Crime in Equatoria (Turning Tides)

Port Libre riot police during the 2018 election protests

Equatoria's police force is, like the military, a large and well-funded organisation. It also possesses equipment that has been imported from Western countries. Equatoria's Police service has the goal of preventing crime and protecting its citizens. Many have noticed that Equatoria has a relatively low crime rate and the best-funded division within the Police force is Riot Control. These facts, combinded with Equatoria being considered a Hybrid Regime and a history of police brutality, have raised concerns that the Police are little more than tools used by the Equatorian Government to suppress dissent. Recent uses of the National Police have been 2014 Anti-Indian riots, 2018 election protests, 2022 anti-immigrant protests and the 2023 Witch-hunts. The general Police have also been used in the ongoing crackdown on organised crime in Equatoria.

Civil Unrest

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The rural exodus consisting to freed slaves led to establishing cities having massive population increase, although there was opposition to this, most notably in the form of the Anti-Kitara riots in Sainte-Marie.

KNLF Youth Protest

Year of Africa Protests

The year 1967 saw further instability in French Azania. As with many Muslim-majority areas, there were riots targeting Jews that broke out as a result of the Six Day War.

Protests broke out almost immediately after the election results were announced. The Equatorian Army was mobilised and police forces in cities with protests received orders to disperse the protestors. In some cities the protests turned to riots. The Coalition made plans for a coup but the plot was discovered by the authorities soon after. All of the Coalition parties reported having their offices raided and members arrested during this period. The Coalition leadership met in secret and agreed that the time for peaceful resolution was over. The two parties with ties to foreign governments (ECP and PPLI) began to secure military supplies for a rebellion. It was not long before Soviet, Libyan, Algerian, Sheban and Cuban support started to arrive via Equatoria's border with Sheba.

Other than this high-profile terrorist attack, there were nationwide Pro-Palestinian demonstrations who opposed the dual-recognition policy, with some protests turning into riots, although martial law was never declared, it was considered by Bikoko.

In 1996, the United States Passed the "Iran and Libya Sanctions Act" which implemented sanctions against Iran due to its newly-established Nuclear Weapons Program and its support for Hezbollah, while sanctions were placed on Libya due to the 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks, the bombing of the "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin, SCUD missile attacks on the Italian islands of Lampedusa, and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland. In response to these sanctions, some people stormed the American embassy in Port Libre, flying Libyan and Iranian flags, as well as the KNLF's official flag. Over the course of the next few days, the embassies of Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Israel, and Saudi Arabia were attacked in a similar way to the US one. This incident became known as the Port Libre Embassy attacks. As the embassies remained under the occupation of the demonstrators they were looted and vandalised, while the staff faced violence and harassment, in some cases they were even killed or held hostage. Makélélé released a statement where he denounced Israel and NATO, which was interpreted by many as an endorsement of the Embassy Attacks. In the end, personnel from the Port Libre Police department, National Guard and Gendarmerie stormed the embassies and cleared out the rioters. After it was over, it was found that many of the rioters were armed with machetes, Molotov cocktails, various types of firearms, and even grenades. Some of the people arrested for the attacks were wanted fugitives who were believed to have gone to Libya for training. In 2000, the incidents were officially classified as an instance of foreign interference by Libya.

The 2008 Riots

The decision led to massive unrest in the country, as KNLF supporters took to the streets to protest against what they called democratic backsliding and political persecution. It was estimated that over half of all protests turned into riots. Most participants were young ethnic Kitara men from urban areas. Martial law was declared by President Bikoko, who ordered both the Gendarmerie and National Guard to contain the unrest, while ordering the Army to be on high-alert and ready for domestic deployment. There were numerous instances of security forces beating or shooting rioters, although for the most part rioters were dispersed with non-lethal riot control techniques such as water cannons, rubber bullets and pepper spray. In addition to looting, there were also many reports of lynchings, as well as targeted looting of businesses owned by foreigners. There were instances of intercommunal violence, as groups that were targeted in the riots responded with "community response actions" as well as retaliatory attacks. The offices of several news agencies were attacked duirng the riots, since they were perceived by the rioters as being anti-KNLF and/or critical of the protests. By the end, at least 58 people were confirmed to have been killed, with 3287 people arrested.

Pierre Makélélé remained defiant, calling Joel Bikoko a dictator, and called on his supporters to take to the streets. Makélélé barricaded himself inside the KNLF headquarters, resulted in a multi-day armed standoff with military and police forces. During the standoff, called a "siege" by the Equatorian press, utilities to the KNLF building were cut off, while there were several times when the two sides exchanged gunfire. The entire time, roads leading to the building were blocked off and riot police prevented people from reaching the area, as many KNLF supporters attempted to break through the police line to reach the Party Headquarters. In the end, the KNLF leadership voted to disband the party, and Makélélé exited the building to surrender to the police in a televised event. Before being arrested, he urged his supporters to end the rioting.

While all of this was happening, a small island used by the KNLF as a training camp for their paramilitary wing was raided by the marines and special forces, with operational support from the Air Force. All personnel at the site were either killed or arrested during the operation.

In the aftermath, a new group was created by some of the young men who had participated in the riots, called the New Kitara National Liberation Front (NKNLF). The NKNLF was quickly banned and declared a terrorist organisation. The Arrow Flag of the KNLF was banned in Equatoria. Pierre Makélélé was sentenced to 10 years in prison, being released in 2018 to cheering crowds who greeted him as he was released from Tromelin Prison.

Arab Spring

The Prohibition Act banned the production, importation, sale and consumption of alcohol, with the only exception being Christian religious services. The final night that bars were allowed to open saw police forces moving to close them, and there were instances of civil unrest and rioting, in what the Press later called "La Grande Ivresse" (The Great Drunkenness).

2014 Anti-Indian riots

2018 election protests

2022 anti-immigrant protests

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a significant event for Equatoria. Relations with Russia had always been relatively cold, mostly due to Equatoria being generally aligned with the west, and since the two nations had been on opposing sides in many conflicts in Africa. Sanctions limited the ability of Russians to do business in Equatoria, and being that it is a Africa's centre of finance, technology, transportation and commerce meant that the ability of Russia to operate across Africa had become more difficult logistically. Equatoria is fairly reliant on imports of foreign agricultural products, since the lack of arable land have been an issue for the region for centuries. Because of this, imports of Russian and Ukrainian grain became almost completely cut off, which led to an increase in food prices that caused civil unrest. There was a commission that investigated if Russia had encouraged the riots in any way, since there is a history of Russian propaganda efforts (such as in the Central African Republic) or electoral interference (such as in Madagascar). These efforts are often done through the Wagner Group.

Organised Crime

History

World War II

Following the fall of France in 1940 the Governor of French Azania, Pierre Nouailhetas, decided to swear allegiance to the new pro-Axis Vichy regime. He began a reign of terror, many of his enemies were either executed or put into labour camps. All Jewish and non-white people in the colonial government were removed. A local branch of the Milice (Pro-German militias) were established and Nouailhetas used them to hunt down his rivals and critics, declaring them to be "Gaullists, Communists and British spies". Most knew that the victims of this purge were being persecuted to their personal rivalries with Nouailhetas and many were actually on the right. The newly-vacant government positions were filled by members of French Fascist parties or those who were close to the Authoritarian Governor. Most people in government used their positions as a way to embezzle funds from the government while giving their seal of approval on whatever legislation the Fascists wanted. Berlin and Vichy were both aware of this rampant corruption but due to the geographic isolation of the colony there was little they could do. It was said that the ideology of Vichy Equatoria was Opportunism, not Fascism.

During the Vichy period, an unknown number of politicians in the local government began working with the Corsican mafia. The Corsicans already sold most of the heroin produced in French Azania, while they also operated most of its illegal casinos, and they likely infiltrated politics through leveraging gambling debts. After World War II many of the Vichy-Era politicians were removed from office and arrested, but the fact that the Corsicans still had a presence in the government implies that some Vichy-Era politicians managed to slip through, or some non-fascist politicians that were already in government before the war were bribed during the Vichy period.

French Connection

The "French Connection" was an intercontinental heroin smuggling operation operated by the Corsican mafia out of the port of Marseille. The operation had started in the 1930s, but reached its height from the late 1950s to late 1960s. Since the French Azanian government was so thoroughly influenced by the Corsican mafia, they were able to use the region for both the production and transfer of heroin. Originally, most of the drugs were produced in Lebanon and Turkey. This was due to the fact that Turkey legalised growing opium poppies for morphine production, but the trade was unregulated, allowing farmers to sell their legal opium to pharmaceutical companies while selling their undocumented surplus to the Corsicans, while Lebanese organised crime was allied to the Corsican mafia. The drugs were shipped to Marseille for refinement, then they were dumped in isolated coastal regions of the United States, where local allies would pick it up and sell it. The port of Marseille was operated by a Corsican gangster who had served in the French résistance during World War II, and the local police refused to arrest him because of this. In the United States the Corsicans had two main allies, the Italian-American mafia and various Black gangs, most notably the one led by Frank Larry Matthews.

The Corsicans were concerned that their sources of heroin (Turkey and Lebanon) could be unstable, especially as the US government was putting pressure on Turkey to crack down on opium farming. To solve this, the Corsicans began to grow large amounts of heroin on plantations in French Azania, and since the local government was already deeply corrupt and under their influence, they could operate with impunity. It has been said that this operation was "one of the criminal underworld's best kept secrets". The only organisations that were aware of this operation were the key allies of the Corsicans: Lebanese, Italian and Italian-American.

Terrorism

Separatist/Ethnonationalist Terrorism

Kitara Nationalism

While campaigning for the 1985 Presidential election, Djibril Moussa Dem was giving a speech at a rally to his supporters. Many people in the crowd had KNLF party flags as well as Equatorian flags, while many were veterans of the Civil War who wore military uniforms. A man named Ibrahim Kendi arrived at the event wearing his own uniform, and he was seen approaching a group of other veterans of the civil war and spoke to them. The group left the event while Kendi began to push his way through the crowd, leading some to speculate that Kendi might have warned the men to leave the event. Once Kendi arrived at the front of the crowd he produced a concealed weapon (a stockless AK-74) and shot Moussa Dem 4 times in the chest. One bystander attempted to wrestle the gun away from Kendi but he was struck, and Kendi proceeded to fire into the crowd. He then stepped onto the stage and stood over Moussa Dem's body and fired the rest of the rounds in his magazine into Djibril. Several police officers began to approach the stage and exchanged fire with Kendi, who managed to shoot and kill two officers before he was himself fatally shot. In the end, Ibrahim Kendi, Djibril Moussa Dem, two police officers and six civilians were killed in the attack.

Ibrahim Kendi first joined the Runyakitara literary revival movement as a student, later joining the new KNLF. He was arrested by the French due to participant in a riot, and was released from prison after independence. He served in the Equatorian Civil War and was wounded in action towards the end. He joined a KNLF veterans group and gradually came to believe that the Dakar Accords had turned the KLNLF into controlled opposition for the National Party, especially after Moussa Dem voted in favour of a motion to only give veterans benefits to those who served in either the French Army as colonial troops or those who fought for the government in the Civil War (meaning that MDE, KNLF, ECP and PPLI soldiers who survived the war could not get veteran's benefits).

The KNLF was left in shambles after the death of Moussa Dem, since he was a popular politician and charismatic speaker, as well as the founder of the party and its only leader up to this point. As a result of this, many KNLF voters shifted to the MDE, which helped give the MDE its landslide victory that made Joel Bikoko President.

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw a rise in terrorist attacks linked to KNLF supporters.

In 1996, the United States Passed the "Iran and Libya Sanctions Act" which implemented sanctions against Iran due to its newly-established Nuclear Weapons Program and its support for Hezbollah, while sanctions were placed on Libya due to the 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks, the bombing of the "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin, SCUD missile attacks on the Italian islands of Lampedusa, and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland. In response to these sanctions, some people stormed the American embassy in Port Libre, flying Libyan and Iranian flags, as well as the KNLF's official flag. Over the course of the next few days, the embassies of Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Israel, and Saudi Arabia were attacked in a similar way to the US one. This incident became known as the Port Libre Embassy attacks. As the embassies remained under the occupation of the demonstrators they were looted and vandalised, while the staff faced violence and harassment, in some cases they were even killed or held hostage. Makélélé released a statement where he denounced Israel and NATO, which was interpreted by many as an endorsement of the Embassy Attacks. In the end, personnel from the Port Libre Police department, National Guard and Gendarmerie stormed the embassies and cleared out the rioters. After it was over, it was found that many of the rioters were armed with machetes, Molotov cocktails, various types of firearms, and even grenades. Some of the people arrested for the attacks were wanted fugitives who were believed to have gone to Libya for training. In 2000, the incidents were officially classified as an instance of foreign interference by Libya.

There was another attack in 1999, when an Evangelical Church in the Saint-Barthélemy district of Port Libre was attacked by a gunman because he saw that the preacher at the Church was a White American. Majority of the people in the people in the Church, as well as the Saint-Barthélemy district as a whole, were of Caribbean descent, including many refugees from Haiti who arrived within the last few years. The attack was originally investigated as an instance of religious violence, but the attacker was found to be a Catholic, who considered the Church to be an "American Propaganda Factory". He also expressed anti-Haitian sentiment, and made claims that the United States had engineered the Haitian refugee crisis to dilute the Kitara population of Equatoria. The attacker also claimed that Haitians practiced voodoo, which he referred to as "Witchcraft".

In 2005, an ethnically Kitara man named Timothée Embola entered the Port Libre Chinatown armed with a machete, killing 14 and wounding 18. Witnesses reported that Embola was heard ranting about a "Race War" during the attack, where he targeted Asian Equatorians, specifically Equatorians of Vietnamese and Chinese origin. He refused to surrender to any police officer that was not ethnically Kitara, which is what ultimately happened.

After his arrest, KNLF leader Pierre Makélélé called Timothée Embola a "hero", and his party donated funds to Embola's legal defence. At one point Makélélé said that he would pay Embola's bail if it was ever posted. These statements were unanimously denounced by other parties, especially after the Chinatown Attack was officially classified by the Gendarmerie as a terrorist attack. In response, Makélélé called Bikoko (an ethnic Kitara) a "race traitor". Makélélé subsequently released a party document called "On the exploitation of our people" where he accused Jewish and Asian (Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese) people of secretly controlling the Equatorian government and working against Kitara people's interests, culminating an accusations that Bikoko is an Israeli agent. The MDE and National Party published a joint declaration that referred to "On the exploitation of our people" as "nothing more than delusional ranting".

The final attack was when a synagogue in Port Libre was attacked, which resulted in one death, plus four injured. The attacker cited "On the exploitation of our people" as an reason for the attack. This resulted in "On the exploitation of our people" being banned in Equatoria.