Valruzia

[Aethan]

Coup attempt! 

Government and deputies held hostage; coup perpetrators later arrested after lack of support

September 5627

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Today, on the evening of September 11, 5627, an attempt to overthrow Valruzia's still nascent democracy has unfolded within the walls of the Sejm in their brand new headquarters. Thanks to the meeting being broadcasted live both in radio and in the website of the Sejm, transcription from the moment has been followed by thousands of citizens as events have been changing rapidly during this afternoon and following into the evening. 

As Sejm deputies are still under discussion on the new Valruzian Constitution, there are many debates taking place as to which changes introduce and which things to modify and replace. At 17:00, there was a roll-call vote for the adoption of one amendment that would turn the unitary state into a Republic. However, at 17:04, chaos erupted when 100 armed soldiers, led by Lieutenant Juliusz Strzele, stormed the chamber. 

Lt. Strzele then proceeded to point his gun at the head of Marshall of the Sejm Katarzyna Roszkowska, demanding her to move from her place and sit with the other deputies. and firing a shot to the Sejm's roof. After refusing this demand, Lt. Strzele ordered the soldiers to force everyone present to lie on the floor, with most deputies complying except for four: said Marshall Roszkowska, Military Junta leader, de facto Head of State and government of Valruzia and Chief of the Defense Staff Marcel Szumski, Minister for Internal Issues, Captain General Gustav Pradinski; and Communist Party leader Karolina Pietrzyk, who remained seated calmly.

CDS Szumski, as the highest-ranking military officer in the room, confronted Strzele and ordered him to stand down, refusing to comply with the armed insurrection and demanding an explanation for this said insurrection. After a brief struggle and a shot fired into the air, Szumski, 68-year-old, stood his ground and defiantly refused to sit despite Strzele's attempts to force him to the floor. As a result, this ended with Strzele retreating to the rostrum of the Sejm and Szumski returning to his seat.

After several tense minutes, the deputies resumed their positions and the captain of the military unit demanded silence and declared that everyone would await the arrival of "the competent military authority." As the standoff continued, CDS Szumski attempted to speak again but was silenced by gunfire. Strzele then forcefully escorted Szumski out of the chamber when he demanded once again an explanation, and the exchange turned hostile as Strzele, dismissing Szumski's authority, declared, "You are henceforth and no longer the authority of anything!".

Simultaneously, in Brzansk, Captain Waldemar Falkowski had moved to attempt to arrest Major Iwan Gabris, known for his rebellion against the Morawski regime orders to shoot the protestors during the 5623-5624 Valruzian protests and commander of the region's troops; by deploying 4,000 loyalist soldiers and 30 tanks onto the streets in a bid to convince other military leaders to join the coup. At 19:00, Brzansk's radio stations began broadcasting the declaration of a state of emergency. However, the coup's momentum began to falter as the street began to be flooded with citizens demanding a halt to this insurrection and as the commander of the Borderland-Central Air Base Tactical Command threatened to deploy fighter jets against the tanks in the city.

Back in Nowogard, the coup was further undermined following the news that Celestyn Strzelczyk, the former prime minister under Mateusz Morawski and who was in unknown whereabouts, had been arrested when attempting to enter the country. As he was the "competent military authority" the coup perpretators were waiting, upon airing of this news via TV and as it was unbeknownst to them until then that the Valruzian Secret Police had already a trace of his movements and as soon as he set a foot in home soil he was properly arrested, the coup began to unravel.

As the night wore on, Waldemar Falkowski was finally arrested in Brzansk after calling off his plans. With the Sejm building surrounded by the military and the police, Lt. Strzele finally freed the deputies who were held hostage throughout the ordeal. As they emerged one by one from the chamber, they all shouted "Long Live Freedom". Lt. Strzele has been the last one to abandon the building, and has been handcuffed and put into custody by the military.

Following this event, the deputies have decided to continue with the session as a sign for all Valruzians, and in its first speech to the Chamber following the attempted coup, CDS Szumski declared: 

"I want to say it loud and clear now: the winds of democracy cannot by stopped by mere grains of sand, and we will rebuild one that will last for centuries! If you disagree with this, you are free to leave the country, but let me be clear on this: there will be an investigation, and if we find out that you were involved, may God help you, because we will not".

In the streets, as the events were unfolding, many feared that their little breath of fresh air after Morawski's rule was coming to an abrupt end, while the figures of all those who "refused to bow down" are being heavily praised, such as Marshall Roszkowska or KPW leader Karolina Pietrzyk, the only politicians not to be intimidated by the coup perpetrators. More shocking were the news that Ignacy Zelazny, leader of the National Salvation party, had been arrested along with 4 of his fellow parliamentarians, under accusations of having let the military inside the building and therefore having allowed the attempted coup to unravel. If this is proven to be true, this could lead to the dissolution of the National Salvation party, the first banning of a party in the still so young Valruzia. 

Some conspirationists are passing the word through social media that this attempted coup might have been just an attempt my CDS Szumski to consolidate his figure in a futurible Presidential elections, as it would be highly unlikely that as highest military commander in the country he had no notice of this event was going to happen. However, for the moment the police has given no evidence of more people involved, and the arrests have been limited to those directly involved in the coup in the main cities around the country and the five National Salvation deputies, who have been stripped of their voting rights until they are cleared of all wrong-doing or involvement.