[center][b][h1]SALUTE TO THE FALLEN[/h1][/b][/center]

[center][b][u]July 18th, 1910[/u][/b]
[img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Repin_17October.jpg/640px-Repin_17October.jpg[/img]
[i]Artist's depiction of Antari Protesters at the beginning of the Troubles of July.[/i][/center]

It was never in question that the Tyro-Antarian Empire was a melting pot of ethnicities, ideals, and beliefs. However over the last decade radicalism of all three has led to numerous instances of minor skirmishes and revolts by bitter nationalists, liberals, and the like, and the self-titled 'Troubles of July' were no different. 

The Troubles began on July 16th in Kulig, Antaria, with the death of local Antari autonomy activist Patryk Kotlinski. Kotlinski was notorious with law enforcement in Kulig as a hotheaded poet and artist who, whenever possible, would spur anger and emotion in a crowd and attended every protest the city had held in years. Thus, it made local headlines when an incident with police led to the death of the local activist. 

According to police reports, the young Kotlinski was drunk and making a scene on the evening of the 17th. Two officers on patrol marched in his direction and intended to place him in the drunk tank for the evening and ensure his safe return home the next day. However, witness accounts state that the officers egged on the [u][i]sober[/i][/u] Kotlinski and spurred him to anger. Witnesses state that when Kotlinski began approaching the officers "yelling horrid remarks" the officers unholstered their revolvers and within moments Kotlinski lay bleeding on the sidewalk. 

By morning the Antari Rights Committee had begun the organization of mass protests in Kulig and furious Antarians across the nation looked to Koltinski as a martyr over the 'Tyro brutality towards the Antari people'. In Kulig and other Antari cities the protests and marches throughout the day were relatively peaceful with only a few minor arrests and clashes with law enforcement. However, on the evening of the 18th chaos broke out. Somewhere in the crowd of marching protesters a pipe bomb was thrown towards the police line standing at city hall in Kulig. Immediately law enforcement rushed into the crowd and countless protesters were beaten and arrested as an all out brawl began with witnesses saying the police instigated the violence and the police saying the protesters did. Soon the street brawl blew up into a full scale riot and by the end of the night six policemen would be dead, ten hospitalized, and over twenty protesters killed with a dozen more arrested and injured. In the chaos, a factory in Kulig was badly damaged in the rioting and reports state that hundreds of dollars in industrial equipment were torched and destroyed recklessly. 

After the evening of the 18th, protests would continue well into August and a national discussion was started on the stability of the Empire and her melting pot of cultures. One thing was certain though, the relationship between the long standing dual cultures was starred.


 -- [b][Factory] damaged. No use until [October, 1910]
[/b]