Second Centauri Occupation of Narn

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"No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand. The Centauri learned this lesson once. We will teach it to them again. Though it take a thousand years...we will be free."

– Citizen G'Kar, December 10th, 2259

The Second Centauri occupation of Narn began when the Narn Regime agreed to unconditionally surrender to the Centauri Republic at the end of the Narn-Centauri War in late 2259. The Kha'Ri was dissolved with most members arrested and/or executed. The only exception was G'Kar, who was granted sanctuary on Babylon 5. The Centauri leadership was determined to keep the Narn in subjugation and prevent them from ever becoming a threat again.

Therefore they treated the captive Narn populace with great cruelty: millions were herded into work farms and concentration camps, as expendable slave labor used in rebuilding the planetary infrastructure. The punishment for the killing of any Centauri by any Narn was the execution of five hundred Narns including the perpetrator's own family. Millions more Narns were slaughtered as part of a genetic cleansing program, orchestrated by Lord Antono Refa, intended to eliminate the potential for aggression from their gene pool - many whole communities were destroyed in this process.

A ruined city on Narn

The younger Narn blamed their defeat on the fact that their leaders had used Centauri strategies. The older Narn, who remembered the first Centauri occupation and enslavement of their world, believed that they were defeated because they had not been more like the Centauri. As a result of the Centauri bombardment, the Narn homeworld underwent major climate change, as dust blown into the atmosphere reduced the planet's sunlight, lowered the global temperature, and created near-constant windy conditions around the planet.

Despite all this, an active Narn resistance continued. Due to G'Kar's assistance in the assassination of Emperor Cartagia, which saved Centauri Prime from destruction, Narn was liberated early in 2261 . The Centauri withdrew their occupational force from the Narn solar system and closest colonies. It was apparent that the majority of Narn in a position to influence the future of their nation tended toward a desire for revenge rather than reconciliation; at this point, however, they were in no position to threaten anyone, with most of their industrial base destroyed and only a few fugitive ships remaining of their fleet - enough perhaps to defend the homeworld, but not to wage a war. G'Kar refused an offer to become leader of the new Narn Regime, insisting that he would only take his place in the reconstituted Kha'Ri. Narn ships gave logistical support to Sheridan and his fleet in their ultimately successful bid to oust President Clark and return power in the Earth Alliance to its people, but for most of this year the Narn concentrated on rebuilding their shattered world.