Forty-six years ago, in violation of international law and UN resolutions, Great Britain seized the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius. When it granted its colony Mauritius independence in 1968, the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and leased Diego Garcia, the main island of the archipelago, to the U.S. After initially denying that the islands were inhabited, British officials forcibly expelled approximately 2,000 Mauritians living in Chagos to make way for American military installations. Since 1966, Britain has allowed the U.S. to use Diego Garcia as a military base under a 50-year lease. The UK has stated that the Chagos will be returned to Mauritius once the islands are no longer required for defense purposes. The current lease expires in 2016 and comes up for renewal in 2014. For years, Great Britain has repeatedly used its power and influence to stymie the peaceful resolution of this dispute. In 2012, Mauritius announced that it would leave the Commonwealth if necessary in order to take the Chagos issue before the International Court of Justice. But the UK immediately amended its declaration relating to the jurisdiction of the court so that the International Court of Justice would not have mandatory jurisdiction if a case was brought against it. In 2010, Britain declared a Marine Protected Area around the archipelago, and in response Mauritius initiated proceedings against the UK under Annex 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The African Union and Non-Aligned Movement have expressed unanimous support for Mauritius over the Chagos issue. Now is the time to do the right thing and begin negotiations over the return of the Chagos Archipelago to its rightful owner, the Republic of Mauritius. The era of colonialism is over.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 16:31:31 +0000
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