Occupation of Bajor

The Occupation of Bajor (usually referred to simply as the Occupation) was a period from about 2319 to 2369 during which Bajor was under the control of the Cardassian Union. During the Occupation, the Cardassians perpetrated a coordinated scheme of strip-mining, forced labor, and genocide across the planet. Their brutality led to the deaths of more than ten million Bajorans. This eventually gave rise to the fierce Bajoran Resistance, which used guerrilla and terror tactics. The Cardassians eventually withdrew due to political pressure from the United Federation of Planets, as well as the Resistance's constant attacks. 

Prelude
Prior to the Occupation, the Bajorans were a peaceful people whose art and architecture were well-known and admired throughout the galaxy. The Cardassians, by contrast, were a militaristic and often hostile people who had conquered numerous planets in the name of survival. The two peoples nonetheless managed to coexist peacefully for some time; however, the Cardassians coveted Bajor's rich natural resources and saw the Bajoran people as inferior. Cardassia became increasingly hostile as time went on, maintaining a military presence on the planet for ten years before forcibly annexing it in 2328. This travesty caused little galactic outcry, as most major powers were unaware of or unconcerned with Bajor's plight. Even the Federation was unable to interfere, as the Prime Directive forbade it; the occupation was considered an internal matter between Cardassia and a subject race. 

As the Cardassians were technologically almost a century ahead of the Bajorans, there was no warfare leading to the Occupation; the peaceful Bajoran people surrendered with little resistance. The Cardassians installed the Bajoran Occupational Government, essentially a puppet of the Cardassian Central Command intended to make the occupation look legitimate. In order to keep the Bajorans in line, Central Command also installed a prefect to oversee the planet. The last person to hold this post was the now-infamous Gul Dukat. 

Cardassian rule
When the Occupation began, it was the end of life as the Bajoran people formerly knew it. The D'jarra caste system, which had been an integral part of Bajoran culture for centuries, was abolished, as all Bajorans regardless of caste were called upon to struggle against Cardassian oppression. Vedeks were forbidden to preach the word of the Bajoran Prophets, and many such as Winn Adami were imprisoned for doing so. Further, the Cardassians strip-mined the planet, using Bajoran slave labor to perform the task. Secretary Kubus Oak and other officials of the occupational government routinely approved work orders forcing Bajorans to mine ore among other tasks. Such acts of cowardice gave way to a new term for those who participated with the Cardassians or used the Occupation as a source of profit: "collaborators." 

Not all Bajorans who profited from the Occupation were branded as collaborators, however. A smuggler named Ibudan was admired for smuggling much-needed medical supplies to Bajor, although he did so only to gouge his fellow Bajorans. Ibudan even let a young girl die because her family could not afford the drug that would have saved her life. Bajorans such as Ibudan were able to operate with relative freedom in many cases, as most Cardassian officers would look the other way if paid enough. After the Occupation, most Bajoran smugglers such as Razka Karn were reduced to buying and selling scrap metal. 

Part of the boom in black market dealings resulted from most external entities' refusal to sell to the Bajorans out of fear of Cardassian reprisal and a general belief that the Bajoran Resistance would fail. This was partially offset by the Ferengi bartender Quark and his willingness to sell items to the Bajorans at or just above cost, despite that doing so went against Ferengi values. Another notable exception to the rule was the weapons dealer Hagath and his associate, Quark's cousin Gaila. Hagath believed that the "big picture" of the situation – and having the future Bajoran government owe him a favor – was more important in the long run than which side had the bigger pocketbook, an arrangement which Gaila would later admit was, while almost heretical to a Ferengi, in fact good business. While he charged full price for his goods, Hagath's willingness to sell weapons to the Bajorans was reason enough for them to be grateful. 

One of the ultimate goals for the occupation, beyond strip-mining Bajor of its resources, was "full scale colonization" by Cardassian civilians. However, due to the persistent activity of the Bajoran resistance decade after decade, the planet was never sufficiently pacified to initiate this. As the years dragged on, Cardassian Central Command grew frustrated, and simply wanted the problem resolved, with no regard for what "methods" local commanders on Bajor used. 

The Cardassians used Bajoran women as "comfort women." These comfort women were often branded as collaborators by other Bajorans. 

Bajorans were assigned occupations more or less arbitrarily during the Occupation. The most common jobs were mining ore and working in factories, and once assigned to a job, a Bajoran was forbidden from leaving it. However, Cardassian officers often "selected" Bajorans for random interrogations or forced relocation.

Any Bajoran with family or friends in the Bajoran Resistance was considered a suspect in criminal cases – which after 50 years of occupation was essentially all of Bajor. When a Bajoran was accused of a crime, his or her friends and family were often rounded up for questioning as well. There was virtually no court system, only special tribunals consisting of Cardassian military leaders. In the vast majority of cases, the evidence was circumstantial and questionable. This was of little importance to the Cardassians as long as someone was punished. 

Labor camps
The Cardassians interned entire families of Bajorans in labor camps for various purposes, the most common of which was to mine ore and other valuable resources. Conditions at these camps were so harsh that every Bajoran knew assignment to a labor camp was essentially a death sentence. The occupational government, however, continued to fulfill the Cardassians' requests for new laborers throughout the occupation. 

The most notorious of these camps was the Gallitep labor camp, where Gul Darhe'el ruled with an iron fist and routinely ordered his men to kill the laborers. Believing that their actions were justified in the name of the greater glory of Cardassia, men such as Darhe'el were responsible for turning the occupation into full-blown genocide. 

Justification based on the "greater glory of Cardassia" also led to workers at the labor camps often becoming subjects of morally unethical experimentation, as in the case of Doctor Crell Moset. Moset was a celebrated scientist who discovered a cure for the Fostossa virus; however, unbeknownst to most non-Bajorans, Moset found the cure by infecting hundreds of people so that he could experiment with different treatments. According to Starfleet records, Moset purchased many biochemical agents, including every known strain of the Fostossa virus, a typical procedure in the development of vaccines; however, he didn't ask for any of the enzymes normally required for synthesizing a vaccine. Four days after he received the virus samples there was a minor outbreak of Fostossa near his hospital. Prior to that date there had not been a single case in the entire province. 

Terok Nor
In 2346, the Cardassians used Bajoran slave labor to build an orbital space station known as Terok Nor. Much of this station was devoted to processing ore, which was the task to which most Bajorans there were assigned. Temperatures in the ore processing section sometimes reached as high as 55 °C, and in addition to exhaustion, heatstroke became a common cause of death. Deaths from such causes were seen as unfortunate but acceptable losses in the eyes of the Cardassian overseers. 

Certain areas of Terok Nor were cordoned off and designated Bajoran areas. Most Bajorans were forced to live in overcrowded community quarters, but some of the more fortunate (mostly collaborators) were assigned their own. Even the holding cells were overcrowded, with as many as a dozen Bajorans filling cells built for two. A few Bajorans were allowed to earn a meager wage working for Quark, in his bar. Many of these were women who won their jobs by showing Quark their "credentials." Those Bajorans in his employ had twelve-hour workdays with two five-minute breaks, for which they earned a single strip of latinum. Compared to the alternative, back-breaking slave-labor in the station's ore-processing facilities, the fact that Quark paid Bajorans at all to perform menial tasks around the bar was considered relatively generous.

The Resistance
After years of Cardassian oppression, the Bajorans formed the Bajoran Resistance, a coordinated movement aiming to free Bajor from the occupation. It accomplished this goal with often indiscriminate bombings and other terror tactics. One of the most prominent resistance cells was the Shakaar resistance cell, which Kira Nerys was a member of from the time she was twelve. 

The Resistance also fought a limited guerrilla war, although they mostly relied on the element of surprise. Some members managed to smuggle in sub-impulse starships, but as they knew direct conflict with the Cardassians would end disastrously, these ships were hidden on Bajor's various moons. The assassinations and bombings were enough to throw the Cardassians off balance, however, and also taught the Bajorans valuable skills they would later put to use when forming the Bajoran Militia. 

Bajorans who helped the resistance but did not openly oppose the Cardassians were known as informers. One such informer was Trentin Fala. Fala and others like her were regarded with great respect, unlike collaborators. 

Most resistance cells were ultimately targeted in force by the Cardassians and crushed, but new ones would rise up to replace them elsewhere. One of the few resistance cells which was able to function over a sustained period of time was the Shakaar resistance cell in Dahkur Province. Using the rough mountain terrain of the Dahkur Hills, they were able to evade Cardassian forces to the extent that they remained a cohesive fighting unit. Even so, they never made conventional pushes to gain more territory, instead using the Dahkur Hills as a base for terrorist attacks, then running the Cardassians ragged in mountain warfare when they counter-attacked in force. Even Gul Dukat later admitted that Shakaar's forces in Dahkur were the one resistance cell they were never able to effectively suppress. 

Every time the Resistance executed an attack, the Cardassians tightened their grip, and each time this happened, more Bajorans joined the cause. It would take many years and many deaths, but eventually the Cardassians would be forced to leave Bajor.

Gul Dukat


S.G. Dukat, better known as the man who allied Cardassia with the Dominion, was the prefect of Bajor from around 2346 until the Cardassians withdrew in 2369. Dukat ruled with an iron fist but saw himself as merciful compared to his fellow Cardassians. When a Bajoran was murdered aboard Terok Nor, Dukat chose to hire a Changeling named Odo as an impartial investigator rather than his superiors' prescription of executing ten Bajorans at random. 

Admittedly, Dukat's rule as prefect of Bajor was not quite as harsh as those of some of his more grisly predecessors. Dukat's first act as prefect was to cut labor camp output quotas by fifty percent, abolish child labor, and improve medical care and food rations. These measures led to a twenty percent drop in the camp death rates. Dukat was convinced that by ruling with a gentler hand, the Bajorans would eventually acknowledge the Cardassians as the "superior race" and submit to working under their Cardassian overlords. Instead, the Resistance repaid him by destroying an orbital drydock on his one-month anniversary, killing two hundred Cardassians. During the Occupation, the Resistance attempted to assassinate Dukat five times, all of them unsuccessful. Dukat grew to hate the Bajorans for not acknowledging his "compassion" towards them. 

He also had an affinity for Bajoran women, and although he was part of the occupation, he saw himself as a friend of the Bajoran people. Dukat fell in love with a Bajoran woman named Tora Naprem and even had a daughter by her, although both were lost in a shuttle crash; he had earlier had another affair with a comfort woman named Kira Meru. Both relationships started out as forced, but Dukat convinced himself that he truly loved both women (although, according to one of Dukat's officers, the prefect had used the same routine on several women). .

By the time Dukat was appointed as prefect of the planet, the occupation had become something of a quagmire for Central Command. Despite his best efforts to keep the Bajorans in line, the situation was beyond his control; against his wishes, the government decided to withdraw from the planet. 

Cardassian withdrawal
After fifty years of occupation, the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor in 2369. The exact cause of the withdrawal is largely a matter of opinion; while the Bajorans attributed it to the efforts of the Bajoran Resistance, the Cardassians regarded it as an entirely political decision. In the days leading up to the withdraw, the Cardassians diverted warships away from Bajor in an attempt to annex Minos Korva, a disputed planet near the Cardassian-Federation boarder. After a round of tense diplomatic negotiations, Captain Edward Jellico dealt the Cardassians a humbling defeat at the McAllister C-5 Nebula. Under Jellico's terms of surrender, all of the ships were forced to eject their primary phaser coil, effectively rendering their ships defenseless. Regardless of the cause, all sides acknowledge that civilian leaders such as those on the Detapa Council made the decision, which was opposed by the Cardassian military. Gul Dukat in particular remained intent on reconquering Bajor for over five years. .

Other Cardassian leaders were not willing to wait for revenge. Gul Darhe'el, furious about the withdrawal, ordered his soldiers to slaughter their Bajoran subordinates. His intention was to kill every last Bajoran at Gallitep, and while his actions were the exception rather than the rule, many Cardassian officers shared his sentiments. 

On Terok Nor, the Cardassians damaged as many of the space station's systems as they possibly could. They took every item of value, including all but a few photon torpedoes. The Bajoran Temple was badly damaged, as was the Promenade, where four Bajorans were killed trying to protect their shops. The Cardassians even removed the beds from the quarters and took the replicators offline. Much of the looting was out of hatred toward the Bajorans, although it was standard Cardassian procedure to booby trap and sabotage abandoned outposts. 

Many Cardassian children were left behind in the wake of the Occupation, since orphans had no status in Cardassian society. The Bajorans opened their hearts to these so-called war orphans, one of whom was named Rugal. The son of a prominent Cardassian politician, Rugal was left on Bajor in an elaborate plot by Gul Dukat to seize power. He was raised by an elderly Bajoran couple and taught to hate Cardassian "butchers", although he was later returned to his father's custody. 

Of particular note was the fact that the tailor Elim Garak became the sole Cardassian aboard Deep Space 9. Neither the Federation nor the Bajorans knew Garak's true motives for staying behind. While it was widely held that he was "the eyes and ears of his fellow Cardassians", Garak always managed to avoid questions about his past with his charming personality. He soon proved that there was more to "plain, simple Garak" than met the eye. It was later revealed that Garak had once been an agent of the Obsidian Order stationed aboard Terok Nor but was falsely accused of treason and sentenced to live out the rest of his life aboard what became Deep Space 9. 

Aftermath
Bajor was in shambles after the Cardassian withdrawal and did not recover for many years. One of the first steps was the formation of the Bajoran Provisional Government, which was unstable at best. One of the few things virtually all Bajorans agreed upon was how to deal with those involved with the Occupation. A list of the most egregious Cardassian war criminals was assembled and the individuals on the list were condemned to death, although in practice most were never apprehended. Additionally, a list of collaborators was issued in the Ilvian Proclamation, all of whom were sentenced to exile. Those collaborators who escaped detection spent the rest of their lives trying to ensure that their misdeeds remained secret. 

Many Bajorans, particularly the terrorist group known as the Kohn-Ma, continued to fight Cardassia even after the withdrawal, which exacerbated an already chaotic situation. The question of how to re-integrate people such as Tahna Los, a hero of the Bajoran Resistance but a wanted criminal for his activities in the Kohn-Ma, was particularly difficult. As a result, many convicted criminals such as Ibudan were released from prison. In Constable Odo's words, "Cardassian rule may have been oppressive, but at least it was... simple." Several Cardassian actions were later part of negotiations and talks, such as the Paqu-Navot Treaty in 2369. 

The Valerians used to ship dolamide explosives during the occupation to the Cardassians. After the occupation this fact was still a possibility and Major Kira suggested that the Valerian transport Sherval Das, which tried to dock at Deep Space 9, did so. 

Keeping the Kohn-Ma and other such groups in line proved doubly difficult because the Cardassians often did not honor post-war agreements. Many Bajorans interned or imprisoned during the Occupation remained in Cardassian custody despite a promise by Central Command to release all prisoners. The most infamous case was the legendary resistance fighter Li Nalas, who was believed to be dead on Bajor but had been imprisoned on Cardassia IV for years before Major Kira Nerys and Chief Miles O'Brien rescued him. Others were conveniently discovered and released only when the Central Command needed political leverage. 

An uneasy alliance with the Federation complicated matters as Commander Benjamin Sisko attempted to balance Bajoran interests with those of the Federation. Major Kira felt that many Bajoran and Federation interests should be kept separate, sentiments shared by Tahna Los and later exploited by the anti-alien Alliance for Global Unity, which sought to expel all non-Bajorans from the planet. Tahna believed in Bajor for Bajorans, and like him, the Alliance (also known as the "Circle") saw the Federation presence aboard DS9 as another form of occupation. Tensions came to a climax when Minister Jaro Essa, leader of the Circle, attempted a full-scale coup d'etat in what was later discovered to be an elaborate Cardassian attempt to reclaim Bajor by ousting the Federation. 

The effects of various Cardassian experiments poisoned much of Bajor's once-fertile farmland. Farmers such as Shakaar Edon were devastated, and soil reclamators became a highly sought-after commodity. Two years after the Occupation's end, three million Skrreean refugees fleeing from the Dominion wished to farm the land of Bajor's uninhabited Northwest Peninsula. However, while the peninsula would have been an ideal place to farm prior to the Occupation, the provisional government was forced to turn the Skreeans away due to the toxicity of the soil and the plagues that had arisen on Bajor. 

Many other vestiges of the Occupation remained with Bajor, including a colony of Cardassian voles that made its home aboard Deep Space 9. The Bajoran Resistance had created a "Babel" virus to disrupt operations aboard Terok Nor, but an accidental release of the virus incapacitated everyone aboard the station except for Constable Odo and Quark, both of whom were immune. Additionally, the crew of DS9 discovered a counter-insurgency program Gul Dukat had designed to combat revolts by the Bajoran laborers. The program initiated an auto-destruct function when it was discovered that Dukat's superior had implemented extra security measures to prevent Dukat from abandoning his post in the event that the Bajorans took control of Terok Nor. 

One of the Occupation's most insidious side effects was to cause many Bajorans to lose faith in the Prophets. Disenchanted Bajorans refused to believe their gods would sit idly by while the Occupation ravaged their planet, which led to the formation of the Cult of the Pah-wraiths. Ironically, Dukat became a twisted Messianic figurehead of the Cult for a brief time. The allure of the notion that the Pah-wraiths would bring about a "restoration" for Bajor was so great that even Kai Winn, who believed the Prophets had forsaken her, turned to the Pah-wraiths for spiritual guidance. 

Post-occupation relations
The Cardassians refused to acknowledge the events that transpired during the Occupation, instead using terms like "alleged improprieties" to describe them. Some Cardassians even believed that the Cardassian leaders themselves started rumors of brutality in order to keep the Bajorans thinking of themselves as victims. Aamin Marritza, who worked as a file clerk at Gallitep and witnessed numerous atrocities first hand, attempted to impersonate Gul Darhe'el so the Bajorans would sentence him to death and Cardassia would be forced to admit its guilt. However, his true identity was later revealed and he was killed by a fanatical Bajoran. 

While most Cardassians remained bitter about the loss of Bajor, there were those who believed the two peoples could co-exist equally. Gul Dukat was one such person, although he never admitted it publicly. He conceded to Major Kira that the Occupation was a mistake, but he believed it made Bajor stronger. Some such as Kotan Pa'Dar, one of the civilian leaders responsible for the withdrawal, were not necessarily fond of Bajorans but had no desire to go to war again. One of the most unlikely proponents of peace was Legate Tekeny Ghemor, a member of the Central Command and part of the Cardassian Underground. After he lost his daughter during an undercover mission where she posed as a Bajoran, a series of accidents brought him and Kira as close together as a father and daughter. 

When the Bajorans and Cardassians finally established formal diplomatic relations, the Bajorans felt that they were entitled to war reparations for the damage incurred during the Occupation. Vedek Bareil Antos spent months secretly negotiating with Legate Turrel of the Central Command in order to work out a formal peace treaty between Cardassia and Bajor. Bareil died during the negotiations and Kai Winn took credit for what later became the Bajoran-Cardassian Treaty. 

Even after the treaty was signed, relations between the two peoples were shaky at best. During the Cardassian Rebellion against the Dominion, Colonel Kira had to wear a Starfleet uniform because Legate Damar, as well as Elim Garak, felt that receiving help from a member of the Bajoran Militia would undermine his credibility with the Cardassian people. Seven years after the Occupation's end, Bajorans were still unwelcome on Cardassia Prime, which is why Tora Ziyal, Gul Dukat's half-Bajoran daughter, chose to remain aboard Deep Space 9. 

Mirror universe occupation
In the mirror universe, Bajor was conquered by the Terran Empire rather than Cardassia. It remained under Terran rule until the Klingons and Cardassians formed an alliance and conquered the Terran Empire. Free of domination by outside forces, Bajor petitioned the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance for membership and ultimately became an influential member world. 

Production Note
The "Chain of Command, Part II" was the final Next Generation episode to air before the series premier of Deep Space Nine.

Inconsistencies
Deep Space 9/Terok Nor was built in 2346 according to, which contradicts a statement made by Odo in indicating that it was built in 2351. Given that the series was still new at the time of Odo's comment and the fact that the former episode dealt directly with the occupation, 2346 is generally accepted as the canon date and Odo's comment disregarded as a continuity error. It is also possible that initial construction or planning for the station began in 2346, but that the station wasn't considered complete until 2351.

The exact length of the occupation is also open to interpretation, but the consensus is that it lasted for fifty years. Some references (including a mention in ) give the figure as forty years prior to becoming untenable, while others have said fifty, even sixty in. According to Gul Dukat (in ), the occupation had lasted forty years prior to his arrival, at which point he claimed the occupation was in a state of chaos. Most fans interpret Dukat's approximately ten-year tenure as prefect to mean that the Occupation lasted fifty years total, with other references either interpreted to refer to the quagmire Dukat inherited or disregarded as continuity errors. One could also argue that it lasted longer than fifty years, as the Cardassians maintained a military presence on Bajor prior to the formal annexation of the planet.

Also, in, Thrax tells Odo in a telepathic reality that the occupation has lasted fifty years. The telepathic reality supposedly takes place seven years before 2373, so in 2366 the occupation had lasted fifty years, making the date of occupation 2316. However, this is most likely a flippant exaggeration, or a flaw caused by Odo's imperfect memory, or a possible confusion between the varying lengths of Federation, Bajoran, and Cardassian years.

Apocrypha
The novel series Star Trek: Terok Nor tells the story of the Bajoran Occupation. According to this series, the Cardassians first establish a presence on Bajor in 2318. Over the next ten years, the Cardassians use the pretext of an alliance with Bajor to slowly gain influence over the government of the planet and establish facilities. The occupation formally starts in 2328. Following, Terok Nor is depicted as being built in 2346.

Related topics

 * Bajor - Bajoran Occupational Government, Bajoran Resistance, Collaborators, Kendra Valley Massacre
 * Bajorans - Kira Nerys, Li Nalas, Kai Opaka, Shakaar Edon


 * Cardassia - Cardassian Union, Obsidian Order, Terok Nor
 * Cardassians - Dukat, Kotan Pa'Dar, Dr. Crell Moset


 * Aftermath - Bajoran Provisional Government, Deep Space 9, Alliance for Global Unity, War Orphans Fund