As the Poppies Bloom
The San Javier Conflict; Part 2
IC Thread
As the Poppies Bloom is the sequel to Atnaia/Menna Shuli's The San Javier Conflict, and thus shall carry over some aspects of the original story into this one in addition to recent events. This RP is open to all nations in TWI as the events in this RP won't be wholly contained within these threads. Without further ado, allow me to set the stage.
- Dormill and Stiura
It started in 1973, when President Rodrigo Emmanuel Cajillo, remembered as "El Presidente", attempted to tighten his rule at the end of his term as President. His socialist style of government was pushed on the people of San Javier and El Presidente's rivals, mostly vested in the San Javier Unification Party, had been declared illegal. What he wished to be a non-violent transition of power quickly evolved into a country-wide civil war as the San Javier Unification Party, rebranded as the Presidential Republic of San Javier, gained international support. As the fighting escalated throughout the mid-70s, the power of the central government evaporated across the countryside and most importantly Javieran Steppe. The lack of a central government led the more opportunistic to form cartels that seized control of San Javier's poppy production, and cut off the oil fields behind bribes, kickbacks, and general corruption.
In 1979, things turned for the worst as the largest of these cartels, the Anliana Cartel, managed to successfully invade the then capital and oust the communist government. Since then, the conflict has died down as foreign actors pulled out of the dumpster fire it had become. This rendered the formerly dominant communists and their sympathizers alone in the wildernesses of San Javier to fend for themselves as both cartels and the new Presidential Republic hunted them down. The cartels still controlled the Steppe, and the new government did not have the resources to take them on, entering in a tacit agreement to allow the cartels control of the Steppe in exchange for whatever racket they demanded.
Corruption is commonplace across San Javier, with some cases going so extreme as cartel bosses and police chiefs of various towns and villages spending days on end high off opium while police officers and cartel members raid the town of its valuables. For most of the time since the 80s, the only real conflict has been between rival cartels and the few incorruptible police officers that are frequently thrown into the front lines of the quiet war between the Javieran Government and whichever cartel was on the hit list that month.
In mid to late 2016, news broke throughout the international community with governments admitting to taking sides in the original conflict. This spurred a response from most that demanded that these governments right their wrongs and end the conflict they had created. An international coalition led mostly by Vancouvia and Corindia entered San Javier and put an end to what remained of an organized socialist community in the islands. Around the same time, the conflicts between the cartels and the Presidential Republic all but ended outright, a result of foreign motivations on both sides.
The operation ended nearly a year later, its members declaring "Mission Accomplished" and went home. It did not take long from there for the situation to worsen from the state it was in before the intervention. The Presidential Republic fell apart in the immediate months following, what remained of the central government was taken over by a military junta known as the People's Freedom Coalition with General Pedro Fresia at its head as Chairman. Since 2016, the Javierian junta managed to successfully grow and export tobacco crop to compete with the old poppy industry still dominated by the cartels of the steppe, giving the people along the border a reprieve as military forces enacted martial law and removed the corrupted police and cartel bosses from their towns.
However, corruption still runs rampant in both the steppe and in the central government, as unregulated tobacco and opium floods the markets of eastern Argus, most especially Menna Shuli.
In July of 2017, news broke of 'uhitap Âspu Kashaka's sudden stroke, with doctors concluding that it was likely caused by "complications [of a] lifetime of smoking". This lead to a nationwide call by doctors for a comprehensive anti-smoking campaign in response. In famous Mênnan fashion, its government failed to respond in a timely manner, leaving the issue lingering in the national dialogue of Menna Shuli as the country faced crisis after crisis in the absence of their leader. In August, the Mennan government began to consider increased tariffs against San Javier to respond to the smoking crisis, as Javierian tobacco is the most common used in Menna Shuli's tobacco products.
Recently, the national conversation in Menna Shuli has shifted further against San Javier as the government seriously considers measures to curtail the flow of "illicit goods" from San Javier into Menna Shuli, most importantly by way of enforcing cargo inspections of all Javieran ships entering Mennan ports. This has caused an altercation between Mennan Police and Javieran merchantmen and demands from the Javieran government to release the currently detained merchantmen, on threats of cutting trade with Menna Shuli entirely and taking the issue up to the authorities in the League of the Western Isles.
As the situation develops, the international community has once again become interested in San Javier, though nobody is certain as to what will happen next. If another invasion is to happen, some hope that this time will be the one where the actual threats, the corrupt military junta and the cartels are removed from San Javier, and a new government is instituted to bring a lasting peace to these embattled islands.In San Javier
- The People's Freedom Coalition of San Javier: As the only truly legitimate “government” the People’s Freedom Coalition is the military junta that controls over most of San Javier's most populated areas. It has been in power for most of the last several years and actively utilizes the tactics most known for in totalitarian states to maintain control. Given that, however, the Coalition has been directly responsible for the recent stability seen in San Javier. In addition to the Coalition’s own military forces, they are supported by several affiliated militias that generally support the government’s efforts in whatever capacity they can.
- The Cartels: The Cartels, a collection of gangs that all follow a basic rule, profit before everything else. Several of the cartels are also suspected to be in league with foreign actors, and they predominantly control the Javieran Steppe, which includes all of the poppy production and a significant portion of the oil production in all of San Javier. Since each of these are significant military powers in their own right, the junta has been unable to uproot them ever since gaining power, instead broadly taking the same path the old government had in staying out of their affairs. Since 2017, the largest of these the Anliana Cartel and Azul Naturaleza, have permitted the junta to take control of some oil fields and the necessary infrastructure to ship them away. However, they are still in constant conflict for domination of the drugs market. As their largest exports to Memna Shuli are threatened, the cartels are growing more desperate to break back in, and are likely to take drastic action soon to keep their drugs and oil flowing.
The Participants
- Menna Shuli: As the crisis continues to develop, Mennan leaders will begin to see things as a matter of honor. With provocations from the PFC, eventually Menna Shuli will declare war on the junta in San Javier. Ultimately, Menna Shuli aims to cripple the ability of both the government and the cartels to ship their wares to the unstable areas within Menna Shuli, a government change is not necessary to this goal.
- Dormill and Stiura: The United Republics has been observing the situation in San Javier with great interest in the recent years since 2016. As the situation in Noronica and Orsandia cool down, more of Dormill and Stirua's military can be freed up to operate further abroad, and once the situation in San Javier calls for it, will send forces to effect change in the favor of Dormill-Stiuraian interests. The addition of a more friendly Menna Shuli is considered an even greater goal for further influence in the Southern Sea. In all, Dormill and Stiura supports none of the present factions, and would seek to completely remove and replace the government of San Javier.
- You?
San Javier
