UK accuses Mauritius of political stunt over ‘scientific visit’ to Chagos Islands

Chagossians in the UK: “This is an obscenely expensive vanity expedition carried out without proper consultation.”

A British Government MP and Chagossians in the UK have slammed a Mauritian Government-led visit to the disputed Chagos Islands as a “political stunt”.

As a “concrete step” towards Mauritius “exercising its sovereignty” over the 58-island archipelago, a vessel set sail for the islands on 8 February 2022 for what Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth described on the eve as a “scientific study”.

Over 20 Mauritian government officials, scientists, journalists and lawyers will make the two-week journey to the Chagos Islands.

Some Chagossians are also on board and they will visit islands on the outside of the archipelago.

But the “historic” move has been blasted by Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley, which houses the largest Chagossian population in the UK.

“This is clearly a political statement by the Mauritian government with regards to its claims on the Chagos and nothing to do with conservation,” he told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

“Their (Mauritian Government’s) record on conservation is abysmal. Last year, there was a tanker spillage of over 1,000 tonnes of oil off Mauritius and the government was very slow to act.”

Harsher criticisms came from Chagossians themselves.

The Telegraph reported that the UK’s largest Chagossian community group, Chagossian Voices, “responded with fury” to the voyage.

“This is an obscenely expensive vanity expedition carried out without proper consultation with the Chagossian community,” Chagossian Voices were cited as claiming.

A Chagossian Voices spokesperson reportedly alleged that the vessel chosen, a luxury 72-metre motor yacht, the “Bleu-de-Nimes”, has been rented for £700,000.

“Many Chagossians are appalled that such a huge sum of money can be spent at a time of economic crisis and when Chagossians remain on the margins of Mauritian society. Chagossians are filled with dread at the prospect of the islands being handed to Mauritius.”

The United Kingdom separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965 and leased the islands to the United States to set up the Diego Garcia military base, forcefully deporting its 2,000 inhabitants and dumping them in Mauritius and the Seychelles. 

In 2019, the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled unanimously that the UK should cede the islands to Mauritius and the resolution was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

London continues to ignore the ruling, despite growing international condemnation. It argues that the Diego Garcia military base is vital to its strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Telegraph claimed the UK gave permission for the visit after Port Louis threatened to bring a new court case against London in an international court if it was refused.

Original article at The Telegraph