Dannistaan

Dannistaan

Flag of Dannistaan
Motto: In Omnis Unus (Upon All, One)
[1]
Region	The East Pacific
Capital	Dannistra Onn (Dannistaan City)
Official Language(s)	English (de facto), Dannistaanian, regional dialects of English
Leader	P'aanil F'orrlason-Smith (Current PM incumbant)
Population	10 Million (Unofficial)
Currency	Ailuropoda (#)
NS Sunset XML

The Confederacy of Dannistaan is a small island nation in the southern oceans of the East Pacific. It has had a long history of being fought over due to it's supply of precious minerals and the legendary ferocity of the local warriors. Currently the island is undergoing major changes in it's culture due to the increasing openess of the central government.

History

The island of Dannistra (The name of "Dannistaan" only came later) was first discovered in 1795 by a Royal Navy ship traveling to a Australian penal colony. However according to unofficial sources it was said that the ship took a wrong turn and ended up on Dannistra instead. At the time the only inhabitants of the island are the Dannistaanians (or Dannistrians), an indigenous group of tribal people who amazingly (To the British crew), had no contact with any of the outside world at all and even more astonishingly had been overlooked on mapping surveys of the region.

The island was conquered in 1841, but not before a very bloody battle which saw many of the Dannistrians hold out before succumbing to the cannons of the Royal Naval vessels. However, because of the tenacity of the warriors, the Admiral of the fleet paid his respects to the fallen islanders when he set foot upon the settlement now know as "South Port".

The conquering of the island wasn't made public as it was felt that it was unimportant, despite the fierce battle to control the island. On the discovery of certain valuable minerals, the island's existence was kept secret to avoid any further conflicts for its control. However this policy was not sucessful and throughout the first and second world wars, the island was occupied by many different forces, including the Germans, the Japanese, the Americans and at one point even the Chinese. Eventually the British wrested control of the island from the Japanese (with American help) in 1944 and began construction of two small airfields using early land reclaimation techniques. These have been improved over the years until the reclaimed land was made sufficiently steady. The larger of the airfields is now the international airport for the whole island.

In 1975 the island was granted independence in the Dannistaan Accord, ratified by both sides. The Accord provided the basis for the first draft of the island's constitution. However the British Monarch is still the nominal head of state for the island.

In 1982 an extremely violent civil war led to the deaths of 2.34 million people in total. The war was sparked off by an increasing amount of influence from the East Dannistaan delegation of MP's, who wanted greater control over the entire island. They had an advantage as most of the air force was positioned on the airfield to the northeast of the island, which was under their jurisdiction, and attempted a coup d'etat of the central government. The East Dannistrians first invaded North Dannistaan in an attempt to wrest control of the international airport and use it as a second airfield. The North Dannistrians, however, fought back ferociously and used the airport, ironically, first as part of the response and urged the other 3 Dannistrian regions to assist. After mediation talks from the UN failed to resolve the situation, the war escalated, first dragging in Central Dannistaan before South and West Dannistaan became involved. After 3 years, the 5 sides, exhausted by the continuous fighting, finally agreed a ceasefire and in 1987 formally ended the war. A trace was signed in the 25th December and the Dannistrian leaders vowed never again to fight against each other.

Government and politics

The Confederacy of Dannistaan was previously ruled over by a Governor, chosen by the British Monarch and later the Westminster Parliament in London. The Governor presided over a legislative council (LegCo) of 75 members. After independence, the island is now ruled by a bicarmel Parliament. The Parliament consists of the Lower House (Ti'volas As'embola, literally "Tribal Assembly") and the Upper House (Ti'volas O'varnos or "Tribal Overseers").

The Ti'volas As'embola consists of 150 members, each one elected using Proportional Representation, specifically the Single Transferable Vote. Each town and city has one Member of Parliament (or Kha'mon Ti'volas As'embola, lit: Clansman of the Tribal Assembly, abbreviated as KTA). Each rural area, roughly consisting of two or three villages, will have one MP/KTA.

The Ti'volas O'varnos consists of 75 members. Each O'varna (Overseer, equivalent term to Senator) is also elected directly to the O'varnos via Single Member Plurality or First Past the Post. The criteria being that the O'varna must have served at least 10 years as a KTA before standing for election as an O'varna.

The head of the ruling party is nominated as the Prime Minster, or Ti'vol B'ani'r (Tribe Chief). He has the power to nominate a cabinet of up to 8 MP's/KTA's to assist him in running the nation.

Both house serve a term of 5 years maximum and are both elected at the same time.

The British Monarchy is represented by a Governor-General who performs the functions of the Monarch in his/her absence. This includes opening and dissolving Parliament and giving Acts of Parliament Royal Assent to become law. Traditionally this position has been held by a former KTA who has served a minimum of 25 years or an O'varna who has served 15 years.

As a result of the 1982 civil war, the right of the citizens to decide ultimately what happened to the country was enshrined heavily. In the second constitution, still in force today, the first section emphasises this.

Regardless of the form the Government of the Confederacy of Dannistaan has taken, the first right is the people's right to choose their representatives and ultimately decide the direction and shape of the Confederacy of Dannistaan, regardless of the wishes of the members of the Government in power at the time.(From section 1 of the 1987 Constitution)

Foreign Relations

Surprisingly, despite being in an active region, Dannistaan has seen little involvment in foreign affairs, except for the multiple invasions during the two world wars. This lead to a form of isolation being practiced. However since 1999 they have started opening up more to the outside world. Despite this, they have kept close contacts with the United Kingdom and is an observer member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Subdivisions

The island is divided into 5 different Ti'vol'ron (Tribal areas, equivalent to a county or province). Each Ti'vol'ron is divided into 2 or 3 Ti'vol'ron-suu (districts). The 5 Ti'vol'ron are actually independent sovereign states in their own right, and reserve the right, under the constitution, to secede from the Confederation. However, the union has worked well in their favour so far, despite the 1982 civil war, so no reason is seen to sought independance from the Confederation so far. The MP's/KTA's are alloacted depending on the proportion of population in each of the Ti'vol'rons. The current formula is:

• North Dannistaan (Nordu Dannistra) - 15%
• South Dannistaan (Bas'sou Dannistra) - 45%
• West Dannistaan (Hal'vos Dannistra) - 10%
• East Dannistaan (Riu'en Dannistra) - 20%
• Central Dannistaan (Ha'rutt Dannistra) - 10%

Official name

The official name of "Confederacy of Dannistaan" refers to the fact that a Confederation is a looser alliance of nations rather than a Federation, were the constituant members are far more tightly integrated. The 5 Ti'vol'ron have far more autonomy from each other than most states in a Federal country. However they have agreed on common standards for many things such as electricity supply voltage, road speed limits, telephone numbers, currency and postal codes.

The name "Dannistaan" is not related to the group of mid Asian countries which use the suffix of "-stan". Rather it is Dannistaanian/Dannistrian for "Dannis Land", "Ingla'staan" being England, or the UK in most colloqial contexts.

Dannistaanians or Dannistrians?

"Dannistaanian" is the adjective used by most foreigners. However, the term used and prefered by most on the island is "Dannistrian", as "Dannistra" was the island's previous name prior to English conquest. Most people however will not mind which term you use.

Military

Because of the 1982 civil war, Dannistaan has not had a formal set of armed forces for sometime, the Air Force, Navy and Army being disbanded to prevent a repeat of the 1982 war. Nonetheless, defence is needed and the Government has set up a system of militias manned by volunteers with equal numbers from each district. There is also a small RAF prescence to provide assistance in case of conflict with a larger, hostile foreign power. The volunteer militia, though unpaid and unfunded, are surprisingly well equiped though in a real conflict they could probably only hold off invaders, not defeat them outright. However, are capable of fighting as they have had ancestors who were involved in the 1841 conflict against the English.

One of the darker and less well known secrets of Dannistaan is the "Experimental Energy Defence Lab", secretly built by the UK MOD during 1963, about a year after the Cuban Missle Crisis. It is rumoured that a large energy satellite weapon, designed to both shoot down ICBM's and actually actively attack cities was developed there and launched using one of the missile silos in the Hal'von airforce base. Although there is evidence that a large laser cannon was built at the facility, there is no evidence that anything useful emerged from the project. A rocket was launched in 1968 from missile silo 2 but it's contents are unknown. Officially it was a dummy test missile but before it could be brought back down contact was lost and it is assumed to be destroyed in orbit.

Geography

Most of the island of Dannistaan is dominated by the large dormant volcanoe Mount Dannistaan (Dannistra Vol'nus). More is given in the heading below. Apart from that, most of the terrain consists of barren and rocky grassland in the south and west with large patches of jungle and rainforest in the north and east. There are many caves dotted around the island, possibly once inhabited by the ancestors of the current Dannistrians. Some parts of the northern and eastern coasts are vulnerable to flooding, due to the low lying beach lines.

Mount Dannistaan (Dannistra Vol'nus)

Mount Dannistaan, or Dannistra Vol'nus (Dannistra Volcanoe), is an extinct volcanoe which dominates most of the island. The highest point is approximately 2763 meters. Part of the crater of the volcanoe acts as a natural lake that provides the source of water for the river that flows down the mountain in a southwest direction. The volcanoe has been the source of many stories and legends, the most famous one involving Hal'vo, the local Deity, who was said to have stopped an erruption from destroying a village when the volcanoe was still active. Many tourists come on holiday to Dannistaan simply to try climbing the Mountain, which is known for having unpredictable weather.

Economy

The economy is based on a free market. The Government has seen no need to legislate in this area, except in environmental and health aspects. Apart from that, the corporations based here are free to do as they please. There is a flat income tax of 13%, payable by all citizens. Previously, a form of property tax was used to fund Government expenditure but this almost lead to a second civil war until the property tax was abolished in 1993. The main industries on the island are book publishing and automobile manufacture. The automobiles built on the island are normally for export, mostly to the United Kingdom and the EU trade area, since there are not many usable roads on the island and most commute by the railroad system built during the 1982 civil war (It was originally used by East Dannistaan to transport troops and weapons around it's conquered lands).

The local currency is the Ailuropoda or Ai'urop'da, which has almost reached parity with the US dollar, 1 Ailuropoda being worth $0.97.

The island is rich in many minerals and materials. However it was the discovery of a large amount of Uranium which generated much interest and excitement. The effect was similar to finding oil in other nations i.e. many Dannistrians became rich overnight. The main uranium mine is situated on the southwest, near the town of Ann'try. Many environmentalists have criticised the Governments decision to allow almost unregulated mining of the uranium. However most would agree it has generated a sizable amount of income.

Transport

As mentioned, there are not many usable roads in Dannistaan. This is partly because of the rugged terrain, which makes building roads difficult and partly because of the 1982 civil war, which left many of the few usable roads destroyed or littered with landmines. The Government has already spent the equivalent of $60 million in an attempt to repair and clear the roads. This would allow better links and boost the economy. However most cargo and passengers are transported using the privatised railroad system, that was originally built to transport troops and military equipment during the civil war. When the war ended the Government considered deconstructing the entire system, as it was indirectly involved with the deaths of many people. However it was decided to "beat swords into ploughshears" and turn the railroad into a civilian system.

Transportation links to the outside world consist of hourly flights to various contries in the East Pacific and the UK. There is also several daily long distance ferry services, some on conventional vessels and others using fast jetfoil craft.

Society

Demographics

As of the 2001 census, the population was somewhere near 10 million, however it is not known how reliable this figure is. About 60% of this population live in small villages in the countryside. Literacy rate is near 100% thanks to the compulsory education system, where everyone must at least attend an Elementary school for 10 years minimum.

Most of the people are descended from the indigenous tribes that have lived on the island before the English conquest. However there are some descendents of ex-pats and immigrants from other places. They make up 2% of the population.

There is no actual official language. However English (Inglas'ee) is the de facto language of the island along with a modernised version of Dannistaanian. Regional variations of both also exist and mixing of the two is common.

Culture

Society within Dannistaan is rather insular thanks to the lack of contact with the outside world. This is exacerbated by the remote location of the land. Most visitors, on setting foot on the island, find life very strange and unless they remain in the larger towns and cities, they will feel as they have gone back in time.

Though modern technology is prevalent throughout the island, many of the Dannistrians still believe in old, seemingly stereotypical old customs associated with many jungle tribes around the world, such as "voodoo" magic and evil spirits.

Religion

In terms of worship, most believe in the Deity called Hal'vo. Originally not a God, he was a tribal chief who probably lived from 85 - 60 BC. He was the first tribal chief to united all the tribes living on the island at the time. When he died it was said that his spirit entered the volcanoe and still reside there to this day. To shout out the phrase "K'listo Hal'vo n'ov t'ou!" is to wish that Hal'vo be with the person (Lit: Call/Place Hal'vo on you) or rather to wish someone good luck.