Bothans Found Guilty of War Crimes

Coruscant — Five former Bothan commandos have been found guilty of war crimes for complicity in the destruction of the planet Caamas at the close of the Clone Wars four decades ago, in a verdict that is expected to bring to an end to what has become known as the "Caamas Document Crisis." The crisis, which brought the New Republic perilously close to a civil war, culminated in the Battle of Bothawui and the bombardment, last year, of the Bothan city of Drev'starn.

The crisis began nearly one year ago, when an incomplete copy of the so called Caamas Document was discovered in an Imperial storehouse on Wayland. The document implicated a team of Bothan commandos in sabotaging the planetary shield generator on the planet Caamas in 19 BBY, allowing Imperial Star Destroyers to bombard the planet and kill most of the peaceful, Caamasi people. The document, however, did not include the names of the Bothans responsible.

With the identity of the perpetrators unknown, anti-Bothan sentiment became common throughout the New Republic over the last year, as did protests and riots demanding "justice for Caamas." Politicians such as the Ishori Senator Ghic Dx'ono demanded that Bothawui "pay for the destruction of Caamas," while others, such as the Diamalan Senator Porolo Miatamia, said that the demands for "justice" were, in fact, demands for "vengeance." The crisis continued to escalate until competing fleets from the planets Isht, Diamal, Duro, Mon Calamari, and others battled one another over Bothawui, the Bothan homeworld. The city of Drev'starn was bombarded during the fighting, killing a quarter of a million Bothan civilians.

It wasn't until the timely recovery of a complete copy of the Caamas Document, which identified the Bothans responsible for the destruction of Caamas, that the tensions were largely diffused. In recent months, the perpetrators have been found and arrested by New Republic Security Forces, with the assistance of Bothan Security Forces.

Today, Belsen Bree'ii, Ouran Dan'sor, Norst Del'fro, Gam Trec'syk, and Ternan Bre'lan were found guilty in a New Republic court on Coruscant of conspiring to commit genocide, and sentenced to life imprisonment. All of them, with the exception of the unapologetic Ouran Dan'sor, had plead guilty. Several of the other former commandos have passed away, while one—Grist Vri'fey, age 68—remains at large.

Ouran Dan'sor, before sentencing, condemned what he referred to as "the hypocrisy of those who would demand 'justice' for destruction of Caamas, but who would [happily] perpetrate the destruction of my planet, Bothawui. If I'm found guilty," he added, "then Senator Dx'ono and the other war criminals must also be found guilty."

Many of the rivals in the Caamas Document Crisis, however, from Senator Dx'ono to Senator Miatamia, have praised the verdict. Chief of State Ponc Gavrisom's office also released a statement agreeing with the verdict and the sentence, and expressing his hope that "this marks the end of a crisis that opened old, painful wounds and caused many new ones. Let us now be at peace, let us heal, and let us promise to one and all that what has happened in this crisis will never happen again."

The public seems to agree with Gavrisom. A recent poll released by TriNebulon News finds that 71% of the public believes the Caamas Document Crisis is "settled." Despite this, some controversy remains. For instance, the same poll found that 28% believe that the Bothan government "knew the identity of the Bothan perpetrators and covered it up." Bothawui denies this. Bothawui is also seeking reparations from the planet Isht, whose warship, the Predominance, bombarded the Bothan city of Drev'starn. Senator Dx'ono, however, maintains that the gunners on the Predominance fired on the city without his permission, and they, too, are awaiting trial.

Others, such as Eli Fitzgerald, the former Senator of Ralltiir, say that the Caamas Document Crisis is far from over. "It's good that these Bothans have finally been brought to trial," Fitzgerald said today in an interview with The Coruscant Journal, "But those Bothans didn't destroy Caamas. It was the Imperials who destroyed Caamas, with the help of those Bothans. But instead of finishing the fight with the Imperials and bringing them to justice, Ponc Gavrisom has made peace with them," he said, referring to the Pellaeon/Gavrisom Treaty which, last year, ended the war between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant. "Under the circumstances, today's verdict is bittersweet," Fitzgerald concluded.

Most, however, seem relieved that one of the greatest crises the New Republic has faced in its history appears, now, to be over. Stay with the Coruscant Journal for coverage of the Bothan demands for reparations, the trial of the gunners on the Predominance, and the hunt for Grist Vri'fey as these develop.