Hutts demand 'fair representation' on Galactic Senate
A consortium of Hutt Clan leaders - known as the 'Hutt Grand Council' - has demanded representation on the Galactic Senate, equal to that of the Sith Imperiums, the Herald can report.
Diplomats from Hutt space have submitted a formal request for ten seats in the Galactic Senate. Ambassador Yur'ghaz Besadii Tuire, who presented the request this morning, suggested that this would give the Hutts equal representation to the Sith Empire, who were admitted to the body recently.
Ambassador Tuire expressed his disappointment that the Hutt Clans had not already been welcomed to the Senate in a morning meeting with his counterparts on Chandrila. The Ambassador, who presented papers signed by the Lord of the Hutt Clans, Nor'baal Desilijic Fa'athra, said the move was long overdue.
However, anti-Hutt campaigners have spoken out against the suggestion, indicating that the Hutt Space is a front for organized crime and should not be legitimized at the Galactic level.
Expressing concerns that allegations of slavery running rife in the so-called 'Hutt Cartels' domain, the group of campaigners have said that an admission of the Hutts to the Senate would "set the anti-slavery campaign back generations.".
But the Hutts have distanced themselves from the allegations, with Ambassador Tuire saying this morning, "the Senate has a history of reaching out across huge cultural divides, as evidenced by their admission of the Sith Empire.". The recent outbreak of war between the Sith and another Senate member, the Consortium, has likely prompted this request from the Hutt Clans.
The Galactic Senate has long acknowledged the existence of the Hutt Clans, with a delicate line being traced between understanding their role in organised crime and their influence over large portions of the Outer Rim. In a statement from the Hutt Council today, a spokesbeing said:
"The existence and territorial integrity of Hutt Space has been an established norm in the Outer Rim for millennia, with countless billions living under the Governance of the Hutt Clans. In practically every sense, the Hutt Grand Council is a functioning, organised galactic power and has every right to have representation at the Galactic Senate."
"Furthermore, it is simply out of the question that bodies without concrete borders, such as the Free Worlds Alliance, and bodies with a far more chequered past than the Clans, such as the Sith Imperium, should be permitted seats at the table, whilst the Hutt Clans are excluded."
"It is the hope of their eminences, the Hutt Council, that this formal request for recognition and representation shall be taken with the seriousness it deserves, and the Galactic Senate will finally start taking the Outer Rim, Hutt Space included, seriously."
"Furthermore, it is simply out of the question that bodies without concrete borders, such as the Free Worlds Alliance, and bodies with a far more chequered past than the Clans, such as the Sith Imperium, should be permitted seats at the table, whilst the Hutt Clans are excluded."
"It is the hope of their eminences, the Hutt Council, that this formal request for recognition and representation shall be taken with the seriousness it deserves, and the Galactic Senate will finally start taking the Outer Rim, Hutt Space included, seriously."
The Hyperlane Herald has not been able to reach a Galactic Senate member for comment and will have more on this story as it develops.
~ Voren Dhur, Hyperlane Herald