On Monday morning the Mauritian ambassador to the United Nations, Jagdish Koonjul, gathered with some displaced residents of the Chagos Islands to raise their country’s flag over the atoll of Peros Banhos. These residents had been expelled by the British fifty years ago.
In a formal ceremony on 14 February 2022, they challenged Britain’s ownership of the Chagos by singing the national anthem to assert their claim over the archipelago.
According to The Guardian, Jagdish Koonjul said ‘We are performing the symbolic act of raising the flag as the British have done so many times to establish colonies. We, however, are reclaiming what has always been our own.’
A plaque was also placed by the flag pole that said ‘Visit of the Mauritius delegation to Peros Banhos archipelago, Republic of Mauritius, in the context of the scientific survey of Blenheim Reef.’
It is also reported that a message by the Mauritian prime minister, Pravind Jugnauth, was pre-recorded and broadcast at the ceremony for the Mauritian officials, media and Chagossians to listen to on the beach.
‘I’m delighted that our Chagossian brothers and sisters are able to travel to their birthplace without any foreign (i.e. British) escort,’ he said.
‘The message I wish to give out to the world, as the state with sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago, is that we will ensure a wise stewardship of its territory-over its maritime security, conservation of the marine environment and human rights, notably the return of those of Chagossian origin.’
The Mauritian prime minister in a phone call to The Guardian shortly after the ceremony said: ‘This is a very emotional moment for me and a very historic time for us because we are able to raise our flag on our own territory’.
In 2019 a resolution by the International Court of Justice for the UK to return the islands to Mauritius was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The prime minister of Mauritius urged the UK to end its ‘unlawful occupation’ of the Chagos Islands.
Britain however, refused to hand over its control. Many of the inhabitants were moved off to the Seychelles and Mauritius in the early 1970s and were never allowed to return.
When asked what might happen if officials from the UK later took away the flag, Jugnauth said ‘I don’t know what they were going to do. If they remove the flag, this will amount to a provocation on their part. The UK is not abiding by international law judgements.’
It has been made clear by the Mauritian government that it is now the time for their legal victories in the international court to be implemented on the ground.
There are also environmental concerns as the debris which has collected on Peros Banhos, and the Salmon islands near the buoys for anchoring implies that the UK governments expressed environmental concerns for the islands have not been followed. Many of the British Indian Ocean Territory signs that warned against littering by visiting yacht crews were not obeyed.
The UK foreign office released a statement which said that ‘The UK has no doubt as to our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, which we have held continuously since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the territory and the UK does not recognise its claim.’
Picture: Getaway gallery
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