Chagossians: The Unknown British Exiles

Chagossian refugees are appealing to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to make a decision on their right to return to their islands.

They were expelled four decades ago by Britain from their tropical archipelago. This happened during the Cold War to make way for a U.S. military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The base has since been used for military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In May, Britain's High Court dismissed an appeal by the Foreign Office against the Chagossians' return, saying the right to go home was "one of the most fundamental liberties known to human beings".

Jacques Aristide takes a closer look at the Chagossians' struggle to go back to their homeland.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• chagos
• diego-garcia
• islands
• deportation
• UK
• Mauritius
• military
• base

[RafaelFernandeSantos]

The British media, and perhaps the European media in general, will ignore human rights violations when it is perpetrated by their own governments. They save the self-righteous lectures to the 3rd World.

[RafaelFernandeSantos]

No one will learn of their plight from the Western media. The BBC, for example: it's full of paternalistic stories on social tensions and human rights abuses in 3rd World countries. On the Chagos Islands, however, all it says is how much their environmental conditions have improved after the natives were expelled. There was no reporting on the wikileaks cable that recognized that declaring the islands an area of environmental protection was a ploy to avoid giving the islands back to the natives.

[mmc786]

the fact this only has 627 views is testimony to the fact these people are downtrodden...u shall return

[dmax631]

ridiculous

[shedcastle]

UK shame.

[Mwaterfall]

nice work

[masterpervy567]

FUCK usa

FUCK england