Free Republic of Noundures

"Noundures" redirects here. For other uses, see Noundures (disambiguation).

Free Republic of Noundures República Lliure de Noundures
Flag Emblem
Motto: Resistència, Alliberament, Patriotisme Resistance, Liberation, Patriotism
Anthem: Himne Nacional de la República Lliure ("National Anthem of the Free Republic") File:Artsakh Anthem Instrumental.ogg
Status	Semi-recognized breakaway state
Capital and largest city	Olèrdola
Official language	Salvadoran
Ethnic groups (2020)	67% Salvadoran 24% Savottan 9% Sabotan
Religion	Creeperian Catholicism (official)
Demonym(s)	Noundurian
Government	De jure presidential republic under a de facto military dictatorship
• President	Malaquies Llorca Caparrós
• Chairman of the JLN	Vícenç Tenas Daya
• Minister of Defense	Amèric Perarnau Agué
Legislature	National Legislative Junta
De facto independence from Salisford
• Declaration of Independence	10 July 1933
• 1935 coup d'état	2 August 1935
• 1951 coup d'état attempt	7 September 1951
• Current constitution	10 July 1980
Population
• 2020 estimate	3,157,000
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	₵6.6 billion credits
• Per capita	₵2,084 credits
HDI (2021)	.520 low
Currency	Salvadoran pesetaa (SPS)
Time zone	AMT–5 (HES)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+501
The Salvadoran peseta is the de facto currency of the Free Republic of Noundures. The Noundurian peseta has been out of circulation since 1963.

Noundures (Salvadoran pronunciation: [nownˈdu.ɾɛs]), officially the Free Republic of Noundures (Salvadoran: República Lliure de Noundures), and formerly known as the State of Noundures (Estat de Noundures), is a semi-recognized breakaway state located in Sur whose territory is internationally recognized as a part of Salisford. The state is landlocked and located in the northern Salvadoran Valley, being bordered by Salisford in the north and El Salvador in the south. El Salvador is the only nation to formally recognize Noundures; Creeperopolis formerly recognized the breakaway state from 1961 until the signing of the Rubicon Agreement in 1976.

On 10 July 1933, the State of Granada invaded the Modica Strip on its northern border, beginning the Desert War. The Granadian government proclaimed the establishment of the State of Noundures as a breakaway state in the Modica Strip with the intention of eventually unifying the two states together. After the fall of the Granadian government in 1935 and the overthrow of President Adalbert Boronat Cruilles, however, all plans to unify El Salvador and Noundures were abandoned, and Noundures lost all support from the new Salvadoran government due to its previous support by the Granadians. In 1944, Noundurian President Llorenç Bataller Zúrich unified the four rebel groups fighting against the Salisfordian government into the Free Noundurian Army (ENL).

The Free Noundurian Army continued to independently fight the Salisfordian government until 1961, when the governments of Creeperopolis and El Salvador began to support the Noundurian government due to the beginning of the Rubicon War between Creeperopolis and Salisford. President Josep Esteba Treserra oversaw increased military operations in the Modica Strip throughout the war from 1961 to 1976, but Noundures never succeeded in fully controlling the area. Since the end of the Rubicon War, the Free Noundurian Army and Salisfordian government mostly engaged in skirmishes and light conflict, and the Noundurian government's control over the Modica Strip have mostly been limited to the mountains, areas near the Salvadoran border, and large settlements with a majority Salvadoran population.

The existence of the Free Republic of Noundures has caused serious tension between the governments of El Salvador and Salisford, which have disputed the location of the border in the Salvadoran Valley ever since the end of the Great Surian War in 1844. The Salvadoran government continues to recognize the independence of Noundures and allegedly continues to support the Free Noundurian Army, despite the fact that both El Salvador and Salisford are full members of the Cooperation and Development Coalition (CODECO).

Etymology

The Free Republic of Noundures is named after the Noundures Desert.

The Free Republic of Noundures is named after the Noundures Desert, in which the majority of the state's territorial claim is located. The name "Noundures" is derived from Nou Hondures, which is the Salvadoran form of the Creeperian name given to the Salvadoran Valley: Nuevo Honduras. Honduras was the name of a kingdom which existed in the 13th and 14th centuries until it was annexed by Creeperopolis. The origins of the name "Honduras" is unknown.

Before the state's declaration of independence, its leaders considered adopting the names "Northern Salvador" (Nord Salvador) or "New Salvador" (Nou Salvador), but ultimately decided against it for unknown reasons. The name "Olèrdolian Republic" (República Olèrdoliana) was also considered, and was used to some extent in the early years of the state's existence, but it fell our of favor after 1935. It was initially named the "State of Noundures" until a coup d'état in 1935 which renamed the country to the "Free Republic of Noundures". Until 1935, it was also sometimes referred to as the "People's Republic of Noundures" as it was ruled by a far-left government during the period from 1933 to 1935.

History

19th and 20th century Salvadoran irredentists

The Kingdom of El Salvador had existed in the Salvadoran Valley since its establishment by King Josep I in 1680. El Salvador has engaged in several skirmishes against the Kingdom of Salisford throughout the 1700s over the exact location of the border in the Altari Mountains. As a result of the two kingdom's disputes, El Salvador joined the Great Surian War on the side of the Kingdom of Castilliano in 1836 in the hopes of solidifying the border in their favor. The war ended in a Salisfordian victory, however, and as a part of the Treaty of Rubicone which ended the state of war between El Salvador and Salisford, El Salvador was forced to concede large sections of territory east and south of the Altari Mountains to Salisford on 15 January 1844.

Lluís Altayo Ramió was a major proponent of Salvadoran irredentism.

Salvadoran irredentists sought to regain the territory ceded to Salisford, but their efforts were completely undermined by the Creeperian conquest of the country in 1858, upon which El Salvador was reorganized into the Captaincy General of Nuevo Honduras, a military-governed territory of Creeperopolis. Many Salvadorans who sought the restoration of an independent El Salvador also called for the return of all lands ceded by the Treaty of Rubicone. Salvadoran independence was restored in 1888 following a plebiscite which abolished military rule, abolished the monarchy, and established a republic. The country declared its independence on 1 November 1888 with Lluís Altayo Ramió of the Party of the Salvadoran People (PPS) being elected as the country's first president.

Before his election as president of El Salvador, Altayo Ramió was born and lived in Olèrdola, and the annexation of the city into Salisford forced him and his family to relocate to Sonsochapan. Altayo Ramió was an outspoken advocate of the return of what he called the "Modica Strip", or the northernmost portion of the Noundures Desert which was controlled by Salisford, and the "Maspujols Strip", the easternmost portion of the desert controlled by Salisford, back to El Salvador unconditionally. He lost reelection in 1894 to Esdres Fontcuberta Lacruz of the Salvadoran Nationalist Party (PNS), but he soon reelected in 1900 after accusing Fontcuberta Lacruz of "not being a true Salvadoran nationalist" and for not demanding the return of the Modica and Maspujols strips.

In 1901, Altayo Ramió issued his manifesto regarding his Salvadoran irredentist views. Titled "On the Restoration of the Fatherland", his manifesto outlined his vision for the incorporation and development of the Modica and Maspujols strips, and his manifesto became exceptionally popular among Salvadorans living within Salisford. Altayo Ramió offered to host Salisfordian leadership in Ciutat dels Àngels to negotiate the return of Salisfordian lands in the Noundures Desert to El Salvador, but Salisford refused to send a delegation as it viewed the terms of the Treaty of Rubicone as "decided" and "unchangeable".

After Altayo Ramió's death in 1910, his successors continued to attempt to negotiate with Salisford, but every time, Salisford refused to enter any negotiations regarding the status of their territories in the Noundures Desert. In 1926, President Gonçal Montanya Llavallo was deposed by the Junta of National Reorganization which abolished the government system established by Altayo Ramió in 1908. The coup's leader, Brigadier Alfons Manonell Desplans, denounced the ideologies of Altayo Ramió and his successors, and many believed that the Salisfordian government played a role in the coup to remove a Salvadoran government it viewed as hostile towards its territorial integrity. Neither of Manonell Desplans' successors, Adalbert Espasí Masrramon and Josep Boixadé Callo, made any demands from Salisford to return land in the Noundures Desert.

Declaration of independence from Salisford

Adalbert Boronat Cruilles, the first president of Noundures.

On 4 January 1933, the government of Boixadé Callo was overthrown by leftist rebels who installed Tomàs Regalat Esglaó as the country's president. Regalat Esglaó changed the country's name to the State of Granada and sided Granada with the National Council for Peace and Order (National Council) in the unfolding Creeperian Civil War. With Regalat Esglaó in power, the Party of the Salvadoran People returned to power for the first time since 1926 and pushed for Regalat Esglaó to attempt to reclaim "integral Salvadoran territory" in the Noundures Desert by force in the midst of the Salvadoran War against right-wing insurgents supported by the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council (Imperial Council).

The Granadian military organized a military force, the Noundurian Liberation Front (FAN), in mid-1933 for a planned invasion of the Modica Strip. On 10 July 1933, the Granadian military invaded the Modica Strip with the goal of capturing it in its entirety. The invasion's leader, General Adalbert Boronat Cruilles, declared the establishment of the State of Noundures as an independent state, claiming the Modica Strip in its entirety. He declared himself as Noundures' first president and declared himself as the cabdill of all Granadian and Noundurian forces in the Modica Strip.

Salisfordian soldiers during the Second Battle of Modica.

Granada's invasion into the Modica Strip was initially successful, capturing large amounts of territory from Salisford as there was a minimal military presence in the area. Olèrdola was captured on 31 July 1933 and was declared as the state's capital city. Modica, then the largest city in the Modica Strip, fell to the Granadians on 9 August 1933. The Granadian advance was stalled at the city of Tovela, however, where Salisfordian soldiers defeated the Granadians in battle on 20 August 1933 and eventually pushed the Granadians back to Modica. The Granadians held the city of Modica following a two-week battle in early-September 1933, and the Salisfordians withdrew to 15 miles north of the city. After the fall of Conesa to the Granadians on 20 September 1933, the Granadians and Salisfordians signed an armistice on 1 October 1933 with Noundures remaining in control of a significant portion of Salisfordian land in the Modica Strip.

Boronat Cruilles declared the invasion a "great success" and "first step" in the "inevitable" reconquest of all lands within the Salvadoran Valley. After the armistice, he began to finance some infrastructure projects along the Granada River, in part to help the Salvadorans living in the area, but primarily to help prepare for a future second invasion to fully capture the Modica Strip from Salisfordian control. Additionally, to prevent any sabotage from within the state's borders, Boronat Cruilles ordered the mass arrests of all Salisfordian men over the age of 15 within Noundures and had them all imprisoned at the Coll de Nargó Internment Camp. Approximately 12,000 people were arrested following Boronat Cruilles's decree, and between 900 and 1,200 died at the internment camp between 1933 and 1935. Boronat Cruilles established the Anti-Salisfordian Resistance militia to help arrest and guard the imprisoned Salisfordians.

In 1934, Boronat Cruilles sought to legitimize his rule and appear to Ecrosian nations as if his government was democratically elected by the Noundurian people. He called for a presidential election to be held on 1 June 1934. He ran under the banner of the left-wing Noundurian Independence Party (PIN). He did allow for an opposition party to be formed and run in the election, the right-wing Movement for Noundurian Integration (MIN). The movement was led by General Melcior Parramon Mendiz. Boronat Cruilles won the election with 66 percent of the vote, however, the election is widely considered to be fraudulent. Additionally, legislative elections were held in 1935, in which the Noundurian Independence Party won a majority of the seats.

Coup of 1935 and dominant-party rule

The State of Noundures was heavily dependent on the State of Granada for its economic survival since its establishment. Once the right-wing Salvadoran insurgents, with the support of the Imperial Council, captured northern Granada and cut off Noundures from Granadian aid, the Noundurian economy began to stagnate and decline. The Imperial Council never intended to invade Noundures, however, as it continued to recognize Salisford as the rightful owner of the territory claimed by Noundures.

The separation from Granada caused much concern and panic within Noundures' political leaders, and once Granada fell to the Imperial Council in July 1935, many Noundurian leaders began to fear that Salisford would take the opportunity of a weakened Noundurian state to launch a counteroffensive to recapture its lost territory. Seeking to prevent such an opportunity, and also wanting to distance itself from its leftist origins to appease the neighboring Imperial Council and right-wing Salvadoran client government, right-wing military officers staged a coup against Boronat Cruilles on 2 August 1935. The coup was led by Parramon Mendiz who proclaimed the establishment of the Noundurian Patriotic Junta (JPN), which nullified the results of the 1935 legislative election. Boronat Cruilles was killed during the coup.

Many loyalists of Boronat Cruilles denounced the coup and swore to resist the new government at all costs. Both the Noundurian Liberation Front and the Anti-Salisfordian Resistance opposed the coup and actively resisted the new government. In response, the government established its own militia group, the Northern Patriotic Movement (MPN) to serve as its military. Meanwhile, some participants in the coup eventually broke away from the Northern Patriotic Movement and formed their own militia, the Lluís Amadeu Altayo i Ramió Liberation Army (LAAR). In an attempt to prevent a civil war within Noundures, the junta declared that the Noundurian Independence Party would remain legal. It also declared that the old government's members would not be purged and that they would be allowed to participate in the formation of the country's new government system. This appeased most Boronat Cruilles loyalists, but some continued to fight the government until 1951.

Melcior Parramon Mendiz, president of Noundures (1937–1943).

A new presidential election was held in June 1937, and Parramon Mendiz was proclaimed as the election's winner, who defeated Nèstor Matons Grasas with 82 percent of the vote. The Noundurian Independence Party rejected the election as being fraudulent, but eventually accepted the results, fearing reprisals from the ruling Movement for Noundurian Integration. During this time, the Noundurian Independence Party began to move away from wanting integration to El Salvador, especially due to the country now being ruled by a right-wing military dictatorship, and began to favor Noundures remaining an independent state. Meanwhile, the Movement for Noundurian Integration began to heavily favor integration into El Salvador because it was ruled by a right-wing military dictatorship, despite it initially favoring independence in ironic contrast to the movement's name.

Parramon Mendiz became president on 10 July 1937, and formally abolished the Noundurian Patriotic Junta. He also established, by presidential decree, the National Legislative Junta (JLN), the nation's new legislative body. New legislative elections were held in 1938, and the Movement for Noundurian Integration won a majority of the seats in the 20 seat legislature. Parramon Mendiz met with Salvadoran President Carlos Castillo Armas in El Mozote on 2 October 1938 to discuss possible annexation to El Salvador. No annexation of territory resulted from the meeting, but it did confirm that the Salvadoran government would continue to recognize Noundures as a sovereign state.

Government

Government structure

Officially, the Free Republic of Noundures is a presidential republic. The state holds elections every three years which occur on two cycles. One cycle of elections is for the presidency, where elections are held every six years, and the second cycle of elections is for the legislature, which is also held every six years. The elections are widely considered to be fraudulent by the international community, and they are not recognized by the Salisfordian government. Additionally, since 1952, only the Movement for Noundurian Integration has been allowed to run in elections. Additionally, in every presidential election since 1952, there has only been one candidate who has always won 100 percent of the vote.

The president of Noundures holds executive power within the state's government, while the legislature, the National Legislative Junta, holds little to no little power in the every day function of government. The president, who has always been an active military officer, rules effectively by decree as mandated by the country's constitution, making the Free Republic of Noundures a legal dictatorship. Many independent analysts consider the government of the Free Republic of Noundures to be a de facto military dictatorship.

The following is the current presidential cabinet of the Free Republic of Noundures:

Cabinet of the Free Republic of Noundures
Office	Name	Term
President of the Free Republic	Malaquies Llorca Caparrós	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of Defense	Amèric Perarnau Agué	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of Internal Affairs	Vícenç Tenas Daya	10 July 2015 – 10 July 2018
	Zèfir Cladera Mirambell	10 July 2018 – 7 September 2018
Romeu Aguarta Vidiella	7 September 2018 – present
Minister of External Affairs	Urbà Baixes Manresa	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of the Economy	Balthazar Robirosa Lucas	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of Infrastructure	Llorenç Giro Cols	10 July 2015 – 10 July 2021
Alícia Bastarda Fonfría	10 July 2021 – present
Minister of Education	Agustí Llansana Torrus	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of Law	Rodolfa Carrasco Puigrós	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of Labor	Amàlia Ribes Sales	10 July 2015 – present
Minister of Development	Justí Boncompte Valls	10 July 2015 – 10 July 2021
Brígida Ximenis Cabañas	10 July 2021 – present

Military organization

The Free Noundurian Army (ENL) serves as the national military of the Free Republic of Noundures. The national military was formed by the merger of four paramilitary groups in 1944 to centralize the country's military force. The militias which merged to form the Free Noundurian Army are:

• 

  Anti-Salisfordian Resistance
• 

  LAAR Liberation Army
• 

  Northern Patriotic Movement
• 

  Noundurian Liberation Front

Noundurian conscripts in 1962.

Due to the militaristic nature of the Noundurian government and perceived need for military power to maintain the independence of the Free Republic of Noundures, all Noundurian men are required to serve in the Free Noundurian Army for a period of five years of active service once they turn eighteen years old. Once their period of conscription ends, they can return to their civilian lives but remain on a permanent list of reserve soldiers, or continue to serve in the Free Noundurian Army.

Most of the training and equipment of the Free Noundurian Army is purchased from El Salvador, who, in turn, purchases its military equipment from Creeperopolis. As such, most of the weapons and vehicles of the Free Noundurian Army are Creeperian in origin, mostly from the Figueroa Arms Company (FEA) and the Zaldívar Vehicle Company (ZEV), respectively. During the Rubicon War, Creeperopolis overtly supplied the Free Noundurian Army, but since 1978, all materiel shipments to Noundures from Creeperopolis went through El Salvador.

General Amèric Perarnau Agué serves as the current Minister of Defense, having served since 10 July 2015.

Culture

Sports

Association football is the most popular sport in the Free Republic of Noundures. It is represented internationally by the Noundures national football team, however, it has only played matches against Creeperopolis, El Salvador, the State of the Church, and the teams of other states with limited recognition. Noundures maintains a domestic league, the Lliga de Futbol A, with eight clubs since 1978, but its clubs have never competed in an international tournament organized by CONFUSUR.

See also

• List of states with limited recognition