04-15-2021, 11:22 PM
Slokasian Embassy, Buttercity, Lauchenoiria
They gathered in the middle of the afternoon, when the images from Slokais had hit the news. Troops marching through New Liverpool, people being dragged from their homes by soldiers… the sight of all this had angered the section of the Lauchenoirian population who loved nothing more than attending a protest. A full train from Usera had arrived in the capital too, crammed with students holding cardboard signs. They all made their way to the Slokasian Embassy as the Buttercity Police Department collectively groaned.
In light of the milkshake incident of 2019, the BCPD had changed their protocols for embassy protests and this time stood in a line separating the protesters from the building. There was also a pair of officers standing outside the milkshake café, insisting that customers drank their beverages inside rather than taking them away. A few arguments had ensued as people became angry that their right to take milkshakes home was being infringed because of one incident almost two years ago.
The activists stood in a rabble in front of the embassy, holding up their hastily constructed signs, waving banners about freedom and democracy, and chanting about the wrongness of setting the military on civilians. Most of those in attendance were hardly fans of the United Front, in fact most of them hated the group, but that didn’t matter. What mattered in Lauchenoiria was that in 2018 they’d seen soldiers in their own streets, and the collective national trauma angered them when they saw it happening to someone else.
“Thank you all for coming,” yelled a Lauchenoirian of indeterminate gender with spiky green-dyed hair and a little too many piercings as they climbed on top of a wall with a megaphone. “We’re here today to ask the Slokasian government to stop their attacks on civil liberties and their oppression of their people. This is NOT the way to deal with terrorism! You cannot solve a problem through oppression!”
The crowd shouted in agreement as the speaker took a breath before continuing. “Chavez will tell you that this is about safety and security, but how safe can anyone feel when armed men are marching past their windows, when their neighbours are being dragged away by soldiers for the crime of their political opinions? I don’t agree with the right-wing, but they have a right to express their views without being imprisoned for it! Once we start locking up ONE group that disagrees with the government, more will follow!”
Shouts followed, alongside boos directed at the embassy. Someone threw an egg from the middle of the crowd that sailed over the police line and cracked against the wall of the embassy. In response, the officers nervously looked at each other, not wanting to leave it but also afraid of the escalation that charging the crowd would bring. No further projectiles followed so they stood their ground, allowing the egg-thrower to get away with it. More speeches followed, in which people railed against militarism, police and authoritarian policies.
The final speaker turned to the Embassy and addressed his speech to the building. “We have seen the true horrors of policies like this in our country. Do not act like Suleman Chaher, show compassion to your people if you want to change their minds. If you act with force, people will respond with force, and things will merely escalate. We in Lauchenoiria will not stand for this, and we will be here every day until you remove your troops from your own cities. We will not stand idly by while you go down a dark road to autocracy. We are watching you.”
Then the protesters began to disperse, chanting and singing as they made their way through the embassy district back to the nearest subway station and to the parliament where some of them would stand and urge the Lauchenoirian government to formally condemn, or even sanction, Slokais for their actions. Lauchenoirians were not happy, and they were going to make their opinions known.
They gathered in the middle of the afternoon, when the images from Slokais had hit the news. Troops marching through New Liverpool, people being dragged from their homes by soldiers… the sight of all this had angered the section of the Lauchenoirian population who loved nothing more than attending a protest. A full train from Usera had arrived in the capital too, crammed with students holding cardboard signs. They all made their way to the Slokasian Embassy as the Buttercity Police Department collectively groaned.
In light of the milkshake incident of 2019, the BCPD had changed their protocols for embassy protests and this time stood in a line separating the protesters from the building. There was also a pair of officers standing outside the milkshake café, insisting that customers drank their beverages inside rather than taking them away. A few arguments had ensued as people became angry that their right to take milkshakes home was being infringed because of one incident almost two years ago.
The activists stood in a rabble in front of the embassy, holding up their hastily constructed signs, waving banners about freedom and democracy, and chanting about the wrongness of setting the military on civilians. Most of those in attendance were hardly fans of the United Front, in fact most of them hated the group, but that didn’t matter. What mattered in Lauchenoiria was that in 2018 they’d seen soldiers in their own streets, and the collective national trauma angered them when they saw it happening to someone else.
“Thank you all for coming,” yelled a Lauchenoirian of indeterminate gender with spiky green-dyed hair and a little too many piercings as they climbed on top of a wall with a megaphone. “We’re here today to ask the Slokasian government to stop their attacks on civil liberties and their oppression of their people. This is NOT the way to deal with terrorism! You cannot solve a problem through oppression!”
The crowd shouted in agreement as the speaker took a breath before continuing. “Chavez will tell you that this is about safety and security, but how safe can anyone feel when armed men are marching past their windows, when their neighbours are being dragged away by soldiers for the crime of their political opinions? I don’t agree with the right-wing, but they have a right to express their views without being imprisoned for it! Once we start locking up ONE group that disagrees with the government, more will follow!”
Shouts followed, alongside boos directed at the embassy. Someone threw an egg from the middle of the crowd that sailed over the police line and cracked against the wall of the embassy. In response, the officers nervously looked at each other, not wanting to leave it but also afraid of the escalation that charging the crowd would bring. No further projectiles followed so they stood their ground, allowing the egg-thrower to get away with it. More speeches followed, in which people railed against militarism, police and authoritarian policies.
The final speaker turned to the Embassy and addressed his speech to the building. “We have seen the true horrors of policies like this in our country. Do not act like Suleman Chaher, show compassion to your people if you want to change their minds. If you act with force, people will respond with force, and things will merely escalate. We in Lauchenoiria will not stand for this, and we will be here every day until you remove your troops from your own cities. We will not stand idly by while you go down a dark road to autocracy. We are watching you.”
Then the protesters began to disperse, chanting and singing as they made their way through the embassy district back to the nearest subway station and to the parliament where some of them would stand and urge the Lauchenoirian government to formally condemn, or even sanction, Slokais for their actions. Lauchenoirians were not happy, and they were going to make their opinions known.
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