Bettia
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| Flag of Bettia | |
| Motto: Bettia am byth | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | Atlantian Oceania |
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| Capital | Gabalfa |
| Official Language(s) | Bettian, Arabic, Welsh |
| Leader | President Amir Brooks |
| Population | 5 million-ish |
| Currency | Groat |
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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.
Bettia is reknowned for its natural beauty, and this is preserved as much as possible by the environmentally-friendly policies of the local governemtns. Its national animal is the Arora Aboombass, which is generally described as 'bloody wierd'.
Bettia doesn't have a national anthem yet, mainly due to the lack of musical talent within the country. The flag of Bettia is green and yellow quarters, with a white crescent imposed on a green circle in the centre. The quarters and central circle respresent the five counties of Bettia. The crescent represents the dominant religion. The green represents the lush green grasslands and forests, and the yellow either represents the golden sands of its beaches, or the striking yellow heather which grows in the highlands - no-one knows exactly which one it is, and quite frankly not many people care because the yellow goes very nicely with the green on the flag. Lets be honest, thats all that matters.
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 team won their debut international competition, walking away with the Baptism of Fire Cup after 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.
Crimes such as treason and murder can be punished by death. Adultery can be punished by flogging, but only if sufficient evidence is presented. Rapists can expect double this punishment. Theft can be punished by cutting off the criminal's right hand, but only in extreme circumstances (i.e. they seriously harmed someone in a bank robbery). In most cases of theft, and most other crimes, the punishment is restitution (unpaid labour for the victim) or imprisonment if the guilty party is thought to be dangerous.
