Home to an ultra-strategic US military base on one of its islands – Diego Garcia – the Chagos Archipelago has been emptied of its population by the British government in defiance of the law. For 52 years, its inhabitants have been fighting to return to their native land. A court decision now forces the United Kingdom to do so, which nevertheless refuses to comply. Through the case of the Chagos, Philippe Sands retraces the history of decolonization, that of the wavering British influence and the secret actions of the United States.
In 1971, Great Britain decided to deport nearly 2,000 people living in the Chagos Archipelago, in the Indian Ocean. What purpose ?
Among the 58 islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago, there was one that interested the United States: Diego Garcia. The Americans said to the British, “You didn’t want to follow us to Vietnam, so why don’t you give us this island to use as an airbase?” It was “enough” for that to remove the population of Diego Garcia, about 350 people. The British accepted, but there was a problem. It was the era of decolonization, and it was legally impossible to separate part of a colony. Unless there is no more population on the spot, that this one for example gives its consent to leave its territory… And this is precisely what the British did, who claimed that it did not There was no population in the whole Chagos Archipelago, that they were only seasonal workers, whereas these people had been there since the end of the 18th century.
How were the Chagossians relocated?
They were ordered to leave their land, with 24 hours notice and the right to one suitcase per person. That’s all. They left at night, by boat, in deplorable conditions. And they arrived after five days in Mauritius, where no one was expecting them. They had no money, no accommodation, didn’t know what to do or where to go. They ended up moving into a disused building, where they lived for fourteen years. Little by little, they received sums of money in compensation, until today living in completely correct conditions. But so far they have not been able to return to their native island.
How did you get into this fight?
In 2010, I received a call from the office of the Prime Minister of Mauritius. They had read a book I had written about the illegal invasion of Iraq and decided to hire my services to recover the Chagos. I knew the Diego Garcia base because the English press was worried about what the Americans were doing there with certain prisoners.
– on British territory, I remind you – but I didn’t know anything about this deportation story. I immediately accepted.
Nine years later, in 2019, you find yourself before the International Court of Justice in The Hague
…
And we choose to present the testimony of Liseby Elysée, a resident of Chagos forced to leave her island at the age of seven. We didn’t know how to make the Chagossians exist in this audience. So we chose to project a three-minute, forty-seven-second video during which she tells her story. It is an incredible document. I must say that I had never heard a room sob as I heard it that day. Suddenly, it went beyond the question of law, it became a human subject.
This hearing resulted in a court decision ordering Great Britain to return the archipelago to the Mauritian government. However, nothing happens. Why ?
The British government claims that this is only an advisory opinion. Technically, that’s correct. But this decision has a binding effect for the United Nations, whose organs have complied with the decision of the ICJ. Things have changed in such a way that the British are going to have to reconsider their position.
What is certain is that her time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs means that she is perfectly aware of the file. And that she said she wanted to put an end to this story. The Mauritian government, for its part, is ready to offer a 99-year concession to the Americans to keep Diego Garcia. A solution is therefore possible.
Philippe Sands, Franco-British lawyer, specialized in international law.
Philippe Sands, Franco-British lawyer, specialized in international law.
I would add that the disappearance of the queen will lead many territories to question their links with the crown, from Antigua to Australia via Northern Ireland. The history of the Chagos is part of this now inevitable question: that of the role of the United Kingdom vis-à-vis its former colonies now that the queen has died.
Part of your roots are in Ukraine. What do you think of what is currently being played out there, as the country gained its independence in 1991?
This is also the story of a country refusing the autonomy of a territory that once belonged to it. However, the aspiration to self-determination is stronger than anything. The Ukrainians made this choice 31 years ago and they do not intend to give it up.
According to you, in the Ukrainian case, it is now possible to seize the International Court of Justice in The Hague. How?
It is indeed possible to prosecute Russia, and especially its leaders, directly, for “crime of aggression”. A crime codified in Nuremberg in 1945, over which the International Criminal Court – which deals with the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – does not have jurisdiction. My idea is to create a special criminal court on Russian aggression in Ukraine. And it appears that this proposal, to my great surprise, met with strong support from major countries. Even if some, like France, are opposed to it. I admit, moreover, that I still do not understand Mr. Macron’s attitude on the Ukrainian question.
To read: “The last colony”, Albin Michel editions, €21.90, 230 pages..
