International Demilitarized Zone of Eureka

The International Demilitarized Zone of Eureka is a longitudinal great circle on the Martian trojan Eureka which divides the territory administered by the Eureka Major Oblast of the Republic of Māvortis in the Western Hemisphere from the territory administered by the Eureka Pradesh of the Secular Republic of Mangala in the Eastern Hemisphere. Both the Republic of Māvortis and the Secular Republic of Mangala emerged from a new wave of Martian trojan colonization in the aftermath of World War IV, from two economically emergent regions on Terra: Eastern Europe and South Asia. The Secular Republic of Mangala developed from space colonization efforts by BSRO, the Bharat Space Research Organisation. The Democratic Republic of Bharat had established successful Lunar colonies in the previous decades, but these colonies were by this point breaking free of colonial hegemony and seeking independence. This, combined with the increasing concern of the Rata Group over domestic regulation and a desire to seek a corporate headquarters capable of evading Terran-bound sanctions if the need arose, led to a joint Rata-BSRO project to colonize the Martian L5 point, aka Trojanomars or Postmars. The project was named Mangala, after the Hindu deity eponymizing Mars (while the influence of Hindu fundamentalist forces on the government had waned since the arrival of the Mumbai Revolution which overthrew the Hindu Republic of Bharat, Hindu cultural heritage still played a major role in national policy), and colonization began in 2120 CE. Simultaneously, in the Republic of Ukraine, a number of nationalist groups in the south and west of the country were beginning to cause issues. These notably included the Rusyns (sometimes called Ruthenians) of the northwest and the burgeoning Romani nationalist movement which sought to establish a majority Romani nation-state in Eastern Europe, one candidate of which included a territory in the west of Ukraine. Simultaneously to this, the Ukrainian foreign policy establishment was growing concerned about their lack of off-world colonies to subsidize manufacturing and technological development at home; while close ties developed between Ukraine and the colony of Roscosmars, both the Ukrainian government and their Roscosmartian counterparts agreed that colonization of new territory, preferably a new planetoid entirely, was the most desirable path towards development. The decision to choose the Martian L5 point came from a desire to be far enough from Roscosmars that colonists wouldn't take from Roscosmartian citizens who could be used for internal development, but close enough that Roscosmartian resources would help enable the colonial project. Ukrainian politicians in the Rada held a vote on the "Colonial Venture Act 2119," which failed by roughly 20 votes, split evenly between the right and left wings of the legislature. In an effort to get greater support for the project, the President told the Chairman of the Rada that, should the Act pass, then the Minister of Culture and Information Policy would direct a media campaign to sell the colonial venture as a means for Romani and Rusyn nationalists to create their own autonomous communities. This appealed to the right wing by effectively ridding the country of an element they xenophobically perceived as undermining the integrity of the country, while appealing to the left wing by granting ethnic minorities greater rights to self-determination. While this plan of ethnic appeasement ultimately failed, with both the Rusyns and Romani receiving a nation-state on Terra itself, the plan itself helped pass the Act and provided a modus operandi for Ukrainian policy makers to pursue colonial ventures.