Antar Atrocity

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The Antar Atrocity was the name given by the media to an operation undertaken by the Galactic Empire in which Imperial forces, led by Wilhuff Tarkin, carried out arrests, executions, and massacres on Antar 4, as punishment for Antar 4's allegiance to the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars.

Origins

The origins of the Antar Atrocity were found in the Separatist Crisis in which thousands of star systems left the Galactic Republic and pledged loyalty to Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. One world to leave the Republic was Antar 4, which had been a member of the Republic since its inception. The secession began with a schism among the inhabitants of Antar 4, in which Separatist-allied terrorist groups began to gain power. Republic loyalists from the Gotal species were able to retain their power until after the First Battle of Geonosis, but Antar 4 fell to the Separatists. Millions of Gotal fled to Atzerri, a colony world, and were replaced by species loyal to the Separatists, such as Koorivar, Gossams, and other species. Some Gotal and Koorivar loyalists formed a resistance group, but Antar 4 remained in the hands of the Separatists.^[3]

The end of the Clone Wars saw the death of Dooku^[3] at the Battle of Coruscant, the destruction of General Grievous during the Battle of Utapau, and the execution of the Separatist Council in the mission to Mustafar.^[5] With the collapse of the Confederate state,^[6] the Republic claimed victory over the Separatists. With the war at an end, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine declared himself Emperor and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, promising a new era of peace, prosperity, and security for all of the galaxy.^[3]

The Atrocity

In the early days of the Empire, Imperial forces targeted former Separatist worlds, including Antar 4, in order to pacify any remnants of Separatist rebellion.^[3] Someone who was involved in many post-Clone Wars mop-up operations,^[7] Moff Wilhuff Tarkin^[3]—a skilled commanding officer whose talents could crush remaining Separatist opposition present within the galaxy^[7]—was assigned to make an example of the formerly rebellious world^[3] and punish it for siding with the CIS.^[4]

In 18 BBY,^[2] shortly after Tarkin held a high-level summit on Eriadu designed to find ways to unite the galaxy under the Imperial banner,^[1] Imperial forces under his command^[4] invaded Antar 4^[3] and suppressed its people.^[7] Tarkin made no attempt to sort the Separatists from Imperial loyalists when he carried out mass arrests, executions, and massacres.^[3] The operation began with those arrests, which were carried out by secret police, before moving into the executions and massacres.^[4] Tarkin carried out the operation with brutal efficiency, as was typical of how he served the Imperial regime and which would come to characterize his career.^[7]

Aftermath

Public outcry

Although the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order attempted to hide the fact that many loyalists had been killed, the news media learned of what happened and dubbed it the Antar Atrocity. The event attracted controversy and attention from members of the Core Worlds, with many citizens clamoring for answers as to what had transpired.^[3] The incident was one of several atrocities carried out by Tarkin during the early Imperial Era that saw public outcry.^[8] Tarkin's actions on Ghorman had inspired a public reaction as well. In response to these controversial events^[1] but particularly the Antar Atrocity, the Emperor removed Moff Tarkin, his ally and friend, from public sight and assigned him to pacification operations in the Western Reaches, hoping to distance him from the Antar 4 controversy. Later, Palpatine assigned him to the Outer Rim Territories to oversee the construction of the Death Star, the Emperor's Deep Space Orbital Battle Station. The creation of the battle station would make invasions like the Antar Atrocity obsolete, with it instead hoped the fear of the station alone would be enough to bring entire star systems to their knees.^[3]

Overall, the Antar Atrocity—much like his actions at^[9] the Outer Rim planet Mon Cala, where Tarkin had commanded an invasion^[1] shortly after his actions on Antar^[2]—helped establish Tarkin's merciless reputation.^[9] One of the most vocal reporters of the Antar Atrocity was Anora Fair, who worked alongside Hask Taff to document the arrests and massacres that were taking place. They were assisted by Berch Teller, a disaffected former Republic intelligence operative who provided them with the information they needed to report on the Atrocity. COMPNOR realized this and targeted them for assassination, but Teller was able to bring himself and the others to safety before the Empire could eliminate them.^[3] In the opinion of later Alliance to Restore the Republic General Airen Cracken, the Antar Atrocity would never have become publicly known as the massacre it was if had not been leaked to the media.^[4]

Legacy

In 14 BBY,^[2] Teller led a small cell of resistance fighters against the Empire. The cell included Fair and Taff. They stole the Carrion Spike, Moff Tarkin's personal vessel, and used it to cause damage and sow chaos in different corners of the galaxy. The Empire eventually captured Teller's compatriots and quietly executed them, while Teller himself escaped and later tracked Tarkin to the Moff's homeworld of Eriadu, where Teller attempted to assassinate the now promoted Grand Moff Tarkin but was thwarted by Tarkin and his uncle Jova. Teller was left in the wilderness to survive.^[3]

Meanwhile, Tarkin had re-appeared to the public in a grand fashion with his new title, all without interviewers mentioning the Antar Atrocity or asking about where he had been.^[3] In a later classified letter to Rebel Alliance Commander-in-Chief Mon Mothma, with the text designed RI 336-IS and able to be read only by personnel with the rank of general or above, General Cracken reflected on the Antar Atrocity and included what he considered a belated thank you to Teller, whose efforts in leaking the event to the media he applauded. To Cracken, Teller's actions were proof that counterpropaganda could be effective and overrule the Imperial narrative for any of the countless atrocities carried out under Palpatine's rule.^[4]

Behind the scenes

The reference book Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition recounts the Antar Atrocity after the invasion of Mon Cala.^[8] However, the later reference book Star Wars: Timelines pushed the invasion to be after the Antar Atrocity,^[2] which was repeated in Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition's updated version Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy.^[1]

Appearances

• Tarkin (and audiobook) (First mentioned)

Sources

• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 90 TAR 9-12: Wilhuff Tarkin
• Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
• Star Wars: The Rebel Files
• Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition (Indirect mention only)
• "A Certain Point of View" — Star Wars Insider 207
• Star Wars: Timelines
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
• Grand Moff Tarkin in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references