The Chagos islands then
¯\(°_o)/¯
What-the-actual-fuck
Chagossians are concerned that they, as the Indigenous people forcibly removed from the islands to make way for the military base between 1967 and 1973, have not been included in the negotiations.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy78ejg71exo
Others view the move as a betrayal of British interests. Mauritius is a country that maintains close ties with China, so critics argue this transfer could open the door to increased Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.
What is often missing from these discussions, however, is the critical historical context that explains why this transfer is happening now, and why the colony was established in the Indian Ocean in the first place.
On October 3rd the British government announced a preliminary deal to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius
The Mauritian government has argued that the deal marks the return of Britain’s last African colony and the righting of a historic injustice. That perspective has caught on internationally; the United Nations General Assembly voted in support of Mauritius’s claim. The reality is much messier.
In 2019 the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding opinion determining that Britain’s separation of Mauritius and the Chagos Islands was unlawful, on the basis that international law forbade a colonial power from dividing a territory prior to independence.
Although unenforceable, that decision galvanised international outrage and became an increasing diplomatic headache for Britain.
One particular worry is the prospect that China may have an easier time snooping if the archipelago is in the hands of Mauritius, which has substantial investment and trade links with the government in Beijing.
Further out, the loss of sovereignty means future Mauritian governments could also call the lease into question
“Mauritius can always renege. When you have sovereignty you can get away with almost anything really,” says Yuan Yi Zhu, a legal academic at Policy Exchange, a think-tank. “Sovereignty is very powerful; a lease isn’t.”
“We don’t want a change in sovereignty without consulting us. We were never consulted.” Peter Lamb, the MP for Crawley, said he has not heard a single local Chagossian voice in favour of ceding the islands to Mauritius.
Pravind Jugnauth, the Mauritian prime minister, has used language that may mean only Chagossians with Mauritian citizenship would be eligible to resettle on the islands, leaving many in Britain or the Seychelles excluded.
Initially taken, after expulsion, to the Seychelles or Mauritius, where many faced marginalisation and racial discrimination, they were eventually offered British citizenship; a sizable community now lives in Crawley, near Gatwick Airport. “The majority of us feel stabbed [in the back] by the UK government: unhappy, disappointed, frustrated,” says Pascalina Nellan, one British-based Chagossian.