A Mauritian-chartered survey ship carrying Chagos Islanders exiled from their homeland by the UK government 50 years ago has left Seychelles bound for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
The 1,130-mile voyage marks the first time Chagossians have been allowed to enter the remote archipelago – cleared of its entire population in the early 1970s to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia – without being under close British military escort.
The trip is going ahead amid a diplomatic face-off between the UK and Mauritius over ownership of the islands. By an overwhelming majority, the UN general assembly accepted in 2019 an opinion by the international court of justice that the Chagos Islands were unlawfully detached from Mauritius by the UK when it granted Mauritius independence in 1968.
The survey will measure the height of Blenheim Reef, one of the outlying Chagos islands, to obtain evidence for a separate hearing before the UN’s international law of the sea tribunal. The case involves a dispute over demarcating the seabed between Mauritius and the Maldives; the tribunal has ruled that the UK has no legitimate claims in the area.
The chartered vessel, Bleu De Nîmes, is a converted former British minesweeper. Onboard are five Chagossians who cannot return permanently to their homes. The head of the delegation is Mauritius’s ambassador to the UN, Jagdish Dharamchand Koonjul.
Prof Philippe Sands QC, the leading lawyer retained by Mauritius, is also on the vessel, as are journalists from the BBC, the Guardian, the Atlantic magazine and Mauritian media. There appear to have been attempts to muzzle publicity about the voyage. It will take up to five days from Seychelles. The trip was delayed because of a cyclone.
As Seychelles disappeared astern, Olivier Bancoult, who has taken a series of landmark cases in UK courts over Chagossians’ right to return to their native islands, said: “We are so excited to be travelling to our birthplace. In previous ‘heritage’ visits [supervised by UK officials], we have always been escorted by British policemen or the army. This time we will be much more free. It’s the first visit organised by the Mauritian government.
“I have brought the birth certificates of my mother and father and my family. I will celebrate my 58th birthday on 15 February. I left my beautiful island, Peros Banhos, when I was four years old. We used to live as one large family; it was paradise. I have spent [decades] in exile.
“I have never given up taking legal cases because I believe our struggle is a just cause. My dream is to be able to settle in my birthplace. The oldest survivor among our exiles is now 100 years old.”
Where are the Chagos Islands?
They are a remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean occupied by the UK as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The largest island, Diego Garcia, is rented to the US as a strategic military base.
What happened to the people who used to live there?
They were forcibly deported from the atolls in the early 1970s to make way for the US base. Most now live in Mauritius, Seychelles or the UK. There is a large exiled community in Crawley, West Sussex. Under the deal with the US, the UK received a discount on the cost of Polaris missiles for its nuclear submarines.
Does anyone else claim the Chagos Islands?
Three years ago the Mauritian government won a landmark case at the international court of justice in The Hague, which found that Britain unlawfully detached the islands from Mauritius before granting it independence in 1968. The UN general assembly subsequently endorsed that ruling. The UK government does not accept the decision, which called on Britain to hand the islands back, arguing that it was only an “advisory opinion”.
What has happened to the islands since the inhabitants were removed?
In 2010 the then Labour government declared the seas around the Chagos archipelago to be a marine protected area. It is one of the largest in the world. The Chagossians believe the decision was taken to prevent them from returning to their homes and former fishing grounds.
Why are the islands in the news now?
A Mauritian nautical survey team is going to examine some of the disputed atolls, in particular Blenheim Reef, to gather evidence for an international law of the sea tribunal. The boat is carrying a number of exiled Chagossians who will be returning to their native waters for the first time while not under the control of the British authorities. The UK government has said it will not impede its research work.
Bancoult said he suspected that the treatment of the Chagossians amounted to racism. “The British government says it is in favour of human rights yet they make a difference between the treatment of Falkland Islanders, for example, and Chagossians,” he said. “Is it because we are black?”
On the quayside before departure, Sands told the Guardian: “I’m amazed. I was hired in 2010 when I was on holiday and got a call from the Mauritian prime minister. He wanted to devise a legal strategy for the return of the Chagos Islands.
“If you would have told me 10 years ago that Mauritius would win three international judgments [against the UK], I would not have been over-optimistic. If you’d said we would be travelling to Chagos in 2022, I’d have been astounded. I will believe it when we set foot on Blenheim Reef, Salomon and Peros Banhos Islands [in the Chagos].”
Originally the voyage was due to have started in the Maldives, which is only 500 miles away – a one-and-a-half day trip, as opposed to the five days required from Seychelles.
Sands explained: “Early in December, Mauritius informed the UK that it would be visiting the Chagos archipelago, to follow up a case before the international law of the sea tribunal. It asked for confirmation from the UK that it would not impede the visit.
“The Mauritius government made clear that if that information was not received by 20 December, it would start fresh proceedings against the UK. The UK blinked and sent a note back saying they would not impede the voyage.
“The Maldives initially said it would have no problems with the trip but then informed Mauritius that it would exercise a right of veto over the delegation and made it clear that journalists would not be permitted. One can assume that the UK had a role in encouraging the Maldives to take steps to limit who participated.”
Sands believes the UK’s hardline resistance is partially because it fears that handing over the BIOT would set a precedent for the loss of the Falklands and Gibraltar. “But there’s no other UK [territory] that involves a case of [territorial] dismemberment [before independence],” he said.
As the ship left, the ambassador Koonjul said: “Our relations with the UK have always remained excellent. We agree to disagree. But we don’t understand how the UK can still claim morally and legally that this is their territory.”
The Foreign Office has been asked for comment.
