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Charoupia (الخَرُّوبٌ) (al-Khurub) or officially the People's Socialist Revolutionary Arab Jamahiriya of Charoupia (الخَرُّوبٌ الجماهيرية العربية الثوريا الإشتراكية لشعبية) (al-Khurub al-Ǧamāhīriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Thawriyyah al-Ištirākiyyah aš-Šaʿbiyyah) is a small island country in the Mediterranean Sea that is a part of the Maghreb region in North Africa and a part of the Arab World. Charoupia is composed of four main islands with a total area of 3,032 square kilometers and has a total population of approximately 1.4 million. Its official languages are Arabic and Berber and the country had a nominal GDP of 11 billion USD in 2017.
(Sidebar: Flag, coat of arms and location of Charoupia)
National Anthem:
People's Revolutionary Assembly building in the capital city of Caroube
For many centuries, the islands were a part of the Ottoman Empire and became predominantly Muslim during that period. In 1911-1912, Italy seized the islands during the Italo-Turkish War, easily overwhelming and defeating the Ottoman forces stationed on the islands, and officially annexed the territory as a colony in 1912. The Italian colonization was extremely unpopular and young men organized into the Charoupian Mujahideen to fight the Italian forces. Italy was unable to fully pacify the islands until the mid-1920s and many Italians were killed or injured in attacks and ambushes.
Masjid al-Kabir (the Great Mosque) in Caroube
In World War II, Italy tried to use naval bases on the islands to launch attacks on French and British ships, cargo and war ships alike. Italy's efforts were largely unsuccessful in stopping Allied naval presence and trade in the area. During Operation Torch in November 1942, the Allies captured most of North and West Africa and successfully landed in Charoupia, driving out the Italian and German forces in about one week. The Mujahideen, which had been largely suppressed, had cooperated with the Allies underground and sabotaged Italian infrastructure to aid the Allied landings. The Allies occupied the islands until the end of the war and fought off Axis attempts to retake the territory.
Watan al-Jadid District in Caroube
After the war, Charoupia became a United Nations Trust Territory and was subsequently given independence in 1949 as the Charoupian Free Arab State. Hussein Sami al-Tawfiq, one of the leaders of the Mujahideen and a representative of the then-powerful al-Tali Order, became the President of the new country. al-Tawfiq was initially hailed as a veteran mujahid and an independence fighter, but his administration began to lose popularity in the 1950s due to economic stagnation, high levels of corruption and nepotism, barely winning the 1955 elections. Members of the al-Tali Order were given preference in politics, academia and the officer corps of the military, thus becoming a new elite in Charoupia.
In 1958, after acts of violence by civilians and soldiers against al-Tali families and officials, al-Tawfiq declared a state of emergency and arrested hundreds who had or were suspected of having committed violent acts, many of whom were tortured and some received the death sentence in military courts. The state of emergency lasted until 1963, during which much of the violence was stamped out, but the suppression by the military increased opposition to al-Tawfiq's rule. The following year, al-Tawfiq lost the elections to Naaji Zaman, who was also from the al-Tali Order but had promised to reform the government and end the policies favoring al-Tali members over others.
The Old Fort in al-Nafura, the second-largest city in Charoupia
Zaman's government proved to be ineffective and maintained much of the policies of al-Tawfiq. In 1966, Zaman was assassinated after his motorcade was ambushed. While unknown, it is believed that the attackers were members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Zaman's assassination brought al-Tawfiq back into office who promptly declared a new state of emergency and ordered several political parties to suspend their activities. The state of emergency lasted until November 15th, 1967, when military officers opposed to the government, who had organized into the Revolutionary Association of Free Officers, launched a coup d'etat with weapons and assistance provided by the FLN government in Algeria and to a lesser degree the Soviet Union. The coup captured Caroube and al-Nafura as well as military posts near these cities in a few hours overnight, after which the elements of the military loyal to the government surrendered.
General Mohammed Sabah al-Ahmar, the leader of the Revolutionary Association, became the new President in the morning, declaring a new Islamic socialist government. al-Ahmar's government began by ending al-Tali supremacy in the country, outlawing forced marriages, establishing free healthcare and subsidized housing and the collectivization of agriculture. In 1969, al-Ahmar's government signed a friendship treaty with Libya's new government led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. In 1975, after Libya's attempt to form a federal union with Egypt and Syria failed, al-Ahmar proposed a federal union between Charoupia and Libya. In 1976, the two countries agreed to form such a union. In 1977, Libya and Charoupia both re-established themselves as Jamahiriyas, meaning roughly "people's rule", and this political structure was reflected in the new titles of the two countries, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the People's Socialist Revolutionary Arab Jamahiriya of Charoupia. Charoupia had begun to distribute copies of Gaddafi's Green Book and People's Congresses elected new People's Committees in each province of Charoupia in late 1977. In 1978, the Revolutionary Association of Free Officers became the People's Socialist Revolutionary Party as the sole political party of Charoupia, overseeing the Jamahiriya government.
Libyan-Charoupian Arab Unity Memorial at al-Nafura Harbor
In the 1980s, Charoupia tried to become self-sufficient and to rely less on Soviet aid, which the government viewed as a serious vulnerability. Attempts to unify with Libya failed due to policy disagreements between the two governments. Nevertheless, Charoupia tried to maintain friendly relations with Libya and offered diplomatic and military support after the United States bombed Libyan bases in 1986. Charoupia also had warm relations with other pro-Soviet governments like Syria, Cuba, Vietnam, Angola and Ethiopia. The Charoupian military had provided support to Syria against the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982, which Charoupia considered an "American virus". Charoupia aided the MPLA in Angola in the 1980s alongside Cuba and tried to come to the defense of Grenada in 1983 which failed. In 1991, after the Soviet Union collapsed, Charoupia's economy shrank and many shortages happened. Due to the self-sufficiency efforts however, the country avoided a catastrophe and began to improve relations with various Western countries to make up for its losses.
Charoupia supported Libyan efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which Charoupia saw as vital for defense purposes. After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Charoupia itself made plans for a nuclear program, but ultimately decided against it as it would have been far too costly and difficult. Despite this, Charoupia had stockpiled chemical weapons. In 2006, when Libya abandoned the nuclear program in order to improve relations with the West, Charoupia feared that this would make Libya vulnerable, which in turn would make Charoupia more vulnerable. Those fears were realized in 2011 when a civil war broke out in Libya and the West imposed a no-fly zone. The overthrow and killing of Gaddafi in October 2011 devastated Charoupia, followed by al-Ahmar dying from a heart attack in March 2012. Masoud Malik al-Qullim, a black Charoupian, became the leader of Charoupia in May 2012 and promised that Charoupia would not face the circumstances of Libya and that Charoupia would "avenge the Libyan Jamahiriya". In 2013, Charoupia was expelled from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for "widespread violations of human rights", to which Charoupia responded that the two organizations were a "Wahhabi money-run charade to undermine free nations", arguing that they were corrupted by Saudi influence. The same year, Charoupia agreed to provide military assistance to the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War and renamed a suburban district of Caroube as the al-Assad District.
In 2016, Charoupia implemented reforms in which state ownership over industries was slightly reduced and subsidy programs were reorganized to "encourage private ownership for small businesses and revitalize the economy". al-Qullim argued that Charoupia would nevertheless remain an "independent socialist Jamahiriya eternally loyal to Allah".
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