Chagos Islands: negotiations between London and Mauritius on the sovereignty of the archipelago have started
Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands.
© Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation
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3 mins
Port-Louis announces the opening of diplomatic negotiations with London over the 57-year-old territorial dispute over the Chagos Archipelago, whose main island, Diego Garcia, is occupied by an American military base.
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With our correspondent in Port-Louis
,
Abdoollah Earally
Formally announced last November by Port-Louis and London, these negotiations, desired for half a century by Mauritius, have finally started.
The information was communicated by the Prime Minister of Mauritius during his wishes to the nation.
Pravind Jugnauth did not provide any other details, neither on the timetable for the
negotiations
, nor on the representatives of the two parties.
"
Mauritius and Great Britain have decided to start negotiations on the question of the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago
", declared the head of the Mauritian government.
For James Cleverly, the English Foreign Minister, it is a question of discussing “
the British territory in the Indian Ocean
”.
What Port-Louis has carefully avoided repeating.
Mauritius and London hope to reach an agreement early this year.
The Mauritian government does not want the Americans to leave the Diego Garcia base.
Diplomatic sources say he wants commercial, financial and security benefits from any deal with London.
A co-management project is even mentioned.
Great Britain
, for its part, wants a quick agreement on the territorial dispute as well as a solution for the Chagossian population, expelled from the archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s. At the same time, the United Kingdom still wants exercise its rights on the American military base of Diego Garcia, until 2036.
► To read also: Chagos: these islands sacrificed on the altar of a strategic agreement
But officially, the two countries announce an agreement in international law to resolve all outstanding issues.
If London chose the negotiations, it is thanks to a series of international initiatives of Mauritius and legal actions carried out by the former inhabitants of Chagos.
These actions ended up isolating and embarrassing London.
The coup occurred in May 2019 with a United Nations resolution calling for the recognition of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos and the departure of the British from the territory.
"
Crimes against humanity
"
About 2,000 natives of the archipelago had been expelled from their land by the British to pave the way for the American base at Diego Garcia.
Among them, Olivier Bancoult, in Mauritius since the age of 4.
For more than 40 years, he has been fighting with one objective: to "
return
" to his land.
Having forced the Chagossians to leave their islands for the installation of the military base is a deportation which is reprehensible, which can be judged as a crime against humanity.
Olivier Bancoult, leader of the Chagos refugee group
Abdoollah Earally
Will the Indian origin of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak weigh in favor of the Indian diaspora, very present in Mauritius?
The inhabitants of the archipelago have their say.
A lobby group says the future is decided "
without the involvement of the community itself
".
The links between Rishi Sunak and Maurice are also woven through accusations of tax evasion concerning his wife.
Akshata Murty owns 5% of the shares of IMM, a Mauritian front company specializing in tax evasion for Indian taxpayers.
A scandal that the English press highlighted before his accession to the post of Prime Minister, reports our correspondent in London,
Sidonie Gaucher
.
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