Brynania
Brynania is the name of a fictional country on the fictional continent of Equatorial Cyberspace located between here and there.
Geography
Brynania is a country 293,456 square km, located in Equatorial Cyberspace. The country is bisected by the St. Catherine River, which flows from Lake Icasia on the northern border into the Gulf of Cyberia in the south. The valley and flood plain of the river constitute the most fertile regions of the country. More rugged, hilly terrain is found immediately to the west of Hamraville, in the area around Eiku, and in the southeast of the country. Dense tropical vegetation covers those areas of the country south of Biku. The remainder of the country is semi-tropical, with more arid areas found in the northern plains and the mountainous regions near Eiku
History
Historically, the region that today comprises Brynania came under the control of the various Ruritanian empires that intermittently controlled much of this part of Cyberia for centuries. By the 19th century, however, the area had fractured into a number of small principalities. Increasing European commercial encroachment led to disputes over taxation and trade rights with local elites, and attacks on European shipping. In 1865, France sent a fleet into the Gulf of Cyberia tosuppress local piracy and enforce trade access. Five years later, spurred on by the recent colonization of Ruritania by rival Britain, French troops occupied the country and incorporated it into their colonial empire.
Brynania was decolonized in 1961. The country’s first post-colonial president was Dr. Naul Poble, an intellectual and nationalist leader of Zaharian ethnic origin who won election (with tacit French support) in 1960. Within ten years, however, Poble gradually marginalized the Brynanian legislature and increasingly ruled the country as his personal fiefdom. In 1969, a mutiny by army units in the capital was put down with the assistance of French troops. Poble subsequently announced the cancellation of the planned 1970 presidential elections.
In February 1973, Poble was overthrown in a bloody military coup, led by General Rudolph Arvanitidis and supported primarily by officers from the north of the country.
The military regime, although initially popular in many quarters, soon lost support. In 1984, growing civil unrest resulted in a slide to full-scale civil war, pitting the central government against a variety of insurgent groups. The most important of these has been the Popular Front for the Liberation of Zaharia (PFLZ), based primarily among the Zaharian minority in the south of the country. The cofounders of the PFLZ–former nun Joelle Zahar and one-time night-club dancer Cori Sommerfeldt–were killed in a 1998 government bombing raid of guerilla headquarters in Zahrville. Since then, leadership of the PFLZ has been in the hands of the shadowy council of senior guerilla leaders.
In November 1995, another coup occurred from within regime, with General Jose “Gabe” Hamra deposing General Arvanitidis. A “colonels” group headed by the half-nephew of the executed Rudolph Arvanitidis and the former head of the Brynanian secret police attempted a counter-coup two months later. This was unsuccessful in seizing the capital or deposing the regime. However, with the support of some military units, the Arvanitidis clan and its self-styled “Free People’s Army” did retain control of substantial territory around the mining town of Eiku, as well exerting substantial influence among some ranking military field commanders elsewhere in the country.
This past summer saw two weeks of urban protests sweep the capital. Organized by the small trade union movement, these focused on poor economic conditions and demands for the release of political prisoners, including the jailed human rights leader (and renowned poetess) Zahra al-Zahra. In response to these demonstrations, General Hamra resigned his position. His reformist deputy, General Bill Weininger, briefly assumed power thereafter, only to be presumed dead in a helicopter crash while visiting troops in McGilldishu. The government blamed Zaharian rebels for the incident, although some pointed to the possible involvement of hardline Brn nationalists within the security services.
With Wieninger’s death, General Philip Swart emerged as the new President. Born in McGilldishu to a modest merchant family, Swart had risen through the ranks of the police to become Minister of the Interior in 2010.
Recently, the UN Secretary General appointed a special representative to attempt to mediate a peaceful settlement of the war. Efforts by previous UN envoys have failed to secure a lasting cease-fire among the parties.
Geography
Brynania is a country 293,456 square km, located in Equatorial Cyberspace. The country is bisected by the St. Catherine River, which flows from Lake Icasia on the northern border into the Gulf of Cyberia in the south. The valley and flood plain of the river constitute the most fertile regions of the country. More rugged, hilly terrain is found immediately to the west of Hamraville, in the area around Eiku, and in the southeast of the country. Dense tropical vegetation covers those areas of the country south of Biku. The remainder of the country is semi-tropical, with more arid areas found in the northern plains and the mountainous regions near Eiku
History
Historically, the region that today comprises Brynania came under the control of the various Ruritanian empires that intermittently controlled much of this part of Cyberia for centuries. By the 19th century, however, the area had fractured into a number of small principalities. Increasing European commercial encroachment led to disputes over taxation and trade rights with local elites, and attacks on European shipping. In 1865, France sent a fleet into the Gulf of Cyberia tosuppress local piracy and enforce trade access. Five years later, spurred on by the recent colonization of Ruritania by rival Britain, French troops occupied the country and incorporated it into their colonial empire.
Brynania was decolonized in 1961. The country’s first post-colonial president was Dr. Naul Poble, an intellectual and nationalist leader of Zaharian ethnic origin who won election (with tacit French support) in 1960. Within ten years, however, Poble gradually marginalized the Brynanian legislature and increasingly ruled the country as his personal fiefdom. In 1969, a mutiny by army units in the capital was put down with the assistance of French troops. Poble subsequently announced the cancellation of the planned 1970 presidential elections.
In February 1973, Poble was overthrown in a bloody military coup, led by General Rudolph Arvanitidis and supported primarily by officers from the north of the country.
The military regime, although initially popular in many quarters, soon lost support. In 1984, growing civil unrest resulted in a slide to full-scale civil war, pitting the central government against a variety of insurgent groups. The most important of these has been the Popular Front for the Liberation of Zaharia (PFLZ), based primarily among the Zaharian minority in the south of the country. The cofounders of the PFLZ–former nun Joelle Zahar and one-time night-club dancer Cori Sommerfeldt–were killed in a 1998 government bombing raid of guerilla headquarters in Zahrville. Since then, leadership of the PFLZ has been in the hands of the shadowy council of senior guerilla leaders.
In November 1995, another coup occurred from within regime, with General Jose “Gabe” Hamra deposing General Arvanitidis. A “colonels” group headed by the half-nephew of the executed Rudolph Arvanitidis and the former head of the Brynanian secret police attempted a counter-coup two months later. This was unsuccessful in seizing the capital or deposing the regime. However, with the support of some military units, the Arvanitidis clan and its self-styled “Free People’s Army” did retain control of substantial territory around the mining town of Eiku, as well exerting substantial influence among some ranking military field commanders elsewhere in the country.
This past summer saw two weeks of urban protests sweep the capital. Organized by the small trade union movement, these focused on poor economic conditions and demands for the release of political prisoners, including the jailed human rights leader (and renowned poetess) Zahra al-Zahra. In response to these demonstrations, General Hamra resigned his position. His reformist deputy, General Bill Weininger, briefly assumed power thereafter, only to be presumed dead in a helicopter crash while visiting troops in McGilldishu. The government blamed Zaharian rebels for the incident, although some pointed to the possible involvement of hardline Brn nationalists within the security services.
With Wieninger’s death, General Philip Swart emerged as the new President. Born in McGilldishu to a modest merchant family, Swart had risen through the ranks of the police to become Minister of the Interior in 2010.
Recently, the UN Secretary General appointed a special representative to attempt to mediate a peaceful settlement of the war. Efforts by previous UN envoys have failed to secure a lasting cease-fire among the parties.