Cardassian Occupation

The Cardassian Occupation or simply The Occupation is a period in the fictional Star Trek universe affecting the planet Bajor and the Bajorans.

Background
The period began in 2328 when the Cardassians shed their image of benevolent advisors and forcibly subjugated the Bajoran authorities, brutally enslaving the inhabitants. The Cardassians also apparently suppressed knowledge of Bajor's early achievement of spaceflight, using means such as removing and hiding ancient space relics from Bajor.

The Cardassians formally annexed the planet in 2339. All Bajorans were summoned to fight the Cardassian invaders regardless of their social status. As a result, the D'jarras, or Bajoran castes, were abolished.

The Federation could not intervene in the situation, due to Prime Directive considerations; since Bajor had formally aligned itself with the Cardassians some time before, it was an internal matter between the Cardassian Union and a subject planet. This caused some resentment towards the Federation by the Bajoran people, especially when the Federation was initially invited to administer Deep Space Nine.

The Occupation was the most brutal period in Bajoran history, damaging the highly advanced Bajoran culture. Many people ended up in "refugee camps" where they were mistreated by the Cardassians...in reality they were little more than concentration camps. Bajor's natural resources were mined at notorious labor camps such as Gallitep, commanded by the cruel . Only their faith in the Prophets (embodied by Kai Opaka) made sure that the Bajoran people and, most importantly, the Bajoran culture survived.

Bajoran response
As a result of the call to arms in 2339 many resistance cells were formed. The most notable resistance group was the Shakaar resistance cell, under the lead of Shakaar Edon, a local farmer from Dahkur province and future First Minister of Bajor.

Major Kira Nerys joined this resistance cell in 2355 and was involved in some terrorist attacks and she was apparently considered a threat to Cardassian troops as records of her resistance activities still exist on Cardassia.

In 2352 Gul Dukat became the last prefect of Bajor. He resided on the orbital mining station Terok Nor which was built a year earlier. The station greatly increased Cardassian mining operations and soon contained a sizable community of Bajoran forced laborers.

Not all Bajorans opposed the Cardassian occupation and a Bajoran occupational government existed consisting of Bajoran collaborators led by Kubus Oak. The Vedek Assembly was led likewise by Prylar Bek. Collaborators were often given better quarters to live in and food to eat than the average Bajoran. In 2365 a collaborator named Vaatrik was killed by Kira Nerys.

The Bajoran Resistance launched their first off-world attack against the Cardassians at Pullock V.

End of occupation
In 2369 despite the objections of Gul Dukat and other members of the military, the Cardassian civilian leaders led by Kotan Pa'Dar decided to withdraw Cardassian troops from Bajor. The end of the occupation left behind a devastated planet and the space station Terok Nor (previously used as a mining center crewed by Bajoran slaves). Before leaving, the Cardassian troops brought about as much destruction as they possibly could; some even purposely left behind the children of Cardassian civilian leaders (such as Pa'Dar's son, Rugal) so that they would be raised by Bajoran families.

The effects of the Occupation are still visible, but Bajor is slowly recovering from the Occupation. Federation worlds have contributed to reconstruction efforts. The discovery of the Bajoran wormhole, or the Celestial Temple, has also contributed a great deal towards the economic recovery of Bajor. This was namely through the establishment of trade routes through Bajoran space, as well as making it a diplomatic center.

Literature

In 2008, Pocket Books are to release a novel series called Terok Nor, which will focus on the Occupation.

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See Also

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