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The recent deal by the UK government to cede its sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after more than 50 years of administration, has been criticised for its exclusion of the indigenous people of the region. The deal will see a programme of resettlement to the Chagos Islands, with the exception of Diego Garcia, which will remain a joint US-UK military base for potentially 99 years.
Many Chagossians – people with roots in the Chagos Islands – have protested their exclusion from negotiations, with some describing it as “backstabbing”. A significant number of Chagossians were forcibly removed from the islands between 1965 and 1973, and because of this history, they have been repetitively denied a chance to take part in talks. While the UK government has publicly highlighted that the Chagossian community’s interests have been “an important part of the negotiations,” many feel that, in reality, they were excluded.
The UK has had to face growing international sanctions relating to its claim to the British Indian Ocean Territory. The International Court of Justice had previously declared that the UK’s colonial administration of the island was “unlawful” and must come to an end. The UK government apologised for the forced removal of over 1,000 islanders from the archipelago, and vowed to hand the islands over to Mauritius once they ceased to be necessary for strategic purposes.
Steeve Bancal, a social worker trainee from Sussex, expressed hope that Mauritius would be more interested in putting plans in place for resettlement, given the lack of action was seen by Chagossians as discriminatory. A number of Conservative leadership candidates suggested that the deal may undermine UK security, however Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s special envoy for negotiations between the UK and Mauritius dismissed such criticism. Human Rights Watch has called for Chagossians to be consulted on the deal, stating it is essential to ensure that the UK, US, and Mauritius avoid being responsible for “a still ongoing colonial crime.
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