[Abrivianius] Why Belgian Independence Is Such A Good Thing

Day 703, 08:10 • Published in Netherlands Pakistan • by Habraka Abrivianius

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Dear citizens of The United Netherlands,


Some of you might know me, most of you will not, so allow me to introduce myself. I am Habraka Abrivianius, former Minister of Trade of Belgium, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, two time Member of Congress of Belgium, two time Party President of the Belgian party Free Flanders, and Belgian in real life. I am also the guy who engineered the union between my native Belgium, and The Netherlands, which was completed on the 5th of April, 2009.

The details on how the union exactly came into being are a little blurred, mostly due to only a select few people knowing what exactly transpired during that important period of eBelgian history. Allow me to enlighten everyone:

There had been talks about a possible union between our two neighbouring countries since the beginning of eRepublik, mainly based on the fact that most Belgians at the time were Flemish and thus Dutch-speaking, and because both countries had small populations, were vulnerable to PTO's and thus could use each other's added population for improved security. Things turned out differently though, with Belgium joining the United Kingdom. After Operation French Toast however, the UK lost it's continental possessions, and Belgium regained it's independence (first Flanders and Walloonia, after a month or two Brussels was freed too). Belgium at the time was a barren wasteland, we barely had an active population of 20-30, with most of them two-clicking, with only a handful players that could be bothered logging in more than once a day. Our Congress was made up of the three most active leaders of the country and de facto leading triumvirate, Palodigon, CreveRoeland and me, mixed in with some two-clicking and inactive Belgians, and as always, a handful of foreigners only here to get the medal and 5 Gold.

During that time there was a lot of discussion on the future of our country, one option was to join a neighbouring country, The Netherlands, but talk about rejoining the UK or staying independent was heard as well. It was a stalemate however, things didn't go forward and day by day people went inactive and we were at the mercy of foreigners. Then it hit me, we are so afraid of PTO's, instead we should use our biggest weakness as our biggest strength! One of the major issues against a union with The Netherlands (which I favoured) was that it was a member of PEACE, and the pro-independence folk were mainly pro-ATLANTIS or pro-neutrality. Since joining PEACE was not an option for half of the country, I decided to force their hand a little.

I had a good chat with Leroy Combs, the director of the CIA at the time, and informed him of the Belgian situation. I told him that if ATLANTIS were to PTO Belgian Congress that month, and install me as President later on, I would make it an ATLANTIS outpost that could spearhead an advance against PEACE in Western Europe. Lo and behold, a couple of days later, a Spanish PTO group under the name of Tropas Imperiales comes to Belgium. Till this day I do not know if they came as a result of my little chat with Leroy Combs, but it didn't matter, they were coming, and I was expecting them. I quickly made contact, assured them of my loyalty, and started feeding them valuable information to win the Belgian people for their cause. On the other hand, as part of the Belgian triumvirate, I spread dissent and misinformation in government circles, which caused massive confusion and panic about the current situation we found ourselves in. Negotiations with the Dutch cranked up considerably, but it still was not enough. So Congress was PTO'd, and the President elections were coming up. Roughly 24,5 hours before the President elections would end, The Netherlands voted to declare war on Belgium, when everyone had to face the truth, the only way the Belgian people would maintain any say about how their regions are run, is to give up Belgium and merge with The Netherlands. The plot thickens.

On Sunday, the 5th of April, The Netherlands declared war on Belgium, and presidents CreveRoeland and DanielB1989 in an unprecedented and highly coordinated move attacked and retreated regions, conquering the whole of Belgium in less than 5 minutes. Finally my, and with me the members of the Dutch Reunification Movement's goal was achieved, merging Belgium with The Netherlands, and doing it with the approval of 98% of the Belgians. At first, all was great, almost everyone could spoke their native Dutch, in articles, on the forum, on IRC. However, soon after, a mere weeks, Belgium experienced a small babyboom, when 50-100 Walloons from the Liège area joined, and unwittingly placed a lot of unneeded pressure on the young union. Articles started to appear, first in French, then in broken Google translated Dutch, and then finally in English, all calling for an independent Belgium. Those players were new, they did not know why and how Belgium merged with The Netherlands, nor did they care as they joined to play in their native Belgium, not a, in their eyes, foreign occupation force.

How did things turn out differently... Nowadays, the Belgian Party, which mainly consists out of French-speaking Belgians now control the majority of Congress, and on some occasions even provide the president. After a second Walloon babyboom, English has replaced the native Dutch of the beginning of the union, and due to a situation that is getting worse and worse by the day, two peoples, two cultures, two languages are forced to work as one, and that it is not going well can be clearly seen; a large part of Congress is inactive, even the President is known to say on IRC; "bathroom break, be back in 5" and then disappearing for a month. The Union has become a sick joke compared with the potential it had at the onset, it's ruling class is decadent and corrupted, it's member base inactive and inexperienced.

It's about time to end this union, and give the Belgians a real chance to stand on their own two feet once again. There are more Belgians than Dutch players at this point in time, with citizenship PTO's are no longer such a huge threat, and neutral wargames now provide the Belgian population with a way to rank up and level up much faster then at first. Belgium and The Netherlands can thrive and prosper on their own, but if they remain in union then there is no end to the downwards spiral of inactivity and decay.

Belgians, I call upon you to do what is right, what feels right, and that is to finally give Belgium back it's independence, for you, for me, for all of us.

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