====== Independence of Karti (1970–1977) ======

The Independence of [[countries:karti|Karti]] was a political upheaval in the Ozmo littoral, culminating in the severing of Karti from [[countries:perantsa|Perantsa]] and the establishment of a sovereign republican system on 6 July 1977. The conflict was triggered on 3 November 1970 following a wave of civil unrest in [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]], sparked by years of resentment over resource exploitation, limited political rights, and enforced cultural homogenization under Perantsian rule. Coal miners in [[countries:karti:cities:almazar|Almazar]] initiated the earliest strikes, refusing conscription into Perantsa’s military brigades and demanding profit sharing from lucrative cobalt and coal industries.

==== Background and Triggers ====

- Civil unrest in [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]] erupted on 3 November 1970.
- Longstanding grievances included resource exploitation, limited political rights, and enforced cultural homogenization under Perantsian rule.
- Coal miners in [[countries:karti:cities:almazar|Almazar]] led early strikes, refused conscription, and demanded profit sharing from cobalt and coal sectors.
- Rumors spread that the [[countries:perantsa:parties:republican-front-party|Republican Front Party]] in Perantsa was secretly debating a permanent realignment of revenues toward the Perantsian mainland, further inflaming discontent in Karti.

==== Course of the Conflict ====

Local militias coalesced into resistance networks, supported by exiles abroad and youth collectives in [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]]. Government crackdowns—internal security patrols and curfews—failed to quell the movement; surveillance and repression instead intensified popular resistance.

By 1972, clashes along rail lines reaching [[countries:karti:cities:zorinsk|Zorinsk]] halted exports. The fighting mixed pitched territorial offensives with notable failures, including the failed encirclement of [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]] in 1975, which broke Perantsa’s efforts to retake Karti’s economic heart.

==== External Involvement and Maritime Control ====

Neighboring [[countries:rakshaw|Rakshaw]] and [[countries:baksi|Baksi]] opportunistically supplied volunteers and material aid, hoping to tilt postwar trade routes in their favor. Perantsa controlled the seas through [[countries:molbra|Molbra]] and its key port of [[countries:molbra:cities:vezza|Vezza]], using it as a forward base to supply garrisons still clinging to Karti’s littoral towns. Support eroded when Molbra’s heavily Perantsian population voted in a referendum to remain a Perantsian exclave, leaving the mainland resistance to consolidate around inland plateaus and worker hubs such as [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]] and [[countries:karti:cities:almazar|Almazar]].

==== Timeline ====

- 3 November 1970 — Wave of civil unrest in [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]] triggers the conflict; early strikes begin in [[countries:karti:cities:almazar|Almazar]].
- 1972 — Clashes along rail lines to [[countries:karti:cities:zorinsk|Zorinsk]] halt exports; [[countries:rakshaw|Rakshaw]] and [[countries:baksi|Baksi]] supply volunteers and material aid.
- 1975 — Failed encirclement of [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]] undermines Perantsa’s efforts to retake Karti’s economic heart.
- Late 1976 — Under pressure from regional powers, Perantsa agrees to negotiations; talks set the course for withdrawal and acknowledge Molbra’s different trajectory after its pro–status quo referendum.
- 6 July 1977 — Formal independence of [[countries:karti|Karti]] is declared in [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]], establishing a sovereign republican system.

==== Outcome and Aftermath ====

On 6 July 1977, banners were raised in [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]] to mark the formal birth of independent [[countries:karti|Karti]]. The new state quickly leaned into constructing a highly centralized presidency while branding independence as the victory of workers and miners against foreign extraction. [[countries:molbra|Molbra]] remained fortified, commemorating instead its loyalty to [[countries:perantsa|Perantsa]], symbolizing the split outcomes of two lands tied geographically yet diverging politically.

==== Significance ====

The episode reshaped the balance of power on the Ozmo coastline, as [[countries:karti|Karti]] seized control of its corridor between [[countries:rakshaw|Rakshaw]] and [[countries:baksi|Baksi]], while [[countries:perantsa|Perantsa]] sought to secure its maritime advantage through [[countries:molbra|Molbra]]. Independence remains one of the region’s most decisive and contested 20th-century transformations.

==== Key Locations Mentioned ====

- [[countries:karti:cities:meppo|Meppo]]
- [[countries:karti:cities:almazar|Almazar]]
- [[countries:karti:cities:zorinsk|Zorinsk]]
- [[countries:molbra:cities:vezza|Vezza]]
- [[countries:molbra|Molbra]]

==== See also ====

- [[countries:karti|Karti]]
- [[countries:perantsa|Perantsa]]
- [[countries:molbra|Molbra]]
- [[countries:rakshaw|Rakshaw]]
- [[countries:baksi|Baksi]]
- [[countries:perantsa:parties:republican-front-party|Republican Front Party]]