Secession of Yag'Dhul

"It is not without regret that the Body Calculus and the collected domain and range of the Givin people have decided to leave the larger Republic. But the threats of remaining are greater than or equal to the threats of secession"

―Givinian Senator Daggibus Scoritoles^[1]

The Secession of Yag'Dhul was one of the defining events of the Separatist Crisis, occurring on the eve of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY. The homeworld of the Givin and its domains unilaterally declared their withdrawal from the Galactic Republic, after which it became a reliable stronghold of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, supporting the fight against Republic forces in the region.

History

Prelude

The final months leading up to the Clone Wars had been a chaotic dance of shifting alliances and desperate overtures. When the war finally broke out, it almost came as a relief. The secession of the planets Ando and Sy Myrth from the Galactic Republic three months before the Battle of Geonosis had marked a tipping point. The two worlds and their sector fiefdoms had brought the total number of Separatist planets to more than six thousand. The Refugee Relief Movement had struggled to contain the displaced citizens, leading to civil unrest throughout the galaxy.^[2]

Weeks later, Senator Garm Bel Iblis of the Corellian sector announced that his sector had closed its borders and would no longer participate in future discussions. With the cry of «Corellia for Corellians», the Republic lost the support of one of its founding Core Worlds.^[2]

Chancellor Palpatine responded to Corellia's withdrawal with an offer to Count Dooku to negotiate a peaceful solution to their differences. Dooku did not appear, and the Republic shook under a rapid-fire string of prominent secessions.^[2]

The Elrood, Danjar, Tantra, and Sluis sectors all joined the Separatist movement, making the entire rimward leg of the Rimma Trade Route inaccessible to Republic shipping. The Lahara sector followed suit, bringing with it the planets Agamar and Oorn Tchis as well as the Mirgoshir hyperspace crossroads. The Abrion sector gave the Separatists more than two hundred farming planets when it seceded.^[2]

Secession

"The discriminant of the quadratic never lies"

―Senator Daggibus Scoritoles justifies the calculations about the secession^[1]

As the splintering of the Republic became increasingly common, the Body Calculus on the planet Yag'Dhul, together with the collective domain and range of the Givin people, decided to leave the larger Republic. Senator Daggibus Scoritoles transmitted Articles of Secession via the HoloNet to the Senate in the morning, making the separation official. In the process, he expressed regret that the decision had been made but emphasized that «the threats of remaining were greater than or equal to the threats of secession». The statement was also simulcast across the broadcast towers of Yag'Dhul's largest civic shelters. The transmission was accompanied by numerous charts and graphs explaining the action. According to the broadcast, the Body Calculus's most revered mathematicians had developed functional models of the Republic's political situation. By advancing the model along its time axis, the resulting projections indicated a bleak future for both the Republic and Yag'Dhul specifically.^[1]

Aftermath

"Sure, the numbers are dismal if they factored in their [Givin] own cowardice. I'd invoke the Corellian proverbs about odds, but now with even the Corellians hiding their heads, I'm hesitant to do that"

―Senator Ask Aak condemns the statement about the secession of Yag'Dhul^[1]

At a conference following the Senate session in which the Givin proclaimed their independence, the Loyalist Committee voiced its dismay at the secession of Yag'Dhul. However, the emotional reaction was mixed: while Senator Bail Organa urged respect for the beliefs of the Givin theocracy, Senator Ask Aak accused the Givin of cowardice.^[1]

Yag'Dhul had been a very prosperous world that possessed valuable technological, scientific, and mineral resources. Thus, the Republic suffered a major blow with the formal secession of this planet and its domains,^[1] while the Separatists gained an important ally in the form of talented Givin astrogators, who helped develop newer and faster hyperspace routes for the Confederacy.^[3]^[4] The Secession of Yag'Dhul also provided the Separatists with access to, and control of, the Rimma Trade Route and the Corellian Trade Spine.^[5]