Darach Crisis

Official portrait of Caitlin Darach

The Darach Crisis was a government and security crisis in Disparu, which began during the assassination of Caitlin Darach, Disparu's first Monarch, on 1 August 2009 until the release of the assassination reports by the Disparuean Intelligence Agency and the Disparuean Investigation Board, on 20 August 2009, nineteen days after the Crisis began. The assassination caused the lockdown of Jubilife and an emergency meeting by the Commons of Disparu.

Despite the major government instability and reshuffling caused by the crisis, the event has been viewed as evidence for Disparu's growing relevance to the international community at that time, as it sparked reactions from the governments of different nations.

Assassination

Downtown Jubilife

After the capital was moved from Eterna (now Férin) to Jubilife (formerly Mistissini) on 27 July 2009, the Queen and her staff decided to visit the new capital in order to increase her publicity. The visit was planned to be on 1 August 2009.

On 1 August 2009, the Queen departed in her private airplane from Eterna to Jubilife. The flight was uneventful, with the plane departing on time (4:45 PM EST), clear visibility, and the airplane landing on Jubilife's Airport one hour later. After landing in Jubilife Airport, located near it's Downtown area, the Queen left the airplane and proceeded to her motorcade.

The motorcade left Jubilife Airport on time, and began to head towards Federal District, the location of the Disparuean Parliament and other government buildings. The motorcade drove through Jubilife's Main Street, which was full of spectators and well wishers.

At approximately 6:30 PM EST, the Queen was shot by an unknown assassin en route to the Federal District. Eye-witness accounts state that the Queen was shot twice. Local police instantly secured the area, while the motorcade rushed the dying Queen to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, the Queen died before they reached the hospital.

Chancellor Lance Pikachurin declared a ten-day period of mourning in Disparu, with flags at half-staff. The Government of Disparu did not release an official statement regarding the death of the Queen, although news agencies had received reports that the Disparuean Investigation Bureau had started an investigation.

Since the Queen did not have a designated heir apparent, it was the Commons' duty to nominate and vote on who will be Disparu's next monarch. The process was conducted in secret, which meant that the nomination and voting procedures were not televised. The results were released on 3 August 2009.

Lockdown

After the incident, the entire City of Jubilife and its surrounding areas were put under lockdown in an attempt to detain the assassin and to prevent the assassin from leaving Jubilife. Roads and shops were closed, soldiers and tanks patrolled the streets, no data went in or out of the city (with the exception of emergency and government data), and security forces were able tp search buildings without the need of search warrants. Security was also heightened in other major cities such as Eterna.

Emergency Vote

Since Darach did not have a heir apparent that will succeed her upon her death, removal or abdication, the Disparuean Constitution stated that it is the Commons' duty to vote for the next monarch. The emergency vote began shortly after Darach's death, and MPs who were not in Jubilife at that time were asked to immediately fly to Jubilife. All MPs who managed to get to Jubilife were heavily guarded in order to protect them from further assassination attempts.

The vote was held in secret. The results of the vote was originally going to be released on 3 August 2009, however then-Chancellor Pikachurin delayed the date by one day for unknown reasons.

The results of the vote, presented by DNN.

On the morning of 4 August 2009, the Commons finally released the results of the vote. The Commons also provided some information about the nomination process.

According to the report, several MPs and other important politicans (including Lance Pikachurin), as well as some of the Queen's relatives, were nominated. However, only Lance Pikachurin accepted his nomination. Even though Pikachurin was the only nominee, this did not mean that he won by default.

Thirty-one MPs were unable to make it to Jubilife in order to vote (about 6.9% of the Commons), while sixteen MPs chose to abstain from voting (about 3.6% of the Commons). One hundred and ninety-eight MPs voted no (44% of the Commons), while two hundred five MPs voted Yes (about 45.6% of the Commons). Lance Pikachurin won the vote by a small margin of seven votes (about 1.6% of the Commons). Pikachurin's coronation happened on 10 August 2009, after Queen Darach's funeral on 8 August 2009.

In accordance to Disparuean law, Pikachurin resigned from the Chancellorship in order to take the position of Monarch, which meant that emergency elections were going to happen soon. When this happened, then-Minister of Internal Affairs Cynthia Celeste resigned from her position in order to run for the Chancellorship (according to a statement from the Empire Party of Disparu).

Capture

On the night of 4 August 2009, the combined forces of Disparu's Special Operations, Jubilife's Police Force, USB's Oberstes Korps and Eagleia's Police Squadron had finally captured the assassin responsible for the death of Queen Darach, along with two of his subordinates. The trio was caught when they were attempting to send an e-mail to their organization. Since Jubilife was under lockdown, the technicians who were monitoring the signals managed to triangulate the criminals' location. The technicians instantly sent a squadron to the area.

The criminals were hiding in an apartment in Downtown Jubilife near the location of Darach's death. They did not surrender without a fight; some soldiers and officers were injured after the incident, although none of them were fatal. The trio was brought to an unknown location in order to be interrogated by the Disparuean Investigation Bureau.

After the assassin's capture, the lockdown over Jubilife was finally lifted by King Pikachurin after three days.

Emergency Elections

On 5 August 2009, Elections Disparu announced that the emergency elections would be held on 12 August 2009, one week from the announcement. Two positions were open for the elections; Chancellor and Minister of Internal Affairs. Parties who were interested in running were required to submit their candidates for the positions. As soon as this was completed, the approved party were allowed to launch campaigns. They also announced that the national debate in English would be held on 9 August 2009, and the national debate in French would be held on 10 August 2009.

On 9 August 2009, the English debates began at 10:00 PM EST on Jubilife's National Arts Centre, with all politicans running for Chancellor participating. Some of the topics of the debate included foreign affairs, resources, finance and the Disparuean workforce. The debate was broadcast in DNN and other major networks in Disparu, and lasted approximately two hours. The French debate on 10 August 2009 also discussed the topics from the English debate, but in French.

On 13 August 2009 the results of the election were released For the position of Minister of Internal Affairs, Lisa Agatha of the Democratic Party won by a landslide. And for the position of Chancellor, Cynthia Celeste of the Empire Party surprisingly won the election.

Report

On 20 August 2009, nineteen days since the start of the Crisis, parts of the assassination report were declassified and released by the Disparuean Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Disparuean Investigation Bureau (DIB). The reports stated that the assassination was ordered by a terrorist group known as the Gauntlet. Information about the group were not released. The three criminals involved in the assassination were charged with treason and murder, among other things.

Foreign reactions

The Eagleian Embassy in Jubilife, which was established shortly after the crisis.

When the news of Queen Darach's assassination was broadcast throughout Planet Bob, the United States of Backyard sent their condolences and also declared a state of mourning in their nation. The USB offered the help of their elite corps, the Oberstes Korps, in helping the Disparuean Forces' Special Operations in capturing the assassin. The Government of Disparu accepted the offer, and thanked the USB's government for their kindness.

The Partopian Alliance and the Rough Parts Empire also sent their condolences on 3 August 2009, and provided information that the assassination attempt was linked to recent terrorist attacks on the Rough Parts Empire. However, the Government of Disparu assured them that the investigation by the Disparuean Investigation Bureau has revealed that the assassination attempt was not connected to international terrorist groups.

The nation of Eagleia also sent their condolences on 4 August 2009, and also congratulated Lance Pikachurin for his recent ascension to the Disparuean throne. The Governor General of Eagleia, Sir Knowzilla, informed the Disparuean Government that the Foreign Minister of Eagleia would fly the Eagleian flag at the Eagleian foreign ministry at half-staff, and that the Foreign Minister of Eagleia and a justice from the Supreme Court of Eagleia had expressed interest in attending the funeral of Queen Darach and the coronation of Lance Pikachurin. Sir Knowzilla also offered the help of an Eagleian investigation team to help with the investigation of the assassination, a police squadron in order to capture the assassin and to assist Disparu in securing the upcoming elections. The Government of Disparu thanked Sir Knowzilla and the Eagleian government for their condolences and congratulations, and told them that the Eagleian Police Force may join the search. However, the Disparuean Investigation Bureau's Director informed them that the DIB can handle the investigation on their own, and would prefer that the investigation remained classified.

The nation of Kitex also sent their condolences, and informed the Disparuean Government that they will search for the assassin within their nation. The Disparuean Government also thanked them.

Conspiracy theories

On 5 August 2009, DNN received reports that conspiracy theorists on the Internet were lobbying that it was actually Lance Pikachurin that ordered the assassination of the late Queen Caitlin Darach. King Pikachurin denied any involvement in the assassination, and demanded that the conspiracy theorists issue a public apology. In response to the theories, the Disparuean Investigation Bureau has affirmed that the King was not involved in the assassination, and the results of the investigation would be released to the public soon. The Government of Eagleia also declared support for Pikachurin not being involved in the assassination.

External links

• Queen Darach Assassinated! - DNN.dp