Totalitarian State of Oceania Seized by Revolutionaries, Claiming to Found "The New Oceania"
By Clarisse Huxley
April 30, 2016
The blast of fireworks and cries of celebration filled the air in Oceania last night as thousands filled the streets at the declaration by armed rebels that Oceania's previous totalitarian reign had finally ended.
Oceania, a European, isolationist superpower which took power during the 1950s has long been the target of criticism due to its authoritarian structure, utter lack of civil liberties and wars of attrition with other countries. Comparable to nations such as North Korea, Oceania has attempted to brainwash its citizens into a state of unquestioning obedience, impoverished fear, and love of the mysterious dictator "Big Brother" and the party beyond anything else. Many world leaders have taken Oceania's consistent human rights violations to the World Assembly, but due to not desiring a war with the aggressive military powerhouse, little has been done to change Oceania by the international community.
Within Oceania's borders, however, much has been going on. While the concept of a mysterious "brotherhood" within Oceania has long been the topic of many fictional works, an internal revolution was regarded as impossible due to the state's strict psychological hold on its populace, it appears liberty has finally been achieved. While news has supposedly been censored by the Oceanian government from reaching the outside world, a civil war has been being waged for months. Stories of revolt have inspired a real-life Brotherhood to form, meeting in impoverished areas where government surveillance was less concentrated. Freedom fighters and arsonists have demolished important Party buildings, assassinated key Inner Party members, blown up railways bringing goods to the capitol and employing many other revolutionary tactics.
Despite the government responding to these issues through unceasing propaganda, stricter laws and expanded surveillance, political dissidents' numbers only increased. Shipments of weapons between other countries were hijacked by revolutionary sympathizers and smuggled into Oceania for use by the Brotherhood. Secret councils met in abandoned warehouses and plotted attacks. On April 17th, a "glorious overthrow" was initiated by an unknown number of Brotherhood members. The Ministry of Peace, responsible for managing foreign policy, military budgeting and weapons production was infiltrated in the night and destroyed with its own experimental weapons. The Ministry of Plenty, responsible for distributing essential goods to the populace and rumored to be restricting their flow, was seized less than an hour later and sacked for its bounty. Citizens reported people standing on the rooftops giving speeches about prosperity to come as gold coins were thrown into the streets. The Ministry of Love, the base of operations of the Thought Police, was raided. After a long and bloody struggle, the building was raided, the police slaughtered and communications methods destroyed. Lastly, the Ministry of Truth, managing propaganda and news, was invaded, scoured for documents revealing the location of the true Political Command Centre, and burned to the ground. The PCC was quickly located, invaded and taken over by Brotherhood members.
Reports detail the last two weeks being days of dire chaos. Tanks rolled through the streets as the Party's military fought with tooth and nail to reclaim its surviving facilities. Brotherhood warriors fought back, oftentimes fighting with actual hammers and sickles to symbolize the triumph of the people. When it didn't work, they turned to automatic weapons and experimental explosives. Despite Oceania's government being founded on principles of English Socialism (affectionately called INGSOC), the struggling officials outlawed all socialist symbols. With no police force to carry this legislation out, the laws were without meaning. The attacks on the Political Command Centre became less and less frequent, and have not occurred once in the past four days. The Brotherhood believes that Oceania's government has backed down, and the revolutionaries have shredded the original constitution, had it sent to a private paper manufacturer, reassembled the shreds into a new document, and written a new constitution on that paper. One rebel present at the creation of the new constitution said the act was "all about the symbolism."
Last night, the leader of the brotherhood, known as Commander Red, declared the establishment of the world's youngest nation: "The New Oceania."
While our network has not been given permission to report Commander Red's exact words, we were allowed to report an overview of his responses to our interview questions. Commander Red claims that The New Oceania will be a country free of tyranny, surveillance and civil rights restrictions. All basic human rights are respected, with the exception of free speech, which The New Oceanian government deems should not cover advocating the return of the previous government. People known to be former Inner Party members can be beaten to death in the streets and the perpetrators will, according to Commander Red, not face charges. The new national animal is the Blood Wolf, a fictional animal to represent the new nation's relentlessness in hunting down their oppressors, their belief in aiding the entire pack, and aggressive ferocity towards those who would attempt to conquer them. Commander Red expresses concern that while the country is rebuilding itself, that other nations would attempt to invade. He harbors a distrust of other nations for not helping to destroy the previous government, and makes it clear he will not be showing a pleasant face at any negotiations. He warns that the military is being assembled quickly and any acts of war will not be tolerated.
New legislation and organizations have been being founded, and a new equivalent of the Ministry of Plenty will be distributing the golden coins found in the ministry as the new currency. Fangs, the base currency, and teeth, each one worth a tenth of a fang, will serve as the official currency, although their worth relative to other currencies is unknown due to the country only just beginning to open up trade with select nations. The Minister of Currency claims that the country may change its currency to the Euro depending on relations to nearby countries. As it stands, emigration is legal but entrance into the country is not, with the exception of ambassadors of other nations on official business.
The international community is conflicted on the emergence of the newborn nation. Some see it as a people's uprising and the beginning of a new communist utopia. Others believe Commander Red will attempt to expand his powers to dictatorial levels and become more aggressive until he begins promoting war. Even now he speaks of his desire to liberate other countries living under totalitarianism, though he neglected to mention any specific nations. Many world leaders are advising that the revolutionaries are not to be trusted, and that they are either overzealous and don't have a true understanding of politics, or that their history may be made up so that Oceania can quickly import more goods and then revert to its original form with greater war potential.
So far, the only decision Commander Red has made in regards to foreign policy is the legalization of emigration and the ceasing of all wars with several Eurasian and Eastasian countries Oceania had been fighting with. Commander Red claims that these wars only served to absorb the excess wealth which should have gone to the people, and that The New Oceania must focus on securing itself and becoming a recognized country before it even considers war. As the situation develops and The New Oceania connects with other nations, the world will see if this is truly, as the revolutionaries claim, the end of Oceania's oppression.
