International Business Times – by Adam Ereli
Russia’s annexation of Crimea has sent shivers throughout the international community because it revives the practice of using force to settle territorial disputes. The United States and the European Union have responded with serious sanctions on Russia in order to dissuade others from taking similarly destabilizing moves. In Asia, for example, China has laid claims to islands currently held by Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, not to mention the long-standing Chinese assertions of sovereignty over Taiwan. China’s rapid military buildup and its aggressive diplomacy validate concerns that these disputes could escalate.
Forty-six years ago, in violation of international law and UN resolutions, Great Britain seized the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius. When it granted its colony Mauritius independence in 1968, the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and leased Diego Garcia, the main island of the archipelago, to the U.S. After initially denying that the islands were inhabited, British officials forcibly expelled approximately 2,000 Mauritians living in Chagos to make way for American military installations.
Since 1966, Britain has “allowed” the U.S. to use Diego Garcia as a military base under a 50-year lease. The UK has stated that the Chagos will be returned to Mauritius once the islands are no longer required for defense purposes. The current lease expires in 2016 and comes up for renewal in 2014.
For years, Great Britain has repeatedly used its power and influence to stymie the peaceful resolution of this dispute. In 2012, Mauritius announced that it would leave the Commonwealth if necessary in order to take the Chagos issue before the International Court of Justice. But the UK immediately amended its declaration relating to the jurisdiction of the court so that the International Court of Justice would not have mandatory jurisdiction if a case was brought against it. In 2010, Britain declared a Marine Protected Area around the archipelago, and in response Mauritius initiated proceedings against the UK under Annex 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The African Union and Non-Aligned Movement have expressed unanimous support for Mauritius over the Chagos issue.
http://www.ibtimes.com/diego-garcia-dispute-time-resolve-international-disagreements-1563753
Diego Garcia is a place of evil. The Chagossians whom had lived on
Diego Garcia for generations, were thrown off the island with only a
suitcase onto the slums of Mauritius with no means of caring for
themselves. The UK & US called the island uninhabited. A marine
reserve was invented to keep the Chagossians from returning which
is a farce as the lagoon is highly polluted with human waste and nuclear
waste. The coral are dying. There are floating torture chambers on the
island. The 2014 lease has an optional 20 yr extension which of course
will be renewed. Over 1,100 pet dogs were gassed. The donkeys
have all but disappeared. This is the largest US base outside the US.
The US/UK brought in workers from other islands but refused to hire
the Chagossians saying they were untrainable. The Chagossians cannot
even visit their loved ones at the cemetery. The island is being over-run
by aggressive plants which are not indigenous to the island. Theft of
an island and crimes against humanity.
Well said Leita
Thanks. Their villages still stand today.
Time to nuke the place like an angry Dad.
“Now neither of you has it.”.
“In 2012, Mauritius announced that it would leave the Commonwealth if necessary in order to take the Chagos issue before the International Court of Justice.
But the UK immediately amended its declaration relating to the jurisdiction of the court so that the International Court of Justice would not have mandatory jurisdiction if a case was brought against it. In 2010, Britain declared a Marine Protected Area around the archipelago, and in response Mauritius initiated proceedings against the UK under Annex 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
As usual, when confronted with evidence of their crimes, they simply change the rules.
The annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii was not a very pretty story
either but not has pitiful as what was done to the Chagossians.
When the Chagossian’s were dumped on Mauritius with no money
or skills, they died of strokes, heart attacks, became prostitutes,
drug addicts. The courts would side with them one time then appeals
would reverse the decision. And so it went.