Washington has a military base in Diego Garcia, in the midst of a dispute over the decolonization of the territory of Mauritius
10 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The US government recently blocked a hearing in a British court in a case involving a group of migrants in the Chagos Archipelago, where Washington has a major military base, citing “security reasons”.
According to information gathered by the British television channel BBC, the Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory was to hold a hearing this week on the alleged illegal detention of a group of immigrants on the island, although Washington announced that it had withdrawn “authorization” of access to Diego Garcia.
The territory’s deputy commissioner, Nishi Dholakia, told the channel that the US authorities had said they would not allow these people to board military flights and would not provide transportation or accommodation until “operational and security concerns” were resolved.
The case stems from the arrival of dozens of migrants to the island in October 2021 on a fishing boat, claiming they were trying to reach Canada to seek asylum and that their boat had experienced technical problems near Diego García.
In this regard, Tom Short, a lawyer from the British firm Leigh Day who represents some of the migrants, has stated in statements to the BBC that the cancellation of the hearing is “a devastating blow for our vulnerable clients” and has asked for it to be rescheduled.
In this regard, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that “the members of the team traveling to the hearing on Sri Lankan migrants did not accept the security measures required for visitors to the US Navy facility in Diego Garcia.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said he “does not comment on security reasons, as it is a matter managed by the Pentagon.” “It would not be appropriate for me to do so,” he said during his daily press conference.
The incident comes amid disputes over the decolonisation of the Chagos Archipelago. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in May 2019 calling on the United Kingdom to hand over control of the archipelago to Mauritius within six months, following a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in this regard.
The African country claims sovereignty over the archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean, and rejects the United Kingdom’s decision to separate the two territories in 1965 in exchange for the country’s independence. London’s decision involved the transfer of the entire population of Chagos to Mauritius by the United Kingdom and at the request of the United States for the construction of its military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
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