Bettia

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Bettia
bettia.gif
Flag of Bettia
Motto: Tough on penguins, tough on the causes of pengiuns
No Map Available Yet
Region Atlantian Oceania
Capital Gabalfa
Official Language(s) English, Arabic, Welsh
Leader President Amir Brooks
Population 5 million-ish
Currency Groat 
NS Sunset XML

The Country

The Most Serene Republic of Bettia was formed as a breakaway republic from it's former oppressors. It further broke away when the government took the bold step of transporting the entire country from its former landlocked location to a cluster of islands knows as Atlantian Oceania, mainly for footballing reasons but also because the president fancied a bit more sunshine in his back garden.

The country is split into five counties - Gabalfa in the centre, Clodien in the south, Banastra in the East, Maghrib in the west, and Gogledd in the north.

The People

The vast majority of Bettians (around 93%) follow Islam, and have a reputation for being kind, charitible and a little bit eccentric. The main language is Bettian (which looks and sounds remarkably like English), with Arabic and Welsh also spoken in certain parts of the country.

The remaining 7% is made up of Jews and Buddhists, mainly refugees fleeing religious persecution some years ago and subsequently welcomed into Bettian society.

Of all the things that unites the Bettian people, it is sport (and in particular, football) which brings them together the most. Bettians are almost legendarily sports-mad, and this mania was certainly helped along when the Bettian national football team won their debut international competition, walking away with the Baptism of Fire Cup with a thumping 7-0 win in the final.

Government & Law

Being a mostly-Islamic state, Bettia is run by a Shura or elected council which makes all major decisions jointly. The shura is made up of 10 members (two per county) elected every five years, although emergency by-elections may be held at any time.

The Shura is chaired by a directly elected President, who has tie-breaking powers within the council and mainly performs an ambassadorial role.

County assemblies run day-to-day affairs, such as setting taxation levels and public spending. Like the Shura, these are elected every five years with emergency by-elections held whenever needed.

Bettia operates a legal system based around the Islamic shariah law. This is generally approved of by the population due to the low crime levels, although some non-religious groups are seeking to abolish this in favour of a more secular approach.