To mark Chagos Day 2014, the UK branch of the Chagos Refugees Group (CRG) are hosting a celebration for Chagossians and supporters. This will take place at the Broadfield Centre in Crawley, West Sussex and be staged on the eve of Chagos Day itself which this year will fall on a Monday. Entry is free and the event will be an opportunity to celebrate a significant day in the calendar for the Chagossian community in the UK.
Chagos Day commemorates the day in November 2000 when the leader of the CRG, Olivier Bancoult, secured a historic High Court victory over the British Government paving the way for a right of return to the Chagos Islands. The victory was subsequently superseded by the undemocratic procedure of enacting two Orders in Council in June 2004- the day of the European Elections and a good day to bury bad news as the story was unsurprisingly missed by the media whose attention was focused elsewhere.
Broadfield Centre,
Broadfield Place,
Crawley, West Sussex
RH11 9BA
4.30-10pm
Friday 31 October 2014
Wednesday 29 October 2014
Commons debate on Chagos Resettlement (28/10/14)
Henry Smith (Crawley, Conservative)
What progress his Department has made with the British Indian Ocean Territory Chagossian resettlement feasibility study; and if he will make a statement.
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
The independent feasibility study on resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory is on track to report by January 2015. Ongoing consultations with interested parties, including Chagossians, are taking place so that all relevant facts are considered in the analysis of the practical costs and risks of resettlement.
Henry Smith (Crawley, Conservative)
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. Given upcoming negotiations on extending the military base on Diego Garcia with the United States, may I have assurances from the Department that the interests of the Chagos islands people will be very much part of those discussions with Washington?
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
That is precisely why we have commissioned the KPMG report. The way that the Chagossians were treated following their removal in the ’60s and ’70s was clearly wrong, and substantial compensation was rightly paid. We welcome the US presence in Diego Garcia. It is an increasingly important asset for both our Governments, but there have been no formal discussions with the US about the possibility of extending the exchange of notes to date.
Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
I met 60 members of the Chagos community in my constituency on Friday—a faithful people but without the right to return they once again feel that will not adequately mourn their dead as they approach All Hallows next week. Their elders are passing away without having recorded their stories of displacement, and their young are finding it increasingly difficult to find salaried employment or to visit their friends in Crawley and other places across the country. They also worry about us ceding sovereignty. Does the Minister agree that we should be doing more for those people, rather than less?
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
I assure the hon. Gentleman that there are no issues of any sort about ceding sovereignty—we should deal with that point straight away. The draft KPMG report, which we were not obliged to undertake, will be out on 17 November, and thereafter there will be time for all those who have been consulted to make such points before the final report early next year. That is why we have included the Chagossians in the testimony.
Peter Tapsell (Father of the House of Commons; Louth and Horncastle, Conservative)
A previous Father of the House and great friend of mine, Sir Bernard Braine, was a passionate advocate of the rights of the inhabitants of Diego Garcia when the whole idea of turning it into a base was launched. In his memory, may I say that I very much hope that the guarantees that he received from the British Government of the time about looking after those people will be fulfilled?
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
My right hon. Friend is right to remind the House of our responsibilities towards the Chagossians, and as I said earlier, the actions of the ’60s and ’70s were clearly wrong and substantial compensation was rightly paid. It is worth pointing out that the British High Court in 2008, and the European Court in 2012, ruled that the compensation was a full and final settlement of the Chagossians’ claims.
What progress his Department has made with the British Indian Ocean Territory Chagossian resettlement feasibility study; and if he will make a statement.
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
The independent feasibility study on resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory is on track to report by January 2015. Ongoing consultations with interested parties, including Chagossians, are taking place so that all relevant facts are considered in the analysis of the practical costs and risks of resettlement.
Henry Smith (Crawley, Conservative)
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. Given upcoming negotiations on extending the military base on Diego Garcia with the United States, may I have assurances from the Department that the interests of the Chagos islands people will be very much part of those discussions with Washington?
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
That is precisely why we have commissioned the KPMG report. The way that the Chagossians were treated following their removal in the ’60s and ’70s was clearly wrong, and substantial compensation was rightly paid. We welcome the US presence in Diego Garcia. It is an increasingly important asset for both our Governments, but there have been no formal discussions with the US about the possibility of extending the exchange of notes to date.
Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
I met 60 members of the Chagos community in my constituency on Friday—a faithful people but without the right to return they once again feel that will not adequately mourn their dead as they approach All Hallows next week. Their elders are passing away without having recorded their stories of displacement, and their young are finding it increasingly difficult to find salaried employment or to visit their friends in Crawley and other places across the country. They also worry about us ceding sovereignty. Does the Minister agree that we should be doing more for those people, rather than less?
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
I assure the hon. Gentleman that there are no issues of any sort about ceding sovereignty—we should deal with that point straight away. The draft KPMG report, which we were not obliged to undertake, will be out on 17 November, and thereafter there will be time for all those who have been consulted to make such points before the final report early next year. That is why we have included the Chagossians in the testimony.
Peter Tapsell (Father of the House of Commons; Louth and Horncastle, Conservative)
A previous Father of the House and great friend of mine, Sir Bernard Braine, was a passionate advocate of the rights of the inhabitants of Diego Garcia when the whole idea of turning it into a base was launched. In his memory, may I say that I very much hope that the guarantees that he received from the British Government of the time about looking after those people will be fulfilled?
Hugo Swire (The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; East Devon, Conservative)
My right hon. Friend is right to remind the House of our responsibilities towards the Chagossians, and as I said earlier, the actions of the ’60s and ’70s were clearly wrong and substantial compensation was rightly paid. It is worth pointing out that the British High Court in 2008, and the European Court in 2012, ruled that the compensation was a full and final settlement of the Chagossians’ claims.
Thursday 16 October 2014
Chagos Islands APPG 44th Meeting October 2014
The Chagos Islands (BIOT) All-Party Parliamentary Group held its 44th meeting on 15 October.
As the new FCO Minister for OTs, James Duddridge, had felt that he was not yet ready to meet the Group Prof. Charles Sheppard, Chairman of the Chagos Conservation Trust and his colleagues Alistair Gammell and John Turner, who had requested a meeting in July, attended the first part of the meeting.
The Vice Chairman (Henry Smith MP standing in for Jeremy Corbyn MP) welcomed the representatives of the CCT and looked forward to hearing about its work. The conservation and environmental aspects of resettlement were discussed. Members were pleased to note that while the CCT mandate was to protect the unique environment of the Chagos Islands, CCT was not opposed to resettlement. Prof. Sheppard and his colleagues thought that Diego Garcia was well suited and ecologically sensible, given the available facilities and infrastructure there, though this was a decision for politicians. Members drew attention to the benefits of resettlement for conservation and the types of employment that Chagossians could undertake, especially on Diego Garcia. They agreed to keep in touch with CCT.
The Group then went on to discuss the PQs and Questions since the last meeting on 15 July. Members noted that on 4 September Mr Duddridge had said in reply to a PQ that "he expected officials to begin substantive discussions with US colleagues about post-2016 arrangements later this years, as the conclusions of the feasibility study on resettlement of Chagossians begin to become clear". It was also noted that in a letter in mid August to the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) Mr Duddridge had stated that "The 1966 Exchange of Notes provides for a two-year window (December 2014-December 2016) during which we can decide whether and on what terms to extend the agreement with the US for a further 20 years. We are clear that we will consider all aspects of US presence in any discussions on this, and the Government will of course reinforce our expectations on permitted US use of the territory." The Group felt that US co-operation and assistance in resettlement was necessary and an obvious condition for extending the agreement. The Group would engage the FAC on the renewal of the 1966 agreement.
As KPMG's September report was received just prior to the meeting it was not possible to consider it in detail. However the Group was pleased to learn that KPMG would submit a first draft of their study to FCO in mid November which would the following week be circulated to "stakeholders". Members reiterated that they expected Parliament to debate the study before Ministers made decisions on it.
Members considered the Chairman's letters, on behalf of the APPG, to the new Foreign Secretary and to Mark Simmonds, then Minister for OTs. It was decided to renew the invitation to Mr Duddridge (successor to Mr Simmonds) to meet the Group at its next meeting.
Legal developments were considered. It was noted that the decision of the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) that EIRs applied to BIOT by virtue of the extension of English law to BIOT in 1983, had not been appealed by the FCO. The Group saw this as significant progress for freedom of information. This would facilitate the work of researchers making requests for environmental information held by FCO/BIOT. The Group was also informed of the decision to grant legal aid to the Chagos Refugees Group in pursuit of their claim to the Supreme Court that the House of Lords majority verdict in 2008 had resulted from an apparent breach of the duty of candour by officials.
The next meeting will be on 3 December.
David Snoxell
Coordinator
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