Republic of Bekolan

Republic of Bekolan (also referred to as the Free State or just simply Bekolan) is a sovereign state situated in Western Europe. The country does not have any land borders and it is completely surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, with the Bekolanish Sea to the left, and the Celtic sea to the north. The nearest piece of land outside of Bekolan is the Republic of Ireland who are to the north-east of Bekolan.

It contains 12 districts, officialy called Counties which each have a Council. Each Council is the legislative body that governs each county to a certain extent. The economy of Bekolan was at a complete low during the 80s and has since been reformed and has been on an up ever since. This has led to wide spread happiness and success for the people and businesses of Bekolan.

Etymology
The term Bekolan comes from an ancient word known as "Leader of the Gods" and was chosen once they gained independence from America in 1925.

Overview
Republic of Bekolan is a growing, somewhat developed, and established nation with citizens primarily of Celtic ethnicity whose religion is Christianity. Its citizens pay extremely high taxes and many despise their government as a result. The citizens of Republic of Bekolan work diligently to produce Lead and Aluminum as tradable resources for their nation. It is a mostly neutral country when it comes to foreign affairs. It will usually only attack another nation if attacked first. When it comes to nuclear weapons Republic of Bekolan will not research or develop nuclear weapons. Plans are on the way within Republic of Bekolan to open new rehabilitation centers across the nation and educate its citizens of the dangers of drug use. Republic of Bekolan allows its citizens to openly protest their government, even if it means violence. It has an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they will have to become citizens first. Republic of Bekolan believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizen's right to speak freely about their government. The government gives foreign aid when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first. Republic of Bekolan will not make deals with another country that has a history of inhuman treatment of its citizens.

Pre-Bekolanish History
The first known inhabitants of Bekolan were the Spanish Armada. They were very pleased with the landscape and terrain of the island so decided that it was apart of their territory until a few years later once the war between England and Spain got worse so England invaded the Island and that led to one of the worst battles since records began and left thousands dead. After the battle was over both Spain and England deserted the island and it was left uninhabitated for many years until an American sailer called George O'Niell landed on the island and declared it apart of the United States of America. It remained apart of America until 9th January 2004 when the Bekolanish Government and the US Goverment came to an agreement that independence for Bekolan was the best decision but they promised to keep foreign relations between the two very strong.

Post-Bekolanish History
Led by former President Alan Kelly, Bekolans economy continued to grow better and better by the day. Bekolan started improving Foreign Relations with countries such as JBR and the Prussian Empire.

Death of the President
On the 19th June 2006 President Alan Kelly was killed when he was returning from a meeting with the US president. His plane lost all power to its engines and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The biggest search on Bekolan history took place and everyones bodies on board was recovered. No-one survived the crash. After the crash the Vice President Michael Kenny automatically took the role of the president and has been ever since.

PB-NpO War
The PB-NpO war was the first major war that Bekolan was involved in. The aims of the invasion was to capture an evil dictator who had opressed his nation for years and bring his evil regime to an end. Once the target was acknowledged, the President gave the go ahead to attack the small nation. On the morning of January 20th, 2008 Bekolanish troops invaded the south and west side of the 'small nation' and was met by heavy resistance from the opposing troops. After several months of fighting the Bekolanish troops took the capital city and captured the evil dictator. The dictator was transported back to Bekolan where he was executed by firing squad on April 1st. 79 Bekolan Soldiers lost their lives during the war. In the end the war was a success.

Jihad War of the United states of JBR
Currently Bekolan are fighting for the Pro-JBRican forces against the AIL and NRF. So far Bekolan have not conducted any operations in the war but within the coming weeks are expected to make a big impact.

Geography, Climate and Enviroment
It is separated from mainland europe by the Bekolan sea. The main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by a ring of coastal mountains. There are numerous islands off the coast off Bekolan, many of which are uninhabited.

Agriculture and food is an important industry in Bekolan, with about 56% of the total land area used for agriculture.

Due to a temperate oceanic climate, temperatures are rarely lower than −2 °C in winter or higher than 26 °C in summer. The Atlantic Ocean and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream shape Bekolans weather patterns.

Government and Election process
The Republic of Bekolan is a presedential Republic. The President is the supreme ruler of the nation. Each President can have 2 terms as the president and there is an presidential election every 4 years.

Election Process
To be able to vote in any election in Bekolan you must
 * Be over 17 years of age
 * Have been a citizen of Bekolan for atleast 3 years
 * Not be a candidate.
 * Have not commited a serious crime within the last 2 years

Counties
Bekolan is divided into 12 different Counties each with there own Council who to a certain extent govern their territory and the matters surrounding it. Counties of Bekolan

Foreign Relations
Being in the Mostly Harmless Alliance has meant that most friendly relations come from the Alliance of the Mha. Away from the MHA Bekolan have strong ties with nations like the Prussian Empire and the United States of JBR who are all independently members of the Sunshine Treaty Organization Pact Council. Bekolan independently joined STOP on the 7th May 2011.

Bekolan Armed Forces
The Bekolan Armed Forces encompass the Ground Forces, Naval Service, Air Force and the Special Forces. Each branch has its own respective leader who is in charge of all matters regarding his branch. To enlist in the the Armed forces one must be between the age of 17 and 35. Depending on which branch they join they will undergo 5 months of Basic training and if they pass they will go on to more advanced training camps before being enlisted into their respective branch. The Citizens of Bekolan are not forced to join the Armed Forces and even on wartime conscription is not undertaken. The functions of the Armed Forces include
 * Preparing for the defence of the state against an armed attack
 * Assisting the Police Force whenever needed
 * Conduct search and rescue missions whenever requested and assist in the event of natural and other disasters in Bekolanish territory.

Bekolan Ground Forces
The Bekolan ground Forces have 17,000 active personnel and 8000 in the reserve force. Bekolanish infantry are equipped with assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, hand grenades, and anti-tank weapons. Most weapons are purchased from abroad as Bekolan has a very limited arms industy. All members off the Armed forces are issued with either a Steyr AUG, AK-200 or a Vz. 58.

Bekolan Air Force
The Bekolan Air Force is the Air component of the Bekolan Armed Forces who provide support to the naval and ground units throughout Bekolan. At the moment the Air force only have a limited amount of Air craft available but new aircraft will be built soon.

Bekolan Navy
At the moment Bekolan does not have an official Navy but plans are on their way to have a fully equipped and trained navy by June.

Bekolan Commandos
The elite forces of Bekolan are the Bekolan Commandos consisting of 6 squads of 16 commandos named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo and Foxtrot. Each unit is specially trained to deal with special operations. The Bekolan Commandos train with some off the best elite forces like the US Army Rangers and the SAS. The Bekolan Commandos weapon of choice is the MP5.

PB-NpO War
The PB-NpO war was the first major war that Bekolan was involved in. The aims of the invasion was to capture the evil dictator and bring his evil regime to an end. Once the target was acknowledged, the President gave the go ahead to attack the small nation. On the morning of January 20th, 2000 Bekolanish troops invaded the south and west side of the 'small nation' and was met by heavy resistance from the opposing troops. After several months of fighting the Bekolanish troops took the capital city and captured the evil dictator. The dictator was transported back to Bekolan where he was executed by firing squad on April 1st. 79 Bekolan Soldiers lost their lives during the war. In the end the war was a success.

Economy
During the 80s Bekolan suffered a national recession and has since been reformed into an above average economy and it is still growing better and better by the day. At the moment adopted currency of Bekolan is the Pound. The average income for a middle class Bekolan citizen is £519,735 a year.

Culture
The Culture of Bekolan is hugely influenced by the Unites States of Americas Culture due to the fact that Bekolan was apart of America until early 2004.

Language
The official Language of Bekolan is English with about 99.3% of people speak it.

Religion
In Bekolan, Christianity is the pre-dominant religion with about 3.47 million Christians in the country. There are about 300,000 people in Bekolan who have different beliefs and support other religions other than Christianity.

Education
Education in Bekolan usually starts at around 5 years of age and they student will recieve mandatory education right up until he/she is 17. The student then has a choice

Sports
Sports has played a huge role in the nation throughout its history. The Official and mostplayed sport in Bekolan is Ping-Pong. Some off the other major sports in Bekolan are Soccer, Cricket, Tennis and Basketball.

Media
The media in Bekolan consists off television, radio, newspapers, Internet, cinema, and magazines. Bekolans country code top level domain is known as .br, the domain is mainly used for government sites or sites specifically pointed at Bekolanish citizens.