Corellia Closes Borders
Bel Iblis Leaves Senate in Uproar
Corellians Insist it is not Secession – Invoke Obscure Constitutional Proviso
SENATE ROTUNDA, CORUSCANT – The Senate chambers filled with loud outcries of protest and dismay yesterday morning following Senator Garm Bel Iblis’ surprise announcement that Corellia would close its borders and pull out of the Military Creation Act vote.
“The Corellian sector, one of the founding fathers of the Republic, is not seceding,” stressed Bel Iblis. “However, Corellia will not participate in what it deems a profound error that threatens its sovereignty.”
After the announcement, Bel Iblis and his retinue left the Senate Hall under heavily armed CorSec escort who pushed aside journalists and critical Senators. Bel Iblis refused comment. The Senator left Coruscant, reportedly for Corellia.
As Bel Iblis said, no Articles of Secession were tendered. As the official record stands, the Corellian delegation enacted an obscure proviso called Contemplanys Hermi, an olys Corellisi phrase meaning “meditative solitude.”
It is an ancient Constitutional clause afforded Corellia, recognizing its distinct society and contributions to the founding of the Republic. In exchange for giving up veto power, Corellia and its constituencies can unilaterally withdraw from Senate duties for the duration of the contention. The clause has not been enacted in over 450 years, since Corellia’s ill-fated attempt at independence.
The decision comes after a week of closed-door meetings between Bel Iblis and Corellian Diktat Shyla Merricope. When the Military Creation Act vote was announced, Corellia was one of its most outspoken critics, both in the Senate and the planetary government offices in Corellia’s capital city of Coronet.
“CorSec’s men and women will not be drafted into Republic service, to die on a distant world outside of Corellia’s borders. Nor will armed forces from other worlds be billeted in our homes.” Merricope said in caucus, the day following the vote announcement. She later told the sector’s leading newsnet, Corellia Sector Newsfeed, that she would do “whatever possible to preserve the integrity of Corellia for Corellians.”
Palpatine, who to did not attend the eventful Senate session but was instead on Aargau at a finance conference, was brief in his statements to reporters. “I am disheartened to hear that one of our closest brothers lacks such faith in democracy.”
Others weren’t as measured with their statements. “This is an outrageous display of self-serving hypocrisy,” said Senator Orn Free Taa (Ryloth). “Two years ago, Bel Iblis stood before the Senate, arguing about the legality of secession, and now he goes and pulls a stunt like this? It’s a grievous blow to unity. My worlds, in the distant Outer Rim have stood by Coruscant through the most tumultuous of heat storms. That one so integral to the Core should lack a spine is shameful.”
Senator Ister Paddie (Sermeria) was also critical of Corellia’s move. “The selfishness is what astounds me. The Corellian sector is largely self-sufficient, wealthy, and with its own defense force. My sector hasn’t even a third of these riches, yet we are committed to support the Republic in the most trying of times.”
What This Means:
Native and naturalized citizens are allowed free transit to and from the Corellian sector; all others are denied access without special provision from CorSec.
Interstellar trade vessels must deposit cargoes on Outlier worlds, where they will be brought to inner world destinations via Corellian Merchant Guild transports.
All off-duty and reserve CorSec personnel are now activated.
Non-Corellian businesses based in the sector are allowed to continue operating, as long as the abide by the travel and shipping restrictions imposed; typically, this requires the business to purchase membership in the CMG.