The External Service
Office of Media Relations
For Immediate Release December 8, 2308
Media Briefing by Senior External Service Officials on the Violence on Luna
12:55 A.M. GMT
SEC. KHOURY: Thank you, everyone, for joining us at this late hour. We have some senior officials in the External Service on the line to discuss the operation today regarding events on Luna.
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: Thank you all for joining us tonight. The Executive Council and the President have worked closely with Chancellor-General Kidane to complete the Ten-Year Program. The President understands that now more than ever, the project of climate restitution requires the full commitment of Luna’s industrial capacity. The events of the past three days do not change that.
On September 16, the President received an assessment from the EBI [External Bureau of Intelligence] outlining the threat of a terrorist clique on Luna known as the Iron Star Movement. The assessment estimated that the ISM had as many as 3,000 active members in cells across Luna, and determined that the ISM was most active on Apollo and Yi So-yeon Stations.
The assessment identified the ISM’s motives and ideology as follows: it is a Lunar separatist organization that actively opposes the Restitution Project. Its aims are to stoke anti-Earth violence and attack critical points of Restitutionary infrastructure such as the Ahlberg Shipyards and the Lunar Central Committee’s offices in Apollo. It opposes climate restoration and hopes to end Luna’s participation in that effort.
Additionally, the ISM has been conducting an underground public relations campaign to increase the salience of Lunar independence in the general population. These illicit meetings have been spearheaded by militant organizers and journalists recruited with the express goal of radicalizing members of the public. The EBI identified 83 of these meetings between January and August, spread out across all major Lunar cities. These meetings were correlated with incidents of stochastic violence against people from Earth.
Partnering with the Lunar Central Committee, the Executive Council devised a policy response to these seditious meetings, which included harsher penalties for organizing an unlawful assembly, spreading anti-Restitutionary propaganda, and inciting anti-Earther violence. This policy package was rolled out on December 6, coinciding with the beginning of widespread violence in Apollo Station.
Now, I’ll turn it over to my colleague to go through the details of what happened the past 24 hours. Thank you.
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: As you heard, the Executive Council dispatched three External Marines vessels to restore order on Luna. These ships were the Giuseppe Garibaldi, the John Brown, and the Andrés Bonifacio. The Garibaldi was sent to Apollo, the Brown was sent to Yi So-yeon, and the Bonifacio was kept in reserve in case reinforcement was needed. Fighting lasted for approximately twelve hours, and the External Marines accomplished their objective.
At 12:03 tonight, we received word that the last holdouts of insurrection on Apollo Station turned themselves in to the forces of the Garibaldi. Thanks to the courage and sacrifice of our External Marines, peace once again reins on Luna.
Additionally, the marines managed to capture Amrita Michel, Sora Vardanyan, Kamalani McKowen, and Ji-Hu Reyes-Montero — four identified ringleaders of the Iron Star Movement. These four are sworn enemies of the Restitution Project and a danger to all humanity. They are people who call for the murder of anyone born on Earth, anywhere in the Solar System. They are leaders of a violent extremist movement with affiliates across Luna, and they have taken up arms against the happiness and prosperity of all humankind.
We have achieved a remarkable victory tonight — a victory over the forces of extremism, division, and terror. We showed the Solar System that we will not be cowed by threats to the mission we have dedicated our entire species to. Let me be clear: the cornerstone of the Iron Stars’ ideology is to let Earth starve for their gain. They do not represent the majority opinion on Luna or anywhere in the Solar System, and their defeat is proof that all of humanity remains united toward one purpose.
I know you understand that I can’t and won’t get into many details of this mission, but I’ll share what I can. The challenges of fighting in such an environment are numerous. The extremist combatants made their stand in heavily-populated civilian neighborhoods, maximizing the probability of collateral damage. Many of the extremists were dressed as civilians, further making it difficult to distinguish between a combatant and a non-combatant. Our marines faced barricades in the narrow streets, harassment from buildings and narrow shops, and the use of non-combatants as human shields.
The crews of the Garibaldi, the Brown and the Bonifacio are specially trained for conducting operations in narrow and crowded space stations. They accepted the inherent risks, and understood the importance of the operation to the security of the Restitution Project. Their expertise and courage were essential to the operation’s success.
That’s all I have at this time. I’ll turn it back to my colleague over here.
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: Let me emphasize that great care was taken to ensure operational success, minimize the possibility of non-combatant casualties, and to adhere to international law in carrying out the mission. Every step of the way, we cooperated with the Central Committee of the Governorate of Luna to ensure that there was seamless collaboration across the Restitution Project to bring these terrorists to justice.
Without a doubt, the Restitution Project will continue to face terrorist threats. The Restitution Project will continue to fight those threats. Climate restitution is a marathon, not a sprint, and that includes fighting those who aim to tear apart the entire project.
SEC. KHOURY: [inaudible] with that, we’re ready to take some questions.
Q: How long do you estimate has the Iron Star Movement existed on Luna?
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: The EBI estimates that the ISM has been actively recruiting members for at least three years, but the organization itself may have existed for some time before that.
Q: I’m getting word back from Luna that a part of Apollo Station has depressurized. What is the extent of the depressurized area and are there civilian casualties?
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: We can’t go into those details at this time.
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: Those are two questions, not one.
Q: The four ringleaders you identified for the Iron Stars, were they actively involved in defending themselves? Can you give us a chronology of the operation?
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: Again, that’s two questions, but yes, the four identified ringleaders did resist the External Marines.
Q: Was the depressurization at Apollo an accident or was it a deliberate action by the Iron Stars or the External Marines?
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: Again, we cannot go into any details at this time. Next question.
REPORTER: Nothing? I’m getting footage of [inaudible] at Molniya Square— [Interruption]
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: That’s enough, next question!
SEC: KHOURY: We have time for one more question. One question before we turn in for the night.
Q: To what degree are the Iron Stars actually responsible for the violence, and to what degree was it spontaneous?
SENIOR EXTERNAL SERVICE OFFICIAL: We have reason to believe that the ISM was intimately connected with planning and carrying out the uprising.
SEC: KHOURY: Alright, thanks again everyone. We’ll have more to say tomorrow.
END 1:11 A.M. GMT