Britain To Hand Sovereignty Of Chagos Islands To Mauritius

[Streetwalker]

The expulsion of the Chargassians is/was the issue here not really the sovereignty . Allowing them to return is the right thing to do and rights a long term wrong . That we or rather the US retains the strategic military base makes it a good deal for everyone .

[Borg Refinery]

The United Kingdom Foreign Office on Thursday said it had reached an agreement to hand over the rule of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

It said the status agreement secured the long-term status of a strategic military facility used by both British and US forces on the largest island of Diego Garcia.

The UK began negotiations over the Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, in 2022.

Why did the UK agree to this?
The United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice, previously declared the UK's administration of the islands "unlawful" and said it must end.

To make way for the military base, native Chagossians were forced to leave the central Indian Ocean territory by 1973.

Those expulsions are seen as one of the most unjust episodes in Britain's modern colonial history. Chagossians have fought for decades to be able to return to the islands.

UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said the agreement meant the status of the base would be legally secure.

"This government inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat, with contested sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges."

"Today's agreement secures this vital military base for the future."

Deutsche Welle