PrintWhy Atlantica and Why Now?
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Transcript
Tonight on the World News Network, the growing crisis in the south-central highlands of Atlantica. We’ll have updates from our reporters in the Republic of Atlantica. But first, why Atlantica, and why now? Since gaining its independence from Great Britain in 1985, the Republic of Atlantica has been reasonably prosperous and indeed has been the envy of many neighboring countries in the region. But this prosperity has not been equally shared across the country. Many observers say that geography hinders even development in Atlantica. The fertile lowlands of the northern half of the country have enjoyed tremendous economic development, while the rugged terrain of the remote south-central highlands has had little to offer until recently. While Atlanticans have much in common, the southern highlanders developed strong, self-sufficient tribal traditions well adapted to village life in the mountains. This all changed about ten years ago with the discovery of rich mineral deposits in the highlands. Commercial interests in northern Atlantica moved in to mine these rich deposits, often with massive investments from European financial interests and support from the World Bank. At the same time, with the fall of communism and the iron curtain, Atlantica was instantly transformed into a front line strategic ally of the United States. Its location in Eurasia made Atlantica an ideal site for a new operating base for the United States Air Force and a key element in America’s military plans for the 21st century.
But declines in mineral prices over the last year have led to mine closures and massive layoffs in the highlands. Local tribal leaders have complained that their villagers have been the last hired and the first fired from these northern owned enterprises. Strikes and labor action were greeted by a hard line response from the Atlantican government. Ministry of National Security officers moved in and arrested highland labor activists and several key tribal leaders. This prompted some highland radicals to take up arms in the old style tradition of violent retribution. What has made the situation more dangerous is the use of IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, made from commercial explosives stolen from highland mines. Last week, a police patrol was attacked with an IED, leaving several police officers critically wounded. The Atlantican Ministry of National Security labeled this attack the work of bandits and criminals and conducted several major coordinate search operations in highland villages. While government troops did uncover several hidden arms caches, they also arrested many hundreds of highland villagers. Village elders staged more strikes and protests, calling the government raids “disproportionate and heavy-handed.”
Some international observers, like the human rights watch-dog group Rights Without Borders, say that the recent economic downturn has done nothing more than aggravate long-standing tensions between southern Atlanticans and their cousins in the wealthy northern capital. Southern Atlanticans, and highlanders in particular, have long been discouraged from voting in national elections, by what they say are, archaic land ownership provisions in the Atlantican constitution. More to the point, the army of Atlantica and the much feared Ministry of National Security are both dominated by northerners, with few, or any, representatives from the southern provinces. The United Nations, the European Union, and the United States have all called upon the government of Atlantica to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution to this growing crisis. Yesterday, the international committee of the Red Cross urged the army of Atlantica and other government security personnel, as well as armed factions in the highlands, to respect the laws of armed conflict and protect the lives of civilians caught up in this growing crisis.
In our next segment, we’ll go to the south-central highlands in Atlantica with our reporter Charlotte Smith-Jones to see what’s happening on the front lines and meet Atlanticans caught up in the midst of what might well become the most serious security crisis on the Eurasian continent this decade.