FROM THE ARCHIVES
Original date of publication: September 25th, 2020
“Banians Go Home”: Protest at Newly Opened Banian Embassy Turns Violent
NUVRENON, Tavaris-- In the latest escalation of public disagreement with the recent rapprochement between Tavaris and the Federation of Bana a protest that drew thousands to the Embassy of the Federation of Bana turned violent on Friday afternoon, with both Tavari Royal Marshals and Banian embassy security personnel firing tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd that had begun to press on the gates of the embassy. 89 people have been arrested, and some 200 people have been treated at local hospitals for injuries.
The Embassy of the Federation of Bana, which now occupies the building formerly used as the Embassy of Vakarastan, opened on Thursday to little fanfare, with only a brief press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by invited members of the press and diplomatic staff from both Tavaris and the Federation of Bana. At that time, the street was closed by Marshals. Today’s protest was organized primarily by a group calling itself the Tavari Integrity Project, whose website indicates it was founded only last month. The Project’s stated goal is “to impress upon the current government that the Tavari people do not and will not accept the complete and utter supplication to Bana in the recent ‘normalization’ of relations.” No leader nor designated spokesperson was clear as of press time, and no one contacted agreed to speak on the behalf of the organization.
It is estimated that between eighty to ninety thousand people showed up to the protest, which is just the latest protest to garner significantly more attention than expected in the capital this year. Earlier this year, a protest against the defense industry and Tavari military policy filled Palace Square and also resulted in violence and arrests. The protest at the Banian Embassy on Friday is believed to be the largest protest held in Nuvrenon for more than twenty years.
While most of the protest was peaceful, in the afternoon the crowd became “agitated,” according to Major Anira Tandri Nakoran, the commander of Marshal forces at the protest. “Earlier in the day, people were calm and the event was your typical chant-and-hold-signs protest. As it got later, however, the crowd became agitated and began to try to force their way to the gate [of the embassy].” While a safety barricade had been set up to keep the crowd at least two avnai from the gate, the crowd pushed forward and eventually reached the gate and the fence. When people began to grasp the fence and shake it, Banian security personnel issued an order to disperse and, according to attendees, almost immediately began shooting tear gas into the crowd.
“It wasn’t even a minute and they were shooting off tear gas canisters in every direction. There was mass panic, everyone running, people got trampled,” said Mona, a protestor who declined to give her full name. “The Banian military were absolutely the aggressor here.”
Another protestor, Ovor Zakani Menanat, 34, said that he felt the protest, including the press to the gates, as “justified” and “an expression of the very real frustration that Tavari across the country are feeling as they see their own elected officials ignore centuries of violence and hateful conduct from the Banians.” Zakani Menanat says he and his two sisters were both affected by the tear gas and that they intend to file a civil suit against the Embassy because the three siblings have “severe asthma” and the tear gas has caused “irreparable harm” to their lungs.
“They burned down East Harbor and killed tens of thousands of people. They’ve shot at our ships, they’ve invaded us three times at least. Now, here we are, rolling out the welcome mat for them so they can invade us again,” said a protestor who gave only the word “furious” as his name. “I can’t believe that airheaded [expletive deleted] Tuvria wants to make us all pretend that we’re happy jolly friends with these [expletive deleted] cat people and the [expletive deleted] banana farmers.”
The Embassy of the Federation of Bana issued a statement Friday saying: “Our security personnel acted in accordance with applicable law and procedure to defend the embassy, which is sovereign territory of the Federation of Bana. We regret that these events had to occur and intend to cooperate fully with Tavari investigators as we find out all the details of what happened today and how they can be prevented in the future.”
The Royal Tavari Marshals declined to issue a statement, and the Tavari government declined to respond before press time.