2011 Midwayan Student Protests

The 2011 Midwayan Student Protests are ongoing demonstrations opposing what is considered by many Midwayans as an illegal of the Union of Midway. The aim of the protests is complete Midwayan independence from the United States of JBR under the rule of Theresa Vales II.

Background
On September 12th, 2011, the Union of Midway was overthrown by the Council for the Safety of Midway with help from the United States of JBR. This resulted in the creation of the Provisional Government of Midway. Eventually the Provisional Government of Midway became the Republic of Midway and was subsequently annexed into the United States of JBR. There were many that opposed this, however the Imperialist Party of JBR managed to find a legal loophole within JBRican law that allowed the annexation to take place faster than expected.

In October 2011, the 2011 Midwayan Independence Protests occurred, also aimed for Midwayan independence, occurred. These protests ended in a compromise that gave Midway statehood within the United States of JBR. Many Midwayans were content with this compromise until Theresa Vales II came into power, and implemented the HONOR Act, which was widely viewed as a violation of the compromise.

Beginning
On November 18th, 2011, students of the University of Aldebaran gathered at their school in protest. They had been organizing the movement for several weeks, and agreed to begin protesting on November 18th, 2011. The movement quickly gained steam, and by the morning of November 19th, the movement had expanded to nearly all universities and high schools in Aldebaran. The movement was spread through rumors, and general discontent with the JBRican government.

Military crackdown
On November 19th, 10:00 AM a JBRican military contingent arrived and began firing at the students. Many were injured, many more killed. Hospitals were overflowing with injured, and many more killed. This prompted the adult population to join the protests, and another 50,000 went to the streets, making most of the population of the city of Aldebaran and the surrounding area involved in the protest. This military crackdown is still continuing.

Media coverage
Media coverage has been surprisingly lacking, mainly due to the JBRican government's censoring of the information leaving the nation.

RT coverage
The first television network to cover the protests was, after RT reporter Jennifer Elba snuck in and out of the State of Midway to gain coverage of the event. This coverage provided the international community an idea as to what was happening, but not details as to the death tolls.

Casualty count
The casualty count has been disputed, as the only counts has only been estimates provided by the and. The Human Rights Watch places the arrests at 860, injuries at 1,500, and deaths at 2,045. Amnesty International places the arrests at 1060, injuries at 1,270, and deaths at 2,545.

Midwayan Reaction
The Midwayan public has been ill-informed on the protests, due to censorship by the Vales II Administration and Quad, but rumors of the treatment of the protesters have enraged at the treatment of protesters and the suppression of the freedom of speech, and strengthened the calls for independence.

JBRican Reaction
The JBRican government has not made any statement regarding this issue yet.