Eternity RPC Board
19 Treizen, 1581
As morning came, demonstrators again prepared to go. Yet this time they stopped, and instead the demonstrators found themselves in a very different situation. This one wasn't caused by the police or any attempted government crackdown, but the original 1,000 or so people that attended the demonstrations.
They hadn't anticipated the sudden surge in support, and so they called a meeting to better organize themselves. Eventually it was decided that a formal organization to lead the demonstrations was needed, and so they set out to create it.
It took hours, but by 3 PM it was finally established. The Vien Students Autonomous Federation (Vien Studenten Autonome Föderation), with Nikolaus Laberenz being elected it's Chairman in a democratic vote. Nikolaus was known among young Voltans for pushing the boundaries of the new freedoms given by the government, often drawing ire from hardliners within the Communist Party who often lambasted him on growing Voltan social media platforms. Moderates in the Communist Party had mixed feeling about him, and while reformers sympathized with him they were very cautious not to say too much about him. Nikolaus was also simultaneously a critic and supporter of the current Chancellor, praising Ernst Krenz for his progress on Volta's reforms while also maintaining that the change was either too little or was coming too slowly.
Demonstrators spent the rest of the day protesting, while the leadership of the newly-established Vien Students Autonomous Federation discussed what their exact demands would be.
This day, the hardliners grew the police presence in the area, but didn't dare make any rash moves. They were still discussing among themselves how to deal with the situation. And now that the demonstrators numbers had grown tenfold, the Communist Party couldn't ignore the issue. An emergency meeting of the Politburo was called by reformists, and two plans to deal with the protests were advanced.
The first was championed by the reformists, and involved three points. First, encourage the students to voluntarily return to class. Secondly, use the police presence to maintain order and prevent rioting, but not to forcefully end the demonstrations. Third, engage in open and civil dialogue with the students and deal with their grievances in future sessions of the National Assembly.
This plan was endorsed by Vice Chancellor Tototl Amsel. But the hardliners weren't going to just accept the reformers plan.
Behind the scenes, Wilhelm Mielke had arranged for hardliners in the Politburo to put forward a plan he had come up with. This plan on it's surface also involved dialogue, but it was to be nothing more than a show. It also involved using police to maintain order, even if it meant forcefully ending the protests. Finally, it stated in no unclear terms that should the demonstrators not leave after attempts at "dialogue" were made, martial law was to be declared and military force used to crush the protests.
An unusual scene played out in the Politburo, with the hardliners openly challenging the Vice Chancellor, calling him "weak" and warning that he would "surrender Volta to reactionary elements". Normally Politburo meeting involved much more civil debate, and less open hostility. It was clear to everyone involved that the hardliners weren't going to back down that easily this time. Not only that, but the hardliners shut down any and all discussion about what happened to Die Volta-Bericht, refusing to talk about the issue and forcing the Politburo to only discuss the demonstrations.
The debate raged for the entire day, with a decision only being reached at the last minute. The decision didn't even settle the debate, it was a compromise that no side was happy with. All it involved was the opening of the possibility of dialogue with the demonstrators, with decisions on whether to act on the demonstrators grievances to be made at another meeting that would happen at a later date.
As morning came, demonstrators again prepared to go. Yet this time they stopped, and instead the demonstrators found themselves in a very different situation. This one wasn't caused by the police or any attempted government crackdown, but the original 1,000 or so people that attended the demonstrations.
They hadn't anticipated the sudden surge in support, and so they called a meeting to better organize themselves. Eventually it was decided that a formal organization to lead the demonstrations was needed, and so they set out to create it.
It took hours, but by 3 PM it was finally established. The Vien Students Autonomous Federation (Vien Studenten Autonome Föderation), with Nikolaus Laberenz being elected it's Chairman in a democratic vote. Nikolaus was known among young Voltans for pushing the boundaries of the new freedoms given by the government, often drawing ire from hardliners within the Communist Party who often lambasted him on growing Voltan social media platforms. Moderates in the Communist Party had mixed feeling about him, and while reformers sympathized with him they were very cautious not to say too much about him. Nikolaus was also simultaneously a critic and supporter of the current Chancellor, praising Ernst Krenz for his progress on Volta's reforms while also maintaining that the change was either too little or was coming too slowly.
Demonstrators spent the rest of the day protesting, while the leadership of the newly-established Vien Students Autonomous Federation discussed what their exact demands would be.
This day, the hardliners grew the police presence in the area, but didn't dare make any rash moves. They were still discussing among themselves how to deal with the situation. And now that the demonstrators numbers had grown tenfold, the Communist Party couldn't ignore the issue. An emergency meeting of the Politburo was called by reformists, and two plans to deal with the protests were advanced.
The first was championed by the reformists, and involved three points. First, encourage the students to voluntarily return to class. Secondly, use the police presence to maintain order and prevent rioting, but not to forcefully end the demonstrations. Third, engage in open and civil dialogue with the students and deal with their grievances in future sessions of the National Assembly.
This plan was endorsed by Vice Chancellor Tototl Amsel. But the hardliners weren't going to just accept the reformers plan.
Behind the scenes, Wilhelm Mielke had arranged for hardliners in the Politburo to put forward a plan he had come up with. This plan on it's surface also involved dialogue, but it was to be nothing more than a show. It also involved using police to maintain order, even if it meant forcefully ending the protests. Finally, it stated in no unclear terms that should the demonstrators not leave after attempts at "dialogue" were made, martial law was to be declared and military force used to crush the protests.
An unusual scene played out in the Politburo, with the hardliners openly challenging the Vice Chancellor, calling him "weak" and warning that he would "surrender Volta to reactionary elements". Normally Politburo meeting involved much more civil debate, and less open hostility. It was clear to everyone involved that the hardliners weren't going to back down that easily this time. Not only that, but the hardliners shut down any and all discussion about what happened to Die Volta-Bericht, refusing to talk about the issue and forcing the Politburo to only discuss the demonstrations.
The debate raged for the entire day, with a decision only being reached at the last minute. The decision didn't even settle the debate, it was a compromise that no side was happy with. All it involved was the opening of the possibility of dialogue with the demonstrators, with decisions on whether to act on the demonstrators grievances to be made at another meeting that would happen at a later date.