US Naval Base, Chagos Islands "Crime Against Humanity"

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 4:41pm

Picture it... Indian Ocean, 1968.

Mauritius has just been granted independence from the British, to much fanfare. However, two thousand miles away, a little archipelago of 55 islands suffers a very different fate. Y'see, Her Majesty's Government has decided to cling to this tiny patch of ocean for strategic reasons. Uncle Sam has his eye on it, and is prepared to pay for it. In exchange for nuclear weapons, the Brits hand over a lease on the island of Diego Garcia to America. For use as a military complex.

What about the indigenous residents of the Chagos Islands, you ask? How did they feel about that?

Well... nobody cared how they felt. They were rounded up and forcibly expelled from their homeland. Thousands ended up in shanty towns in Mauritius, others ended up in poverty in England. They were never allowed to return.

Their homes were cleared and the land redeveloped as a base for American bombers, submarines, and naval ships. Over they years that passed, they were crucial to raids against Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fast forward to October 2024. After years and years of legal wrangling and negotiations, the Brits finally surrender and hand over ownership of the islands to Mauritius. Justice at last? Not quite. The British will remain in control of the lease to America until 2090. After this date, it is possible that native Chagossians will finally be able to return to their home. 3rd generation, 4th, 5th, who knows.

The ongoing legacy of British colonialism.

Sad.

British Control over Chagos Islands 1814 - 2024