Betrayal Affair
The Betrayal Affair was a dispute in Themiclesian-occupied Menghe between 1947 and 1949 over the validity of a spate of judicial executions and the culpability of those who were involved.
After Themiclesian forces entered Menghe in 1945 – 46, military government was formally terminated by Themiclesia on July 15, 1946 in favour of a civilian authority controlling the part of Menghe it occupied. The Parliament of Kien-k'ang issued a charter declaring that it would respect the local usages and customs and recognize the personal and property right of Mengheans now under its administration. This policy ameliorated the need for the Themiclesian government to fund a large and expensive military establishment in Menghe by co-opting existing administrative devices left in place by the now-abdicated Menghean monarch.
The applicability of local Menghean law was put to judicial test because the law in effect immediately prior to Themiclesian occupation required courts-martial for many civilian offences, imposed to ensure absolute obedience from the nation's citizens. Under this regime crimes as trivial as petty larceny were liable to execution by firing squad in a public place. Thus as early as August 1946, the local military authorities (only lightly armed under the acquiescence of Themiclesian authorities) resumed some degree of administrative function and sought Themiclesian approval for a string of executions.
To make sure of this approval, some of the military judges anonymously wrote to the viceroy asking for his personal guarantee that the punishment about to be carried out was within the meaning of the charter promulgated by the Parliament of Kien-k'ang. In his response, the viceroy Baron of Rut reiterated Parliament's promises to respect the usages and customs of Menghe as they are prior to occupation, which the recipients interpreted to include the harsh martial law imposed during the final days of the Menghean Empire. As a result the executons were carried out days after the response was gazetted.
Yet some Mengheans, including those who lived at Sunju, felt the terms of the charter did not include