The UK Chagos Support Association

We are very pleased to learn that a group of Labour party members have formed the Labour Friends of Chagos Islanders.

The aims of the group (which has a website here) are to campaign “for justice; the restoration of the Chagos islanders’ right to return and for a Marine Protected Area in the Chagos Archipelago that makes provision for resettlement”. Its director is Kieran Roberts.

The group has started by sending the following letter to the five candidates for the leadership of the party:

To Diane Abbott, Ed Balls, Andy Burnham, David Miliband, Ed Miliband,

‘Renewal’ is a term that has been used a lot in this leadership contest and rightly so. At a time when our party is in opposition and deciding on a new leader, this is a rare opportunity to renew some of the policies we adopted whilst in government. One in urgent need of renewal is our policy on the Chagos Islands.

Our party under Harold Wilson’s leadership exiled the Chagossians from their islands and as near as 2008 we reinforced the exile from their homes. Whilst the Labour government showed a commitment to the conservation of the Chagos Islands, we missed a golden opportunity to restore the right to return in April this year when proposing the designation of a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Conservation and human rights must go hand in hand and whilst we ignore the Chagossians’ right to return, we violate a fundamental human right, enshrined in Magna Carta, UN human rights instruments and international law.

We need to seize this opportunity to renew and remove this stain on our record on human rights. The question we put to you as candidates for the leadership of our party is:

Will you, if elected as Leader of the Labour Party, renew our current policy on the Chagos Islands and make provisions in the current MPA proposals and allow the Chagossians the right to return?

Best regards,

Kieran Roberts
Director
Labour Friends of Chagos Islanders

Despite the initially positive response from Robin Cook after the court judgement in 2000 in favour of the Chagossians, New Labour seemed to change its mind after 11th September 2001, obstructing the islanders in their struggle for justice at every turn, most of all with the now infamous Orders in Council of 2004, almost exactly six years ago.

So it’s great to hear an organised voice from the Labour ranks standing up for justice on this issue. Hopefully a new leader will have the courage to make a break with the past.

Just a quick post to plug Sean Carey’s great piece on the Gaurdian’s Comment is Free yesterday, about uproar in Mauritius over the Marine Protected Area, and what the new UK government should do about it.

Carey writes: “The new UK coalition looks likely to succeed in bringing to an end this most shameful episode of recent British colonial history which three successive foreign secretaries – Jack Straw, Margaret Beckett and David Miliband – actively entrenched by overturning Robin Cook’s decision in November 2000 to restore the right of return of the Chagos islanders.”

The new Conservative MP for Crawley, Henry Smith, has pledged to support the islanders in their struggle for justice, and has joined the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Chagos. Smith used his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 27 May to highlight the Chagossians’ plight and pledge his support. Here’s what he said (full Hansard transcripthere):

I want to mention one special community that has come to live in Crawley. I mentioned that many people have chosen to settle there from around the country and around the world. Citizens of the Chagos Islands, particularly of Diego Garcia, were exiled from their home islands in the late 1960s. A decision was made by Order in Council—it did not come to this place, which I think was quite wrong—to make way for an airbase on Diego Garcia, which meant that those people were deported from their home island against their will, and they had to live in relative poverty in Mauritius and the Seychelles. Seven years ago, they started to arrive at Gatwick airport and they have been very successful in making Crawley their home. There is now a population of nearly 2,000 Chagossian and Diego Garcian people and their descendants in Crawley. I look forward to arguing on behalf of those people, during my time as Member of Parliament for Crawley, that they have a human right to return to their islands should they so wish, either to visit or to live there permanently. I believe that, having been removed in quite a shameful way, they should be allowed to claim that human right. It is an honour to be given the opportunity to speak on their behalf in my maiden speech.

Many of Smith’s colleagues in the coalition government, including William Hague and Nick Clegg, have spoken out in support of the islanders too. Let’s hold them to it.

After days of haggling, the UK now has a new Government.  With it comes new hope for supporters of the Chagossians’ right of return: both the Foreign Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as several other key figures, have already pledged to take action on the issue.

Unsurprisingly, former Tory leader William Hague was one of the first people to be appointed to the cabinet, taking over from David Miliband at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  This is positive news, as Mr Hague is on record as saying:

I can assure you that if elected to serve as the next British government we will work to ensure a fair settlement of this long-standing dispute.

In this same letter, Mr Hague also referenced his deputy, Keith Simpson, who has made two parliamentary speeches on the Chagossians’ right of return in recent months, declaring:

“There is a great deal of sympathy from those on both sides of the house for the plight of the Chagossians, and their interests must be placed at the heart of any decision made about their homeland.”

“…there should at the very least be a timetable for the return of those people to the outer islands. The Foreign Office should recognise that the House of Commons feels very strongly on that”.

Other Conservatives who have spoken out in favour of the right of return, or who have otherwise expressed their support, include Henry Smith (the new MP for Crawley), Mark Field, Peter Bottomley, Bill Cash, Lorraine Fullbrook, Helen Grant and Anne McIntosh (expected to be re-elected in Thirsk and Malton later this month).

For the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg’s office has previously written to state:

“Nick and the Liberal Democrats believe that the Government has a moral responsibility to allow these people to at last return home.”

This is a strong and unequivocal statement from the UK’s new Deputy Prime Minister, perhaps the second most powerful man in the country, and adds to the reams of pledges of support that other senior Liberal Democrats such as Jo Swinson have given.

The coalition talks between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats took several days to complete, with difficult policy compromises being made by each side.  However, on the issue of the Chagossians’ right of return, there should be no difference between the two parties.

Labour failed to deliver justice for the Chagossians because of the unwillingness to perform a U-Turn and because of a disappointing lack of leadership.  Whilst the case for resettlement was unanswerable, the political will was nowhere to be seen.  Thankfully, the new coalition government offers a fresh start and a real opportunity for a swift and just resolution to the saga.

The coalition government has already written its policy on the Chagos islands.  Let’s hope that the right to return can be implemented swiftly  and with conviction.

The election is out of the way, but the dust has not settled. The parties are still negotiating to see what sort of government will be formed, with Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg approaching the Conservatives first, but (so far) keeping his options open to do a deal with Labour instead if he can’t come to an agreement with the Tories.

Generally speaking there’s reason for the Chagos islanders to be hopeful. Senior Conservative and Lib Dem figures have spoken out to say they would back the islanders’ right to return if they were in power.

Labour, on the other hand, has insisted on continuing to fight the costly legal battle against this vulnerable group of people, with a case pending at the European Court of Human Rights, after legal avenues in the UK were exhausted.

But even if Labour are able to stay in government with the help of the Lib Dems, they will be under pressure to address the Chagos issue.

In the constituency of Crawley, where the bulk of the UK’s Chagossians live, there is reason to be hopeful too. While long-standing supporter Laura Moffat has stepped down, the new Conservative MP Henry Smith has pledged to join the All Party Parliamentary Group on Chagos (of which Moffat, a Labour MP, was also a member) and called the eviction of the islanders an “appalling episode in British history”. He said the islanders were being denied their human rights.

Why not write to your new MP and urge them to put their support behind the Chagos islanders? If Britain’s new government wants to make a break with the past and earn itself a reputation for fairness and integrity, what better way to start than to finally right this terrible wrong?

A message from our chair, Roch Evenor:

“It is not feasible for the Chagossians to be resettled in the Chagos Archipelago, namely, Salomon and Perhos Banof,” was the statement made by FCO after their feasibility studies in 2002. This would appear to be far from the truth as we now learn that resettlement was not seen as a problem in the original study. Therefore, we are urging all of our supporters and friends to put pressure on your prospective MPs to support the Chagossians struggle after the 6th May 2010. Presently, we have Nick Clegg and William Hague’s undertakings plus the other APPG members.

We need your support.

Click here for more information on how to lobby your parliamentary candidates.

A report in yesterday’s Times reveals that a consultant who worked on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2002 feasibility study into resettlement of the Chagos islands claims the study was manipulated to bolster the government’s opposition to resettlement.

This confirms what the UK Chagos Support Association has long suspected about a study that, in the words of former High Commissioner to Mauritius David Snoxell, “reached the conclusions that officials wanted to hear”.

Stephen Akester of consultants MacAlister, Elliott and Partners, which worked with Posford Haskoning on the study, says he concluded that the islands could be resettled, and described ways in which it could be done without harming the environment or compromising the operations of the Diego Garcia military base.

But these conclusions, he was later told, “did not survive the discussion with the client” and the final version concluded that resettlement would be precarious and costly (even though the consultants did not consider cost).

The government has repeatedly used the conclusions to defend its decision to block the islanders’ return, and the study is central to the government’s case against the islanders’ right to return at the European Court of Human Rights.

The FCO declined the Times’ request for comment for yesterday’s story, and claims that preliminary drafts of the study (which would show the changes made) no longer exist.

Yet another reason for whatever sort of government we end up with after May 6th to end the ridiculous legal action and finally do the right thing by the Chagos islanders. Hassle your MP and parliamentary candidates to sign up to the right of return being restored by clicking here.

With the UK general election campaign in full swing, supporters of the Chagossians’ right of return have this week received messages of support from two men who are destined to play crucial roles in shaping British politics and foreign policy following May 6.

Firstly, Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague - the man who will be taking over from David Miliband at the FCO pending an election victory by David Cameron’s Conservatives – has said the following:

I can assure you that if elected to serve as the next British government we will work to ensure a fair settlement of this long-standing dispute.

In his letter, which was written in his capacty as Shadow Foreign Secretary, Mr Hague highlighted a recent speech made by his colleague and Shadow FCO Minister Keith Simpson, who pledged that the Conservatives would address the issue of resettlement with an “open mind,” insisting that the Chagossian people “must be placed at the heart of any decisions taken about their homeland” – a stance that couldn’t be more dissimilar from the current Government’s position.

In recent parliamentary debates on Chagos, Conservative MPs such as Mr Simpson, Mark Field, Peter Bottomley, Bill Cash and Anne McIntosh have been vocal in their criticism of the Government’s mistreatment of the Chagossians.  Mr Hague’s apparent endorsement of their views and his commitment to find a “fair settlement” to the issue is a welcome indication of what can be expected from a Conservative administration.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg’s office, whose party would hold the balance-of-power in the House of Commons if the Conservatives were to fall short of an overall majority, has written to say:

“[the] Liberal Democrats take the view that removing the Chagossians in the 1960s was a scandalous decision and this Government has continued to mistreat these people. They have done so in the face of opposition from the UN. Regardless of the legal arguments, Nick and the Liberal Democrats believe that the Government has a moral responsibility to allow these people to at last return home.

We have actively supported their cause in the past and we will continue to aid their campaign to see justice done. We have been appalled that the government has wasted time, money and effort defending the indefensible. It is a disgrace that £2m of taxpayers’ money the government has been squandered in order to uphold this injustice.”

Mr Clegg’s personal support of the Chagossians is bolstered by that of his own Shadow Foreign Secretary, Ed Davey, as well as other leading Liberal Democrat MPs such as Vince Cable, Jo Swinson, Paul Keetch, Lynne Featherstone, Andrew George, Bob Russell, Tom Brake and Norman Lamb – all of whom signed Labour MP Dianne Abbott’s recent EDM on the Chagos islands that called for the right of return to be restored.

With such positive statements coming from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats – not to mention a strong contingent of Labour backbenchers and peers – the Government is now looking more out-of-touch than ever before because of its opposition to restoring the Chagossians’ right of return.  Perhaps Gordon Brown, David Miliband and Chris Bryant would care to reflect on that as they seek re-election over the next three weeks.

The prospects of the Chagossians winning a political solution to their campaign for justice are strong – but we need to apply as much pressure as possible.  Please lobby your MP and parliamentary candidates to sign up to the right of return being restored by clicking here.

Now that the general election has been called (it will take place on Thursday 6 May), we are asking people to lobby all of those who are aspiring to become Members of Parliament – including both incumbent MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates – to sign up to a simple pledge: to support the Chagos islanders’ right of return during the next Parliament.

All of those who are on record as supporting the Chagossians will be added to a list on our website.

Instructions on how to lobby your budding representatives can be found here.

If you are a PPC and would like to be added to our list, get in touch.

Following on from yesterday’s summary of Jeremy Corbyn’s Urgent Question in the House of Commons, here is a brief overview of the concurrent Private Notice Question on the Chagos islands marine protected area (MPA) that was debated in the House of Lords.

Asking the PNQ, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Wallace of Saltaire noted the promise that had been given to MPs on 10 March that parliamentarians would be fully briefed “before” a decision was made on the future of Chagos (a promise that was broken). He also recalled that the FCO’s own Facilitator was on record as saying that “three months” would be required to produce a report on the FCO’s consultation exercise, when, in the event, just three weeks were allowed for its completion.

Lord Wallace further observed that the Government was yet to come up with concrete proposals for the implementation of its planned MPA, which begged the question why its creation had to be announced in such a rushed and undemocratic manner, especially given the pertinent fact that the European Court of Human Rights case to decide the Chagossians’ right of return was still pending.

Although stern, the Lords debate was markedly less heated than the exchange that was simultaneously taking place in the House of Commons, with FCO Minister Baroness Kinnock coming across as much less brash, less defensive, and less dismissive than her counterpart in the other chamber.

For example, she did not go to any lengths to justify the Government’s brazen dismissal of the promise made to MPs on 10 March, as did Chris Bryant, instead choosing to reassure peers that the Government remained committed to “working closely with all interested stakeholders, both in the UK and internationally” – whatever that means.

Nevertheless, Baroness Kinnock did repeat and stick to the Government’s view that the Chagossians have no right of abode in their islands; that the Government is right to contest the Chagossians’ rights in Strasbourg; and that the Government had consulted widely before making its announcement to create an MPA in Chagos.

One interesting – perhaps key – difference between Baroness Kinnock’s answers and those of Chris Bryant was over the crucial point of whether the Chagossian people would be allowed to fish within the Chagos archipelago should their legal right to return be restored later this year. Baroness Kinnock said:

“As my right honourable friend said in the other place, creation of the MPA is without prejudice to the ongoing proceedings in the European Court of Human Rights. Should circumstances change, all options for a marine protected area, including fishing rights, may need to be reconsidered.”

This stands in some contrast to Mr Bryant’s bizarre declaration that “we believe it difficult and next to impossible to create a sustainable fishing regime in the British Indian Ocean Territory.”

So which is it?  Will the Chagossians be allowed a livelihood if their right to return is restored, or not?  Is Mr Bryant’s dismissal of sustainable fishing an idiosyncrasy of his, or does it reflect official Government policy?

These are important points that need answering if the Government’s oft-repeated statement that the MPA is “without prejudice” to the ECtHR judgement is to be taken at all seriously.

Elsewhere in the debate, Labour peer Baroness Whitaker raised concerns that the US base on Diego Garcia was being primed for an assault on Iran.

Meanwhile, Conservative Shadow FCO Minister Lord Howell highlighted the fact that the Government of Mauritius was both angry and dismayed at the UK, and pointed out the seriousness of alienating such an important partner in the Indian Ocean (one that stands to inherit sovereignty over the Chagos islands, no less).

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury wondered how the Government planned to explain to the Chagossian people that the MPA was without prejudice to their right of return, when it effectively squashed their only source of livelihood.

For the full text of the House of Lords debate, click here.
For a video of the House of Lords debate, click here (temporary).

For the full text of the House of Commons Urgent Question debate, click here.
For a video of the House of Commons debate, click here (temporary).