Where in the world is Diego Garcia?

Islanders take first steps home after a landmark court victory

The Chagos Islands - a web guide

FOUR decades after they were evicted from their island homes by British colonial authorities, the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands came a step closer to realising their dream of returning home yesterday after the High Court issued a landmark judgment in their favour.

In a move to reverse what human rights activists regard as Britain’s “crime against humanity”, Lord Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Cresswell ruled that the Government was “irrational” and “unlawful” in its attempts to block the 4,000 inhabitants from returning to their remote archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean. They described as “repugnant” the policy of exiling the population of British subjects.

The ruling marked the second High Court victory in six years for the islanders, who have been living as refugees in Mauritius and the Seychelles.

“This is a very big, historic moment,” said Olivier Bancoult, who has led the legal challenge on behalf of his fellow Ilois, as the former inhabitants of the 65-island archipelago are known.

But celebrations by a small group of islanders in London were tempered by the knowledge that the Government could decide to drag out the battle through the courts.

The islanders suffered a setback after their first legal victory when the Government used a colonial-era “Order in Council” to bar them from returning home. That move was reversed by yesterday’s ruling. But Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, has 28 days to decide whether to appeal.

At the core of the dispute is an accident of history that pitted the rights of a tiny island people against the combined might of America and Britain.

At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s Washington concluded a deal with London to build a huge air and naval base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in what is officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

Unfortunately for the islanders, their presence was regarded as a security threat. British officials duly obliged their American allies by orchestrating their removal. They have languished in exile ever since.

Mr Bancoult, who at the age of 3 was forced to leave his home on the island of Peros Banhos, took up the case in the British courts in 1998 and won his first victory in a High Court judgment two years later.

Robin Cook, then the Foreign Secretary, accepted the ruling and took steps to help the islanders home. But their hopes were dashed a year later after the attacks on 9/11. Once again Diego Garcia became a vital strategic base for US bombers launching attacks on Afghanistan and then Iraq.

Yesterday Mr Bancoult delivered a letter to Tony Blair at Downing Street appealing to the Government to abandon its fight and instead defend the human rights of its citizens.

“The time has come to say sorry instead of wasting more taxpayers’ money in fighting the case. Stop [the legal battle], apologise and work with us to find a solution,” said the Chagos leader.

The islanders have already agreed that the US military base should remain on Diego Garcia and insist that they only propose to repopulate the other main islands in the archipelago that stretches over 150 miles.

But even assuming that the American and British Governments drop their longheld objections, it could still be a long, painful and expensive process to rebuild the communities on the Chagos islands.

No one disputes that the islands are a paradise of white beaches, pristine water and abundant sea life. But four decades after the inhabitants were removed there is no infrastructure to support 4,000 potential residents.

British officials insist that repopulating the islands is impractical. They argue that there is no fresh water and say that over the coming decades global warming could submerge the archipelago, where none of the islands is more than 2m (6ft) above sea level.

Richard Gifford, the lawyer representing the islanders, dismissed the concerns as flimsy excuses. He pointed out that the islands were inhabited by generations of Ilois who thrived for hundreds of years. He predicted that they could rely on heavy annual rainfall for fresh water. The community could create a successful economy supported by rich fishing grounds, agriculture and eco-tourism.

As for the cost of building infrastructure, the islands could be helped by billions of pounds already earmarked for development by the European Union. The islanders have also offered to work as civilian contractors at Diego Garcia, where the Pentagon employs 2,000 Filipinos and Sri Lankans as support staff.

The needs of the US military base, whose creation originally led to their exile, may yet provide the islanders with their best argument for going home.

WHAT THEY SAID

“The object of the exercise is to get some rocks which will remain ours. There will be no indigenous population except seagulls.” Sir Paul Gore-Booth, Foreign Office official, 1966

“Unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius” Diplomat Dennis Greenhill, 1966

“We were crying, we were hanging onto our mothers’ skirts crying, because although we were very young we understood that we were leaving something very valuable behind, and that was our home.” Jeannette Alexis, one of the last islanders to leave

“It is clear from some of the disclosed documents that, in some quarters, the official zeal in implementing those removal policies went beyond any proper limits" Mr Justice Gibbs

“A very sad and by no means creditable episode in British history.” Sir Sydney Kentridge, QC, counsel for the Chagos islanders

US Navy air support base on Diego Garcia 'unaffected' by ruling on islanders' right to return

Diego Garcia air base, with a 3,600m (12,000ft) runway is the base for USAF long range bombers and surveillance aircraft. The island is a restricted zone under UK law.

However, Diego Garcia island represents 44km2 (17mi2) of the total 60km2 of the archipelago and the lease terms allow the US military to restrict access to the main island. Diego Garcia is considered to be the only inhabitable island and the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016.

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