Embaril "Drenched in Blood," Witnesses Say
Embaril, Allied Tion Sector — The Empire's peacekeeping and "re-culturalization" mission on the planet Embaril is "another genocide," according to witnesses who told The Coruscant Journal that the number of Embarilites killed in clashes with Imperial forces is as great or greater than the number of ethnic Cronese on the planet the Embarilites themselves killed some months ago in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that prompted the Imperial peacekeeping mission. The planet Embaril, said one witness, is "drenched in blood."
The conflict started some months ago, when clashes between the Embarilite "clans" and the planet's ethnic Cronese minority escalated into a campaign of Cronese genocide that embroiled the planet in controversy. Despite the efforts of the neighboring Cronese Mandate to intervene on behalf of the ethnic Cronese on Embaril, the genocide wasn't stopped until the Empire dispatched a peacekeeping force to the planet. By then, more than a quarter of a million Cronese were dead, and today there are no Cronese residing on Embaril.
A COMPNOR study group later concluded that "the problem with Embaril" is its traditional clan-based society and recommended the "re-culturalization" of the planet. Moff Versio later announced that he agreed with COMPNOR's recommendation and launched a campaign to erase Embarilite clans and traditions and replace them with Human High Culture and New Order values. The Embarilite clans have fiercely resisted this, resulting in armed conflict with Imperial forces that, according to witnesses, has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Embarilites and the complete disappearance of the planet's government and leaders.
The Coruscant Journal cannot verify whether these claims are true, and Moff Versio has insisted they're not. "Embaril was already a war-torn planet before the Empire became involved there," read a statement from Moff Versio's office, "Now, we are bringing Imperial values to a planet that badly needs them. There will always be those who resist progress, but we must not give into them lest we lose all the progress we've made since the Clone Wars."
Alexander McCray, an "Earl of Embaril" and one of the leaders of the planet's government who once enjoyed the support of Imperial Senators such as Hubert Ordan of Anaxes and Lomen Ryuun of Druckenwell, could not be located for comment. The Empire says he and most of his clan are "presumed dead."
The Imperial Taxation Bureau announced last month that Embaril's population had been reduced by so much it would re-assess how many credits the planet is expected to contribute monthly to Imperial Center. The planet has been declared off-limits to civilians.
