The Decades of Green
| Native name | I Decenni del Verde |
|---|---|
| English name | The Decades of Green |
| Date | Started 1935-06-25 |
| Location | Norlente, Afipunta, Territory of the Twin Duchies |
| Also known as |
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| Type | Civil Unrest |
| Cause |
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| Motive |
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| Participants |
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| Deaths | 4,098 confirmed deaths as of 2021. |
| Non-fatal injuries | 21,873 injuries or hospitalizations as of 2021. |
| Missing | 59 missing persons since 1958. |
| Property damage | 11.89 million Arcadian Dollars in property damage |
The "Decades of Green" is a series of protests and riots which have been ongoing in the Republic of the Twin Duchies since the 25th of June, 1935 over the disputed status of the Twin Duchies territory of Afipunta as a colony, or as a state on the same level as the Republics of Septi and Picisola in the Diarchy. So called because of the plain green flags commonly raised at protest events and riots. The Twin Duchies government has reported multiple times over the decades that "the Afipuntan question has been answered", after providing concessions to the territory over the years, likely in hopes that the issue will subside in the future. The result of this is that growing impatience as to the status of Afipunta has lead to further growing civil unrest in turn.
The concessions provided over the decades include autonomous government agencies created for the Territorial Government, reforms merging the passports of Afipunta and Septi-Picisola citizens to allow for ease of travel, and the approval of a militarized Afipuntan security force to be organized. These concessions have been advertised by proponents as slow progress to build the territory into a state alongside Septi and Picisola. Opponents however call these concessions distractions, claiming that the Territory of Afipunta has long since been on equal standing with Septi and Picisola, and should have been given status as a fellow state in a Triarchy decades ago.
As time progressed with the Decades ongoing, concessions lessened and lessened, and have become more paltry or symbolistic overtime, with promises from the government that a vote on Afipuntan statehood will be held when it becomes feasible to do so. As of 2015, there has been no concessions offered to the Territory of Afipunta, likely as there is nothing left for the Governments of Septi & Picisola to give without giving status as a nation. Opponents and speakers on the problem have said that the Twin Republics simply do not want to give Afipunta equal representation, likely because recognizing Afipunta as a nation in a Triarchy means that the income and production that Afipunta creates for the Twin Duchies will instead be go to the Afipuntan State, essentially exploiting the Afipuntans due to it's current state as a territory.
As of the 2020s, the Afipuntan Nationhood Movement has collected from a series of protest movements into what is essentially a political party, one of the most popular parties in the Territorial Government as of the 2022 Territorial Elections. The ANM's goal is to "Force Septi & Picisola's hands to answer the question once and for all". Their political opponents, the New Republic Coalition, which have been accused of being puppets of the Diarchy by multiple sources, have positioned to resist this through "Campaigning for Patience", a political advertisement campaign launched by the NRC, calling for patience in solving the Afipuntan Question and ending the Decades of Green, which has been released with mixed reactions.
Armed conflict has not yet broken out in Afipunta, but the ANM and NRC have made multiple statements that elude that if an agreement cannot be made, and the question cannot be answered, that conflict is inevitable. The Diarchy has made several statements that a conflict in Afipunta "will not be allowed to happen on our watch", and multiple military units and assets have been moved to Afipunta with these statements. The Duchies Self Defense Force has stated that movement of units to Afipunta is merely coincidental with a scheduled desert environment military excercise, and will not be canceled due to the ongoing civil unrest.
International Reaction
Thallasic Federation
In 2007, as protests began to ramp up and sporadic rioting started, the Thallasic Federation set up a non-functional Afipuntan Embassy, as protest against the Twin Duchies in solidarity with the Afipuntan Nationhood Movement. This move was criticized by the governments of Septi and Picisola as "unhelpful, and in fact harmful to the stability in Afipunta" in a press release.
The Eisenreich
The Eisenreich has reaffirmed the situation as an "Internal matter for the Duchies", pressing that the situation should not be escalated, continuing their doctrine in the theatre of non-interference. An Imperial travel advisory on tourism to the area has advised heightened caution due to the political situation and unrest.