Sri Britain
Sri Britain is a landlocked country in Eurectipheria, bordering Reitanna to the north and the Michillies to the south.
Etymology[edit | edit source]
The name Sri Britain alludes to the ethnic Ceylonese and Nashlandians who "colonized" the territory in 1968.
History[edit | edit source]
The modern territory of Sri Britain came into being in 1920, as the Michillies and Reitanna had a border dispute. Two Michillian villages were apparently controlled by Reitanna despite being culturally part of the Michillies. This led to the Reitanno-Michillian Border Dispute of 1920. The dispute lingered on until at least 1942, during the height of the second World War, and it became a disputed territory.
The status, however, was relinquished in February of 1968. A group of 41 Ceylonese and 22 Nashlandians (later followed by 50 Māoris in March) had "colonized" the territory. The Association of Nations recognized the independence of the microstate, under the name Sri Britain in order to allude to its ethnic situation, on 4 April 1968.
However, not everything was perfect in the new country, as it was divided for years by the armed forces of Reitanna and the Michillies. The two countries were living repressive dictatorships at the time (Reitanna was a corporate state under Francis Frank and the Michillies were a state under heavy Catholic influence)
Government and politics[edit | edit source]
Sri Britain is, an oddity in Western Eurectipheria, a presidential republic, in which the president has complete control over the country's powers. There is also a limited parliament with forty seats. There are no political parties, unlike dictatorships where there is just one party, Sri Britain is a party-free state, due to the country's former situation.
Culture[edit | edit source]
Although the area is culturally Eurectipherian, Sinhala and Māori cultures prevail in the country, mostly by descendants of the colonists of 1968. This creates a unique cultural exclave under which Sondrian and Polynesian cultures are considered "endemic" to a Eurectipherian country even though it's a microstate.
There is also another reason why Sri Britain has a colony of Māoris: to help sustain the Māori diaspora in the Michillies, second-largest outside of the New Michillies, a former Michillian colony. The colony has been reduced over time, thanks in part to migration to the Michillies or remigration to the New Michillies, usually due to government grants from the latter.
Recent events[edit | edit source]
Sour relations emerged in the wake of terrorist attacks in recent years.
Education[edit | edit source]
Education in Sri Britain tends to follow the Michillian pattern. The few schools that exist target every grade possible. Higher education is held at the University of Sri Britain.
Media[edit | edit source]
Printed media[edit | edit source]
Sri Britain has a newspaper dating back to the dispute, it was known as The Dispute when it was first published in 1964. However, neither country liked the idea of reflecting its status in the name and renamed it The Tribune the following year. The country's name was added to the publication in 1968, shortly after proclaiming independence, officially becoming The Sri British Tribune. The newspaper is published in English.
Sri Britain has its own news agency, the SBNA.
Radio[edit | edit source]
The MCSB has been controlling radio in Sri Britain since 1994. Until then, the Michillian Forces Network had to broadcast two radio services: an AM-FM simulcast that was a talk station and an FM music station. Relays of RBC's Radio Reitanna are also available.
The MCSB operates one local station, MCSB Radio (known until 2016 as Radio Sri Britain and until 2018 as SBBC Radio). SBBC/MCSB Radio launched a second service in 2014 (known as RSB 2) broadcasting in Sinhala and Māori.
Television[edit | edit source]
Television arrived upon the creation of Sri Britain. Until 1994, the country was served by a Reitannan-run station owned by the International Trainees of Keswich known as ITK Television. The Michillian side did not get a television service until 1989, and it was operated by the MFN.
When ITK shut down, Sri Britain tried hard to get a television service. The newly-founded SBBC struggled to operate a television service without asking either broadcaster on either side of the border and the promise of a new television service in Sri Britain fell through. In April 2002, an experimental television service was started by Michillian NGOs and the AoN, but shut down after a few weeks due to low ratings. Television sets could legally pick up RBC International, MBC International and two MFN channels in military bases, but then again, the need for a truly local television service arose.
In April 2004, a new form of television, known as ComBand (Communication Band) appeared on Sri British screens. Initially there were two ComBand channels, TV One and TV2 (named after their New Michillian equivalents). Some of the NM programming was "imported" from TVNM International while some foreign programming was added by request. As the years went on, ComBand's channels grew to five, launching Rupavahini, TV3-C4 and Māori Television.
Sri British Television began broadcasting on 3 March 2008 and marked the coming of age of television in the country, yet badly timed to the 40th anniversary of Sri Britain. It was not operated by the SBBC but by a separate operator owned by the government, Broadcasting Sri Britain (BSB). The channel ran for about two hours a day, yet as the months passed, broadcast hours grew and the channel was made available on ComBand. It joined the EBU (as BSB, later as SBTV in 2009) in September 2008, allowing it to participate in the ESC for the first time.
SBTV shut down on the morning of April 13th, 2016, after over eight years on air. The reason why SBTV shut down was because SBTV couldn't stand the constant criticism against come personalities and quietly went off-air. SBTV's admins said that they wouldn't be setting up an entirely new channel, and that such honor would be passed to new enterprises. In late May, the SBBC launched a television service, using SBTV equipment, and didn't claim itself as the successor of SBTV.