In 2021, the Royal Navy rescued a fishing boat carrying dozens of Tamil men, women, and children. They had been drifting for 10 days, fleeing Sri Lanka, hoping to reach Canada and seek refuge there. However, what seemed like relief has turned into a nightmare: They’ve been trapped for three years. “Fate” led them to Diego Garcia, an island many consider to be a “paradise” with a unique history.
The island and its first settlement. Located between the east coast of Africa and the west coast of Indonesia, Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Archipelago. The French colonized it in the 18th century to use as an agricultural settlement. They brought Chagossians, descendants of enslaved people from Africa and India, to work cultivating coconut trees for copra (dried coconut flesh). Over time, the Chagossians developed their own culture and dialect, known as Chagossian Creole.
After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, the British took possession of the island under the Treaty of Paris, incorporating it into the colony of Mauritius. Throughout the 19th century, the small population remained focused on agriculture and fishing. However, things changed dramatically by the late 1960s.
The expulsion of the natives. During the Cold War, the U.S. and the UK struck a deal. They saw the island as a strategic location for a secret military base in the Indian Ocean. In 1965, the British separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory, which included the other 57 islands of the archipelago. By 1966, the U.K. signed a secret agreement with the U.S. to allow the construction of a military base.
Between 1968 and 1973, the British forcibly expelled the island’s indigenous Chagossians to clear the area for the base. They relocated the population to Mauritius and the Seychelles amid allegations of human rights violations. The U.S. leased the island for military use until 2036.
A military base with many secrets. In the early 1970s, the U.S. began establishing a naval and air base in Diego Garcia. Since then, the base has been an important center for military operations in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq, according to The Times. During the 1991 Gulf War and the 2001 war in Afghanistan, the island served as a launchpad for bombing and resupply missions.
Of course, there have also been persistent rumors of covert operations, including claims that the U.S. used the island as a secret CIA detention facility after 9/11. Officially, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London governs the island, though constitutionally separate from the United Kingdom, which leases Diego Garcia to the U.S. The island is home to around 5,000 U.S. military personnel.
Right of return. Since the Chagossians’ expulsion, the legal and political struggle for their return hasn’t ceased. According to CNN, the British Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Chagossians in 2000, granting them the right to return. However, the British government blocked them from doing so in 2004, citing “security reasons.”
In 2019, the International Court of Justice declared the UK’s occupation of the Chagos Islands illegal, increasing international pressure on the country to return the islands to Mauritius.
Local “triumph.” Recently, the BBC reported that the UK has agreed to return the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, with some exceptions. Britain announced plans to cede sovereignty over the islands after decades of negotiations. However, the U.S.-British base on Diego Garcia will remain, which may have been the critical point that allowed the UK to “give in.”
Although the agreement is subject to the signing of the treaty, there appears to be a deal. “This is a seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said in a joint statement. “We are committed to ensuring the long-term, secure, and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia, which plays a vital role in regional and global security,” they added.
Win-win? U.S. President Joe Biden, for his part, welcomed the “historic agreement,” saying it was a “clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes.”
More than 50 years after the British expelled them from the land to “lease” their largest island to the U.S. for unknown purposes, the Chagossians are closer to returning home. However, according to the Associated Press, they won’t return to Diego Garcia, where Britain has guaranteed the operation of the military base for an “initial period” of 99 years.
Meanwhile, the 60 Tamils who sought asylum remain in limbo, unsure of their future or where the UK will send them.
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