No. of Recommendations: 3
BBC: Diego Garcia: What is on the secretive UK-US island in the Indian Ocean?This article is from
September. Two months before the US election. There was already pressure to resolve this, at least in part because Sri Lankan Tamils claimed asylum here, and were being held in limbo for three years already.
We wanted to cover a historic court case being held over the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils, the first people ever to file asylum claims on the island, who have been stranded there for three years. Complex legal battles have been waged over their fate and a judgement will soon determine if they have been unlawfully detained.
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Agreements signed in 1966 leased the island to the US for 50 years initially, with a possible extension for a further 20 years. The arrangement was rolled over and is set to expire in 2036. [the US maintains dominant control even though the Brits "own" it]
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In recent years, the territory has been costing the UK tens of millions of pounds, with the bulk of this categorised under “migrant costs”. Communications obtained by the BBC between foreign office officials in July regarding the Sri Lankan Tamils warn that “the costs are increasing and the latest forecast is that these will be £50 million per annum”.
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Mauritius, which won independence from the UK in 1968, maintains that the islands are its own and the United Nations' highest court has ruled, in an advisory opinion, that the UK's administration of the territory is "unlawful" and must end. [we can't ignore this if we are asserting that China's claims are invalid by the same court]Actually, the US election has had some effect. Dope's characterization lacked context, though. The Brits want to conclude negotiations (which have been going on for years) before the convict takes office and throws a monkey-wrench into it. It was actually settled in Oct, but a new Mauritius PM wants some modifications to the agreement.
theguardian.com - Mauritius holds out on chagos islands deal over diego garcia leaseAfter decades of negotiations, Britain agreed to cede sovereignty over the islands to the government of Mauritius in October, on condition that a UK-US military base could continue operating on the largest island, Diego Garcia.
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Britain kept control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius regained independence in the 1960s. In doing so, it evicted thousands of Chagossians who have since mounted a series of legal claims for compensation in British courts.
