CRIMEWATCH Editorial
By. Elissa Kent
There’s a point where I’m just going to stop talking. Clearly Imperator Costigan and the rest of the UEE seem to be okay with the fact that, every single day, the good Citizens are under attack from thieves and bandits that strike without mercy, rob the people blind, and then flee like cowards. Last week’s vicious attack on a RSI Mover Transport left fifty-eight dead and almost a million in property and liability damage is the latest in a bloody history of the war raging along our own borders.
For decades, the criminal element has exploited our proximity to the Banu Protectorate, using their territory as a safe haven at the first sign of confrontation. If they cross that border, that’s it. Case closed. Frankly, it’s a stain on the ideal of law enforcement. The Imperator and Senate need to address the issue or more lives and money will be lost. Creating a government provision to cross into a sovereign Banu planet-system will be complicated but I think both the Banu and UEE will benefit from at least streamlining the process to allow Advocacy Agents to pursue fugitives.
I understand that this is a tricky political situation. When I’ve suggested such a law in the past, many of my critics flooded my line with complaints so let’s take a look at the two biggest issues in creating such a provision:
The fundamental structure of the Banu government prevents such a provision.
Everyone knows the Banu aren’t the most organized civilization. It’s true. Their system of planet-states places a heavy burden on self-governance but the Banu do have a system in place to vote on species-wide laws, they simply need to call a Gathering. It’s a lengthy process with weeks, sometimes months of debate, but if provided with a polished law, I think it could stand a good chance of passing.
It’s no secret that many of the Banu planets act as a global bazaar and black market. So cargo stolen by pirates in UEE territory can be sold cheap (and sometimes legally) on a Banu world. While you could make the argument that portions of the proceeds from these sales go directly to the government itself, that shouldn’t prevent even attempting such a bill. If we’ve learned anything in the nearly thousand years of human expansion, it’s that people (and by that I mean human, Xi’An, Banu, even Tevarin and probably Vanduul) are a mess of contradictions. In any species, there are good and bad, moral and immoral, just and unjust. That’s what makes life so weird and interesting. While critics may think that the Banu will shoot down the bill on sight, why shouldn’t we give them the benefit of the doubt and at least try?
A ‘streamlined process’ will inevitably replace ‘due process’
We all know our history. Part of the UEE’s standard operating procedure is to do whatever’s necessary to escape the shadow of the Messer Era. While that fear of increasing government power seems to take root in catchphrases like “it’s a slippery slope,” I can’t help but believe that any effort to crack down on the thriving criminal syndicates is going to lead to fascism.
Again, I understand that while the situation seems clear-cut, there’s a veritable Pandora’s box of complicated legal and political ramifications to consider. But our Senators need to at least raise the issue to figure a way to help relieve the massive impact on trade, the economy, and on the lives of the Citizens that these pirate attacks. They need to start the discussion because, right now, the situation is just not cutting it.
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