Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, participated in the commemoration of the deportation of the Chagossian community which was marked, today, by a wreath-laying ceremony. Prayers were also said by Reverend Gérard Mongelard and a ship’s horn was sounded during the tossing of flowers in the sea.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, Mr Louis Steven Obeegadoo; the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Dr Mohammad Anwar Husnoo; the Former President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Cassam Uteem; the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Sooroojdev Phokeer; the Chairperson of the Chagossian Welfare Fund Board, Mr Louis Olivier Bancoult; several Ministers and Members of Parliament as well as members of the Chagossian community, were present on the occasion.
In his address, Prime Minister Jugnauth recalled that 50 years ago, the last group of our compatriots who lived in the Chagos Archipelago were deported and docked in the quay of Port Louis. The deportation of our countrymen began with the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from our territory by the United Kingdom in 1965, he added.
Today’s commemoration, Mr Jugnauth averred, epitomizes a historical moment for not only the Chagossian community but also the world, because there is a responsibility to ensure that this historical event is never forgotten and that the distress caused by the British and the Americans to the people who lived in the Chagos Archipelago is not overlooked.
Furthermore, he emphasised that since 2014, the Government has been fighting relentlessly to complete the process of decolonisation of the Republic of Mauritius, so that we can finally exercise our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
“As Prime Minister, I consider this a sacred duty to follow in the footsteps of late Sir Anerood Jugnauth (SAJ), who initiated the long journey that enabled us to win the historic advisory opinion before the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” he said.
He went on to say that this mission requires political unity, and, it is in this context that SAJ had set up a Committee where each party seated in the National Assembly is represented by its leader on the Committee. In addition to this, the Prime Minister insisted on the conviction and determination of the Government as regards this fight.
This is why when the countries present at the United Nations were presented with our arguments, they understood the rightness of this approach and we succeeded in convincing the majority of countries to join our battle, he said.
“94 votes against 15 were obtained in favour of our resolution to be voted and to request an advisory opinion before the ICJ to explain the legal implications of excising Chagos from the territory of our Republic,” Mr Jugnauth informed.
He further outlined the developments as regards the Chagos Archipelago, namely: the advisory opinion of the ICJ on 25 February 2019 stating that the decolonisation process has not been legally completed, and called on England to end its illegal occupation; the favorable votes of 116 against 6 at the UN General Assembly for a resolution to give effect to the advisory opinion before 22 November 2019; a legal case against the Maldives to delimit our maritime frontier in front of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in January 2021 and; the delimitation of the maritime frontier between Maldives and Mauritius by the ITLOS in April 2023.
Government’s future goal is to succeed in exercising our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and enable our fellow Chagossians to eventually repatriate to their country as well as to facilitate Chagossian and Mauritian visits to the Archipelago, Mr Jugnauth underscored.
“We proved that this is our territory through our recent visit in February 2022 to Peros Banhos and Salomon Islands, which enabled us to achieve several objectives, including setting up our flag on these islands and the Bleinheim Reef, and erecting a commemorative plaque on Peros Banhos to etch this visit in history,” he stated.
The Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction as regards ongoing negotiations with the United Kingdom adding that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr Rishi Sunak, is on the same wavelength as the former Prime Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Truss regarding discussions on the Chagos.
Other topics covered in the Prime Minister’s speech included: the distribution of medical equipment; donation of computer equipment; the building of sports facilities such as a mini soccer pitch in collaboration with the National Development Unit and; courses dispensed to provide basic ICT courses to Chagossian children and adults to be run by the Mauritius Digital Promotion Agency, all under a project set up by the Chagossian Welfare Fund.
For his part, Mr Bancoult highlighted that today’s commemoration marks the 50th year since the deportation of the Chagossians, a historical moment for the Chagossian Community as it represents the endurance and suffering of our fellow Chagossians following the forced deportation of its population.
The Chairperson underlined, too, that this specific date has been chosen for this commemoration following a historical judgment rendered on 03 November 2000 in the London Court on the case that the Chagos community had lodged against the British Government for the way it treated the Chagossians and for its violation of their human rights.
He went on to say that this ceremony is also a tribute to those Chagossians who have passed away, and to all those who have contributed to the fight against their expulsion from their native Land.
On this note, Mr Bancoult deplored that the Chagossian community could not celebrate All Saints’ Day and mourn for their loved ones in their tombs in Chagos and expressed hope that the Chagossian community will be able to be in their homeland by next year.
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