Getty ImagesThe UK has announced it will relinquish sovereignty over a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.
The deal – reached after years of negotiations – will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic move.
This includes the tropical atoll Diego Garcia, used by the United States government as a military base for naval vessels and long-range bombers.
The announcement was made in a joint statement by the Prime Ministers of Britain and Mauritius, ending decades of tense negotiations between the two countries.
The US-UK base will remain at Diego Garcia – a key factor helping the deal move forward at a time of growing geopolitical competition in the region between Western countries, India and China.
The deal is still subject to a treaty, but both sides promised to complete it as quickly as possible.
A statement from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said: “This is an important moment in our relationship and demonstrates our long-standing commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. compliance and the rule of law”.
The leaders also said they were committed to “ensuring the long-term, safe and effective operation of the existing base in Diego Garcia, which plays an important role in regional and global security.”
The treaty would also “redress past wrongs and demonstrate the commitment of both sides to support the welfare of the Chagossian people”.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the benefits of the deal included closing “a potential illegal migration route”.
Dozens of Tamils in Sri Lanka was held in a fenced camp on the island for three years as complex legal battles are being waged over their fate.
It’s unclear what this announcement will mean for them.
The UK will provide a package of financial support to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investment.
Mauritius may also begin a resettlement program on the Chagos Islands, but not on Diego Garcia.
There, the UK will guarantee the operation of the military base for an “initial period” of 99 years.
US President Joe Biden welcomed the “historic agreement” and said it was “a clear demonstration that through diplomacy and cooperation, countries can overcome long-term historical challenges to achieve results.” peace and mutual benefit”.
He said it ensures the future of a vital military base that “plays a vital role in national, regional and global security”.
The Chagos islanders themselves – some in Mauritius and Seychelles, but others living in Crawley in Sussex – have no say in the fate of their homeland.
Some were determined to return to living on isolated islands, some were more focused on their rights and status in Britain, while others argued that the status of the islands should not be resolved by the British. outside.
Isabelle Charlot, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme, said the deal gives hope her family can return to her father’s island “roots”.
The Mauritius government’s resettlement arrangement, she said, means “a place we can call home – where we will be free”.
But Frankie Bontemps, a second-generation Chagossian in Britain, told the BBC he felt “betrayed” and “angry” at the news because “the Chagossians were never involved” in the negotiations.
“We remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future,” he said, calling for the full participation of the Chagossians in drafting the treaty.
Getty ImagesIn recent years, the UK has increasingly faced diplomatic isolation due to its claim to what it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory. Various UN bodies, including the high court and general assembly, overwhelmingly sided with Mauritius and asked what Britain surrendered some called its “last colony in Africa”.
The Mauritian government has long argued that it was illegally forced to cede the Chagos Islands in exchange for its independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.
At that time, the British government negotiated a secret agreement with the United States, agreeing to lease the largest atoll of Diego Garcia to the country for use as a military base.
Britain later apologized for the forced relocation of more than 1,000 islanders from the entire archipelago and promised to return the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for strategic purposes.
But until recently, the UK maintained that Mauritius itself had no legitimate claim to the archipelago.
For decades, the tiny island nation of Mauritius has struggled to win any serious international support on the issue.
A small number of Chagos islanders, who were forced to leave their homes in the late 1960s and early 70s, repeatedly brought the British government to court.
But only recently has international public opinion begun to change.
African nations began to speak in common on this issue, strongly pushing the United Kingdom on the issue of decolonization.
After that, Brexit made many European countries hesitant to continue supporting Britain’s stance in international forums.
The Mauritian government has attacked, accused The British government threatened verbally
And the Mauritians began waging an increasingly sophisticated campaign – at the United Nations, in the courts and in the media – even landed and planted a flag on the archipelago without British permission.
The negotiations that produced Thursday’s deal began under the previous British government.
But the timing of this breakthrough reflects a growing sense of urgency in international affairs, especially in relation to Ukraine, with Britain keen to remove the Chagos issue as an obstacle to gaining more support. more global support, especially from African nations, with the prospect of a second conflict. Trump’s presidency is approaching.
A backlash from some voices in the UK can be expected, even though successive Conservative and Labor prime ministers have both been working towards the same common goal.
Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat said the deal had been “negotiated against Britain’s interests” and that it was “disgraceful” that such negotiations had begun under a Conservative government. player before.
He called it a “shameful withdrawal” that left “allies exposed”, while former secretary of state James Cleverly called it a “weak” deal.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the deal would “redress the wrongs against the Chagossian people of the past but it appears likely that it will continue to perpetrate crimes long into the future”.
HRW senior legal adviser Clive Baldwin said in a statement that there must be meaningful consultations with the Chagossians, otherwise Britain, the US and now Mauritius will be responsible for “a crime”. Colonial evil is still going on.”
But there can be no doubt about the historical significance of this moment.
Half a century or more after Britain relinquished control of almost all of its global empire, it has finally agreed to hand over one of the final pieces of the puzzle. Perhaps they did it reluctantly but also peacefully and legally.
The remaining British overseas territories are: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha , South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands. There are also two sovereign base areas on Cyprus under British administration.
Following the Chagos announcement, the Governor of the Falklands said the islands were safe in British hands.
“The UK’s unwavering commitment to protecting UK sovereignty [of the Falklands] remains unabated,” Alison Blake said in one statement posted to social media.
