COMMON NAME: Mestonia Park
OFFICIAL NAME: The Joint and Indivisible Realm of Mestonia
LOCATION: Southern Delgamia, latitude 16 degrees N - 33 degrees
N, longtitude
130 degrees W - 164 degrees W, constituting approx.70% of that
portion of
Delgamia west of the 130th meridien and south of the Tecojoro
Mountains.
LAND AREA: 1,023,398 square kms.
POPULATION (human): 553,000 (est. July 299)
CLIMATE: Great extremes. Above treeline in the Tecojoros,
sub-Glacirian
conditions prevail, and despite meager precipitation, the summits
are alway
wreathed in snow. In the southeast coastal zone, opposite San
Patricio, steaming
rainforests are the rule: annual rainfalls of 90 cms and a mean
annual
temperature of 24 degrees celsius. In between is the vast,
magnificent Basin of
the River Djurango, where temperature and rainfall increases as
the river winds its way southward.
GEOGRAPHY: Great extremes. The northern boundary of Mestonia Park
is marked by
the Vex-famous Tecojoro Mountains, highest range in the
hemisphere. Delgamia
Peak (6,302 m), Mount Gronk (5,991 m), Mount Mestonia (5,832 m),
and Mount
Christiana (5,555m) form the protruding vertebrae of the
awe-inspiring "Great
Spine of the Tecojoros." The foothills of the Tecojoros are
drained by
snowmelt-fed creeks and small rivers that mingle to form the
majestic Lake Elgiquet,
from which, in turn, flows the mighty Djurango. One of the unique
attractions of the Lake Yurtioze region are the multiple geysers
and hotsprings
which punctuate the mountain-girt landscape. As the River
Yurtioze
descends, the landscape changes from highland meadows, tableland
savannas,
mixed-hardwood forests, dense tropical forests, and finally the
half-water
half-land realm of the Mouth of the Djurango Delta.
GOVERNMENT: By the Treaty of Puerto Bravo [see
below] (27 July 299)
sovereignty over the territory now known as Mestonia Park was
assumed as a
"joint and indivisible" responsibility of the six
states comprising the Melanian
Sea Treaty Organization (MESTO). Those nations are: Aros,
Brolecia, Morania, San Patricio, Ordland, and Eastern Delgamia. Under the
Mestonia Park Charter [SEE BELOW], the area is administered by
local township governments
under the overall supervision of an Executive Committee on which
sit five
representatives of the local populace and two representatives
each for the MESTO
nations. The Mestonia Charter provides that "no less than
90% of the territory
in question" shall be preserved in its natural state and/or
acommodate
"non-intrusive" scientific research. Local inhabitants
may carry a special
Mestonia passport or the passport of any MESTO nation in which
they choose to
reside.
ECONOMY: Only natives of the area and their linear descendents
who remain in the
territory are licensed for commercial activity in the 10% of the
parkland in
which it is allowed. Sheep, goats, and horses are grazed in the
high pastures;
intensive agricultural is still permitted on the family farms of
the Djurango
Valley; and fishermen still ply the waters off both the northwest
and southeast
coats. Increasingly, however, the Park's economy turns to
eco-tourism as
travellers from around Vex make pilgrimage to "the most
magnificent patch on the
planet."
HISTORY, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE OF THE INHABITANTS:
The area constituting Mestonia Park was, legally speaking, under
Gronkian rule before the MESTO alliance was formed in 299. The
Free
Confederacy of the Lendian Republics also administered the area
for a
short period of time because of a treaty signed in early 298. But
whoever the administrator has been, the people of the territory
have
lived in the same way for centuries. Changes in theoretical
sovereignty haven't affected the people in Mestonia Park, nearly
so
much as the inhabitants of the densely populated areas nowadays
controlled by Aros, Brolecia and Eastern Delgamia.
About half of the people live in small cities. Pueblo Mojada is
the
biggest (population 105,000) and the home harbor for many
Mestonian
fishing vessel. Also some ships from San Patricio stop by during
their
journeys in the big seas.
New Yoakes City (pop. 70,400) is also known for fishing and
somewhat special cuisine. For foreigners spending more than a day
(the
maximum time it is possible to survive with the local food) in
the city
there are restaurants serving normally prepared fish and other
more
familiar dishes.
Port Notwest (pop. 57,800, and 28,540 living just outside the
city
borders) is in the northeast coast. Fishing ships are a common
sight
here too, but agriculture outside the city and food processing
are
the biggest employers in the area.
Another popular lifestyle in the Mestonia Park is to live in
small
tribal communities scattered throughout the territory. The tribes
are
led by traditional leaders. The people are rather isolated and
communicate with other tribes or people outside the park very
little,
smaller tribes often not at all. The human inhabitants live in
their
own paradise, not knowing (or particularly caring) what happens
in the
big bad world.
The benign climate allows the people of Mestonia Park to live in
primitive housing with no modern technology. Running water,
electricity
and sewer systems are all rare in the small villages of the
interior.
The four biggest tribes are the Meardhas, the Yuringes, the Djufs
and
the Vyens. The Meardhas live in the northwest Tecojoro Mountains
near
the Baben-Overbaben border. Their living comes mainly from
grazing
sheep and goats. The Yuringes live around the Lake Yuriange and
the
Djufs in the Djurango Delta area. Agriculture and fishing are
important
for both tribes. The Vyens are hunters and live in the forests
near
Arosyoakes and Brovoyoakes borders.
Nowadays, as the natural wonders of the park have been discovered
by the
people of the Vexillium, some tribes have started to run
eco-tourism
businesses. This requires communication with the outside world
and
therefore most of the new businesses have their headquarters in
the
cities of Arosyoakes, Brovoyoakes and the Eastern Delgamian
Protectorate.
MILITARY: There are no armed forces allowed in
Mestonia Park, with the exception
of the Mestonian Rangers, an elite constabulary trained by the
Aros Special Forces -- equipped with only with small arms. Any
violation of this policy by any person or state shall be sharply
punished.
THE TREATY OF PUERTO BRAVO:
AGREEMENT OF THE HEADS OF STATE
OF THE SIX POWERS
COMPRISING THE MELANIAN SEA TREATY ORGANIZATION (MESTO)
REGARDING TERRITORIES SITUATED ON THE NORTHERN SHORES OF OUR
COMMON SEA.
27 JULY 299
.....................
To the Nations of Delgamia, Fiarria, Melania, and all Portions of
Vexillium:
Greetings!
Today we solemnly reiterate our common pledge never to never take
up arms against
each other and ever to work cooperatively for the preservation
and enrichment of
the cultural and natural heritages of all the lands washed by the
waters of the
Melanian Sea.
In respect thereof, we now declare that:
WHEREAS
It has now been amply documented that which hitherto was only
dimly apprehended:
that the estimable but hard-pressed nation of Northern Gronk has
abandoned the
governing of those territories in our region over which it
claimed to hold sway;
and that
WHEREAS
the territories between the Melanian Sea and the Tecojoro
Mountains -- commonly
known as "Southern Delgamia" or "South
Novoyoakes" -- thereforehave been and are
unoccupied by a sovereign power; and that
WHEREAS
all adult persons of those territories were eligible to
participate in a
referendum offering the options of asserting independence,
affiliating with the
new state of Eastern Delgamia, or
affiliating with any other state, not excluding Northern Gronk;
and that
WHEREAS
duly-credentialled representatives of seven nations not
affiliated with MESTO
acted as
Official Observers of the referendum and of the period of open
public
discussion which preceeded it; and that
WHEREAS
those Official Observers certified that 84% of eligible voters
participated in
the referendum and that the conduct of the referendum was
"impeccable, to some
degree"; and that
WHEREAS
substantial majorities of voters were obtained in favor of three
different
options in three distinct geographic regions, namely to
affiiliate with,
respectively, the Free and Independent Republic of Aros, the
Federated Republic of
Brolecia, and the Republic of Eastern Delgamia; and that
WHEREAS
the three aforementioned regions desiring affiliation with the
nations of Aros,
Brolecia, and Eastern Delgamia contain more than 90% of the
population of the
entire area between the Melanian Sea and the Tecojoro Mountains;
NOW THEREFORE SAY WE
THAT
the form and manner of government of the territory on the
accompanying map (the
whole of which shall be incorporated into the body of this
agreement) denominated
"Aroyoakes" shall be determined solely by the
Government of the Free and Independent Republic
of Aros; and
THAT
the form and manner of government of the territory on the
accompanying map
denominated "Brovoyoakes" shall be determined solely by
the Government of the
Federated Republic of Brolecia; and
THAT
the form and manner of government of the territory on the
accompanying map
denominated "Protectorate of Eastern Delgamia" shall be
determined solely by the
Government of the Republic of Eastern Delgamia; and
THAT
the remainder of the territory in question -- denominated
"Mestonia Park" on the
accompanying map -- shall be be subject to the joint and
indivisible sovereignty
of the Free and Independent Republic of Aros, the Federated
Republic of Brolecia, the
Republic of Eastern Delgamia, the Kingdom of Morania, the
Republic of Ordland,
and the Union of San Patricio, which remand administration of
this indivisible
whole to the "Mestonia Park Authority," the conditions
of whose appointment are
detailed in a separate agreement issued this day and entitled the
"Mestonia Park
Charter;" and
THAT
each year henceforth this day of 25 July shall be observed with
celebrations and
thanskgivings throughout our six nations and the noble parkland
shared by them
and all of humanity.
Signed and sealed this twenty-fifth day of July, 299, in the City
of Puerto
Bravo.
John Coopier, President, Federal Republic of Brolecia
Isaac Soares, President, Republic of Ordland,
Juan Pablo O'Gorman O'Driscoll (The Da), Union of San Patricio
Ana Robertsonite, Servant of the Conquesta and the Aros people,
Secretary of Foreign Relations, Free and Independent Republic of
Aros
Mendek Karastourru, President, Republic of Eastern Delgamia
H.E. Joseph, Prince of Morania
THE MESTONIA CHARTER:
AGREEMENT OF THE HEADS OF STATE OF THE SIX POWERS
COMPRISING THE MELANIAN SEA TREATY ORGANIZATION (MESTO)
REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF MESTONIA PARK:
27 JULY 299
Our six nations, individually and in concert, today declare that:
WHEREAS
that portion of the continent of Delgamia lying between the
Melanian Sea and the
Tecojoro Mountains, denominated "Mestonia Park" on the
accompanying map, has been
apportioned to the joint and indivisible sovereignty of the six
nations
subscribing to this agreement; and that
WHEREAS
the aforementioned "Mestonia Park" is characterized by
an astonishing and
unrivalled diversity of ecosystems, species, and subspecies; and
that
WHEREAS
that same territory has provided home to a valued and varied
citizenry of some
550,000 human souls; and that
WHEREAS
this multinational population, having been governed by a
well-intentioned but
distracted power from outside the region, today cannot depend on
a civil
authority capable of protecting basic human rights; and that
WHEREAS scientists of all nations have called for the protection
of the precious
natural and human resources of the region,
NOW THEREFORE SAY WE
THAT
our six states do hereby establish the "Mestonia Park
Authority" to administer
the territory for the benefit of all its species and on behalf of
future
generations of Vexillians yet unborn.
The Mestonia Park Authority will exercise its powers under the
following
conditions:
• No less than 90% of the land of the territory in question
shall be used for no
purposes other than ecological preservation and non-intrusive
scientific
investigation.
• On the remainder of the land, uses will be
limited to: residential, agricultural, and commercial activities
of the
current inhabitants of the territory or their linear descendents
still residing
in the territory;
scientific research; civil administration; and the maintenance of
facilities appropriate to the industry commonly described as
"eco-tourism."
• The current inhabitants of the territory and their linear
descendents
shall be issued a special Mestonia passport, enabling them to
reside and
work in any of the five of our nations. Upon request, they shall
also be
issued a passport of the particular nation in which they choose
to reside,
provided only that at such time they surrender any
currently-valid Northern
Gronkian passport.
• Local government functions shall -- to the maximum degree
feasible -- be
exercised by township authorities devised and managed by the
current
inhabitants.
• Other functions shall be exercised by the Mestonia Park
Authority
through its Executive Committee, on which sit: five
representatives chosen by a
vote of the current inhabitants, or their linear descendents
above the age of 18
still resident in the territory, and two representatives each
from
Aros, Brolecia, Eastern Delgamia, Morania, Ordland, and San
Patricio; plus two
representatives from
any other independent state situated on the Melanian Sea that
subscribes to
this agreement. Rules of order and procedure for the Executive
Committee shall be
determined by a vote of no fewer than four of the six powers
signing this
agreement.
May success crown this endeavor of preserving Peace and
safeguarding Nature.
Signed and sealed this twenty-fifth day of June, 299, in the City
of Puerto
Bravo,
John Coopier, President, Federal Republic of Brolecia
Isaac Soares, President, Republic of Ordland,
Juan Pablo O'Gorman O'Driscoll (The Da), Union of San Patricio
Ana Robertsonite, Servant of the Conquesta and the Aros people,
Secretary of Foreign Relations, Free and Independent Republic of
Aros
Mendek Karastourru, President, Republic of Eastern Delgamia
H.E. Joseph, Prince of Morania