Lost Islands

The Republic of Lost Islands Kálitt Píron Genslán
Flag
Capital and largest city	Esonáth
Official languages	Kalitt
Demonym	Kalitt
Government	Parliamentary democracy
• Prime Minister (Head of Government)	Támass Granitt (Labor)
• Deputy Prime Minister	Salia Rámoth (Lib. Dem.)
• Speaker of Parliament (Head of State)	Rídatt Pimats (non-partisan)
Legislature	Parliament (unicameral)
• Lower house	120 members
Establishment
• Independence from Valdron	July 1, 1978
• Independence from Southeastern Federation	May 17, 1983
Area
• Total	251 km2 (97 sq mi)
Population
• 2013 (est.) census	43,400
• Density	172.91/km2 (447.8/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$959.17 million
• Per capita	$22,091
Currency	Paluna (Pl)
Internet TLD	.li

The Republic of the Lost Islands (Kálitt Píron Genslán) is a republic located in the Southeastern Ocean that achieved independence on July 1, 1978 from Valdron and emerged from the breakup of the Southeastern Federation on May 17, 1983. It is divided into 9 provinces and 5 territories.

Basic Facts

Size: 251 square kilometers (96.91 square miles)

Population: 39,019 (2009 census), 43,400 (2013 est.) + an estimated 700 Romí living hunter/gatherer/subsistence lifestyles in two of the five territories and granted complete autonomy by the Republic's government.

Population density: 172.91 per square kilometer

Official language and demonym: Kalitt

Capital: Esonáth (pop 8,301)

Form of government: Parliamentary democracy, with one legislative chamber, and executive authority merged in with the legislature. A Prime Minister is selected from the legislature as head of government; the Speaker (usually most senior member) of the legislature serves head of state functions. 20 of the 120 members of Parliament are elected from single-member districts; the other 100 members are elected through proportional representation. Parliament meets on July 1 of every year to handle required business such as the annual budget, a session that usually lasts 30-45 days. It is subject to recall (usually with two weeks' notice) throughout the year. In practice, this means Parliament re-convenes once a month for a half-day to two days of business.

Parliament members from a province are also the core of provincial councils, which range in size from 9 to 21 people. These meet twice a month to handle provincial business.

GDP: Pl.36.563 billion ($959.17 million USD) or $22,091 per capita

Real (post-inflation) GDP growth (2011): 8.4%

Unit of currency: Paluna (conversion as of 1/19/13, Pl.38.12 = $1)

Inflation rate: 6.7% (2011)

Provinces and territories

Provinces

• Ranávi: pop 3,091 (in the far NW) - capital Salitt
• Silomi: pop 1,421 (to the SE of Ranávi) - capital Korr
• Tumóra: pop 2,093 (to the SE of Silomi) - capital Varrath
• Tomatt: pop 1,897 (to the E of Tumora) - capital Tomattnath
• Ílotann: pop 1,642 (tiny island in the far west, due south of Ranavi) - capital Einath
• Kataps: pop 5,345 (the southernmost of the islands) - capital Tharnath
• Alúkan: pop 9,312 (to the E of Kataps) - capital Salaksnath
• Romíl: pop 4,669 (to the E of Alúkan) - capital Romilnath
• Esonáth: pop 12,123 (to the NW of Romíl) - capital Esonath

There are five territories, each with a varying culture.

• Eiyol: pop 323 (Between Tumóra and Tomatt, and to the south)
• Raseiyol: pop 516 (to the west of Esonath)

These two territories are open for regular settlement, but simply do not have the population to become regular provices. Residents have considered joining to Tumóra province as they fear being lost in the large size of Esonáth.

• Kálith: pop ~200 (Directly to the E of Ílotann) + military personnel here

This territory is split between a band of Romí (native population) on the western two-thirds and the main military base of the Republic on the eastern third. The Romí here have maintained as much as possible their hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

• Mapad: pop 987 (to the E of Kálith)

This territory is now owned by a special Romí corporation, as the Romí who lived here were interested in contact/co-existence with the larger government. Some limited tourism is permitted here, and some farmers from the other islands who predate the corporation's forming are permitted to remain.

• Salapp: pop ~500 (to the N of Kalith)

This territory is completely handed over to the native Romí, who live pretty much as they have lived since arriving in the Lost Islands an estimated 1,500 years ago, living off of fishing, limited agriculture, and trade with the residents of Mapad. During the Salapp Wars, attempts to land here were rebuffed, and the rights of the Romí here were enshrined by treaty in 1926. Even government officials rarely enter this territory as there have been hostile interactions as recently as 1998 (which resulted in the death of a Republic scientist).

History

The Romí aboriginal natives of the Lost Isles appear to have begun arriving around 550 AD, in what is now modern-day Ranávi. They quickly spread through the islands much as they spread through the larger islands to the west. Oral tradition and archaelogical evidence indicate that the three modern-day countries here were roughly the borders of three competing counties among the Romí.

No clues exist as to the mainland origin of the Romí, as their language is a complete isolate and modern-day Kálitt is a mixture of Romí and mainland languages brought by later settlers.

Two kings from the modern-day Lost Islands are said to have conquered the entire southeast archipelago, Kameha the Mighty (ca. 950-1000 AD) and Ruhaps the Magnificent (ca. 1300-1400).

The southeast archipelago became known to mainlanders when Rata Sumi explorers found the islands in 1456. However, the map made of this expedition was lost, and hence the islands became lost. Mainland colonists on the three western islands were able to beat back the Romí expeditions sent against them.

Only by 1552 did the problem become great enough to warrant a punitive expedition, which swiftly conquered the larger and more populated islands.

The residents of Salapp and Kálith were able to resist these incursions, but the other islands were colonized and Valdron, Rata Sumi, and Kosman forces fought over the islands for three centuries until the Valdrons were granted what is now the Lost Islands in a 1856 treaty. The territory was then dubbed Yugogirland.

Unlike Chruno, the Lost Islands never maintained independence as a separate nation (Salapp and Kálith were under de jure Valdron control, even if that control was never established de facto.) Unlike Spitzenbergen, the Lost Islands were not split between mainland colonial powers.

Attempting to conquer Salapp failed in a notorious 1860-1863 war in which 2,000 soldiers and marines were all slain save for two. There were some limited contacts between the Valdrons and Salapp natives until a 1926 treaty left the Salapp natives the masters of their own island and residents of western Kálith were granted a similar status.

Yugogirland remained part of Valdron until July 1, 1978, when, tired of the increased cost of administration (and somewhat annoyed by the fact that more Kalitt lived in Valdron than in the Lost Islands), the country was granted independence and then joined the Southeastern Federation. Attempts to form an all-Southeast federation failed and by 1983, the Lost Islands were fully independent. Relations, chilly in the mid-1980s, have steadily improved through the years.

Valdron may have regretted this decision as in 1981, significant oil fields were discovered, and in 1988, some minor gold veins were found. The population surged from 30,000 to over 80,000 in a matter of a few years as Kalitt who faced discrimination in Valdron decided to return home and join the prosperity of their homeland. Sadly, this corresponded with a worldwide decline in oil prices, as well as massive corruption at all levels of government. As the oil boom faded in the late 1980s, many Kalitt returned to Valdron, leaving us with a situation where 100,000 Kalitt live in Valdron, 43,000 live in the Lost Islands, some 25,000 in Rata Sum, some 20,000 in Kosma, and an estimated 15,000 in the rest of the world.

The Lost Islands' economy relies on forestry, mining, remittances from the diaspora, and some degree of specialized tropical agriculture.

Tourism is becoming a larger part of the economy with the introduction of thrice-weekly flights from the mainland to Esonáth International Airport and a ferry system among the Lost Islands and between the other Southeastern nations.

In the past decade, offshore banking has become a major factor in the economy, although the lack of reliable high-speed Internet to the major continents is becoming a hampering factor. All three parties are vowing that a planned high-speed Internet link between Avantia, Cordvern, and the southern continents pass through the Lost Islands.

Since independence, the People's Party (left-wing) and Labor Party (right-wing) have fought for control. The mid-1980s were a time of great political violence, as leaders of both parties jockeyed for control of oil and gold money. At least 100 people died in the fighting leading up to the 1986 election, which were won by the People's Party, marking the first time they had ever formed government.

A peace accord was reached before the 1989 elections, and today the political violence -- and the corruption by and large -- is only a thing of Valdron stereotypes.

The main story of the 2010s has been the rise of the tourism sector, the balancing of mineral wealth within the economy, and the growing economic power of the Lost Islands. Crime is down 80% since 1993 and no longer do the police need army backup. The GDP per capita has more than doubled in that timeframe.

With this increased wealth, there is growing dissatisfaction with the two-party system, and the Liberal Democratic Party -- which calls for greater alliance with the other Southeastern nations and further deregulation of the financial sector -- broke the People's/Labor duopoly for the first time in history, winning Esonáth Centre's single-member district over the other two parties and winning 19% of the vote in the Parliamentary elections of July 1, 2013.

Támass Granitt negotiated a coalition with Liberal Democratic leader Salia Rámoth and agreed to tackle several isuses in 2014, including a reduction in the size of Parliament, a free trade agreement with the other Southeastern nations, banking reform, a slight tax code reform, and immigration reform that was tested with the admission of 500 Irlandian emigrants from Haven in spring 2014.

The Lost Islands Broadcasting Authority

The Lost Islands Broadcasting Authority (Kálitt Píroth Ratelefass) run a mix of 60% Valdron re-runs (1970s sitcoms long since forgotten in Valdron remain hits today) and 40% low-budget internally produced programs. They operate one TV station with regional repeaters and a radio station for each province.

While the KPR's radio broadcasts were established by the Valdrons in 1953, they did not see fit to establish a television service -- television did not arrive in the islands until December 15, 1978.

While independent TV and radio broadcasters are not forbidden, no independent TV station exists (despite government incentives to do so) aside from the All-Southeast Broadcasting Company. A few radio stations are licensed. All independent broadcasters need to broadcast 15 minutes of KPR news and information twice a day; the ASBC has been allowed to broadcast an "All-Southeast" news program to meet this requirement.

Due to the isolation of the Lost Islands from the mainland, satellite service is spotty at best, although the KPR is hoping a satellite that can cover the part of a neighboring continent and the Southeastern Islands can be launched; thus providing the KPR, ASBC, and other networks a platform to reach the wider world.

The KPR are hoping to attract some attention to the Lost Islands and bring attention to Kalitt culture (which, sadly, seems to be regarded as mafiosi and poverty). This is by far the largest endeavour the KPR have every undertaken -- the estimated $50,000 cost is being partially underwritten by the Kalitt diaspora. Participation is a great matter of pride for Kalitt across the world.

ISC participation

Main article: Lost Islands in the Internatia Song Contest

The Lost Islands have had a roughly 50-50 record in qualifying for the ISC final, with the best performances a 3rd place finish for Enigma and "Sadeness: Part 1" in ISC 21 and an 8th place finish for Nightwish and "I Wish I Had an Angel" in ISC 11.

Internatian Games participation

At the I Internatian Games (Madakia, Tikata):

• Women's handball: Lost 35-24 to Dinokratys & Shrikidai; Won 29-27 over Canedonia
• Women's 50m freestyle: Kara Lynn Joyce, 8th
• Women's bicycling (omnium), flying lap: Tara Whitten, 16th
• Men's artistic gymnastics, individual all-around: Danell Leyva, 8th

Football

During qualification for the I Internatia Cup, the Lost Islands national football team got 6 points in Group C, enough for 6th place. At Taditt Genslanla, they defeated Sockistan 2-1 and drew with group runners-up Alexandria 2-2. On the road, they shocked group winners Monteverde with a 1-1 draw and drew level with Aonach 3-3.

Council of Internacia

Due to a misunderstanding over the placement of the Southeastern Islands on the Council's logo, Parliament initially refused to join the Council, citing the Southeastern Islands' absence from the logo. When reminded the logo's map was drawn to scale, Parliament voted 118-0 (2 abstentions) to join the Council.

In the Council, the Lost Islands' delegation has argued for the right of Pebbleland to occupy territory 25 until Bigicia's owner arrived to re-claim ownership.