Hopes for a brighter 2011
Alston, NCD, Dec 31 – As a momentus year finally draws to a close, Premier Daniel Anderson has expressed his desire for a happier and more peaceful 2011.
“We have seen so much in the last two months, let alone the entire year. What was meant to be the ‘Year of Peace’ degraded into a series of wars, fighting and generally uncivilised behaviour. Austenasia, Kyng Fyrst, Sebastiano von Linden, all to name but a few. And yet there have been the high points, the times where we all pulled together and worked as a united front. To everyone out in the MicroWiki community, I ask that we put aside our differences and be friends once more. We are just hours out from 2011, let’s change things for the better.”
Tonight’s celebrations across Sirocco will end the nation’s foundation year and usher in a blank canvas which may very well dictate Sirocco’s position in the community for the foreseeable future. In Alston and Minnerichell there are plans to see in the new year with movies and fireworks, while elsewhere the celebrations will be much quieter, with simple celebrations within the cities, or in some cases simply sleeping through it.
2010 has been a busy year for Premier Anderson, who says he looks forward to advancing Sirocco in 2011.
Here are some of the events that sculpted a tumultuous 2010:
The Von Linden saga
Possibly the most notorious bad-boy of the micronational community in 2010, Sebastiano von Linden is widely viewed as responsible for Philip Fish’s resignation from the OAM as well as trying to tear the community apart. However his numerous bans have garnered much controversy in the community, and only time will tell what his ultimate fate is.
Austenasia at War
One of the year’s most well-known wars was the one that broke out on March 7 after Princess Caroline of Austenasia made an official claim to the Austenasian throne after Esmond III was crowned Emperor. The resulting conflict saw physical battles and a number of micronations declaring war on each other, but was ultimately resolved with Esmond III winning a referendum on the fate of the Austenasian monarchy.
However the peace was not to last, as this month war again broke out in the Carshalton sector, between Austenasia/Rushymia and Orly/Midget Nation-in-Exile. Austenasia was expected to win this war, but to the surprise of many it was defeated, and Declan was made co-emperor of the Empire.
Mass Exodus
When Wikia changed the layout of its pages and forced all admins to comply, there was a great uproar from not just the micronational community but also the Wikia community. This action began what is known in Sirocco as the “Mass Exodus”, which involved MicroWiki’s hosting moving to ShoutWiki, then Referata, and finally at the .co.cc domain. However shortly after the dust had settled from the final move it was discovered that Slinky leader Kyng Fyrst had assumed control of the original MicroWiki and that the old administrators had been stripped of their privileges. Sirocco formally halted diplomatic relations with the Slinky Empyre on November 19. Relations have not been restarted and it looks unlikely they ever will be.
However 2010 did have its good points, especially for Sirocco.
After 65 days of preparation, Sirocco was finally founded on November 4, 2010.
Foundation
When Sirocco was founded on November 4, it was just a small micronation with no influence whatsoever and with only few friends. In under two months it has been transformed, with almost a dozen friends, two diplomatic treaties and an alliance with Zealandia. Premier Daniel Anderson has been praised by both Alexander Reinhardt of St.Charlie and Peter Bralesford of Egtavia, with Reinhardt stating that “we know that the Federated Commonwealth is a young-but-full-of-potential micronation, thanks to him,” and Bralesford also stating that “[Anderson] stands by his views but isn’t rude about it.”
The end of the GDR
The Glorious Dictatorial Republic of Andersonia was officially dissolved at 10:10am on November 3, ending just shy of a year of the nation’s almost entirely internet existence. While the nation never really thrived, it reached its zenith in mid-late 2009, before slumping into inactivity in mid-2010. The GDR’s lasted recorded activity was the sorting out of small matters on November 2, in preparation for its dissolution the next day and Sirocco’s foundation on November 4.
What do you think?
What, in your opinion, were the highlights and lowlights of 2010 in the micronational community? Leave a comment below on your thoughts on the past year.
The Sirocco Times 
Welcome first of all, my first post in “Sirocco Times” 😉
The highlight event in micronational community could be founding of Yabloko, really great micronation. The lowlight I think ‘the von Linden’s issue’ and Fish’s resignation. Oh and SCAN’s issue.
You are too kind. 😀
Well, 2010 has been a good year for Landashir also, despite the turbulent issues we had in the GUM and the OAM. Still, I’m pleased that we’ve got to where we want to be and I think we still have some energy to get back onto the main stage and be the Landashir we once were. I sincerely hope Sirocco has a pleasant and lucky new year and best wishes for your future development!
Oh well, I also wish a happy 2011 to you Daniel and the rest of Sirocco! Have fun! 😀
You forgot the Lethler conspiracy! That was huge.
Great article. The thing about Slinky, however, goes like this for us. Starland has always been an ally of Slinky. Kyng Fyrst has always been a friend of the federal government. So despite that we believe that what he did was wrong and some consequence was needed, he is still a friend of ours and will remain an ally of Starland.
Well, my mom has allowed me to use the computer (for a little while) for some reason, so I guess I’ll state my opinion. Of course, a great part of 2010, for me, was the foundation of the Sandbars. As you (hopefully) know, my mom has taken away all of my screen time at her house because I am selfish and unfeeling (sic), so I would first of all like to say that the Sandbars is not inactive, and this issue will be resolved later in 2011, I garuntee you. I hope to increase internal affairs in the future, because I don’t want people thinking that I’m only active on the Internet (which I’m not). The main problems for the Sandbars are the situation between me and my mom and the fact that we have no means of transporting our kayaks (which are still in the possession of my stepfather). However, said mom is saving money for one of those really small campers, and a new Honda CR-V to go with it. I am also working on a letter to Rick Scott, Florida’s new governor. So, the Sandbars is making progress toward more internal affairs, and maybe even some more citizens later this year. I have high hopes for myself (as I will be moving to my dad’s in about 4-6 months), as well as the Sandbars as a whole. Happy new year!