“outrageous, unlawful and a breach of accepted moral standards.”- Sir Sydney Kentridge QC

A British court has just issued a decision that has significant implications for both the former inhabitants of Diego Garcia and for the U.S. military:

In a decision that could have ramifications for the huge US airbase on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a British high court ruled earlier this month that attempts by the British government to keep the former residents of the Chagos islands from returning to the islands (which include Diego Garcia), even after they had won a court ruling in 2000 to do so, were “outrageous, unlawful and a breach of accepted moral standards.”

The British government expelled the Chagossians, the original inhabitants of the islands, some 40 years ago so the US could build the airbase at Diego Garcia, but a British court ruled in 2000 that the islanders had a right to return to their home. After the decision, then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the British government would not appeal the ruling.

But under pressure from the US, London changed directions in 2004, using what was called “Royal Perogative” to overrule the original decision. Government lawyers had argued that in a territory like Diego Garcia, the Queen (and her ministers) have unlimited power and can use Royal Perogative powers in these territories, despite the fact that she lost the right to use such powers in Britain in the 17th century. [Link]

NPR’s Morning Edition also featured a story about this on Tuesday morning. Roughly 2000 people were forced to leave Diego Garcia at the hands of the British in the 1960s. Domestic animals were gassed and most inhabitants were relocated to slums in the nation of Mauritius. The expulsion by the British involved a deal that would lease the island to the U.S. who needed it as a strategic base during the Cold War (good place for long-range bombers to take off from). The trade? The U.S. gave the Brits the Polaris missile system. About 2000 U.S. military personnel now live there. Ironic when you consider the number of people forced to leave was almost exactly the same.In 1965 the British government misled the U.N. into accepting what they were doing as okay because Diego Garcia didn’t really have any inhabitants:

For construction of the naval base, the US demanded that the island be free of any inhabitants. Washington described this as a “population problem” which had to be resolved. British officials responded by organising what was described as “the complete sterilisation of the archipelago.” This involved the total withdrawal of all essential services, the cutting off electrical and medical supplies and an end to the provision of food supply ships. Information on this forced evacuation came to light with the release of documents from the 1960s. Sir Paul Gore-Booth, a leading figure in the British Foreign Office, wrote at the time, “we must be very tough about this” and that “there will be no indigenous population [on Diego Garcia] except seagulls.”

One diplomat declared in another document, “Unfortunately along with the birds go a few Tarzan and Man Fridays whose origins are obscure, and who are being hopefully whisked on to Mauritius…” [Link]

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p>Actually, the origins of the original inhabitants of Diego Garcia, the “Tarzans,” was quite well known:

Ilois or ÃŽlois (also known as Chagossians) are a group of Creole-speaking people, mostly of Indian descent (along with populations from Madagascar, Mauritius, and Mozambique). They inhabited the island of Diego Garcia and other parts of the Chagos Archipelago for more than a century. Most arrived as fishermen, farmers, and coconut plantation workers during the 19th century, while the very first Ilois were probably brought to the Archipelago as slaves by the French in 1776. [Link]

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p>The U.S. government is of course against the return of any of the original inhabitants to Diego Garcia. Why? Come on. Must you ask? Terrorism of course:

U.S. officials oppose the return of the natives to any of the 65 islands in the archipelago. Resettlement would jeopardize the “unparalleled security” of the military base, said Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., assistant secretary of state for political- military affairs. His Nov. 16, 2004, letter was quoted by the judges.

A follow-up letter said allowing natives to the outer islands risked “terrorists infiltrating the islands,” using “missiles and electronic devices,” the judges wrote.

Still, the other islands are visited by yachts and a cruise ship, the judges wrote. The judges said a British treaty granting the U.S. the right to build a base didn’t give it the right to veto the islanders’ return to islands other than Diego Garcia.

The U.S. stores B-52 bombers and B-2 “Stealth” jets on Diego Garcia that were used to bomb sites during U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 40 British military personnel, 1,000 Americans and 2,400 support workers of various nationalities live there now, according to Parliamentary testimony. [Link]

And some of the “Tarzans” would still like to return home:

About 850 islanders who were removed from the islands are alive today, and another 4,300 have been born since they last left, according to Gifford. [link]

See related posts: Torture on Diego Garcia?