Everything about Chagossians totally explained
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's a significant 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. Their native language is
Chagossian Creole, currently spoken by their descendants in
Mauritius and the
Seychelles. It is part of the
Bourbonnais Creole family.
The very first Chagossians were 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(External Link
)
On
May 11,
2006, the Chagossians won their case before the High Court, which ruled that they're entitled to return to the Chagos Archipelago. It remains to be seen whether when or how the judgement might be implemented in practice.
(External Link) 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.
(External Link)
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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Chagossians'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://chagossians.totallyexplained.com">Chagossians Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
