Africa-Press – Mauritius. The British government has criticized an eco-tour by Mauritius to the disputed Chagos Islands, which are claimed by Port Louis but administered by London, as a political stunt to enforce its sovereignty.
A ship set sail for the 58-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday for what Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth called a “scientific study” of a partially submerged reef.
He said the eco-friendly expedition would be a “concrete step” towards Mauritius “exercising its sovereignty” over the islands. The Chagos Islands are at the center of a conflict that has lasted for decades.
The United Kingdom separated them from Mauritius in 1965 and leased the islands to the United States to set up the Diego Garcia military base there, forcibly evicting its 2,000 inhabitants and dumping them on Mauritius and the Seychelles.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague unanimously decided that the UK should cede the islands to Mauritius and the resolution was passed by the UN General Assembly.
London continues to ignore the decision, despite mounting international condemnation. He argues that the Diego Garcia military base is vital to his strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
“This is clearly a political statement by the Mauritian government regarding its claims to the Chagos and nothing to do with conservation,” said Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley, home to the largest Chagossian population in the UK.
United. “Their conservation record is abysmal. Last year an oil tanker spilled over 1,000 tonnes of oil off Mauritius and the government was very slow to act.
The UK’s largest Chagossian community group, Chagossian Voices, also responded furiously to the trip. Many Chagossians suffer from discrimination in Mauritius, struggle to access employment and would prefer self-sovereignty to the islands.
“This is an obscenely expensive expedition of vanity conducted without proper consultation with the Chagossian community,” read a statement from Chagossian Voices.
“Many Chagossians are appalled that so much money can be spent in times of economic crisis and while Chagossians remain on the margins of Mauritian society.
The Chagossians are filled with dread that the islands will be handed over to Mauritius. The chosen vessel, a 72m luxury motor yacht, ‘Bleu-de-Nimes’, had been chartered at a cost of more than £700,000, a Chagossian Voices spokesperson claimed.
The Mauritian government did not respond to a request from the Telegraph. More than 20 Mauritian government officials, scientists, journalists and lawyers will make the two-week trip to the Chagos Islands. Chagossians are also on board and will visit islands outside the archipelago where they were fishing.
The UK allowed the visit after Port Louis threatened to take further legal action against London in an international court if it was refused, said Philippe Sands, a leading international lawyer who acted as Council of Mauritius on the Chagos Islands. The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office did not respond to a request for comment from The telegraph.
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