Violent protests are rocking Milintica after the announcement by President Neina Arana that she has withdrawn the country from the Union of Caxcanan States.
The protests started as peaceful protests led by the Milintican Peoples’ Party, the former ruling party. The protesters were demanding the release of former President Matōchmizalo and former Prime Minister Tupai Tapihana. The former leaders were detained by the National Police after planning protests at the Red Wave Conference held on December 1st. The protests expanded greatly after Arana’s announcement that Milintica has left the UCS, a regional alliance it helped found. Protesters are now demanding that Arana reverse her decision to withdraw, as well as release the detained MPP leaders.
“With the UCS, Milintica had strong friendships with our neighbors, economic ties that were rebuilding our economy and improving the lives of our people, and was cooperating with our neighbors instead of antagonizing them,” Huānoch mayor Ikei Himona said. Himona is a MPP politician and the leader of the protests taking place in the capital. “By leaving the UCS, Arana is dooming us to economic collapse and isolating us both politically and defensively. We’ll be lucky if Xiomera doesn’t pick us off within a year, the way things are going.” Himona also blamed Arana and the National Police for the protests becoming violent. The National Police have been aggressively trying to force protesters off the streets, deploying riot police, tear gas and water cannons. Protesters have since begun fighting back, battling with the police in several neighborhoods and throwing firebombs, bricks and rocks. Protests have also begun to emerge in other cities in Milintica as pro-UCS protesters take to the streets. Other parties, such as the Progressives and Greens, have also begun to join the protests.
In response, President Arana has declared a state of emergency and has given protesters twenty-four hours to disperse or the Army will be deployed. “The decision is made and done. It will not be reversed. And we will not allow counter-revolutionary foreign puppets to dictate the course of state as long as I am President,” Arana told Milintican National Television.
Former Huenyan monarch urges Milintica to remain in UCS
Former Huenyan monarch Texōccoatl has made a public statement, urging Milintica’s government not to leave the UCS.
“The UCS has not only helped bring about economic progress and cultural enrichment to all of its members. It has been an essential linchpin in Caxcana’s collective security against threats such as the XCP-led government of Calhualyana,” Texōccoatl said. “Losing any of its members is a collective loss to the entire UCS. But it is a greater loss to Caxcana, as it weakens our collective security against the threat that Calhualyana’s regime poses. Most of all, it represents a tremendous loss for Milinticans. The economic, political and security gains Milintica achieved in the UCS should not be thrown away,” Texōccoatl said in his press conference. Texōccoatl, who currently serves as the High General of Huenya’s military, was a central figure in the formation of the UCS. His initial call for greater unity among Caxcanan nations in 2021 was one of the sparks that led to the UCS.
Texōccoatl’s call for Milintica to remain in the UCS was immediately dismissed by the Arana government. “Huenyan leaders don’t seem to understand that they do not have authority in Milintica,” government spokesperson Kai Tatu Whainga told DTNS. “More to the point, crowned heads – even deposed ones – have absolutely no say in the Peoples’ Democratic Republic. The Huenyans don’t even listen to their cast-off monarchs anymore, why should we? True Communists don’t bend the knee or kiss the ring of people whose status was only ‘earned’ by who happened to birth them.”
Milintican officials have also expressed annoyance (under condition of anonymity) that Huenya’s current leader, President Xiadani, has chosen to take a less conciliatory tone than her High General. “While a lower figure such as Texōccoatl makes soft words, Xiadani continues to insult and threaten us. If their leader won’t bother to soften her words with us, nothing Texōccoatl says makes a difference.”
Huenyan officials and observers have also noted that disconnect. “While some figures such as Texōccoatl are trying to negotiate, the President and her top figures are quite angry with Neina Arana and not even bothering to hide it. It does create a bit of a challenge,” a Huenyan State Department official said on condition of anonymity. President Xiadani, in her own statement to the Chamber of Deputies, called Milintica’s withdrawal from the UCS “an insane decision that endangers Milintica and its people.” She also called the detention of Matōchmizalo and Tapihana “clear evidence of intent by the now-ruling Milintican communists to sideline the MPP and other parties and install a tyrannical regime.”
“The people of Huenya, and indeed the world, should and must demand that Neina Arana respect the rule of law, the right of people to assemble and protest, and the right of political figures to stand in opposition to the government without being tossed in a jail cell,” Xiadani said. Xiadani also called for UCS nations to levy “a heavy price” on Arana and other MCP officials if Milintica does commit to leave the UCS.
