PORT LOUIS – MAURITIAN Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam on Thursday welcomed the signing of a “historical” agreement concerning the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, seeing it as a “great victory” for the country.
The deal, formally ceding British control of the Chagos Archipelago to the Mauritian government, was signed on Thursday between Mauritius and Britain.
“This is the culmination of a battle waged by the Mauritian authorities for more than 60 years, marking one of the last chapters in the process of decolonization of Mauritius, which began in 1968,” said the prime minister in a televised broadcast.
“It’s total recognition of our sovereignty on the Chagos, including Diego Garcia,” he added.
Under the agreement, Diego Garcia will remain under British operational authority, with Britain authorized to maintain a military base in cooperation with the United States for an initial period of 99 years.
When Mauritius gained independence from Britain in 1968, London separated the Chagos Archipelago from the rest of the country so that it could lease the island of Diego Garcia to the United States for a military base. Britain then forcibly deported 2,000 Chagossians, who had fought a long legal battle to return.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ruled that Britain’s continued occupation of the islands was illegal and that Chagos was a legitimate part of the Republic of Mauritius. In 2022, Britain agreed to open negotiations with Mauritius for the return of the Chagos Islands.
– Xinhua / CAJ News
