Islanders who were forced to abandon their remote Indian Ocean home to make way for a US military base half a century ago protested outside Britain’s Parliament on Monday against a deal they say decided the fate of their homeland without them.
The British government announced last week that it was handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius under an agreement that would leave a US naval and bomber base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia.
Located south of the equator off the coast of India, the Chagos Islands have been under British rule since 1814. They became known as the British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965 when they were separated from Mauritius, a British colony that gained independence three years later.
Frankie Bontemps, a second-generation Chagos resident, remarked:
“Today they have a deal that suits them, best of course. But what about the people? What about the people they ignored 65 years ago? I feel, as I do, that history is repeating itself today.”
According to Yasmin Ahmed, director of Human Rights Watch UK, it is crucial for David Lammy, the British Foreign Secretary, Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, and the whole government to recognise that they will not be able to right historical wrongs or meet their international obligations unless the Chagossian community is at the forefront of any agreements that allow them to return to their homeland and receive compensation.
Way for the US military base Diego Garcia
Britain expelled nearly 2,000 people from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the US military base Diego Garcia, which supported military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the US admitted that the base was also involved in secret rendition flights for terrorist suspects.
A significant number of islanders have resettled in the UK and unsuccessfully tried to reclaim their homeland through British legal channels. Their struggle has received global support, especially from African countries and the United Nations.
In a 2019 advisory opinion, the UN International Court of Justice ruled that Britain illegally partitioned Mauritius when it decided to end colonial rule in the late 1960s. The UN General Assembly has since passed a resolution calling on the UK to end its “colonial administration” of the Chagos Islands and return them to Mauritius.
Britain’s newly-elected Labour government says the military base status could be jeopardised by possible legal disputes if the deal is not finalised.
“British sovereignty over Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands is non-negotiable”
US President Joe Biden has welcomed the deal, saying it “ensures that the joint facility at Diego Garcia will operate effectively for the next century.” But Britain’s Conservative opposition said the decision to hand over part of the territory to the UK sets a worrying precedent for other vast possessions, including Gibraltar, claimed by Spain, and the Falkland Islands, claimed by Argentina.
The government strongly denies this. Starmer spokesman Dave Pares said on Monday that “British sovereignty over Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands is non-negotiable.”
The agreement would create a resettlement fund for displaced Chagos residents aimed at allowing them to return to the islands – with the exception of Diego Garcia. The UK says the details of any return are now the responsibility of Mauritius. Jamie Simon, whose grandparents were expelled from the Chagos islands, said:
“They shouldn’t have done this deal without asking us what we want. It may be just another island to them. It might just be a military base for them..But for us, it’s home.”
