In this timeline, Sicily had been a territory of France and gained its independence in 1960 after the Sicily Emergency, 1955-1959, though France kept the two Sovereign Base Areas of Licata and Augusta for military purposes. The Italo-Sicilian community wanted to achieve l’unione (union) with Italy, whereas the Arab Sicilian community wanted تَقْسِيم / taqsīm (division) in the event of l’unione, dividing the country into an eastern Italian sector and a western Arab sector. According to the 1960 Constitution, Sicily was to become an independent republic with an Italo-Sicilian president and an Arab Sicilian vice-president. General executive authority was vested in a council of ministers with a ratio of 6 Italians to three Arabs (the Italian population was around 67%, and the Arab population around 23%).
In 1963, the Sicily Problem properly began with the Sicilian Crisis, in which outbreaks of violence on Christmas Day 1963 led to the collapse of the power-sharing government and the forced displacement of most Arab Sicilians into the western part of the country. The remaining Italo-Sicilian-led government was internationally recognized as the legitimate ruler of Sicily, while there was almost no participation from Arab Sicilians in government after this point. Peace-making attempts over the next 10 years were futile, and a United Nations peacekeeping force, UNFISIC, was deployed in 1964 to maintain order and peace between the groups. Numerous rounds of talks took place from 1964-74, but violence broke out again in 1967, and, after an attack on Arab Sicilian villages left 27 dead, Tunisia bombed Italo-Sicilian forces and seemed poised to invade. Italy agreed to reduce its forces in Sicily, and Tunisia didn’t invade, but the Arab Sicilians took advantage of the Italo-Sicilians’ weakness and declared a provisional administration in the west of the country in December 1967.
In July 1974, the Sicilian National Guard launched a coup d’état that installed the pro-l’unione Nicuola Sanzuni as president. Tunisia demanded that Italy dismiss Sanzuni, withdraw its armed forces from Sicily, and respect the independence of the country and the rights of its Arab population. On 20 July, Tunisia invaded Sicily and soon secured much of the western half of the island, and on 23 July agreed to a cease-fire after securing a satisfactory amount of land. In peace talks, Tunisia demanded a federal, bi-national state which assured land rights and political rights for Arab Sicilians, but this was rejected by Italy and the Italo-Sicilians. Soon after the breakdown of peace talks, Tunisia advanced further into Sicily, and by the last ceasefire in late August controlled Palermo and around half of the country. The UN peacekeeping force was redeployed and was stationed along the ceasefire line, maintaining the United Nations Buffer Zone in Sicily since then to keep the two countries from war.
The Arab Republic of Western Sicily (ARWS, often referred to as Western Sicily) was declared on 15 November 1983 after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for all forces to be withdrawn from Sicily. Its independence is only recognized by Tunisia, and the UN Security Council has passed resolutions condemning the Unilateral Declaration of Independence and refusing to recognize it. There have been many attempts at peace talks, with the goal of creating a federal, bi-national state with equal rights for Arab and Italo-Sicilians, but none have come close to succeeding so far.
The flag of Western Sicily is very similar to that of Tunisia, just recolored with Green as the background, as it was the color of the medieval Emirate of Sicily and represented Islam and Arabs, and Yellow for the star and crescent. The flag of the Republic of Sicily (usually referred to as just ‘Sicily’) is based on the independentist flags of the 1940s, with a white silhouette of the island itself, added in 1960 upon independence to symbolize unity and peace on the island.
credit /u/chewy_lemonhead
Top kek
That’s interesting, but it would need to ask to Sicilian people what do they think about this strange imaginations form? r/Sicilia
HOW DARE YOU CALL IT ARAB REPUBLIC OF WESTERN SICILY AND GIVING THE OCCUPIERS RECOGNITION
Hi, I’m Sicilian and, before to answer, I have some questions:
1) Why had Sicily been a french territory? Did not, in this time line ” I vespri siciliani” in 1282 against angiovins dominators happen?
2) Why, in 20th century, it would be arabic population in Sicily?
5 comments
In this timeline, Sicily had been a territory of France and gained its independence in 1960 after the Sicily Emergency, 1955-1959, though France kept the two Sovereign Base Areas of Licata and Augusta for military purposes. The Italo-Sicilian community wanted to achieve l’unione (union) with Italy, whereas the Arab Sicilian community wanted تَقْسِيم / taqsīm (division) in the event of l’unione, dividing the country into an eastern Italian sector and a western Arab sector. According to the 1960 Constitution, Sicily was to become an independent republic with an Italo-Sicilian president and an Arab Sicilian vice-president. General executive authority was vested in a council of ministers with a ratio of 6 Italians to three Arabs (the Italian population was around 67%, and the Arab population around 23%).
In 1963, the Sicily Problem properly began with the Sicilian Crisis, in which outbreaks of violence on Christmas Day 1963 led to the collapse of the power-sharing government and the forced displacement of most Arab Sicilians into the western part of the country. The remaining Italo-Sicilian-led government was internationally recognized as the legitimate ruler of Sicily, while there was almost no participation from Arab Sicilians in government after this point. Peace-making attempts over the next 10 years were futile, and a United Nations peacekeeping force, UNFISIC, was deployed in 1964 to maintain order and peace between the groups. Numerous rounds of talks took place from 1964-74, but violence broke out again in 1967, and, after an attack on Arab Sicilian villages left 27 dead, Tunisia bombed Italo-Sicilian forces and seemed poised to invade. Italy agreed to reduce its forces in Sicily, and Tunisia didn’t invade, but the Arab Sicilians took advantage of the Italo-Sicilians’ weakness and declared a provisional administration in the west of the country in December 1967.
In July 1974, the Sicilian National Guard launched a coup d’état that installed the pro-l’unione Nicuola Sanzuni as president. Tunisia demanded that Italy dismiss Sanzuni, withdraw its armed forces from Sicily, and respect the independence of the country and the rights of its Arab population. On 20 July, Tunisia invaded Sicily and soon secured much of the western half of the island, and on 23 July agreed to a cease-fire after securing a satisfactory amount of land. In peace talks, Tunisia demanded a federal, bi-national state which assured land rights and political rights for Arab Sicilians, but this was rejected by Italy and the Italo-Sicilians. Soon after the breakdown of peace talks, Tunisia advanced further into Sicily, and by the last ceasefire in late August controlled Palermo and around half of the country. The UN peacekeeping force was redeployed and was stationed along the ceasefire line, maintaining the United Nations Buffer Zone in Sicily since then to keep the two countries from war.
The Arab Republic of Western Sicily (ARWS, often referred to as Western Sicily) was declared on 15 November 1983 after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for all forces to be withdrawn from Sicily. Its independence is only recognized by Tunisia, and the UN Security Council has passed resolutions condemning the Unilateral Declaration of Independence and refusing to recognize it. There have been many attempts at peace talks, with the goal of creating a federal, bi-national state with equal rights for Arab and Italo-Sicilians, but none have come close to succeeding so far.
The flag of Western Sicily is very similar to that of Tunisia, just recolored with Green as the background, as it was the color of the medieval Emirate of Sicily and represented Islam and Arabs, and Yellow for the star and crescent. The flag of the Republic of Sicily (usually referred to as just ‘Sicily’) is based on the independentist flags of the 1940s, with a white silhouette of the island itself, added in 1960 upon independence to symbolize unity and peace on the island.
credit /u/chewy_lemonhead
Top kek
That’s interesting, but it would need to ask to Sicilian people what do they think about this strange imaginations form? r/Sicilia
HOW DARE YOU CALL IT ARAB REPUBLIC OF WESTERN SICILY AND GIVING THE OCCUPIERS RECOGNITION
Hi, I’m Sicilian and, before to answer, I have some questions:
1) Why had Sicily been a french territory? Did not, in this time line ” I vespri siciliani” in 1282 against angiovins dominators happen?
2) Why, in 20th century, it would be arabic population in Sicily?
Anyway you did a good work! Salutamu.