More than five decades ago, Britain began forcibly displacing an entire Indigenous people from their Indian Ocean archipelago so that it could build a military base with the US. The UK itself has acknowledged that that was shameful; one rights group says it has committed crimes against humanity. Now Britain has taken a significant step towards addressing that injustice. The transfer of the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, under a deal announced yesterday, will allow first- and second-generation islanders to return and draws a symbolic line under empire in Africa.
For Conservative leadership candidates, this was a chance to whack Labour with the union jack, though Liz Truss’s government began this process. “Weak, weak, weak!” wrote James Cleverly, who first announced these negotiations as foreign secretary. His rivals called it “shameful” and a “dangerous capitulation”. Nigel Farage claimed that the US would be furious, as Washington issued a statement welcoming the agreement. A deal on this critical strategic asset would hardly have been struck without US approval and discussion with India. Mauritius will guarantee the operation of the US- and UK-run base on Diego Garcia for 99 years.
