The UK Chagos Support Association

The release of colonial files by the Forieign and Commonwelath Office, some referring to the expulsion of the Chagos Islanders, has provoked a strong reaction as well as suspicion about the validity of previously-released documets. Key points are raised in letters published by the Guardian under the theme Conspiracies and the legacy of empire.

Secret files from British colonial rule – once thought lost – have been released by the government, one year after they came to light in a High Court challenge to disclose them. Some of the papers cover controversial episodes, including the expulsion of the Chagossians from their homeland. They also reveal efforts to destroy and reclassify sensitive files. The Foreign Office says it is now releasing “every paper” it can. But academics say the Foreign Office’s “failure” to deliver the archive for decades has created a “legacy of suspicion”.

The first batch of papers reveals efforts to deport Chagos islanders from the British Indian Ocean Territories and was discussed on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on 18th April 2012, where Philippa Gregory, a Patron of the UK Chagos Support Association, commented:

“They are perfectly clear that they are lying. One official talks about telling a whopping fib or even a little fib, depending on how many [Chagossians] they are trying to pretend don’t exist.

It’s this kind of sporty, jolly hockey sticks attitude, like it’s all a bit of a game; like we are still in the Empire; like it’s a bit of fun to go to a foreign country, destroy their lives…The decision that was taken on this day, that has never been rescinded, destroyed the lives of that community.”

There’s a rare chance to see international (sort of) football in Surrey’s Godalming Town FC next month. The Chagos Islands team will play the Principality of Sealand on Saturday 5 May.

Kick off is at 2:30, it’s £3 to get in, including a programme and access to the clubhouse afterwards to watch the FA Cup Final.

The petition to the US government demanding justice for the Chagossians has passed the 25,000 mark – meaning we’ll get an answer from the Obama administration!

In fact, it’s now reached more than 28,000. Keep sharing the link and let’s see how many more we can get.

More from Sean Carey in the New Statesman here.

Photo: Gail Johnson

The Chagos Islands (BIOT) All-Party Parliamentary Group held its 28th meeting on 14 March 2012.

The Group discussed the reactions to its proposal, made at the last meeting, that the Chagos Islands should be designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in conjunction with Mauritius and the Chagossians. While the Group understood the reasons why Mauritius and Chagossian groups had strong reservations at this time to the idea, they believed that it was in the interest of all  parties, and that when greater confidence between the FCO and the other parties had been established the proposal could be reconsidered.

The Group was informed of the current situation on the various legal and administrative actions  - the Judicial Review of the MPA would be going ahead, the Mauritius case against the MPA under UNCLOS could run for up to 2 years, there was no news from Strasbourg, the appeal to the Information Tribunal was likely to be heard in July, the FAC was still considering the APPG’s request to extend the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner to BIOT. The Group also discussed  parliamentary activity and  PQs. A request for a debate had not yet succeeded.

The Chairman reported on the meeting that he, Mr Rosindell, Lord Avebury and Mr Evenor had with the Immigration Minister on 22 February. The members had carefully explained  the issues to the Minister who seemed fully cognisant of the problem. Mr Green undertook to write to the Chairman. No letter had yet been received.

The Group discussed the announcement  by Defra of funding (£288,000  from the Darwin Initiative)  for a project to research and promote the Chagos MPA, to be carried out by 3 members of the Chagos Conservation Trust. Members were pleased to note that Chagossian groups in the UK, Mauritius and Seychelles would be involved in workshops etc but questioned whether  the two countries concerned and all the Chagossian groups had been consulted before the project was submitted to Defra and whether they wanted to participate. The Group asked to be informed at the next meeting.

The FCO consultation on the Overseas Territories, made public in the morning, was noted. Members wondered why the short paragraph concerning BIOT had not referred to the  Chairman’s letter of 29 November to Mr Bellingham,  recording the views of the APPG for the Consultation, or even why the contribution was not listed at the end. The Chairman said he would find out, by way of a PQ if necessary.

The Group discussed the impact of the play at Riverside Studios entitled ‘A Few Man Fridays’ and the debates, in which the Chairman had participated, that had been held on the two last Saturdays between performances. Members, who had seen the play, were impressed. The Group commended the producer, Adrian Jackson, and members of the cast for the contribution they had made to raising public awareness of the suffering of the Chagossian people and conducting balanced debates on the various issues, not least conservation and the MPA.

The next meeting will take place on 2 May.

Sign the petition calling on President Obama to right the wrongs done to the people of Chagos.

600 signatures at the last count… and we’re aiming for 25,000!

So contends Peter Sand, a leading environment lawyer who has written extensively on Chagos legal issues. In an article recently published in the Journal of Environment and Development, Sand comments that the unilateral enactment of the MPA disregarded “the legitimate interests both of other states and of the people directly concerned” and that it “remains unenforceable under UNCLOS article 73″.

Adrian Jackson, writer and director of A Few Man Fridays, and Sabrina Jean of the Chagos Refugees Group appeared on Radio 4’s Midweek today discussing the play and the history behind it.

There are also reviews of A Few Man Fridays in Time Out and The Sunday Times (£).

The play is on at Riverside Studios until 10 March.

Brian Logan reviews A Few Man Fridays in the Guardian. Nothing in the story, Logan says, “is as potent as the real-life testimonies of the dispossessed Chagossians, which form the play’s disturbing centrepiece”.

There was also a piece by Lyn Gardner on Thursday looking at the historical context of the play, and interviewing writer-director Adrian Jackson. Jackson questions the way the Chagossians’ rights have been pitted against environmental concerns, asking: “Is the footprint of the Chagossians great than that of the US military base and the yachters who visit the area?”

The play is on at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith until 10 March.

Photo: Gail Johnson

The Chagos Islands (BIOT) All-Party Parliamentary Group held its 27th meeting on 1 February 2012.