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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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An Empire Reborn Part 25 By Vincent Longobardi
March 3rd 1977 The members of the PLO sentenced to death are executed by firing squad outside of Jerusalem. March 4th 1977 A massive earthquake hits Bucharest killing 1,500. March 5th 1977 President Carter orders the US Ambassador to Rome recalled in response to the executions of the PLO members. March 8th 1977 Consul Medici pull the Ambassador to Washington. March 10th 1977 Blackshirt General Stefano Delle Chiaie is appointed as the new Viceroy of Greece. March 12th 1977 Dr. Vito Rizzo is appointed to the President of the Academy of Italy thus granting him a seat on the Grand Council. Rizzo is a doctor of history and has written several books on ancient Roman history and historical fascism. He is largely regarded as a moderate and one of the few moderates ever appointed by Medici. March 20th 1977 The PLO terrorists shift their focus from attacking government targets to attacking Jewish residential areas as several bombs are detonated throughout Jewish neighborhoods in the city. March 25th 1977 Lt. Colonel Medici enacts the same harsh policies of martial law in the Jewish sections of the city as those that exist in the Arab sections. April 7th 1977 OVRA officers arrest several Jewish community leaders in Jerusalem. April 10th 1977 The Israeli government officially protests the actions of the Italians within Jerusalem stating they are seriously overstepping their bounds. April 12th 1977 Thousands of Jewish civilians take to the streets protesting. Italian soldiers and Palestinian police units move to stop them only to be pelted by rocks and bottles. Lt. Colonel Medici orders the soldiers to move in and "break their bones." April 13th 1977 After a night of violence over 200 people are sent to the hospital due to the Imperial response and another 300 are arrested. April 15th 1977 President Carter condemns the Italian response to the riots in Jerusalem and pledges to bring the matter to the UN. April 20th 1977 "The Sixth Plotter" is premiered in France. The movie is based on the actions of Philip Henri and his participation in the bombings of the shrines of fascism. May 2nd 1977 Edda Ciano flees the NRE for Switzerland and then the United States. She is officially declared an enemy of the Empire. May 4th 1977 Rachele Mussolini meets with the Consul and pleads with him not to persecute her grandchildren because of her daughter’s actions. Medici agrees that no reprisals will be taken against any Cianos. May 5th 1977 The UN votes to condemn the NRE for their actions in Jerusalem. The Lira Block nations of the UN walk out on the vote in protest. May 10th 1977 The Lira Block votes to condemn the United States and to cut all oil sales to the United States as retaliation for their efforts to destabilize the internal politics of the Empire. May 12th 1977 Oil prices skyrocket in the United States as a result of the Lira Block embargo. May 25th 1977 The Arab leaders of the Lira Block meet at a summit in Constantinople to discuss the future of Jerusalem. June 3rd 1977 Medici is successfully able to convince the Arab nations of the Lira Block to allow for a vote to be held in Jerusalem on the fate of the city, whether they will remain a free city, join with the Palestinian authority, return to Israeli control or become a province of the NRE. In exchange Medici pledges not to flood the city with Christian settlers before the election and allows the Arab nations to form a commission on the rebuilding of the dome of the rock. June 12th 1977 One month after the oil embargo was put in place against the US it is lifted by the Lira Block. June 20th 1977 Rome announces a program that will allow Muslim Turks, Albanians and Libyans to relocate to Jerusalem. June 25th 1977 The formation on the commission for the reconstruction of the Dome of the Rock faces considerable difficulty as no one nation can agree on who should lead the commission. They all want the honor for themselves. July 7th 1977 The Grand Council approves of an amnesty plan for political prisoners and those previously convicted of political crimes to emigrate with their immediate families from the NRE to any country that is willing to take them. July 10th 1977 President Carter states that the United States will welcome all political refugees from the Fascist Empire with open arms. July 12th 1977 The amnesty plan is quietly amended to include any and all criminals who wish to leave prison and emigrate. July 16th 1977 The first flight of refugees arrives in the United States. August 3rd 1977 The Plebiscite in Jerusalem is slated for December of this year. In other news, violence in Jerusalem has reached an all time low. Despite this martial law is expected to remain in effect until after the election. Lt. Colonel Medici has stated he will not compromise security for the sake of the voting process. August 20th 1977 With approval from the Italian military authority within Rhodesia the nation begins allowing foreign mercenary companies to operate within the nation. These mercenaries are paid both with money and with land should they choose to settle within the nation. August 22nd 1977 In a rare move, Foreign Minister Franco Freda meets with British officials to discuss the possibility of further opening relations between the two nations. He proposes a meeting of the Queen and Emperor in a neutral country, perhaps Switzerland. September 3rd 1977 President Carter’s policy of open amnesty to the Imperial refugees comes under fire by Republicans in the Congress and Senate. There is strong reason to believe that many of those coming to America are released mental patients or violent felons. An investigation is ordered. September 10th 1977 Three Palestinians attempt to hijack an Italian Airlines flight from Jerusalem to Naples. While 50 miles off the coast of Crete they get out of their seats draw pistols and declare that the plane now belongs to the PLO and attempt to storm the cockpit. Several soldiers going home on leave jump the hijackers before they can reach the cockpit. A fight ensues in the cabin as several other passengers join in to subdue the terrorists. One hijacker’s gun gets discharged several times in the course of the battle resulting in the death of a stewardess and injuries to one soldier and another passenger. The three hijackers are however subdued and the aircraft makes an emergency landing in Crete. September 11th 1977 Consul Medici condemns the PLO and their attempted hijacking. He promises that the terrorists will face the full force of Imperial law and issues a warning to anyone else who would attempt to take over an Italian airliner "Know this, We Italians are a proud people and would never allow ourselves the dishonor of being held captive for your demands. Everywhere you challenge us you shall meet the same determined resistance." September 13th 1977 Reprisals against the PLO are swift and brutal with the OVRA arresting 17 people in Jerusalem connected to the hijackers. September 15th 1977 The soldiers and passengers who fought the hijackers meet with the Consul and receive medals and commendations for their actions. October 10th 1977 Consul Medici orders the purchase of several dozen of the new personal computers recently released in American market and requests that Italian electronic companies to reverse engineer them and produce an Italian made model. November 2nd 1977 The investigation on the Italian amnesty situation reveals that the NRE released and transported thousands of violent criminals and psychiatric patients to the United States. It is also believed they used the program to establish several new spy rings within the US. Nearly 300,000 people have emigrated to the United States. 50,000 of those being the so-called "political prisoners" and the rest being their immediate families. November 4th 1977 President Carter puts an end to the open door policy for asylum seekers from the NRE. November 12th 1977 The Grand Council puts an end to the amnesty program. December 5th 1977 Jerusalem votes on the cities future. There options are 1. Remain a Free City 2. Become a part of Israel 3. Become ruled by the Palestinian Authority and 4. Officially become part of the NRE. December 8th 1977 The results are in. Jerusalem will become part of the New Roman Empire with 44% of the population approving of the measure. Integration with the rest of the Imperial government will begin immediately. December 10th 1977 Antonio Medici is promoted to full Colonel and named Prefect of Jerusalem. He will serve as the ultimate military and civilian authority of the city until a civilian government can be established. December 12th 1977 The Jewish population of Jerusalem protests the vote calling it a fraud. Prefect Medici showing a bolster typical of his father back in his Viceroy days responds with "If you don’t like the result leave! We don’t want you!" There are more protests across the Arab world at what is seen as a holy site being annexed by infidel invaders. However, the governments of the Muslim countries(as least the countries that matter to Rome) are supportive of the move and work to quell the popular unrest. December 15th 1977 In a move to put the Muslim world at ease, Consul Medici personally pledges $500,000 to the rebuilding of the Dome of the Rock.
December 27th 1977 Twelve Palestinian terrorists seize control of the cruise ship "Mediterranean Princess" off the coast of Egypt. They demand that the NRE relinquish all claims to Jerusalem and release all Palestinian freedom fighters in their custory. End of Part 25. Please visit my forum for discussion and access to new parts as they become available. http://z11.invisionfree.com/LongVinsWritingDen/index.php?
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