Former Xiomeran territories vote for independence
Manauia Island, Netlcoātl Islands become newest nations in the IDU
In official referendums administered by the government of Laeral and overseen by international observers, the former Xiomeran territories of Manauia Island and the Netlcoātl Islands have voted for independence.
In the Netlcoātl Islands, 72.7% of voters approved independence, while 78.4% of voters in Manauia Island approved independence. Voter turnout was high in both referendums, and international observers said that the election was fair and mostly free from interference.
The historic elections finalize the agreement reached in Jinyu ending the Xiomeran civil war to allow the people of these former territories to choose their own path forward. It also formalizes a previous agreement that the Xiomeran government had made with Manauia Island to withdraw in exchange for protection of Xiomerans on the island. The vote also mirrors the results of a referendum in Xiomera in January 2021, in which 55% of Xiomerans voted in favor of Xiomera giving up its claims to both the Netlcoātl Islands and Manauia Island. Despite this, the Xiomeran government pointedly refused to offer any congratulations to the newly independent states. Instead, a terse statement from the Xiomeran Ministry of State said only that Xiomera "will fully comply with Articles XI and XII of the Jinyu Agreement, which require us to recognize the governments in question and cooperate with them on matters of mutual importance." Xiomerans were also less than congratulatory to the new states. Xiomeran media outlets showed multiple interviews with citizens expressing both anger at the finalization of Xiomera's postwar territorial losses, and disdain for the departing regions. "Despite the ingratitude for the centuries of progress and development we brought these regions, and the unjust outcome inflicted on the Empire by this situation, Xiomera will continue to grow and thrive," a statement from the Xiomeran Citizens' Party read.
Other countries were much more celebratory in their statements. The government of Milintica issued a statement celebrating "the culmination of the long struggle for self-determination and respect that our brothers and sisters on Manauia Island and the Netlcoātl Islands have been waging, with their finally winning freedom". The Vice-Speaker of Huenya, Tiacihitli, issued his own congratulations on the islands "joining us in the ranks of free nations that are no longer under the thumb of Imperial tyranny" and pledged to work with the new nations to ensure "the mutual survival and success of all our nations."
In its official statement, the Xiomeran government also reiterated its ongoing demand that the new governments "respect the rights and liberties of Xiomerans living on the islands." That demand will be a challenge to comply with in both Manauia Island and the Netlcoātl Islands, where resentment among native islanders towards the Xiomeran community remains strong. Despite this, under pressure from the international community and after high-level meetings with Huenyan diplomats, the acting leader of the Netlcoātl Islands, Ahuac, has agreed to open talks with leaders of the ethnic Xiomeran community on the islands to discuss a framework for establishing a federated state with significant autonomy for the Xiomeran portion of the islands. Officials in Manauia Island have also begun discussing plans for how to integrate the remaining Xiomeran population into the new nation's plans. "We fully intend to comply with Article XIII of Jinyu, as I am sure our friends in the Netlcoātl Islands do as well," Tanqui, the leader of Manauia Island, told DTNS.
Ensuring that the Xiomeran population of both Manauia Island and the Netlcoātl Islands are fully integrated, and feel part of the new nations, will be a significant challenge. Exit polls indicate that the overwhelming majority of those who voted against independence in both referendums were ethnic Xiomerans, a sign of the potential challenges ahead.
While the reaction in Xiomera to the results of the referendums may have been sour, the exact opposite was true in their former territories. In Manauia Island, spontaneous and joyous celebrations broke out in Xohuayán, the island capital, lasting well into the night. In the Netlcoātl Islands, widespread celebrations were seen as well, with the exception of the capital city of Citlamina, which is the center of the ethnic Xiomeran population on the islands.
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