Chagossians win right to go home
The people of the Chagos Islands could be able to
return to their homeland in the Indian Ocean after a victory in the British high
court.
The people of the Chagos Islands could be able to return to their homeland in the Indian Ocean after a victory in the British high court.
The Chagossians were removed from the archipelago more than 40 years ago when Britain granted the US permission to build an air and naval base on the largest atoll, Diego Garcia.
The court dismissed an appeal by the foreign office against their return, saying on Wednesday that the right to go home was “one of the most fundamental liberties known to human beings”.
Diego Garcia has been used in US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the British government has argued that it would not be right for the Chagossians to be allowed home because of security concerns.
Two thousand Chagossians were forced to leave the islands, and resettled in nearby Mauritius and the Seychelles, in an operation that one US newspaper described at the time as an “act of mass kidnapping”.
The Chagossians won their case in 2000 and Robin Cook, then British Foreign Secretary, promised to get them back home. But, kissing Bush’s butt was more important for Tony Blair. The Brits reneged on their promise and used an “Order in Council” - which forbade parliamentary debate - to keep folks from returning home.
Ain’t it wonderful what bringing democracy to the world really means?
Posted: Wed - May 23, 2007 at 12:35 PM