Chagossians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chagossians (also known as Ilois and Chagos Islanders) are a group of Creole-speaking people. They are mostly of African origin, namely from Madagascar, Mozambique and people from other African nations who were in Ile de France (Mauritius) at the time of the settlement, but there is a small proportion of South Indian descent in the genetic pool of the Chagossians as well.
The Chagossians inhabited the islands of Diego Garcia, Peros Banhos and Salomon Islands, but they also had settled in other parts of the Chagos Archipelago, like Egmont Islands and Eagle Islands, at a certain time.
The very first Chagossians were probably brought to the Archipelago as slaves from Mauritius by the French in 1776. Others arrived as fishermen, farmers, and coconut plantation workers during the 19th century.
The Archipelago later passed to the control of the United Kingdom and came to form part of the Colony of Mauritius.
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[edit] The Chagossians' exile from their homeland
In 1965, as part of a deal to grant Mauritian independence, the Chagos Archipelago was split off from the Colony and came to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. The territory's new constitution was set out in a statutory instrument imposed unilaterally without any referendum or consultation with the Chagossians, and envisaged no democratic institutions. The constitution prohibited anyone from residing in the islands without a permit.
In the following years from 1967 and 1973, the Chagossians, then numbering some 2000 people, were expelled by the British government, first to the island of Peros Banhos, 100 miles away from their homeland, and then, in 1973, to Mauritius (For the relationship between the Chagos Archipelago and Mauritius, see Chagos Archipelago). Their forced (and, according to some authorities, illegal) expulsion and dispossession was for the purpose of establishing a United States air and naval base on Diego Garcia, where a small contingent of UK military personnel are stationed as well.
[edit] Chagossians obtain the right to return
In 1983, the United Kingdom gave the Mauritian government £4m, of which the Mauritian government transferred £1m to those deported Chagossians dwelling in that country as refugees.
Later, some 30 years after their deportation, the Chagossians demanded the right to return to their homeland. Their case was brought to the High Court of Justice in London by a British firm of solicitors, Sheridans, and on November 3, 2000 the High Court ruled in their favour, stipulating that they should be allowed to return to their homeland.
From November 5 to November 23, 2001 , over two hundred Chagossians maintained a vigil outside the British High Commission in Port Louis, Mauritius. On May 21, 2002, the British Foreign Affairs Secretary Jack Straw signed a document conferring British citizenship upon the Chagossians, later implemented in "Section 6: The Chagossians: Citizenship" of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002.
[edit] Return frustrated
Despite the court judgement recognising the Chagossians' rights, the islands were uninhabited and there were no civilian transportation links. Most of the Chagossians remained in impoverished conditions, unable to facilitate their own return. Promises of the British Government to assist in resettlement failed to materialise.
On October 9, 2003, in a controversial judgement, Justice Ousley of the High Court decreed that the Chagossians had no right to any compensation from the British Government. Then, in June 2004, the British Government effectively overruled the 2000 court decision in favour of the Chagossians by an order-in-council. The Chagossians and their advocates appealed this move to the High Court of England and Wales and the European Court of Human Rights.
[edit] New developments
In early April 2006, a group of around 100 Chagossians were permitted to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory for the first time in over 30 years in a trip. The trip was organised and financed by the British Foreign Office and the government of Mauritius. [1]
On May 11, 2006, the Chagossians won their case before the High Court, which ruled that they are entitled to return to the Chagos Archipelago. It remains to be seen whether when or how the judgement might be implemented in practice.[2] The UK government launched an appeal at the Court of Appeal against the May 11 ruling in June 2006. The Foreign office has put forward an argument based on the treatment of the Japanese Canadians following the attacks on Pearl Harbour. [3]
On May 23, 2007, the Court of Appeal dismissed the UK Government's appeal saying that the methods used to stop the Chagos families to return to the islands were "unlawful" and "an abuse of power".[4] The Government was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords, but have stated an intention to appeal to the Lords against that refusal. The Government launched an appeal to the Law Lords in November 2007.
The American lease on Diego Garcia is due to expire in 2016.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Diego Garcia: Paradise Cleansed by John Pilger
- Spreading democracy, by any means necessary. the US/UK and Diego Garcia
- US/UK BIOT defence agreements, 1966-1982, US Court filing
- http://www.chagossupport.org.uk/ UK-Chagos Support Association
- http://www.chagos.org.uk/ Chagos Islands Community Association - A group of Ilois ex-islanders, now living in West Sussex (UK). They arrived in the UK from Mauritius in the last few years when British passports were reluctantly granted to them. They now self-organise to improve their lives and with a view to possible return to their islands. The website is currently in development but the holding page provides contact information.
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