Bamvango
Republic of Bamvango جمهورية بامفانجو | |
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 Flag
 Coat of Arms
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| Motto: Justice, Freedom, Equality | |
Anthem: National Anthem of Bamvango | |
| Capital and largest city | Jombo |
| Official languages | Estmerish, Rahelian |
| Ethnic groups (2017) | 22.4% Welke 20.6% Horo 15.4% Kamba 12.7% Ilangi 11.1% Begi 17.8% other |
| Demonym(s) | Bamvangan |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Anthony Benoudjita | |
| Mosaab Arman | |
| Legislature | Parliamentary Assembly |
| Independence from Estmere | |
• Declared | 1946 |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 12,675,299 |
• 2011 census | 11,858,895 |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | €17,415 million |
• Per capita | €1,374 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | €7,440 million |
• Per capita | €587 |
| Gini | 40.6 medium |
| HDI | 0.42 low |
| Currency | Bamvangan Shilling (BVS) |
| Date format | dd-mm-yy |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +64 |
| ISO 3166 code | BV |
| Internet TLD | .bv |
The Republic of Bamvango is a landlocked country located in west Bahia bordered by Yemet to the south and Ihram to the west. It lies near to Rahelia and possesses a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate. Its capital Jombo has traditionally been at the crossroads of various empires and civilisations from Rahelia and Bahia.
Bamvango is named for the river that runs through the country which traditionally has supported civilisation in the area. The most notable of these was the Kamba Empire which ruled the region from the 8th to the 11th century. The region became a backwater following the collapse of the empire being subject to various civilisations and empires from Ifranic influences to the north and Yemeti influence from the south.
The region was colonised by Estmere in the 1890's but was substantially underdeveloped. Independence was gained in 1946 following the Fort Harrington declaration, but the nation soon fell into political instability. The 1977-1985 rule of general Kashim Shehu was considered to be one of the most violent in Bahia triggering the Bamvangan Bush War and a decade of political instability and ethnic violence. From 1987 to 2014 the country was ruled by Abdallah Ibrahim who was ousted following the start of the Bamvangan insurgency which continues to this day.
Despite social indicators improving over the 2000's the start of the insurgency in 2011 has led to a reversal of many of these gains. Bamvango remains one of the poorest countries in the world being largely reliant on foreign aid from the Euclean Community, Halland Xiaodong and Senria. The government struggles to control the majority of the country due to the ongoing insurgency.
The country is incredibly ethnically diverse with over 50 ethnic groups. The main groups are Welke, Horo, Kamba, Ilangi and Begi peoples. The lingua franca's of Bamvango are Estmerish and Rahelian although many other languages are spoken. Bamvango is a major exporter of uranium, oil and gold alongside the traditional cotton growing industry.
History
Prehistory
Precolonial history
Antiquity
Medieval period
Colonial period
Colonialisation
Estmerish rule
Independence
Modern history
Early period
Shehu regime and Bush War
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In 1977 after facing strikes and social unrest the embattled government of Armel Yombandje was ousted by major general Kashim Shehu. Shehu's coup was a surprise abroad as he was not considered to be particularly partisan officer and the military was generally seen as loyal to Yombandje. However it was later remarked that the military had become increasingly radicalised by young officers that a more decisive government in the country was needed and continued lack of foreign support for Yombandje meant their support was assured. Shortly after ascending to power Shehu held a referendum which saw voters approve by 87% to suspend the constitution and allow Shehu to govern by decree until the nation was deemed to be "stabilised".
After confirming supreme executive power Shehu went onto form one of the most brutal governments in Bahia. He formed a private paramilitary force, the National Youth Brigade, that became known for their practice of mutilating the regimes political opponents with meathooks. All newspapers were shut down, protests and strikes were banned and universities closed. Dissidents were often taken off the streets by being stuffed into car boots to be tortured and killed. The most famous act of brutality Shehu ordered was the shooting of dissidents at the Jombo Football Stadium when 312 leftist activists where massacred by Shehu's men whilst the Hallandic pop song Dancin' for my life was played from loudspeakers. Shehu's government used these often extravagant acts of repression in order to meet the dictators own flamboyant style. The regime justified this mass repression as "cleaning Bamvango of social parasites and anti-patriotic elements" and that a period of "readjustment" was needed for the nation to modernise.
Economically the government originally led a moderate economically liberal course under the influence of technocratic Finance Minister Herbert Koulamallah with the economy steadily improving between 1977-9 due to an austerity programme and tough action on inflation. However Koulamallah was dismissed by Shehu in 1979 who subsequently took a much more dominating role in economic affairs. Shehu used the state treasury to create a complex system of patronage and corruption whilst spending millions on expensive infrastructure projects as well as constructing his own personal palace. Embezzlement became the standard for all officials as Shehu cultivated an increasingly bizarre cult of personality which saw himself renamed as the "Eternal Father of the Bamvangan People" with his portrait being required to adorn all public buildings.
The worldwide effects of the 1980 recession wreaked havoc on Bamvango's whose exported-orientated economy plunged into recession. Shehu continued to spend extravagantly even as the country struggled with grinding poverty and persistent food shortages. In order to shore up support for his regime Shehu began concentrating power solely in southwest ethnic groups most notably his own Kamba group, the third largest in the country. In 1980 Shehu was increasingly ordering the deployment of the National Youth Brigades to seize land from Horo and Welke people to be given to his cronies. These land policies often resulted in massacres of Horo's and Welke's which in turn led to the creation of anti-Kamba brigades amongst these groups that opposed the Shehu government and its Kamba favouritism. In 1982 some of these groups merged to form the Bamvangan People's Revolutionary Organisation (BPRO) which explicitly advocated for the overthrow of the Shehu regime which began the Bamvangan Bush War.
The Bamvangan army had under Shehu been purged of much of its personnel with a core of Kamba and Begi officers serving as the main bases of support for the Shehu regime. The National Youth Brigades also were vital in shoring up the regime's support which was concentrated in the southwest of the country. However the Shehu regime had scant foreign support whilst the BPRO received significant support from X. Although the conventional arms of the Shehu government meant it was able to control the country's major cities it had little support from the countryside.
Shehu's increasingly genocidal tactics towards the BPRO and his general notoriety, incompetence and erratic behaviour resulted in a collapse of his men's morale even amongst his Kamba support base. In 1985 Esmtere's Prime Minister Robert Reynolds coming under domestic pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Bamvango approved of Operation Fair Game which saw a detachment of Estmerish paratroopers backed by Shehu's own bodyguards capture and execute the dictator. A provisional military junta under general David Oumarou was formed shortly after Shehu's death. The new junta upon coming to power repudiated the Shehu regime dismantling his cult of personality, disbanding the National Youth Brigade, giving amnesty to and releasing thousands of political dissidents and repealed restrictions on free speech. However Oumarou as an ethnic Kamba still could only count on narrow support from Kamba people and failed to seriously stem the fighting.
In 1986 Oumarou was overthrown by colonel Abdallah Ibrahim, an ethnic Begi. Ibrahim opened a new dialogue with the BPRO on ending the civil war by promising a system of power sharing between the presidency and two vice-presidents who would represent different ethnic and religious groups. After the BPRO was defeated in the Battle of N'djoka in 1989 BRPO and government representatives concluded the Port Fitzhubert Accords which formally ended the Bush War. Elections were held in 1991 which saw Ibrahim and his political party, the newly-formed Union for Progress and Development (UPD) win in a landslide.
Ibrahim regime
Renewed conflict
Government and Politics
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Constitutionally since 2014 Bamvango has been a parliamentary constitutional republic with a representative democracy. The President of Bamvango is the head of state and government that is responsbile to the legislature similar to the Etrurian and Senrian systems. The government is comprised of senior ministers and junior ministers; the senior ministers comprise of the Council of Ministers. The unicameral legislature is the Parliamentary Assembly which is elected every five years using an additional members system. Bamvango uses a system of civil law with a four tier judiciary, with the Constitution of Bamvango serving as the supreme law in the country. Bamvango is divided into eight provinces which theoretically possess a high degree of autonomy.
The current president is Anthony Benoudjita who represents the centre-left Democratic Rainbow Alliance.