More than five decades ago, Britain began forcibly displacing an entire Indigenous people from their Indian Ocean archipelago so that it could build a military base with the US. The UK itself has acknowledged that that was shameful; one rights group says it has committed crimes against humanity. Now Britain has taken a significant step towards addressing that injustice. The transfer of the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, under a deal announced yesterday, will allow first- and second-generation islanders to return and draws a symbolic line under empire in Africa.
For Conservative leadership candidates, this was a chance to whack Labour with the union jack, though Liz Truss’s government began this process. “Weak, weak, weak!” wrote James Cleverly, who first announced these negotiations as foreign secretary. His rivals called it “shameful” and a “dangerous capitulation”. Nigel Farage claimed that the US would be furious, as Washington issued a statement welcoming the agreement. A deal on this critical strategic asset would hardly have been struck without US approval and discussion with India. Mauritius will guarantee the operation of the US- and UK-run base on Diego Garcia for 99 years.
After years of campaigning by islanders, the British government was dragged to the table by pressure from African states and legal rulings. In 2019, the international court of justice ruled the continuing occupation illegal and the UN general assembly backed, by 116 to six, a motion setting a six-month deadline for withdrawal. Two years later, the UN’s special international maritime court rejected the UK claim to sovereignty. The government should be commended, not castigated, for observing international law.
Those asking what this means for the UK might consider what it means for the Chagossians. Britain’s original sin has compounded over the years. Many have died since they were forced into exile. Islanders will not have the right to resettle on Diego Garcia, though if they are allowed to work on the base they would presumably live on the island. Olivier Bancoult, chair of the Chagos Refugee Group, welcomed the decision but said Chagossians will “raise their voices” if Mauritius does not fulfil its responsibilities. They were not adequately heard even in these negotiations. Chagossians don’t see Mauritius as a disinterested guarantor of their rights; a significant number wanted self-determination.
Chagossians are descended from enslaved Africans trafficked by the French to work on plantations. The sins of the 1960s and 70s were both enabled and defended by civil service racism; one official referred to the islanders as “a few Tarzans and Man Fridays”. They were mostly thrown into immiseration in Mauritius and Seychelles. Until 2002 they were unable to claim right of abode in the UK and British citizenship, and many of the original islanders’ descendants are still unable to do so. The trauma has endured.
While some are joyful at the prospect of returning, others now see little to go back to and would rather focus on ensuring adequate reparations and their rights in the UK and elsewhere. Little of the £40m “support package” announced by the government in 2016 has been disbursed. The creation of a new trust fund, and how it is spent, will be key. Wrongs cannot always be undone, especially when so much time has passed. But redress is essential and this announcement should be the start of that process, with Chagossians at its heart.