by Keith Richmond
THE Chagos islanders summarily evicted by the British government in 1971 have promised to fight on after last week losing their long-running legal battle to return to their homes on the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Olivier Bancoult, who has led the campaign for the islanders’ return, said: “We are shocked and deeply disappointed at this reversal of previous decisions. But we, the Chagossian people, will not give up. We will continue our struggle in consultation with our lawyers and we shall decide where to go next.”
Their solicitor Richard Gifford described the islanders’ treatment as “shameful” and said he hoped the European Court would rule that they are protected by human rights legislation.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North, said: “We won the case in the High Court and at the United Nations so we are not giving up now. The fight goes on.”
The Chagos islanders had previously won the right to return to 65 islands – all except the main one of Diego Garcia where there is an enormous American military base. But a narrow 3-2 ruling by the Law Lords overturned the islanders’ earlier victory in a legal battle which began ten years ago.
More than 2,000 men, women and children were forced out of their homes on the British colony when it was handed over on a long-term lease to the US government in the 1960s.
Lawyers for the islanders argued that the British government did not have the power to remove their right of abode. They cited Chapter 29 of Magna Carta which says: “No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or exiled or otherwise destroyed but by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.”
But Lord Hoffmann said the right of abode was a “creature of the law” and added: “The law gives it and the law may take it away.” Lord Rodger and Lord Carswell agreed while Lord Bingham and Lord Mance dissented.
The US state department argued that the islands might be useful to terrorists and Lord Hoffmann said the government was entitled to legislate for a colony in the security interests of the United Kingdom.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband welcomed the judgement as a vindication of the government’s decision to appeal.
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