Amathian Revolution
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| Amathian Revolution | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:AmathianRevolution1.jpg Demonstrators in Arciluco | |||
| Date | 16–27 December 1980 | ||
| Location | |||
| Resulted in | Overthrow of the Amathian equalist regime, creation of the Amathian Democratic Republic | ||
| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 6,352 | ||
| Injuries | 11,577 | ||
The Amathian Revolution (Amathian: Ⱃⰵⰲⱁⰾⱆⱅⰹⰰ Ⰰⰿⰰⱅⱍⰹⰰⱀⰰ , tr. Revoluția Amathiană was a period of violent civil unrest in Amathia in December 1980. The Amathian Revolution started in the city of Narvona and soon spread throughout the country, bringing the country on the brink of a civil war, ultimately culminating in the creation of the Amathian Democratic Republic and in the Arciluco trials and the execution of various equalist and loyalist leaders.
Early protests began in the city of Narvona, in response to an attempt by the government to arrest Solarian Catholic priest Iuliu Coroianu, who was a vocal supporter of a democratic reform in Amathia. People gathered around his house, forming a human chain. Officers of the Gendarmerie tried to break the chain, but the people resisted, and in the struggle that ensued, one of the officers opened fire against the civilians, triggering a violent fight. People were killed and wounded, including women and children, and Coroianu was arrested while trying to fight. Word quickly spread that the forces of the state were trying kill innocent people, and groups of workers from nearby factories turned the protests, which soon turned into riots. People stormed the local headquarters of the LEU, of the police, and of the Gendarmerie. Coroianu was rescued, and Narvona was declared a "free city", returning to its old name of Corona. Desperately trying to bring this situation to an end, General Secretary and President Ion Verinescu sent military units in the city, causing a bloodbath, killing Coroianu among hundreds of others. Riots and protests then spread throughout the country. Amathia's ubiquitous secret police force, the Securitate, one of the largest in the world, which had been the main suppressor of popular dissension for decades, frequently and violently quashing all attempts to resist, was ultimately powerless in stopping the looming, and then highly fatal and successful, revolution.
Equalist Amathia had been suffering from a strong economic crisis for nearly a decade, which led to austerity, and a general feeling of hate directed against the government. The death of the still vaguely popular Valentin Apostol two years before had caused a power struggle within the ranks of the LEU, and people were unhappy with the victory of the conservative faction under Verinescu. The political and social crackdown organized by the government only led to it losing nearly its entire popularity. In an attempt to win the support of the people, the leaders of the LEU held a botched speech in the capital city of Arciluco, which ended when the crowd that had gathered for it tried to storm the building of the Central Committee of the League of Equalist Unity. The speech was broadcast to millions of Amathians on the state television, and this sign of weakness convinced many more people to riot.
Fleeing from Arciluco to the city of Napoca, loyalist leaders organized the Committee of National Salvation (C.S.N.), creating a provisional government, and declaring a state of justitium, enforcing martial law. Organizing forces of loyal Securitate units, of loyal police and Gendarmerie units and even units of the paramilitary Patriotic Guards, the C.S.N. tried to crush the riots throughout the country. Nearly 2000 people were killed in one day, in what came to be known as the Day of Wrath.
Under the leadership of the Front for Democratic Reform (F.R.D.), the various groups of protesters and revolutionaries managed to form a united resistance movement. The army, already deeply broken because of the role of some of its units in the crackdown, refused to open fire on the revolutionaries anymore. The Minister of Defense, Alexandru Milea, killed himself, and his successor, General Marius Zoronea ordered the army to join the revolutionary forces.
The next two weeks could only be characterized a short civil war. With the support of most of the military, the revolutionary forces managed to defeat the loyalists, and to eventually free the city of Napoca. The loyalist leaders were arrested, and brought back to Arciluco, where they faced a trial under a drumhead military tribunal. They were accused of genocide, of damaging the national economy and of abusing of power to execute military actions against the Amathian people. The short trial found them guilty on all counts, and they were executed immediately, on Christmas Day,as the last persons condemned to death and executed in Amathia, with the death penalty being abolished shortly after.
The provisional government organized by the F.R.D. freed all political prisoners, and organized free elections. The creation of the Amathian Democratic Republic was then proclaimed, officially bringing the Equalist rule in Amathia to an end. Still, present day Amathia has lived in the shadow of its equalist past and of the violent and tumultuous end of it. The F.R.D. was dissolved right before the first free elections, with various political parties being formed instead. The first free elections however revealed what would become the major problem of modern Amathia - the inability of any political party to gain a majority on its own, which weakened and fragmented all Amathian governments ever since. The first government, a compromise coalition between the League of Equalists and Democrats and the Center Front, started a series of economic, social, and democratic reforms. Trials were organized, and criminals of the former regime were condemned. Amathia recovered from its economic decline, and joined the Euclean Community. These reforms have proven to be moderately successful, but issues with corruption and with the political instability remain. Economic reforms continue to be one of the main goals of all Amathian governments, with Amathia still possessing, for example, one of the highest child poverty rates in the developed world.