2011 Midwayan Independence Protests

The 2011 Midwayan Independence Protests is an ongoing demonstration opposing the annexation of Midway into the United States of JBR. The aim of the demonstration is to let the JBRican government know of the Midwayan desire for independence, despite the Council for the Safety of Midway's (CSMW) "efforts of suppression".

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.

October 2011

 * October 2nd: Protests begin, 1000+ arrested

October 2nd Mass Arrests
On October 2nd, 2011, the first day of the protests, at around 10:15 AM protesters began playing a recording of the Internationale, the former anthem of the Union of Midway, in 47 languages and 1 instrumental version. Police reacted immediately, arresting many protesters at a time. More than 1,000 were arrested, and allegation of police brutality emerged. A group of 3 women were unexpectedly maced by pepper-spray while protesting, and subsequently arrested. One man died after police arrested him while he was having an asthma attack and didn't allow him to use his inhaler.

Those arrested face charges of "obstructing traffic" and "attempting to incite rebellion". Police stated that the CSMW informed them that any playing of the Midwayan National Anthem was likely to be an attempt to incite rebellion, and stated that this claim was supported by Bassols Counter-Revolution. Skeptics have stated that this is likely an attempt by the CSMW to prevent the JBRican government from hearing the voice for independence.