1734 Meckelnburgh riots
The 1734 Meckelnburgh riots are an ongoing series of violent public protests in major cities throughout the United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh starting on 9.Marche/IV.1734 AN. The carnage has consisted of violent assaults and arson throughout the streets of Meckelnburgh, particularly in Alexandretta, Victoria and St. Cloud in Meckelnburgh, and Fenixtune in Iselande. The primary targets of mob anger are institutions and individuals related to the Raspur Pact or its member states. The scale and violence of the demonstrations resulted in the deployment of the uniformed services of Meckelnburgh to Alexandretta on 11.Marche/IV to contain them.
Background
Anti-Raspur Pact sentiments in Meckelnburgh, particularly in the constituent country of Iselande, have simmered at various heats since the early 1700s AN.
Port Balaine and The Troubles
The Florian invasion of Port Balaine, when then-Raspur Pact member Floria invaded and conquered Port Balaine in a move widely condemned as a war of aggression, was a divisive event in Meckelnburghish politics. Involvement and aid from the Raspur Pact in the invasion remains a widely debated question. While sanctions were immediately placed on Floria, the continuation of sanctions developed into the "Florian Question" for over a decade. Eventually, it led to the collapse of the longest-ruling Meckelnburgh administration in the Election of 1723 and the sanctions were repealed—a controversial decision in Meckelnish society.
The greatest influence on Meckelnish minds was The Troubles (1707–1709 AN). The Troubles were a violent ecological and military event that led to the destruction of Jääland and the peninsula annexed by Meckelnburgh. Prior to installing the Meckelnburgh administration, the capital of Jääland, Hellistelli, was destroyed in an orbital bombardment carried out by the Apollonia Command of the Raspur Pact after Pact members' investments were evacuated. Thousands of inhabitants perished and the city entered a dark winter until rescued by naval infantry of the Royal Meckelnburgh Navy. After protests for compensation by the Meckelnburgish government were made to the Raspur Pact via representatives of Nouvelle Alexandrie, the Pact informed the kingdom that the destruction of the Jääkeli people was deserved.
Prior to the 1734 AN riots, surveys conducted by the University of Alexandretta on a semiregular basis found that 84% of Iselanders and 61% of all Meckelners reported "disapproval" to "hatred" of the Raspur Pact. In 1728 AN, Queen Ĉielero III gave assent to a resolution by Parliament declaring the treatment of the Jääkeli people in The Troubles a genocide. The Troubles National Memorial was opened on the burned-out grounds of former Hellistelli International Airport shortly after, and is managed by the Royal Parks Service.
Nuclear wars of 1733 AN
The simmering distrust in Meckelnish society of the Raspur Pact developed into violent hatred in the shadow of 1733 AN. In Septembre/XI, on the continent of Benacia, the Shiro-Benacian Cold War erupted into the Streïur uis Faïren between the Benacian Union and Shireroth The conflict resulted in the launch of countless nuclear devices at the cost of millions of lives. Both warring nations were members of the Raspur Pact. In the aftermath, six nations—all current or former members of the Raspur Pact—met for the Dorado Convention. The stated goals of the convention were to develop a comprehensive approach to nuclear disarmament, and the Micras Disarmament Commission was established in Februarie/II.1734 AN for that purpose.
Notable criticisms against the MDC members, beyond Raspur Pact affiliations, were the Florian war of aggression into Port Balaine, the continued flippant denial by Nouvelle Alexandrie of the genocide in Jääland, and the betrayal of the Xäiville Convention by Oportia in favor of the Raspur Pact.
Events
Early protests on 9-10.IV
In Meckelnburgh, the nuclear conflagration resulted in demands for greater militarization. Shortly after the MDC was announced, on 22.Februarie/II, the Meckelnburgh Royalist Party demanded initiatives for national security:
@RoyalPartyMB While empires talk of convenient peace accords the smaller nations face antihalation daily. @ChancellorMB must reinforce our shores against the imperial savages of Micras.
Midday on 9.Marche/IV, the Parliament of Meckelnburgh passed the enabling act for the Three in Three Program, a three-year program designed to increase defense spending and recover a perceived deficit in the kingdom's self-defense apparatuses. The move was celebrated by some in stronger terms than others. Around 1300, after its deputies voted unanimously in favor of the program, the New Revolutionary Party posted to Tweeter that:
@RevolutionMB The #Fascists will never allow peace. The Micras (dis)Armament Commission is an imperial dog and pony show run by the most wanted criminals on Micras. de Montluc [Inspector-General of the MDC] should try inspecting some history books instead.
Following the Party's Tweet, a number of left-wing activists gathered in King Vihelmo IV Square in Alexandretta to criticize the MDC, its connections to the Raspur Pact, and support the expanded defense initiative. One student from Alexandretta College was quoted by the Royal Meckelnburgh Broadcasting Corporation, saying "Love and willingness to die for Meckelnburgh is the only thing protecting us from the Imperial Bourgeoisie." After the close of business day at 1700, office workers leaving work in downtown Alexandretta joined in the still-calm demonstrations, while a number of Iselanders shouted slurs against the various Raspur Pact members.
Over the evening, the Meckelnburgh Cyber & Information Service Corps documented an increase in violent rhetoric on Tweeter from accounts self-registered as Iselanders. The note went without further action. The next morning, 10.Marche/IV, many workers and residents in Alexandretta skipped work and attended demonstrations in Downtown and Cannery Warf wards to air historical grievances against the Raspur Pact. Demonstrators demanded that the Meckelnburgish government reject the MDC initiative as a scam and avenue for further Raspur Pact control over world security. The RMBC reported that morning:
@RMBC Large protest activity warns @ALXOfficial in Downtown and Cannery Warf Wards. Protestors seen with signs "#NeverForget Jaaland", "#NeverForget Port Balaine". One Iselandic protestor interviewed: "I survived The Troubles. I didn't live after losing my children for the same fuckers to talk to me about world peace. Fuck the MDC and fuck the Pact!"
Riots break out on 10.IV
Late in the afternoon of 10.Marche/IV, daughter of the late renowned Meckelnish painter, Lucienne Arthur, added her statement:
@BArthurOfficial The last time I heard Nouvelle Alexandrie talk about weapons of mass destruction it was to laugh at killing my mom. I don't trust them to give away one nuke unless I watch them dig up Manco Capac's corpse [late King of Nouvelle Alexandrie during The Troubles], strap it to the bomb, and drop it on downtown Cardenas.
Unsubstantiated rumors on Tweeter shortly began circulating that officials at the highest levels of government in Nouvelle Alexandrie had read the post in conference and mocked it. Thousands of additional demonstrators then went to the streets in Alexandretta in anger with smaller protests growing in Victoria, St. Cloud and Fenixtune—the heart of Raspur Pact hatred. Universal amongst the protestors was anger and frustration over the Raspur Pact's continued disrespect towards the genocide of The Troubles. However, the satirical news organization Sans Reportage mocked demonstrators who appeared to know little beyond what they read online:
@SansReportage Area man protesting outside Vegnese embassy 15 minutes after remembering nation exists. "I can't find them on a map, but I know I don't like them." At press time, the intoxicated man realized he was standing outside the Lac Glacei mission next door.
During the afternoon, a makeshift stage erected in King Vihelmo IV Square became a growing hive of scathing and violent rhetoric, the RMBC recording one speaker as screaming "I'd like to give a New Alexandrian something to cry about!" Near sunset, a final speaker took the stage carrying a bag and a glass bottle. After saying nothing, the speaker unfurled a chain of flags for Floria, Nouvelle Alexandrie, Oportia, Natopia and Vegno, and set them ablaze. The speaker then shouted "Fuck the Pact, it's time to act!", lit the glass bottle and threw it through the window of a nearby parked car where it exploded into fire. The speaker jumped into the audience as the assembled mass began to riot.
