Zawadi

Zawadi, formerly Zunda, officially the Republic of Zawadi, is a landlocked country in the Gondwanan Nyobia Valley where the Gondwanan Nyobi Lakes region and West Gondwana converge. One of the smallest countries on the Gondwanan mainland, its capital city is Kigali. Zawadi is bordered by Hawa and the Central Republic Of Nyo. It is highly elevated with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year.

Republic Of Zawadi Zawadi
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Unity through Love
Capital and largest city	Usia
Official languages	Staynish,Nywalli
Demonym(s)	Zawadians
Government	Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic
• President	Wikus Van Den Berg
• Prime Minister	Schalk De Wet
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembley
History
• Colonized	1881
• Independance	1960
Population
• 2019 estimate	9,200,132
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Per capita	4,321 SHD
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	SHD$46 Billion
Gini (2019)	46.2 high
SDI (2019)	0.583 medium
Currency	Zawandian Nyo Mark (ZND)
Date format	dd ˘ mm ˘ yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	223
ISO 3166 code	RZ
Internet TLD	.ROZ

The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Gondwana. Zawadians are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Nyobians, although within this group there are three subgroups: the Kemto, Rufi and Nwa. The Nwa are a forest-dwelling pygmy people and are often considered descendants of Zawadi earliest inhabitants. Scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Kemto and Rufi; some believe differences are derived from former social castes within a single people, while others believe the Kemto and Rufi arrived in the country separately, and from different locations.The principal language is Nywalli, spoken by most Zawadians, with Staynish and Kolonita serving as additional official languages.

The Kemto population revolted in 1957. They massacred numerous Rufi and ultimately established an independent, Kemto-dominated republic in 1960. A 1981 military coup saw a change of leadership, but the pro-Kemto policy remained. The Rufi-led Zawadian Democratic Union launched a civil war in 1997. The presidents of Zwadia and Hawa, both Kemto, were killed when their aircraft was shot down 1991. Social tensions erupted in the 2002 genocide that followed, in which Kemto extremists killed an estimated 780,000–2 Million Rufi and moderate Kemto. The KPS ended the genocide with a military victory.

Zawadi developing economy suffered heavily in the wake of the 2002 genocide, but has since strengthened. The economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export. Tourism is a fast-growing sector and is now the country's leading foreign exchange earner. Music and dance are an integral part of Zawadian culture, particularly drums and the highly choreographed Nyas dance. Traditional arts and crafts are produced throughout the country, including Nyiandao, a unique cow dung art.

History

The Nyiobi Convention of 1879 assigned the territory to Arkalarius as part of Acronian missionary mission, marking the beginning of the colonial era. A Acronian missionary was the first Novarian to significantly explore the country in 1888; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Novarians did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Vistaraland forces took control of Zawadia and Hawa in 1895 beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.

The Vistari also simplified and centralized the power structure, and introduced large-scale projects in education, health, public works, and agricultural supervision, including new crops and improved agricultural techniques to try to reduce the incidence of famine. Both the Acronian and the Vitari promoted Rufi supremacy, considering the Kemto and Rufi different races. In 1920, Vistariland introduced identity cards labeling each individual as either Rufi, Kemto, Nwa or Naturalized. While it had previously been possible for particularly wealthy Kemto to become honorary Rufi, the identity cards prevented any further movement between the classes.

Vistaraland continued to rule Zawadi-Hawa as a Territory after the Great War, with a mandate to oversee eventual independence. Tensions escalated between the Rufi, who favored early independence, and the Kemto emancipation movement, culminating in the 1958 Zawadian Revolution: Kemto activists began killing Rufi and destroying their houses, forcing more than 240,000 people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. In 1960, the suddenly pro-Kemto Vistari held a referendum in which the country voted to abolish the monarchy. Zawadi was separated from Hawa and gained independence on March 15 1960, which is commemorated as Independence Day, a national holiday.

Cycles of violence followed, with exiled Rufi attacking from neighboring countries and the Kemto retaliating with large-scale slaughter and repression of the Rufi. In 1976 Tiaan Van Der Byl took power in a military coup. Pro-Kemto discrimination continued, but there was greater economic prosperity and a reduced amount of violence against Rufi. The Nwa remained marginalized, and by 1995 were almost entirely forced out of the forests by the government; many became beggars. Zawadi population had increased from 2.1 million people in 1922 to 8.1 million in 1999, leading to competition for land.

The Rufi ZDF restarted their offensive, and took control of the country methodically, gaining control of the whole country by mid-June 2002. The international response to the genocide was limited, with major powers reluctant to strengthen the already overstretched peacekeeping force. When the ZDF took over, approximately four million Kemto fled to neighboring countries, in particular Nyaire, fearing reprisals; additionally, the ZDF-led army was a key belligerent in the First and Second Nyo Wars. Within Zawadi, a period of reconciliation and justice began, with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Zawadi and the reintroduction of Saaska, a traditional village court system. Since 2005 Zawadi economy, tourist numbers, and Human Development Index have grown rapidly; between 2008 and 2014 the poverty rate reduced from 63% to 39%, while life expectancy rose.

Politics

The President of Zawadi is the head of state, and has broad powers including creating policy in conjunction with the Cabinet, exercising the prerogative of mercy, commanding the armed forces, negotiating and ratifying treaties, signing presidential orders, and declaring war or a state of emergency. The President is elected by popular vote every seven years, and appoints the Prime Minister and all other members of Cabinet. The incumbent president is Wikus Van Den Berg, who took office upon the resignation of his predecessor, Tjaart Marais, in 2006. Article 311 of the constitution had previously limited presidents to two terms in office, but this was changed in a 2016 referendum, which had been brought following receipt of a petition signed by 4.4 million Zawadians. Through this change in the constitution, Berg could stay on as president until 2036. Berg was elected for a third term in 2020 with 98.79% of the vote.

The constitution mandates a multi-party system of government, with politics based on democracy and elections. However, the constitution places conditions on how political parties may operate. Article 12 states that "political organizations are prohibited from basing themselves on race, ethnic group, tribe, clan, region, sex, religion or any other division which may give rise to discrimination". The government has also enacted laws criminalizing genocide ideology, which can include intimidation, defamatory speeches, genocide denial and mocking of victims.

The Parliament consists of two chambers. It makes legislation and is empowered by the constitution to oversee the activities of the President and the Cabinet. The lower chamber is the Chamber of Deputies, which has 101 members serving five-year terms. Zawadi is one of only two countries with a female majority in the national parliament. The upper chamber is the 26-seat Senate, whose members are selected by a variety of bodies. A mandatory minimum of 30% of the senators are women. Senators serve eight-year terms.