| |
| Name: | Yassim |
| Gender: | Female |
| Species: | Bajoran |
| Died: | 2374 |
| Occupation: | Vedek |
| Actor: | Lilyan Chauvin |
Yassim was a Bajoran Vedek in the 2370s.
In 2374, while the Dominion was occupying Deep Space 9, Jake Sisko remained aboard as a reporter for the Federation. While interviewing Constable Odo and Major Kira, he asked them if they were attending the demonstration the next day. They didn't know anything about it.
Jake explained that Vedek Yassim was organizing a demonstration on the Promenade in opposition to the Dominion, claiming that they were evil, and Bajor should not ally with them. Kira decided she would talk to Vedek Yassim, hoping to stop the demonstration, because that would be exactly what Gul Dukat would need to increase security on the station, and suppress the Bajorans further.
Yassim met with Kira, who tried to convince the Vedek not to protest, saying that it would only make things worse for Bajor. But Yassim was firm, and said how the Dominion was evil, and that the Prophets say evil must be opposed. She questioned Kira on what she was doing to oppose the Dominion, to which she replied that the Dominion presence was different from the earlier Cardassian occupation, but Yassim disagreed and accused Kira of having become an apologist for the Dominion.
The next morning, Jake received a message from the Vedek saying the protest would start at exactly 1400 hours. Kira, Odo and Jake waited on the promenade with Kira willing to arrest Yassim and other demonstrators. No one seemed to attend the demonstration, but then Yassim appeared on the upper promenade level and exclaimed "Evil must be opposed", before she stepped off the second level with a rope around her neck, hanging herself.
Her suicide greatly affected Kira, as Kira realized she indeed had become a collaborator, people she had despised during the Cardassian occupation, and decided to start a resistance together with Odo. (DS9: "Rocks and Shoals")
Background
Ronald D. Moore commented:
- I was thinking of the Buddhist monks who immolated themselves in Vietnam in the 1960s. The analogy isn't perfect (so don't look to link up the two political situations) but the dramatic political statement of a religious leader committing suicide in a public place was definitely one of the sources of inspiration for this episode. [1]