"The UK should pay full and unconditional reparations to generations affected by its forcible displacement of Chagos Islands inhabitants in the 1960s and 70s, an action that constituted a crime against humanity, Human Rights Watch has said.

"The NGO said that individuals should be put on trial for the expulsion of Chagossians when the UK retained possession of what it refers to as British Indian Ocean Territory, or BIOT, after Mauritius gained independence in 1968.

"Forced deportations were carried out so that the largest island, Diego Garcia, could be leased to the US to use as an airbase. Human Rights Watch (HRW) says this was a crime against humanity by both the UK and its transatlantic ally."

#Chagos #ChagosIslands #DiegoGarcia
#HumanRightsWatch
#Colonialism #Mauritius #UKpol #USpol

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/15/chagos-islanders-full-reparations-exile-colonial-crime-human-rights-watch-trial

Earlier thread:
https://aus.social/@jimrhiz/109663566576910905

"Bernadette Dugasse, who was born on Diego Garcia, an island within what is known today as the British Indian Ocean Territory, is seeking judicial review of the government’s approach to the talks … with the support of other former inhabitants and their descendants … “so that the former residents and their families are properly consulted with respect of the negotiations on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands”."

#Chagos #ChagosIslands #DiegoGarcia #Colonialism #Mauritius #UKpol

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/09/negotiations-chagos-islands-sovereignty-legal-challenge-talks-uk-mauritius

Negotiations on Chagos Islands’ sovereignty face legal challenge https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/09/negotiations-chagos-islands-sovereignty-legal-challenge-talks-uk-mauritius #ChagosIslands #Foreignpolicy #Mauritius #Worldnews #Politics #Africa #UKnews #Law

Talks between the Mauritian and British governments are expected to lead to the return of inhabitants of the Chagos archipelago who were forcibly displaced by Britain in the 1960s and 1970s to facilitate the US military base on Diego Garcia.

However, Rosy Leveque of the Chagos Islanders lobby group said, "I feel that history is repeating itself – the same two states who treated my family like cargo are once again negotiating our community’s future without the involvement of the actual community itself…"

#Chagos #ChagosIslands #DiegoGarcia #Colonialism #Mauritius #UKpol

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/02/chagos-islanders-demand-say-as-uk-mauritius-sovereignty-talks-begin

We are fighting for #BLM but we cannot see that #colonisation is not finished. Call #UK to return occupied lands.
Return #ChagosIslands and kick out #USA from #DiegoGarcia island.

#decolonisation