Lazy Blogging

'The Head Heeb', Jonathan Edelstein, writes,

In an interview with the Mauritian daily L'Express, departing British high commissioner David Snoxell shares his views on the Chagos Archipelago issue. If his statements represent the official line, then the British and the ilois don't have much to talk about: his position is that the ilois were fully compensated by the partial cash settlement in the 1970s, he's standing by the much-criticized study suggesting that resettlement is unfeasible, and even a visit to Diego Garcia will have to wait until "the Americans come round to it" - a development that may be some time in coming. To be sure, Snoxell is a diplomat and he can't realistically be expected to prejudice the British government's legal position while judicial review of its decisions is in progress, but his brusque dismissal of the ilois' grievances (not to mention his patronizing tone) suggest that Downing Street isn't interested in pursuing a parallel political track. Expect the Chagos question to be settled in the courts: if not in London, then in Strasbourg.

I post this, not only because he was kind enough to link to me, but because I think his assessment is essentially accurate, although I'm less optimistic about the issue being sorted by the courts.