Mauritius, the natives of the Chagos Islands victims of crimes against humanity: they were forced to leave to make way for a US military base

ROME (DIRE agency) – Fifty years after the expulsions imposed by British troops, the government of Mauritius will guarantee the possibility of moving to the Chagos archipelago to all people who are native of it: this was supported by the prime minister of the neighboring island state in the Indian Ocean, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. The announcement was made in a press release the day after the publication of a report by the US NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) which accuses the governments of Great Britain and the United States of having committed crimes against humanity by not allowing the natives of the Chagos to return to their original lands.

Between 1968 and 1973 thousands of inhabitants of the archipelago were forced by the government in London to leave to make way for a military base granted to the United States on the island of Diego Garcia, the largest. Today, thousands of descendants of natives of the Chagos, who spoke a language classified as Creole Bourbonnais, live on the islands of Mauritius, the Seychelles or Great Britain. In the statement, Jugnauth said he had a telephone conversation with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak after the publication of the report of Human Rights Watch. The text claims that the talks discussed the “ongoing negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty” over the islands, which are still claimed by Mauritius.

In fact, the one on the Chagos is an ongoing battle. Diplomatically and also online. On Google Maps, by typing the name of the islands, a sea-blue rectangle appears with the words “British Indian Ocean Territory“, “Biot” in the English acronym. An affront to the government of Mauritius: the Port Louis authorities have threatened to sue the web giant if it does not recognize its sovereignty over the islands. Specifically, Mauritius asks Google to take note of an opinion of the International Court of Justice, supported by a large majority by the UN General Assembly. Especially since even among the internet giants there are those who have already adapted: from Apple’s maps the acronym “Biot” It’s disappeared.