Etana Conflict

The Etana Conflict was an incident in early 2009, sparked by citizens of the Doble Islands that wanted to secede from Weddell and form a new US State, Etana. Weddell nor nearby Freezeland approved of a new state, and a majority of the citizens in the Doble Islands didn't want to secede either.

Event
The islands of Cinta and Docca were settled in the 1980s, but their citizens disagreed and feuded with each other for over a decade, until 1998, when they built a bridge and unified as the Doble Islands. The capital city of Cinta, Grenanda, was also expanded to the coast of Docca so that it could become the capital of the islands. Once they stopped competing with each other, they decided to compete with their other neighbors, eventually becoming the richest and safest place in the Weddell Sea. The name "Etana" was used at some point to refer to the Northeast portion of the Sea, including the Doble Islands, and the name stuck among locals.

March 2009
In January 2009, the state of Weddell formed by seceding from the larger Sub-Antarctic Islands. It was around this time that citizens on the Doble Islands, mostly in the island government, thought about seceding to make their own state. They decided to start an army, but few penguins joined, causing it to be abandoned shortly after.

By March, about a third of the population (mostly on Docca), and most of the islands' government, was part of the "Etana Statehood Movement". On March 23rd, the Doble government published the "Declaration of Etanan Independence", and sent a copy to the Governor of Weddell, who was shocked. King Triskelle of Freezeland also heard the news, and was outraged. He felt as though Etana was a threat to the agreement the USA and Freezeland had signed pertaining to the Weddell Sea. He immediately sent a letter to the Governor of Weddell, that stated:

"Dear Weddell, I think you were supposed to take control of all your territory, were you not? I heard about an area on our border - Etana - declaring state independence! If you don't take control of the situation, we may be forced to occupy it and other parts of Weddell."

- King Triskelle

The Governor replied and sent the state's small army to the Doble Islands, in an attempt to halt the secession process. Triskelle told the army to stand down once he received the Governor's reply, but the issue remained unsolved. Meanwhile, protesting and fighting broke out in the streets between those who wanted to secede and those who wanted to remain part of Weddell.

The South Pole Council held an emergency session on March 27th to discuss introducing Etana as a state, a debate that lasted the whole day. There were a few "For" votes, including The Leader, who wanted to please both sides, and also gain a new ally. However, there were far more "Against" votes, including those from Kwiksilver (representing Weddell) and King Triskelle. After the vote failed by a large margin, The Leader calmed tensions by suggested that the Etanans move to an uninhabited archipelago that his explorers found North of the Happyface State, so that they wouldn't have to secede from Weddell. The Etanans moved on March 30th, simultaneously renamed themselves New North Etana. The new settlers spread out on Charles Island and the other islands, founding the cities of Wentley, and Kanapa City. They would later found New West City as a capital.

April & May 2009
A new vote was scheduled for May to determine if New North Etana should become a state. Meanwhile, NNE continued to act like a state of the USA, which included the building of an army, and the election of Idoreconise as the Governor. NNE also still claimed the Etana region of Weddell, though they couldn't enforce their claim. Early in April, King Triskelle found out that New North Etana was in the middle of the Freezelandian Ocean Territories, which angered him. Despite that, it remained undisturbed for the time being as a mostly unrecognized state.

New North Etana continued to grow, quickly becoming a tourist attraction and gaining many new army recruits. Idoreconise saw a large, bright future, one that didn't involve socialism. Once their army was large enough, he initiated his anti-socialism plan and declared war on East Pengolia, as well as the United Rebel's Republic later on (who were rumored to be socialists). Those conflicts continued to drag on without much fighting, and without US intervention. In May, Idoreconise offered to annex Japaland in exchange for their protection (since they can't have an army of their own). When they refused, Idoreconise declared war on them as well, intending on showing them the errors of their ways. What he hadn't anticipated was the South Pole Council's near-unanimous vote to defend Japaland. The USA is obligated to protect Japaland from foreign attackers, due to the treaty Japaland signed at the end of the Khanzem War, and the Free Republics agreed because they were fed up with NNE, or afraid that they themselves would be attacked like E. Pengolia and URR, who were both Free Republics themselves. The vote about NNE Statehood never came around, but it is thought that it would have failed by a slim-to-decent margin.

NNE only lasted a few days after they declared war on Japaland, as US and Freezelandian ships blockaded their archipelago and forced their unconditional surrender. In the treaty, NNE was officially dissolved and Freezeland officially annexed the islands, though they already legally owned them due to being in the FOT. The citizens of NNE were forced to disarm themselves and swear allegiance to Freezeland or move, but they were not arrested or prosecuted. Today, Etana still remains an unofficial area in Weddell, and North Etana is an unofficial region in the FOT's Northeastern Territory. It is still a popular tourist attraction.