Separatist Parliament

"Your friend is a Separatist? One of Dooku's pawns?''" "''The Separatists used to be a part of the Republic. I was close with many of the senators who left. I may not agree with them, but they're more than pawns."

- Ahsoka Tano and Padmé Amidala, on Senator Mina Bonteri of the Separatist Parliament

The Separatist Parliament, also known as the Separatist Senate or the Separatist Congress, was the civilian legislature that governed the Confederacy of Independent Systems, representing thousands of its member worlds during the Clone Wars. When the charismatic Count Dooku founded the Confederacy in 24 BBY with the Raxus Address, the swaths of sectors and star systems seceding from the Galactic Republic formed their own congressional assembly to oversee the Separatist state. A number of the appointed delegates, having served as members of the Republic Senate prior to their secession, continued to represent their constituents in the Confederacy. Operating by a bill of rights known as the By-Laws of Independent Systems, the Parliament was headed by the Confederate Head of State, Count Dooku, as well as by Separatist Congress Leader Bec Lawise. It became headquartered on the capital planet Raxus, where sessions were held in the Separatist Senate Building.

Although the representative voices of the Parliament gained a role in state matters, they were often rendered ineffective by various elements of the Separatist hierarchy. Administrative decisions were also made by the corporate interests on the Separatist Council, and Dooku himself&mdash;who was secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Tyranus&mdash;manipulated situations to ensure that pan-galactic war continued, for the purposes of the Sith. At times, maneuvers on the part of other war-profiteering parties negated pieces of legislation enacted by the Parliament, whose members were seen by some as pawns of Dooku. Furthermore, the senators of the Parliament as well as the citizens of the Confederacy were frequently shielded from front-line reports of brutal campaigns waged by such commanders of the Separatist Droid Army as General Grievous. Ultimately, the Confederacy was regarded more as a movement instead of a centralized government, in spite of the Parliament's place in public affairs.

A wide range of views comprised the Parliament, causing it to generally be divided about escalating the war effort against the Republic. Around 21 BBY, after the Clone Wars had been raging for over a year, Senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon, in collaboration with Republic Senator Padmé Amidala, introduced a bill to open peace negotiations with the Republic, ending the fighting through diplomatic means. Bonteri's bill passed in session by a majority, and the Parliament's offer for open dialogue was extended to the Republic Senate. Yet Dooku conspired with a group of war profiteers to ensure that the Republic rejected the offer, culminating with Dooku's murder of Bonteri. The Parliament later approved a delegation to be sent to an unprecedented peace conference with Republic representatives on Mandalore, though the talks ultimately failed. Eventually, the Confederacy was dissolved in 19 BBY with the death of Dooku and the execution of the Separatist Council, ending the Clone Wars.

Organization
"In accordance with the By-Laws of Independent Systems, a voice vote is required."

- Count Dooku

The Separatist Parliament, alternatively becoming known as the Separatist Senate or the Separatist Congress, was a ruling body established to oversee affairs of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Comprised of delegates speaking for thousands of the Confederacy's member worlds, the Parliament was presided over by a Separatist Congress Leader. The Confederate Head of State, serving as the leader of the Senate, was also allowed to officiate at sessions. In addition to the represented member worlds, corporations such as the Corporate Alliance were granted a voice in the legislature, becoming a part of the Confederacy's decision-making. While in session, individual delegates could propose legislation, which required a majority vote to be enacted into law. A bill of rights, the By-Laws of Independent Systems, dictated operational procedures for the Parliament; for example, a voice vote was to be taken for matters such as opening peace negotiations with the Galactic Republic. The Parliament was viewed as primarily a civilian political branch of the Confederacy's government, more so than another Confederate ruling body, the Separatist Council. Being comprised solely of corporate leaders who financed the Separatist war effort, the Council also made governmental decisions for the Confederacy, in addition to managing the war effort and overseeing the distribution of assets to Separatist worlds.

The Separatist hierarchy
"No! Dooku is deceiving you. You'll all be betrayed, just like my mother!"

- Lux Bonteri, to several senators of the Separatist Parliament

Controversy surrounded the effectiveness of the Separatist Parliament during the time of the Clone Wars, when the Confederacy was engulfed in full-scale galactic war with the Galactic Republic. As a separatist government, the Confederacy was comprised of sectors and star systems seceding from the Republic, as well as megacorporations and trade cartels such as the Corporate Alliance, Trade Federation, InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Commerce Guild, among others. These conglomerates were represented on the Separatist Council, which existed alongside the civilian-based Parliament. With the wide reach of philosophies, some political and others corporate, the Separatists fell into more of a hierarchy than a formal, centralized government. Such was the framework of the Confederacy that at times the Parliament found its decrees ignored, manipulated, or ultimately made ineffectual. Count Dooku himself, the Head of State of the Confederacy, had a hand in invalidating Parliament legislation as part of schemes concocted by the Order of the Sith Lords. Some senators like Lux Bonteri believed that Dooku would betray the members of the Parliament if his machinations warranted such expedience.

Delegates who were affiliated with corporations like the Corporate Alliance garnered criticism for perpetuating corporate voices in political affairs, as was the case in the Republic Senate. Yet those same galactic enterprises were the cornerstone of the Confederacy, as their security forces constituted the Confederate armed forces, particularly the Separatist Droid Army. Furthermore, Parliament members as well as Separatist citizens were frequently kept in the dark about the exploits and onslaughts of ruthless military commanders such as General Grievous. This conduct resulted in an incomplete view of the Separatists' presence in the galactic war theater, creating further problems for the Parliament. Some individuals on the side of the Republic saw the Separatist senators as pawns of Dooku, while the Parliament itself was widely considered abortive due to the formation of the Separatist hierarchy.

Formation
"The Republic Senate is holding a critical vote on whether or not to escalate the war effort. However, many of the delegates are undecided as to what to do.''" "''How interesting. You would find the Separatist Parliament in a similar dilemma."

- Padmé Amidala and Mina Bonteri

The Confederacy of Independent Systems was founded in the year 24 BBY when the charismatic Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master, delivered fiery rhetoric that criticized the Republic Senate of corruption, with the Jedi Order guilty for supporting such a regime that was beyond saving. The Raxus Address, as his speech was dubbed, established the Confederacy as a separatist state from the Republic. Thousands of sectors and star systems began to issue Articles of Secession to the Republic, flocking to the Confederacy alongside megacorporations including the Trade Federation, InterGalactic Banking Clan, Corporate Alliance, Techno Union, and others seeking Dooku's promise of free trade. In reality, the Confederacy was created to secretly serve the purposes of the Order of the Sith Lords, of which Dooku was a member under the alter ego of Darth Tyranus. While Tyranus headed the Confederacy in a full-scale war with the Republic, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious&mdash;in his guise as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic&mdash;would destabilize the Republic so that the Sith could eventually claim absolute power over the galaxy. The Confederacy was thus a sham, meant only as a means of undermining the Republic.

Over six thousand worlds joined the Confederacy during the period of tensions that was termed the Separatist Crisis, which lasted from 24 BBY to 22 BBY. The InterGalactic Banking Clan, Trade Federation, and their fellow corporations officially signed on to the Separatist cause in 22 BBY, pledging their financial support as well as their standing forces to the Confederacy's military. When the First Battle of Geonosis erupted that year, the corporations' various defense armies, eventually organized as the Separatist Droid Army, were deployed against the newly-created Grand Army of the Republic. Pan-galactic conflict broke out following the Battle of Geonosis in what would become known as the Clone Wars. While the Separatist Council was formed from the corporate leaders overseeing the war effort, another ruling body was established from the civilian populace. The Separatist Parliament, as it came to be known, comprised representatives from thousands of Separatist member worlds, comparative to the makeup of the Republic Senate. Indeed, a number of the senators who were appointed to the Parliament were former members of the Republic Senate, such as Mina Bonteri, who continued to represent her homeworld of Onderon in the Confederacy.

Bec Lawise became the Separatist Congress Leader, presiding over Parliament sessions alongside the Confederacy's Head of State, Count Dooku. The assembly was headquartered on the Separatist capital world of Raxus, which was blockaded by a sizable fleet from the Confederate Navy. The Separatist Senate Building was installed at the center of a large city on Raxus, with an upper viewing gallery for observers. The Separatist Parliament faced many challenges during the Clone Wars, including justifying the very existence of the Confederacy. In spite of a number of attempts to negotiate with the Separatists, the Republic Senate refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Separatist state, going so far as to pass a law prohibiting Republic senators from engaging in communication with Separatist officials. The Confederacy's appointed Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies, General Grievous, committed many exploits on the front lines, but the politicians and citizens of the Confederacy were kept unaware of his crimes, as well as other atrocities being performed in their name against the Republic. Dooku and Darth Sidious were at the center of perpetuating conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy, so as to further the Sith Grand Plan to rule the galaxy.

A failed peace
"Your Republic forces have carried out a barbaric attack on our people! And among the deaths was the very sponsor of the peace accord, Senator Mina Bonteri. With her needless death, I must formally withdraw the proposal for peace offered by our Senate."

- Count Dooku, in a transmission to the Republic Senate

As the Separatist Droid Army gained ground on battlefronts across the galaxy, some Parliament senators campaigned to escalate the war effort against the Republic. Yet the majority of the delegates had difficulty deciding if they should cast their support to further expansion of the Confederate armed forces. Similar conditions in the Republic Senate came to a head around 21 BBY, the second year of the war, and led Republic Senator Padmé Amidala to journey to Raxus, despite her violation of the Republic's non-contact statute. A vocal advocate for diplomacy amidst other pro-war representatives of the Republic, Amidala was concerned about a rising bill in her own Senate that would deregulate the galactic banks, opening new lines of credit to expand the Republic Military and thus increase the fighting. She traveled to Raxus with Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano to seek out a meeting with Mina Bonteri of Onderon, who had mentored her in politics during her early career, in the hopes of ending the war via diplomatic negotiations. In talks with her former colleague, Amidala convinced Bonteri that if the Separatist Parliament extended the olive branch of peace first, there might be enough of a sympathetic response in the Republic Senate to begin formal intergovernmental dialogue. Bonteri agreed and promised to tender a motion for peace to the Parliament floor.

Bonteri drafted her bill, which would immediately sanction an offer for peace negotiations to be conveyed to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Republic, and introduced it at a following Parliament session. She prefaced her proposal, to cries of support and rejection from all sides of the Separatist Senate Building, by decrying the futility of the casualties of war, calling for a peaceful coexistence between Confederate and Republic worlds. Once she had finished, numerous senators stood up to applaud her words, though not all of the delegates agreed. Among the dissenters was Senator Voe Atell, an affiliate of the Corporate Alliance, who took to the floor and asserted that the commerce guild would never allow the passage of such a proposal. Senator Kerch Kushi disputed her claims, citing the democratic system of the Parliament as well as the fact that corporations did not govern the Confederacy. Amidst the widespread debate that broke out after Kushi's statements, Count Dooku called for order so that Bonteri's bill could be brought to a vote. Dooku took a voice vote in keeping with the By-Laws of Independent Systems, with Bonteri, Kushi, By Bluss, and Amita Fonti being several of the many supporters of the proposal. Voting nay for the bill were Atell, Punn Rimbaud, and a number of other senators, though they were outvoted by the pro-peace delegates.

After the enactment of Bonteri's bill, Senator Amidala returned with Padawan Tano to the Republic capital of Coruscant. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was skeptical of the Separatists' offer for peace given their past rejections of negotiation, but Amidala confidentially assured him of the proposal's sincerity because of its origination with Bonteri, allowing the vote to be brought to the Senate floor. No party was less alarmed by the Parliament's offer than the coalition pushing for Republic banking deregulation, consisting of Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod, InterGalactic Banking Clan lobbyist Nix Card, and Senator Gume Saam, who was receiving payoffs from the Techno Union. All three profited from the war through their corporate affiliations, and they had already arranged&mdash;through their secret ties to Count Dooku&mdash;for an attack on Coruscant to panic the Senate into passing the deregulation legislation. The trio thus pursued a continuation of the conflict by derailing the potential for peace between the Republic and the Confederacy. Dooku had ordered General Grievous, without the Parliament's approval, to have his infiltration droids sabotage the Coruscant power network.

Conference on Mandalore
"The Republic recognizes the tragedy of war, but there is nothing we can change that has already occurred.''" "Say it aloud before this gathering&mdash;as representative for Chancellor Palpatine that you declare, without reservation, the Separatist state legitimate''."

- Padmé Amidala and Voe Atell

Count Dooku
"He's just the leader of the Senate; he's not the leader of the entire universe."

- Mina Bonteri

Mina Bonteri
"How many lives on both sides have to end before we see the futility? Surely there's room in the galaxy for Confederate and Republic planets to coexist."

- Mina Bonteri

Bec Lawise
"That is a lie! Remove this traitor immediately."

- Bec Lawise, on Lux Bonteri

Voe Atell
"The Corporate Alliance will never allow this to happen!"

- Voe Atell, in response to Mina Bonteri's bill for peace

Lux Bonteri
"I come before you&mdash;son of Mina Bonteri, loyal Separatist, patriot, friend&hellip;"

- Lux Bonteri

Behind the scenes
"Lott Dod makes mention of the Separatist Senate. This civilian political arm of the Confederacy, not yet seen in the series, will play an important rule in future episodes."

- Episode Guide for "Supply Lines"