Pictured: Downtown Juraceda
In a shocking move earlier today, members of the United Aurian Commune entered the northern port town of Juraceda in droves and held a massive demonstration in the town square. During this demonstration, Alain Bonnet (who has been declared as a fugitive at large by the Aurian government) declared that Juraceda would serve as the capital of a new Aurian communist state. While it is currently unclear whether Bonnet intends to expand beyond Juraceda or use the city as a city-state, this move has still shocked many, both inside Auria and abroad.
Among the issues outlined in Bonnet’s formal declaration of independence (which was released after the speech in Juraceda’s Home Plaza) are the lack of elections, the perceived opulance and vanity of the royal family, the “outdated” customs of life peers and noble titles, and the division of the Aurian Parliament into an elected and a non-elected house. Neither Prime Minister Arquette nor Queen Katherina I has released any sort of statement in response to the issues raised in the manifesto, and spokepeople for the pair have only said that they plan to resolve the crisis in the north as quickly as possible.
For their part in large protests and general civil disobedience, the Aurian government had labeled the United Aurian Commune as a “violent militia group” after Bonnet released his infamous video manifesto. This lead to the arrests of dozens of protesters and a large public outrage both from left-wing sources and from libertarian politicians, who called the move “government oppression of dissidents.” Now, both the forces of the Aurian military and several offices of the Aurian police force are moving to surround Juraceda.
But the UAC is not totally without support or defences. Regional police forces have seen dozens of defections around Juraceda, and it is reported that uniformed UAC members are setting up barricades on key roads leading into the town. Reports that these UAC members are also armed could not be conclusively verified, but short clips posted on Aurian social media appear to show armed people dressed in black parading around the city streets. Despite these videos, there have been no reported deaths, injuries, or even shots fired. It would seem like Juraceda fell to the United Aurian Commune without a fight.
Now, the attention of the world turns to the Aurian government and its Coaliton partners. Will they gather up a large army and attempt to take the town by force? Will they try to negotiate with Bonnet and his allies? The United Aurian Press attempted to reach out to Eirian Chancellor Stendē as well as her Ministers of Diplomacy and Defence for commentary on the subject, but all of their spokespeople declined to speak about the subject. It seems that the world has some thinking to do on the merits of the UAC’s claim to independence and if declaring independence is a viable method for substantial political change.
