KPP refused to allow the legislative elections, not due for another 5 years, to be rescheduled.

2002

2003

2004

2005

Collapse

July

August

September

Aftermath

Refederation of Cerman

Invasion of Utol