President Neina Arana has declared martial law in response to ongoing protests in Milintica. The protesters have been demanding the release of opposition leaders and the reversal of Arana’s decision to withdraw Milintica from the Union of Caxcanan States. She had previously declared a state of emergency in the country, but the new declaration of martial law will supersede that and enact a sweeping new set of restrictions.
Effective immediately, the Representative Assembly has been suspended indefinitely. Direct rule from the Presidency has been imposed until further notice. A curfew throughout the country from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am will be imposed as well, with military and police checkpoints established. Cell phone and internet service in the country remain throttled. Social media platforms and media outlets are now required to allow the government to screen their content for “seditious content.”
The President has been defiant in her refusal to meet the protesters’ demands. The protests are being led by the Milintican Peoples’ Party, the former ruling party before the surprise surge of the Milintican Communist Party in recent elections. Former President MatÅchmizalo and former Prime Minister Tupai Tapihana are currently being detained, and Minister of Justice Patariki Waaka has said the MPP leaders may be charged with seditious conspiracy and incitement to riot for launching the protests. Over 450 protesters have been detained since the protests began on December 4th. Reports have also emerged that the military and police are now being supplemented by “patriotic cadres” made up of MCP volunteers and activists.
Protesters were hoping that a summit over the weekend among the UCS nations would resolve at least one of their demands. Those hopes were dashed when Arana returned from the summit in Lumiere, Auria and announced that no agreement had been made. “The UCS nations were totally unwilling to consider our expectations for reforming a Union that was inherently incompatible with Milintican values and policy agendas. Our proposals for a more equitable sharing of the UCS nations’ ill-gotten wealth, and for allowing socialist and communist leaders greater say in their nations, were rejected out of hand. Milintica will now take the lead to show that the UCS does not speak for all of Caxcana, and is not the only way forward for the nations of Caxcana,” Arana said. The President also dismissed the threat of sanctions from Doatia and other nations as “irrelevant.”
Protesters have called Arana’s stance totally unacceptable. “Neina Arana does not speak for all Milinticans, probably not even most Milinticans,” MPP spokesperson Kai Rongo Ua told DTNS. “Most Milinticans saw their future in the UCS and do not want to leave it.” Protesters have issued a statement also denouncing the declaration of martial law and the new restrictions. “The imposition of martial law is a transparent effort to return Milintica to the days of tyrannical leaders and one party rule. We will not leave the streets until Arana reverses course, or she is evicted from Haven House.”
