Chagossians still waiting to go home

From http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20070713001205000.htm:
"Between 1845 and 1965, Diego Garcia and the surrounding islands were the territory of Mauritius. In 1965, when the Mauritians were negotiating for independence, the British made it clear that Diego Garcia would have to be ceded in perpetuity. The British and United States governments secretly made the decision in the early 1960s to convert it into a military base. Just before granting Mauritius independence in 1968, the British government unilaterally handed over Diego Garcia to the US. After that, they went ahead with their plans to depopulate the islands. More than 2,000 Chagossians, as the islanders are called, were evicted between 1967 and 1971. They were packed off to Mauritius, with only one item of baggage each. The British government claimed that the Chagossians were actually migrant workers from Mauritius, more than 2,000 km away.

"It was an act of late colonial arrogance, breathtaking in its execution," a British commentator observed. The Chagossians are the descendants of the African and Indian indentured labourers who worked on French plantations. According to colonial records, the first inhabitants settled in Diego Garcia in the early 18th century.

Diego Garcia today hosts one of the US's biggest military bases and a satellite spy station. The base played a key role in US military actions in both Gulf Wars and in Afghanistan. If hostilities again break out in the Gulf region, planes and ships based in Diego Garcia will play a pivotal role. More than 2,000 US troops and 30 warships are stationed there. Chagossians, in the course of their long fight for justice, gave up their claims to being resettled on the island on which the base exists. They are willing to set up home on other islands, which are more than 200 km away from it. US and British officials have objected to this, arguing that their presence would be inimical to the security of the base and that secrecy about the movement of ships and planes would be endangered. A US State Department official said last year that allowing civilians on the archipelago could "potentially lead to terrorists infiltrating the islands".

Seven years ago, the British High Court ruled that the expulsions were illegal, but the British government continues with its stonewalling tactics. In 2004, the government resorted to an archaic law, "the Order of Council", to prevent the islanders from ever returning home. The centuries-old royal prerogative allowed the government to overrule court judgments. In May 2006, the High Court described the government's conduct in the case as "outrageous, unlawful and a breach of accepted moral standards".

The government is still playing for time in the hope that there will be very few Chagossians left to return to their homeland. Many of them have died; the survivors are over 50. But there is a young generation, of more than 4,000, that is keen to return to the land of its forefathers. The bench that ruled in the petitioners' favour ordered the British government to pay their legal costs. The government has already announced its intention to appeal to the House of Lords to thwart the refugees' return. It could take some more time for the islanders' dreams to be fulfilled. They may never be able to see Diego Garcia, but they could be resettled on other nearby islands."