Trucial Abysmia
Trucial Abysmia, officially known as the Kingdom of Trucial Abysmia, is a country in Western Asia, located in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in the east of the Persian Gulf, sharing a border with Oman to the south and sea borders with United Arab Emirates to the west and Benzheen to the east.
Flag of Trucial Abysmia
The emirate of Trucial Abysmia covers an area of 1,700 square km. The capital city and home of most residents is also called Trucial Abysmia. The city has a population of 263,217 as of 2008. The city has two main sections, Old Trucial Abysmia and Nakheel, on either side of a creek. It is served by the Trucial Abysmia International Airport. Apart from the northern part where the city of Trucial Abysmia is situated, it also has one large enclave in the South near Hatta, and a few small islands on the Persian Gulf.
Trucial Abysmia has is said to have large oil reserves and is a large oil exporter. Oil accounts for more than 90% of exports and nearly 75% of government revenues, facilitating the creation of a welfare state, although the share of the non-oil economy is growing recently as oil exports have begun to drop precipitously.
Trucial Abysmia was ruled by Sheikh Saqr bin Muhammad al-Qasimi from 17 July 1948 to 27 October 2010. His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr al Qasimi was named Supreme Council member and new Ruler of Trucial Abysmia on October 27, 2010. The heir apparent was Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, son of the Emir, who on the MUX was born on June 4th, 1996. In 2012 Shiekh Saud announced that in 2013, TA will hold its first presidential elections in that land's history. On February 12, 2013, Sheikh Mohammed was declared victor in TA's first free and open elections in generations, becoming TA's first democratically elected president amongst widespread allegations of voter intimidation and fraud by the nation's military. In 2016, Mohammed declared himself King of Trucial Abysmia, casting doubts on the legitimacy of future presidential elections.
Economy[]
Trucial Abysmia is secretly one of the poorer of the Trucial emirates. Its economy survives largely on the generosity of neighbouring emirates. In spite of its public perception as a wealthy, oil-rich country, it has little remaining oil reserves and currently relies on traditional trades of fishing and dhow building, a fact that Sheikh Saud struggles to keep hidden from both his people and sons. Its population of 170,000 live with traditions and values unchanged for many generations.
History[]
Pre-MUX History[]
Trucial States[]
After British occupation (18 December 1819 – July 1821), in 1822, Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi signed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 with Britain, accepting a protectorate to keep the Ottoman Empire out. Like Ajman, Dubai, Umm al-Qaiwain and Sharjah, its position on the route to India made it important enough to be recognized as a salute state.
In 1869, Trucial Abysmia became fully independent from neighbouring Sharjah. However, from September 1900 to 7 July 1921, it was re-incorporated into Sharjah; the last governor, Sheikh Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi, became its next independent ruler.
Sheikh Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi ruled until 1948, when he was overthrown in a bloodless coup d'etat by his nephew and son-in-law Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi, grandfather of the current king of Trucial Abysmia.
As independence loomed in 1968, Bahrain, Qatar, and Trucial Abysmia joined the Trucial States. Differences caused Trucial Abysmia to leave the union in 1971.
On the MUX, when the other Trucial States merged together to form the United Arab Emirates, Trucial Abysmia, under the leadership of Sheikh Saqr bin Muhammad al-Qasimi, declined to join, and instead established Trucial Abysmia an independent emirate.
G.I. Joe[]
In the 1980s Trucial Abysmia served as a battlefield between the forces of Cobra and G.I. Joe.
In 1982, Stalker, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes were trapped in the Trucial Abysmia. They survived to take a package dubbed the "Hot Potato" out of the country. [1]
Washout[]
In September of 1988, probationary G.I. Joe team members Lightfoot and Mangler were sent on a mission to Trucial Abysmia as their final exam. The supposedly simple mission to destroy a buried U.S. weapons cache became much more when the team led by Outback and Dusty was ambushed and captured by the local army. The team refused to answer questions, though the brash nineteen-year-old Mangler blurted out that they were from the G.I. Joe team.
The unit's overzealous political officer took charge and decided to torture the Joes into talking. He randomly chose the other recruit, Lightfoot, who was severely beaten for a time, but refused to talk. When they finally used alligator clips to shock him with electricity, it was too much for him to bear, and Lightfoot revealed the team's objective. Mangler chastised Lightfoot for giving in, but Dusty and Outback backed him after seeing what he'd been through.
When Mangler continued to berate Lightfoot, Dusty silenced him with a swift kick in the stomach. The Joes were left behind with a junior officer with orders to execute them while the rest of the enemy unit went to find the weapons cache. The officer disagreed with the torture of Lightfoot and let the Joes go rather than execute them.
Left in the desert with only a small amount of water, the Joes were ready to head for friendly territory, but it was Lightfoot who pushed them to complete the mission. He could barely walk and Mangler carried him on his back through the desert. Mangler was impressed with Lightfoot and apologized to him after they destroyed the cache and made their escape in a stolen armored vehicle.
The vehicle, however, proved to be difficult to get up enough speed and the Abysmian army vehicles were gaining on them. Mangler saw that the only way for the Joes to escape was for someone to slow down their pursuers. He jumped from the armored vehicle and stood in the path of the oncoming trucks, firing his machine and pistol. The other drivers swerved to miss the young soldier and collided. Mangler was crushed and killed in the accident. [2]
Apparent Conclusions[]
In January of 1991 Lt. Falcon led Duke and a team of Joes into Trucial Abysmia to knock out recently installed Cobra Terror Dromes. They were subsequently captured by a Cobra unit led by Tomax & Xamot. Duke was brutally assaulted by the Crimson Twins before he and the other Joes were rounded up and moved to a holding pit. [3]
Death in the Desert[]
A miscommunication between Cobra Commander at the Cobra Consulate building in New York and the twins in Trucial Abysmia resulted in a death sentence for several Joes at the hands of a S.A.W.-Viper. An escape attempt by the surviving Joes resulted in three more casualties, including original Joe Team member Breaker. [4]
Casualties[]
Cobra departed the country soon after, moving into neighboring Benzheen.
G.I. Joe Memorial Controversy []
Late in Shiekh Saud's reign, the king, moving closer to modernizing Trucial Abysmia, chose to erect a memorial to the fallen Joes as a reaching-out gesture. At the same time, he was concerned with how the move would play out to the more Cobra-sympathetic members of his military cabinet. He finally chose to erect a 15-foot high rectangular, midnight-black marble that stated "In Memory of Those Lost At This Battle Site" - with the names of the falled Joes etched in the marble (Saud chose not to mention the Cobra members who were lost citing "an inability to properly identify the fallen Cobra members"). Though some Joes wished Saud would have gone further in honoring their fallen comrades instead of just stating where they fell in battle, the momument and park served to be a comforting resting place and tribute to the fallen Joes.
In March, 2013, the new government under Sheikh Mohammed ordered the monument be destroyed a gesture of establishing renewed ties to Cobra. Though the Joes have expressed no outward interest in engaging in the conflict of the Trucial Abysmian government, for many Joes, Mohammed's act was the equivalent of a spit in the eye.
Human Rights[]
On the MUX, Trucial Abysmia's human rights record has been strongly criticized by many in the US.
Rumors abound of Sheikh Saud's brutality in dealing with opponents to his father's rule during his time as Crown Prince. One story suggests that during an interrogation Sheikh Saud pointed a gun at a suspect's head and fired pointblank, an allegation Sheikh Saud himself vehemently denies.
In 2010, Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr al Qasimi proudly stated, "There are no more homosexuals in my land, because everyone here has strong moral backbone." A spokesman for the HRC said that by trading with Sheikh Saud's regime for oil, the Autobots and the US administration were in essence, "endorsing the policies of this dictator."
A case in 2012 where TA's judicial system let a man free for splashing ACID in his wife's face for a "misunderstanding" between his wife and a merchant received international press and near-universal condemnation. This lead to a series of protests in the US by human rights activists who oppose the support of the Autobots and the US administration for Sheikh Saud's regime in exchange for oil.
MUX History[]
His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr al Qasimi (born Dubai, February 10, 1956) was named Supreme Council member and new Ruler of Trucial Abysmia on October 27, 2010. Sheikh Saud is the fourth son of Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi, his predecessor as Ruler of Trucial Abysmia, who died October 27, 2010.
Upon Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr al Qasimi's ascension to Ruler of Trucial Abysmia, his son, Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, was named heir apparent of Trucial Abysmia.
Arab Spring[]
Trucial Abysmia was not immune to the outbreak of mostly student-led demonstrations in 2009 and 2010. Privately, Shiekh Saud welcomed more calls for a more democratic system of voting candidates into office (with the exception of his own office, of course). However, the more traditional/fundamentist leaders in both military and goverment worried about the growing popularity of the student demonstrators, who used social media to spread their message. The traditionalist elements of Trucial Abysmia won the argument in Shiekh Saud's eyes, who eventually agreed that any appeasment of the demonstrators would be a sign of weakness in his own regeime. Fearing a coup inside his own cabinet, Shiekh Saud eventually ordered a crackdown on protestors and in 2011, the demonstrations returned to the underground.
Autobot/TA Relations[]
In 2012, Crosscut and Spike traveled to Trucial Abysmia for the sixteenth birthday of Sheikh Mohammed. Although Sheikh Mohammed was bitterly disappointed that Optimus Prime himself could not attend, Spike managed to negotiate, with slight help from Crosscut, a 10 percent increase in oil donation to world recovery efforts, 2 percent of which was to be delivered immediately.
Execution of Gay Teens[]
In early August 2012, two gay teenagers in Trucial Abysmia gained international fame for posting a picture of them kissing one another with the Twitter hashtag #WeAreGayAndLiveInTA as a response to comments Sheikh Saud made about not having gays and lesbians in his land. Saud's personal cabinet demanded a swift execution in retaliation to the apparent humiliation of Saud's regime.
Saud's wife Sheikha Hana bint Juma Al Majid began a secret campaign with other human rights groups to try to get the teenagers released and granted asylum to another country. In early September 2012, Sheikh Saud Bin Sadr al Qasimi approved the public execution the two teenagers. The teenagers were executed on September 9, 2012, triggering a flurry of condemnation from human rights groups and other nations.
Public Elections[]
Shiekh Saud's decision to approve the execution of two gay teenagers weighed heavily on the leader of Trucial Abysmia. In a move that some consider to be a crisis of conscious, Shiekh Saud announced that in 2013, TA will hold its first presidential elections in that land's history. His decision came after hours of deliberation with his family (minus his son) and a few select cabinet members. The elections will be partially supervised by the military branch of TA's government to ensure a smooth, orderly election is carried out.
Cobra Reemergence []
Shiekh Saud's move to allow free and open elections in Trucial Abysmia has caused some in the Cobra ranks to see a possible way to return to the energy-rich country. Interrogator has agreed to secretly coach Sheikh Mohammad in his bid for president. In addition, Cobra has begun to secretly funnel millions to Mohammed's campaign against his father. So far, this illegal action has not been picked up by G.I. Joe intelligence. Shiekh Saud, though suspicious of Cobra involvement, has not been able to produce any conclusive evidence of wrongdoing by Cobra. If caught though, Saud would see this as an act of war against his country and would see to it that Trucial Abysmia would remove itself from its position of neutrality in the G.I. Joe/Cobra struggle and lend their support in favor of the Joes.
al-Islah[]
Presidential debates[]
- January 28, 2013 - Trucial Abysmia Presidential debates
Election of Sheikh Mohammed as First President of TA[]
On February 12, 2013, Sheikh Mohammed was declared victor in TA's first free and open elections in generations. Numerous human rights organizations are calling for investigations as vast reports of fraud were reported. But Mohammed's legitimacy was almost immediately confirmed by the military wing. Mohammed quickly moved to have some of his rivals arrested and ordered his parents to vacate the presidential palace and prepare for permanent exile.
One of President Al Qasimi's first acts was to approve the destruction of the G.I. Joe Memorial his father had elected, and to invite Cobra Commander for an official state visit.
Rescue of Anwar Assan[]
On April 22, Marissa Faireborn and Spike Witwicky led the Autobots and GI Joe into Trucial Abysmia, where EDC was able to free Anwar Assan from his captors. Faireborn personally saw to the rescue of Anwar Assan's wife Hanna, with the assistance of the Autobot Throttle. During the raid, Faireborn was wounded when she successfully rescued Assan's wife from house arrest.
Invasion of Benzheen[]
In 2016 Trucial Abysmia invaded nearby Benzheen. A combined Autobot/G.I. Joe/Russian team drove the Trucial Abysmian forces back from the Benzheen border, although the Benzheen government was ultimately overthrown from within and a new pro-Abysmian military government was formed.
Alliances[]
Since Mohammed came to power, Trucial Abysmia has cozied itself closer to Cobra, lending troops to help quell the rebellion on Cobra Unity and hiring Cobra consultants to high levels of influence and authority. With the overthrow of the Emir of neighboring Benzheen, Mohammed has exhibited more sway and power over that country as well.
Important towns, settlements and areas[]
- Jazirat Al Hamra - an old coastal town with numerous real estate projects and industrial zone
- Rams – a coastal town, in the past a typical fishermen and pearl diver village
- Khor Khuwair - an industrial zone, with the largest port in Trucial Abysmia and numerous companies such as cement factory
- Diqdaqah – a village known for agriculture activities
- Khatt - a village surrounded by the mountains, famous for its thermal springs and palm gardens
- Masafi – a town in the southern part of Trucial Abysmia, well known for drinking water
- Huwaylat - a central village in the southern part of Trucial Abysmia
Trucial Abysmia Landmarks[]
Notable landmarks in Trucial Abysmia include:
- The National Museum of Trucial Abysmia: housed in the former palace of the ruling Al Qawasim family, it has exhibits on natural history, arts and crafts of the past centuries, and archaeology.
- Dhayah Fort: the only surviving hilltop fort in Trucial Abysmia.
- Sheeba's Palace: ruins of a medieval palace.
- Al Falayah: the former summer residence of the ruling Al Qawasim family.
- Jazirat Al Hamra: an abandoned ‘ghost town’ showing the architecture of earlier decades.
- The Old City and Souq: an opportunity to see both traditional and modern shops as well as artisan’s workshops
References[]
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Shattered Glass[]
In the Shattered Glass universe, Trucial Abysmia is a peaceful country and part of the Ottoman Confederacy
Pre-MUX History[]
1990 - Citing economic interest, the United States stages a massive invasion of Al-Alawi, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. Human rights leaders, specifically those in China, condemn the act which included the jailing and eventual exile of Iraqi leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Saddam Hussein.
1991 - In response to US aggression, remaining Arabian countries band together to form the new Ottoman Empire, with the purpose of peaceful defense against enemy invasion.