Welcome To The Footprint of Freedom (Chagos Archipelago)
A Strategic Island Concept
Chagossians protest outside the High Court in London, Wednesday, May 2, 2007. (Credit: AP Photo / Fiona Hanson)
Help me reach 1,000 subscribers by December 31st, 2025. Please share Emancipatory Research with anyone who enjoys reading, learning and conversing about history and geopolitics.
The center of Diego Garcia Island immediately invites scrutiny. The turquoise-blue waters of the Indian Ocean fill the center of the main island of the Chagos Archipelago, with an opening toward the Northern end. The atoll almost looks unreal. My immediate reaction was that perhaps Google Earth was obscuring most of it on purpose due to the joint United Kingdom and United States military base in place since the 1970s.
The Diego Garcia Island Naval Support Facility sits toward the Western side of the island and extends south into the British Indian Ocean. Besides the base, the only other places to visit are the East Point Plantation, a settlement that once served as the home of native Chagossians before their forced relocation; a nature reserve; and a few sites that offer exceptional views of the ocean and abundant beaches.
Aerial View of Diego Garcia Island
Whose Land Is It?
To get a better view, I turned to YouTube footage to clarify my perspective. One relevant video published by the BBC is titled “Chagos Islanders Make Historic Trip Home Without British Escort.” In this 2021 report, an unsupervised group makes their way to the island to see the homes that they had to abandon due to forced relocation by the UK government from 1968 to 1973.
The video shows overgrown places such as a church covered by vines. The “visitors” are angry, frustrated, and elated to be there and already hoping to return soon. The questions that the reporter asks tap into these emotions.
“Britain still claims sovereignty over all these ruins, citing security concerns about a nearby American military base, but international law now says Britain must let the Islanders return permanently and must not cling to a piece of its old empire, the International Court of Justice has ruled,” BBC Africa Correspondent Andrew Harding in 2021
Recent news coverage of the Chagos Islands, or British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) as it was renamed on November 8, 1965, has been ongoing to highlight the story and discussions of who should have sovereignty over the islands.
In 2022, former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (2022–2024) moved toward uncoupling from the island chain, but this was undone by Foreign Secretary David Cameron (2023– ) who dismissed the idea, despite the 2019 decision by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations General Assembly that reinforced the conclusion that the procurement of the islands from then British Mauritius was illegal.
The budgetary cuts of the U.S. Trump Administration have so far excluded the military installation on Diego Garcia as previous talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (2024– ) were halted after Marco Rubio (U.S. Secretary of State) and Mike Waltz (U.S. National Security Advisor) express concerns about Chinese influence in the region due to its economic relationship with Mauritius.
As of early April 2025, Prime Minister Starmer has moved to finalize a £9-billion deal with Mauritius that includes the joint base staying active and under the direction of the UK/US according to a leasing agreement. However, this deal has hit a snag as recent reports state that the Mauritius government is demanding a bigger payout.
Chagossians have been left out of most of the discourse, aside from comments made in the Policy Exchange’s 2023 report titled, “Sovereignty and Security in the Indian Ocean: Why the UK Should Not Cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.” These comments oppose the decoupling due to the relevant concern that Natives who were forcefully relocated will not be allowed to return home.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump on February 27th, 2025. One of the topics discussed was the future of Diego Garcia. (Photo Credit CNN)
A Strategic Island Concept
The simple topography that I described earlier is what drew attention to making Diego Garcia into a military base. As part of the 1958 Strategic Island Concept of Stu Barber (Naval Intelligence based in Hawaii), the Long Range Objectives Group and later Commander Horacio Rivero and colleague Frederick L. Ashworth of the United States Navy. The then long list of potential military sites included the Coco Islands (Australia), Principe (Portugal), Barbuda (UK), Little Cayman (UK), and Iwo Jima (US). Notably a number of these “potential” locations later became U.S. military bases. What added on to the attractiveness of Diego Garcia is its remote location in the Indian Ocean, a location that allowed for quick access to nearby countries and regions.
Population is an additional prerequisite for hosting a military base. Whichever location was chosen had to have a population that could be easily displaced or moved with minimal cost and trouble. As noted by Stu Barber (Naval Intelligence based in Hawaii), “Our military criteria were location, airfield potential, and anchorage potential. Our political criteria were minimal population, isolation, present administrative status, and historic and ethnic factors.”
“Given Chagos’s limited economic output, Britain would have an easy time convincing Mauritian leadership to give up the islands. People of Indo-Mauritian leadership would probably care little about uprooting an isolated, mostly African population whose ties to Mauritius were historically tenuous,” Island of Shame, David Vine, p. 61.
In 1960, U.S. Navy Admiral Arleigh A. Burke advocated for the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from then British Mauritius and British Seychelles. This idea was based on his 1949 thoughts on the procurement of a base from the British within the Indian Ocean, an idea later sweetened by a $14-million USD discount on Polaris missiles.
From there, the idea curried favor with Barber who lobbied for it with President John F. Kennedy, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the CIA.
Due to the United Kingdom’s weakened geopolitical position after World War II, it simply became a matter of convincing the then government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan that Diego Garcia should be separated from Mauritius before granting independence (1965). The U.S. State Department (under David Dean Rusk) did not believe this separation would be an issue.
Protest outside the UK Royal Courts of Justice in 2019. Chagossians were classified as “NEGL” meaning negligible. (Photo credit Bloomberg/Getty)
British Indian Ocean Territory
Upon their arrival at the Diego Garcia Island Naval Support Facility, visitors see a sign: “Welcome to the Footprint of Freedom.” Former officers describe their time on the island as delightful with various activities and an almost uneventful experience that sounds more like a vacation destination than a military base.
The military facilities were originally constructed by Brown & Root (later Halliburton’s Kellogg, Brown & Root) with later additions built by various naval contractors. Operations begin shortly after the removal of the native population. To date, the base has been used during a number of operations, including the Arab-Israeli Conflict (1973), Iranian Revolution (1979), Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014), a CIA black site that has earned the nickname of “The Other Guantanamo,” and ongoing operations in the Middle East (Afghanistan and Iraq).
“Navy Seabees used bulldozers and chains to rip coconut trees from the ground. They blasted the island’s reef to excavate thousands of tons of coral to build a runway. Diesel fuel sludge began fouling the water . . . large-scale blasting and deep dredging of 11 square miles of coral reef; clear cutting of thousands of trees and other vegetation, including the habitat for threatened wildlife species; radioactive contamination due to leak from nuclear propelled ships and submarines; and the likely contamination of soil and groundwater following the widely reported use of Agent Orange to clear jungle foliage,” Base Nation, David Vine, p. 143.
The base is outfitted with the most sophisticated technology available from various branches of government, including NASA. It also has all the comforts of living in the United States, including a golf course. Diego Garcia now serves as a vital footprint for continued U.S. interventions in the area.
How did such a massive displacement take place? Legal malfeasance. Reclassifying the Chagossians as migrant workers instead of natives helped the U.S. and UK governments avoid scrutiny under Article 73 of the UN Charter.
“A request was made to me, and I had to see which was better: to seek out a portion of territory of which few people knew about or independence. I thought that independence was much more fundamental and more important than the excision of the islands that are very far from here. . . . If I had to choose between independence and the Chagos, I would have made the same decision,” Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, First Prime Minister of Mauritius.
Only a few years after the displacement of the Chagossians did the news come out about what had transpired. Since then, deliberate and ongoing efforts to silence the victims have been made along with bribes, including payoffs to the Mauritius and Seychelles governments to ignore the Chagossians. For example, Malé International Airport in the Seychelles, which is used to welcome millions of tourists, was built with the money exchanged for the Chagossians’ welfare. The Venkatesan Agreement offered payment to the Chagossians to stop them from asking to be returned to the archipelago. Trade deals were also offered by former President Bill Clinton to multiple African countries, including Mauritius, which involved the purchase of large quotas of textiles in exchange for the discontinuation of information about the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia for security reasons.
All of these offers add a touch of irony to why the islands were chosen and as detailed by Her Majety’s Government in a 1963 Foreign Office Brief, “It was implied in this objective, and recognized at the time, that we could not accept that the interests of the inhabitants were paramount and that we should develop self-government there . . . if the needs of the local population were treated as paramount, the United States would likely cancel its participation.”
Comic legends Redd Foxx and Bob Hope entertain the troops at Diego Garcia in the 1972 USO Holiday Special
Interview: Chagossian Voices
As stated earlier, the perspectives and voices of the Chagossians have been significantly marginalized in the press. Curious to learn their thoughts on an impending deal, I reached out to both the Chagos Refuges Group (CRG) and Chagossian Voices (CV). To date, only Chagossian Voices responded and agreed to an interview.
As stated on their website, “Chagossian Voices was formed in 2020 by well-established Chagossian community campaigners based in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Our objective is to speak directly to people in power. We have achieved this, dealing with government departments, politicians and international bodies such as the United Nations.”
Speaking on behalf of the organization is Maxwell Evenor.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Thibert: What is your role in Chagossian Voices (CV) and how long have you been involved?
Evenor: Basically, my role in Chagossian Voices is as a spokesperson. We have more (spokespeople) in CV. I’ve been with CV since November 2024, or just a little bit after the announcement (of a deal between the UK and the Mauritius governments). I was kind of an independent before.
Thibert: Who are the founders of the organization and what need does the organization fulfill within your community?
Evenor: Chagossian Voices has been around for seven or eight years. It was created to bring all the Chagossian groups together. It was created to be a platform for Chagossian groups to come together and take on the campaign together. It’s basically there to give Chagossians a platform to have a voice in front of governments, organizations, human rights organizations. That’s what it was created for.
Thibert: You have partnerships with Human Rights Watch, Chagos Conservation Trust, and the Blue Marine Foundation? Do they assist with funding?
Evenor: They do assist with funding just a little bit, but they are not there to fund Chagossian Voices or to help us run CV.
Thibert: So, they are there to assist with the government?
Evenor: Exactly. To help us advocate.
Thibert: Can you tell me about your relation to the island?
Evenor: My father was born on Peros Banhos (Ile Pierre). My grandma was born there, and my great-grandma was born there, and I was lucky to have met her because my great-grandma died at 104 years old on her birthday on Mauritius. That’s my connection to the island. Unfortunately, I’ve never been lucky enough to go to or to be on the island. I’ve not even managed a visit, but that’s . . . yeah (sighs).
(Credit UK Chagos Support Network/X)
Thibert: How would you manage a visit? I have seen that a few people have gone on unlicensed visits. How do you participate in something like that, a homecoming?
Evenor: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), prior to the Coronavirus, set up two visits to the island. They had some sort of criteria that your parents were from there, the first generation. Then you would contact them and send your details and then it was arranged by the FCDO.
Thibert: It appears that, minus a few documentaries recounting the history of the island, Chagossians are largely left out of conversations about the archipelago. Is that a fair comment to make?
Evenor: It is a very fair comment to make. The actual illegal deportation was done from 1967 to 1973. This is when Mauritius was making its agreement with the UK to get independence. There are documents out there that when the Prime Minister for Independence (Seewoosagur Ramgoolam) came here to the Lancaster House, he spoke to Mr. Harold Wilson who was then the British prime minister. He said that the Chagossians have not sent a leader or a representative and we can, and we will make the decision for them. Since he said that, this is exactly what has happened until today. This is what we suffer. We’ve never had any sort of governance because this is what the Mauritius government has taken away from us. They have taken away our choice. They have taken away our heritage. They have also taken away our choice of self-determination to say whether we are Mauritian or Chagossian, and the worse thing is now they are wiping us off of our island to take it for themselves.
We are Chagossians, but when you hear the Mauritian government talk, they say the Chagossians are full-fledged Mauritians, but we aren’t. Mauritius as a republic has, I think 56 years of independence. The Chagossians have lived on their lands for more than 200 years. We were there in the 1800s. For now, for the UK to give sovereignty to Mauritius doesn’t make sense because it wasn’t even the UK government that took us to the island. It was the French government. We were a slave people taken to the Chagos Islands by the French. Then the UK defeated Napoleon and France (1812), and then the British got these islands in the Treaty of Paris (1815).
Thibert: One of the on-going arguments in regard to Diego Garcia is that it offers strategic influence as a military base. Is that accurate?
Evenor: This is what you always hear. Yesterday, I had a post on my Facebook because I was thinking about it and I was kind of reading a little about it. This is what they have been saying, but this is used as aggression. Them denying us to be there shows that it’s for aggression because if the Chagossians were there, it would be more peaceful as no one would make Diego Garcia a target. They will not be targeting it because there will be Chagossian people there. There will be more room for talks and negotiations, but they’ve taken us away from there because they want that land to be a land of war. That’s not peace, is it? So, it’s not for peace. It’s for aggression when you think about it. This is why they will say tomorrow, “Okay, we will allow the Chagossians to go back there, then it’s understandable because it’s our land and they are using the base to protect everyone in the world.” Protect the Chagossians, then I’d understand, but that’s not what they’ve done. I think it is actually aggression.
The other thing is the base, which they claim is so important strategically to keep the peace. The peace for who? My people are not at peace! My people are displaced! My people are in poverty! So, it’s not peaceful for us. It’s peaceful for their aggression, for their willingness to show their power, and for them to show their might and greed.
A B-2 bomber takes off, with B-52 bombers on tarmac on Diego Garcia. (Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nathan G. Bevier)
Thibert: A 2023 report titled, “Sovereignty and Security in the Indian Ocean: Why the UK Should Not Cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius,” opposes the turnover of the islands to Mauritius due to concerns that Chagossians will not be allowed back to the islands. Is this a valid concern for many Chagossians?
Evenor: Well, the details that have been given in the treaty say that they gave the Mauritian people the right to resettle on the islands. Not the Chagossians people. So, the Mauritian government will pick and choose who to resettle there.
You know it is good that you are asking, but the world needs to understand that, since we have been displaced, the Mauritian government has never given us any sort of governance either. They have ignored us. They created the Chagossian welfare fund, which is the one and only Chagossian welfare fund act.
Chagossians are not recognized in the Mauritian Constitution either. The same with the Chagossian Kreol (Creole Ilois) and this is what Mauritius does. For that welfare fund, the prime minister chooses who they want to put there. He chose a Chagossian, but he is the one who chooses that guy. And that guy is Mr. Oliver Bancoult (Chair of the Chagos Refugees Group), who has been there since they created that fund. So if you are in a position with Mr. Oliver Bancoult, then you’d better believe me that you won’t get anything.
Thibert: How are Chagossians classified in Mauritius? Are you considered Mauritians or are you considered a separate group?
Evenor: You are just considered to be a Mauritian. But the way you are classified and the way they behave towards you, you know you are. . . . Chagossians are considered the last of the last of the last in Mauritius. In the package, the (Mauritian) Creole people are last, but the Chagossians are below them. When we were first deported, they were making fun of our language because of the way we talked. But now the youngsters are trying to bring our language back a little bit. See this is why it is funny for Mauritius government to say that Chagossian are full-fledged s because Chagossian have their own language. The University of London did a study here and we talked to them, and they said that you can use this document in court because you did have your own language. You are losing it. It’s almost gone. But now they haven’t even finished their study. It is still going on. What they are doing is trying to talk to the elders to see how they can save everything that is left to bring it back.
Thibert: In France, the government wants everyone to conform to the majority. Hence, there is no distinction between different races. Has that happened here? Because it sounds like they are asking you to forget your heritage and become Mauritians.
Evenor: Exactly, exactly. This is what the Mauritius government does. They say that the Chagossians don’t exist. They say that we are Chagossians of Mauritius origin. They are not Chagossians. That is what they are trying to do. This is the legal battle that was orchestrated to clean up the Chagossians.
We are an indigenous people. We know our culture. I have also been saying the Seychelles have their own ethic people and they’ve been given independence. Mauritius has its own ethnic people and they, too, have been given independence because they have a colonial history that is very similar to the Seychelles, right? There is nothing given to the Chagossians. No difference at all for the Chagossians if Mauritius says “We won that case in the ICJ (International Court of Justice)” and this is the other thing.
The ICJ has never been asked whether the Chagossians can get the right to self-determination. Why? Because the Chagos is not a state. So, in reality, we will never get to ask the world whether we can have self-determination. So, we are kind of dead without being born, basically.
International Court of Justice (ICJ) (Photo Credit ICJ)
Thibert: It has been stated that Chagossians living in the Mauritius and Seychelles are among the poorest within those countries and suffer the highest numbers of depression due to the loss of their lands and property. Can you help flesh out the experience of those in the diaspora?
Evenor: Well, yes, we are the poorest. I think you will know the name of Mr. David Vine who is on the Chagossian side, but not fully, because he doesn’t advocate for our self-determination, he just wants the base to go. But I say this because the Chagossians as a people are living in impoverishment. What that means is that my dad was in the Chagos Islands living the way they lived such as not going to school. Then they were forcibly removed in 1968.
They didn’t have an education. Their education was what their parents taught them: how to fish, how to work the land, and how to take care of their animals. This was their education to live. Now, all of a sudden, you are dumped in a country where they already had some education and they are ready to have a government. You are just dumped there. When you are dumped there, there is no house for you, and there’s nothing planned for you: no support, no money, nothing. The other thing is on the island you don’t use money. You use a barter system. They used to share stuff. Some went fishing. Some had chicken. Someone had fish. This is how they used to live. They didn’t use money. This is why I said, there is a lot to learn about my people.
They were on the island, but they were not getting paid there. For me, they were in slavery. So, they are now in Mauritius without houses, without money, and without knowing where to go. They just have to make do. This is still what we are doing because we’ve had to make due and bring ourselves up to today’s standard—just by ourselves without any support from any government. Just with God’s support and us. Chagossians supporting each other.
You know when you are doing studies about different people, you need to support them with transportation. You need to support them with a university. No! And now it’s really just started and you know what? It’s the same thing whereby when you are in Mauritius you can get some help. If you are in the UK and are a Chagossian, you can get some other help. If you want to get this type of help, you have to go back to Mauritius just to get that help. That’s how it is.
Thibert: Sounds like a lot of going back and forth.
Evenor: Yeah.
Thibert: The BBC reported that the agreement between the UK and Mauritius is coming to a close. Under said agreement, Mauritius would gain sovereignty of the islands, but they will allow the joint UK/U.S. military base. Once again, I have to ask what exactly does this mean to Chagos peoples? From my perspective, it sounds like nothing. I saw no mention of you being able to return.
Evenor: Well, no. The actual agreement doesn’t benefit Chagossians. It benefits the two states talking about it and making the deal. The actual announcement they made is nothing new, nothing concrete. For me actually listening reading to it, it’s almost saying the government wants to show they are still trying to make people buy the deal. The reason I say that is because they made the announcement on October 3, 2024. I think it was nothing because of elections in Mauritius and the U.S. Okay, fine. President Donald Trump gave his green light, I think three weeks ago when Prime Minister Keir Starmer was in the U.S. (February 26, 2025). Since then, you would have thought there would be some type of development, but there has been no development. All that is there is that President Trump has given his green light, which he has already given but nothing has moved.
What that is telling me is that the government and the speed they want this to go has somehow stumbling over something. They cannot move forward yet. There is something in the way. It could be legal cases. Perhaps their lawyers are dealing with something behind the scene. I know that we have a letter that they are looking at from CV’s legal advisor. But I know there are conservation laws that were also put in for his judicial review of the way the island has been handed over to Mauritius, but yeah, I don’t think they are ready. If they were ready, they would be doing it now. They have had enough time to sort it out and make a concrete announcement and present the bill to the House of Commons, but they haven’t done that yet. That, for me, is quite interesting.
Former Inhabitants of Chagos Islands claiming compensation for losing homes. (Photo Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)
Thibert: What type of agreement would be best for Chagossians? Should the Chagos Islands be given to Mauritius, stay with the UK, or is independence the better option for Chagossians? Which is the best scenario for Chagossians? What result can actually happen?
Evenor: I can tell you what the majority wants, and I am speaking on evidence. I don’t know how many Chagossians people can tell you that apart from CV because I don’t think anyone has done it, but we have a survey. I am telling you now that the evidence we’ve got is that the majority want to stay British, and it’s obvious because it’s what it is.
Anyone saying differently, like if someone tells you something, please ask them to prove it. If they say the majority of Chagossians don’t want to have self-determination or be British, then prove it. I’m not saying I want to be British. I’m just answering your question.
As a Chagossian Voice member, we advocate for self-determination, and it is for the Chagossian people to choose, if you asked me, “Maxwell, what would you do if you got self-determination?” then that’s a different question. But I am talking about the evidence that I have at the moment. The evidence shows that the Chagossians, whoever participated in the survey, want to remain British. It’s obvious because of the treatment that Chagossians get in Mauritius. Plain and simple. Not just Chagossians. It’s the Creole people, and we are the Kreol people. The way we are treated in Mauritius is unbelievable.
I’ll give you a very simple example. You come to the UK. Come to Gatwick Airport. You will see there are a lot of Chagossians working as cleaners. I used to do it myself when I first came to this country. This is where I used to work. I worked there for three years. Go to the Mauritius airport and see if you can see a Creole person working in the airport as a cleaner? None! Now you don’t get them to be a cleaner. Don’t get them to be a police officer. Don’t think you’ll get them to be an immigration officer. Don’t think you will get to fly a plane. No, no, no. We are the lowest of the lowest. We can’t even get a job at Mauritius airport to clean the airport.
Thibert: So, it comes down to being in the UK which gives you (Chagossians) opportunities whereas in Mauritius, you have none?
Evenor: Nothing! None. Nothing for the majority of Chagossians now. Mauritians say that Chagossians are full-fledged Mauritians. The majority of Chagossians are in the UK. (Laughs) Well, you can say, “Maxwell, you are a descendant and you are a native.”. There are loads of natives here who don’t want to go back to Mauritius.
Thibert: Is it better in the Seychelles or the same?
Evenor: It is the same. In CV, we have two, no three Seychellens. Three natives. All of them born on Diego Garcia. What is worse with the Chagossians in the Seychelles? I am going to tell you a little story and bring it up to date.
When they (Chagossians) were taken to the Seychelles, they were imprisoned for 10 days. Fed prisoners’ food. Then, they had so many issues with getting their documents that some of them don’t even have Seychelles status, but then there was compensation back in the day. The Chagossians in the Seychelles didn’t get anything. Never any compensation till today. Nothing! And in the agreement, Mauritius is allowed to settle Mauritians on the island and Chagossians of Mauritian origin, but what about the ones in the Seychelles?
Thibert: Can you please explain how citizenship works? It is fairly recently that Chagossians were given UK citizenship. What is the ongoing issue with that?
Evenor: In 2002, there was a court case with Mr. Oliver Bancoult (Leader of The Chagos Refugees Group) in front of the high court. Then the UK agreed to give British citizenship to Chagossians, but there were some specific dates involved. If you were born there, you would get it. For your generation to get it, there were some dates. It was rather strange. CV has been campaigning a long with a couple of independents for all generations to have a British passport because it was causing segregation. People would come here (UK) and would have to leave behind their children.
My dad is a Chagossian, born Chagossian, native Chagossian, but if my sister wasn’t in the right date, she would not have been able to get a British passport. So that was the problem and what we’ve been campaigning about. We said, “Look, we want to come to the UK because Mauritius is not doing anything for us, and we don’t have anything in Mauritius, but we are facing segregation. Would you please help us?”
They allowed in 2022 for five years for all generations of Chagossians, as long as they have a direct link to a native Chagossians, to get a British passport. But when they did that, they never put anything in place in the UK. Like, there were people who had to live on the street when they arrived in the UK. The problem with the UK is if you are refugee, you get more help than a British citizen. If you are a British citizen and a normal adult, you don’t have priority. That is what the local government will tell you. If you are a refugee, you get support.
What I would like the local government to think about is we are not refugees. Yes, we are British citizens, but were forcibly exiled. We can’t go back home! They are the ones telling the Chagossians that they are intentionally homeless in the UK, and they are the ones who don’t allow us to go home. We are forcibly exiled.
Thibert: Recently, I read the article regarding Bernadette Dugasse’s and Beatrice Pompe’s legal action against the UK government regarding which country should have ownership of the islands. I assume legal recourse was taken before the 2019 International Court ruled that the removal of Chagossians is illegal. Can you provide clarity on the legal aspect of this battle?
Evenor: So, for the ICJ, it was Mauritius that brought the case against them. Chagossians were not involved. For me, that whole judgment . . . I respect all courts, but for me, for a court to work well, every single party has to be represented. The Chagossians were not represented. For me, I’m sorry I can’t accept this judgment because the Chagossians are the ones who belong to the land and they were not represented.
Unfortunately, it needs to be reviewed . . . redone with Chagossian voices heard and Chagossian lawyers representing them and saying, “Look, we were there. Here is the evidence that the UK government created a fiction about us. To say now that we should be regarded as a floating population and that there are no indigenous people would leave these islands with only a few rocks and seagulls.
All the evidence is here! That is why I can not understand how, with so many clever people out there, so many clever lawyers, and so many clever judges, they cannot see the lie that was created. The UK government has admitted this as well. This is why the high court in England said that the Chagossians are “belongers to their land.”
The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Tamar calls Diego Garcia, February 2023. (Photo Credit: The Maritime Executive)
Thibert: I was reading the letter sent to your legal representation (Mr. Carl Bukley and Mr. Daniel Jeremy) that was posted to your Facebook group. MP (Member of Parliament) Stephen Doughty is the Minister of State for UK Overseas Territories. It mentions some concessions offered by the UK government’s approach. I want to go over a few of them for your response.
(1) Increase unilateral support for Chagossians. Has there been unilateral support within the UK government toward Chagossians?
Evenor: I get a feeling of a sense of pressure, but I haven’t seen concrete changes yet.
Thibert: (3) Mauritius will restart visits for Chagossians in late 2025. Has there been any progress on this front?
Evenor: No updates have been provided other than the year given in the last meeting.
Thibert: (5) A trust fund is to be established to benefit Chagossians. Any updates?
Evenor: No. There is only the £40-million support package. I feel that there is a little bit of pressure on them, but I haven’t seen concrete changes. I am on the front line. I have friends waiting for my help so they can get their benefits while looking for work. If that had changed, they would not be here with me doing what we are doing. Instead, they would be where the support is. The government needs to give support to the Chagossians. Maybe there is pressure for them to do it. Until they engage meaningfully with the Chagossians, I am going to be honest when I say there is a little pressure. Chagossians descendants are now working in the advice bureau in Crowley (West Sussex). There is another organization called Crowley Community Action that has employed another Chagossian, I think at the Crowley Borough Council. There is a little bit pressure mounting but it has not reached the community yet. It has not reached the front line yet.
Thibert: In the same letter, it states “The government deeply regrets the way Chagossians were removed from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s and the way they were treated after.” Has this been felt or is this lip service?
Evenor: Just apologies without action. You regret something, but it’s still going on and you’re making it worse. So, it’s just words to make you think they know what you are going through, but until you decide to live with the Chagossians, you will not know what the Chagossians go through. They wake up every day and know that they can’t go home. I don’t want to be in England, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t want to be in Mauritius.
When we were separated, some were sent to the Seychelles and some to Mauritius. They did not care where they sent brothers and sisters. They did not care that they sent us on an animal carrier. Even today, Chagossians can’t even compare themselves to North and South Koreans. I am laughing, but it’s not funny. Some brothers and sisters have not met each other. Not because there is a war between the Seychelles and Mauritius, but with the Chagossians being poor, for us it’s a war. It’s a battle. We can’t catch a plane.
Thibert: Have things changed because there has been more press and more people paying attention to this matter?
Evenor: Yes, I think so. I think there is a lot more awareness now, but I think there are still a lot of people who don’t know about the Chagossians. There is a lot more raising awareness work that needs to be done, especially with ministers, because there was a secrecy about everything that had to do with the Chagos Islands from back in the day. Even some of the behavior of some in the government has all been done in secrecy. That’s why ministers, diplomats, and politicians not just in the UK but almost everywhere else in the world need to know.
The Chagossian pledge needs to be used as an example so we can do better in the future as human beings.
Thibert: Can you fill me in on the environmental concerns surrounding the islands? I read that this is one of the reasons cited as to why Chagossians are not being allowed back on to the islands. Is there any validity to this?
Evenor: No validity to this. They did a feasibility study to see if the Chagossians can live on the islands because the government was saying, “We can’t let them live there because of the base and the environment.” The first study that was done was rigged because the government had gotten some people to do it. The government was working with free trading businesspeople to get a good outcome for them. That was leaked on WikiLeaks.
Then they did another study that proved that Chagossians can live there. Chagossians can thrive and the best place for Chagossians to live is on Diego Garcia. Because the base already has everything built, the Chagos Islands are like a wing—a closing wing, but on the Diego Garcia wing, it is best to think about it using your hands. On the left-hand side of the wing, it’s got big water. On the right-hand side of the wing, it has a couple of buildings and massive green space. This is where they recommend relocating us. We’ve worked with an architect in France who has drawn up a plan for houses to be built with the Chagos elders’ involvement.
Arbor Day tree-planting ceremony on Diego Garcia. April 18, 2024 (Photo Credit: PO2 Raquell Williams, identified by DVIDS,)
Thibert: If the islands are given back, are you (Chagossians), willing to share with the UK/U.S. military base?
Evenor: Yes. Yes, live and let us live. We are willing to share it because we understand the dangers of the world. We understand the strategic location. The importance of the location. Yes, and it is also a place where we can get jobs.
Thibert: You mention David Vine. I’ve read some of his books. Is there any validity to what he has been saying?
Evenor: At the moment, no. In the past, he wrote about the suffering of the Chagossians and it was good. Now, he seems to be not talking about Chagossians’ self-determination. I’ve personally asked to have a call with him. He has agreed, but I’ve never heard back from him.
Thibert: I’ve been to his website where he talks a lot about the military base and how it was used as black site by the CIA. I was not aware there has been a shift in his focus.
Evenor: I don’t know what’s going on with Mr. Vine. What he is doing now is not helpful to the Chagossians’ community. Remember I mentioned Mr. Oliver Bancoult, who has been the only person appointed by the prime minister (of Mauritius) to deal with Chagossian welfare. If you are an appointee, you are paid and you get amenities. You get some benefits, and because of all he gets, he doesn’t care about his people. All he cares about is the benefits and, to be honest, the way Mr. Bancoult behaves is like he’s the leader of the Chagossian people. He’s only the leader of the Chagossians Refugee Group. But the way he behaves it’s like he is the Chagossian president.
When Chagossian Voices asked him a question via e-mail, he replied, “Look, I don’t have any accountability to you.” He doesn’t have to answer to us, but he behaves like he is the Chagossian people’s leader, so it’s very strange with Mr. Bancoult, but he is very powerful, plus he has the Mauritius government on his side. They take him everywhere to the United Nations. That has always been the case. Like now there is a vote for the Chagossian welfare fund, specifically who to be on it. I don’t see the point of the vote because Chagossians outside of the UK in Mauritius and the Seychelles don’t get to participate. So, they don’t benefit from it. Anyway, the prime minister chooses the leader of the Chagossian welfare fund, which basically means that leader is also the leader of the Chagossian people.
Mauritius is quite a colonial country. It has a lot of colonial ways that they are still doing. For example, the administrating of the Agaléga Island.
Thibert: Yes, I’ve heard that it has been offered to India as a military base.
Evenor: India is building another military base in an agreement between them and India. You see again the secrecy. They don’t want to give information to the public. The people on Agaléga don’t have any sort of government. It’s all run by Mauritius. They’ve just been given the right, I think about two years ago, to actually vote in the Mauritius election, but there is no election for their country, their island. By itself, it is administered by a sort of a company that is under the auspices of the prime minister. It is very colonial.
I find it surprising how they still get away with doing all of this. Today, as I am talking to you, the Prime Minister of Mauritius (Navin Ramgoolam) went into court for 23 charges against him for money laundering. He’s the prime minister! Yesterday, the ex-Prime Minister (of Mauritius) Pravind Jugnauth was also at the FCC (Financial Crimes Commission) for corruption. There is an investigation on him because he has charges against him. Two other (Mauritian) prime ministers I’m talking about, the one who is the actual prime minister is the son of (former) Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam who told Mr. Harold Wilson that the Chagossians didn’t send representation and we can make decisions for them. So, it’s been Pravind Jugnauth (the last prime minister) and Anerood Jugnauth (his father and former prime minister now deceased).
Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam at the Financial Crimes Division, April 3rd, 2025
Thibert: It feels like the Chagossians are in limbo. You are not moving forward but not necessarily going back. A term that we have in the States applies here: sideways promotion. You are simply being handed over to someone else.
Evenor: It’s very bad and you know I’m sad. I feel sad because I think about my brothers and sisters, the Sentinelese people. I don’t know if you know about them. The Sentinelese are protected by the Indian government so that you can’t get close to them. All these protections and they don’t even speak our language. They don’t speak English and they don’t speak Indian.
We don’t even know what they speak. How they make fires. They are protected and THERE IS ME! I can speak English now.
You know back in the day they were saying that my people could not speak English. They treated us like Tarzans. Now we can speak English, and we tell them we don’t want our island turned over to Mauritius because of what they will do because of the corruption and the drugs. Mauritius has been called in their own press a zombie island. So many drugs. In the little village where I was born, there was only marijuana, and if they smoked marijuana, they would hide. You don’t know when they smoked it.
I came here when I was 20. I am 35 today, so 15 years ago. My little village is one of the red zones. When I tell you that back in the day when I was there, if anyone took drugs, the village people would gang up against them and chase them out of the village.
No drugs. Nothing. It was peaceful to live there. Today, people are zombied out. It is unbelievable. This is what we don’t want it to happen to us because we are not like that.
Thibert: So, community and familiar structures still exist? Respect of elders, etc.
Evenor: Exactly. this is us, the Chagossian, and our mothers taught us to respect what we have. To live. How to build our own house. This is us. We are not like the people on Mauritius. We are not greedy. We don’t want all the wealth. We are not respected. In England, there are laws to protect us, and we can get along under that. In Mauritius, there is not even that.
Thibert: What is the Chagos flag?
Evenor: For me personally, it is what I asked an elder: “Which flag is on the Chagos Islands?” They told me it was the Union Jack. So, for me the flag is the Union Jack until the Chagossians get self-determination and choose their flag.
As for the BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territory) administration flag, I don’t like that flag because the BIOT was created to displace my family and people. To bring the suffering. They were very clever the way they did it. Unless the United Nation pulls us out on it, we won’t do anything about it.
Thibert: Language. Is the language still alive? You mention Kreol, but can the people speak it? Do you speak it?
Evenor: Language and accent of the Chagos Islands. You only get it from the natives, but they also have started losing it. As I said, we used to speak our own language. There are things, songs that they sing, that I don’t understand. I ask my uncles, and they say this means boat. I forgot the word, but they told me the word. They used to say words that you don’t hear people say in Mauritius. The language is not there. I hope that the study that they are doing puts some programming in place so Chagossians can start speaking it again. I think this is the next phase of their study. To bring the language back.
Thibert: My last question. Is there anything you feel that I missed that you would like to add?
Evenor: No, I think your questions were good. Maybe, I’ll add that Chagossians are all over the world. We’ve got different opinions, but we are treated as nonexistent people. We don’t have laws to protect us. We’ve always been suffering because people make decisions for us. If the Chagossians decide to fail, then at least we can decide on our own to fail. But anything other than them deciding for us is still a crime against humanity because the Human Rights Watch says it’s an ongoing crime against humanity. When I am talking to you today am when you see me, I’m someone who is facing an ongoing crime against humanity. I know, according to law. According to society. Every crime needs to be paid, and it needs to be stopped. No one would accept for someone to go into someone’s house and take their house and tell them to go away. But everyone else in the world seems to accept that fate for the Chagossians. The crime against them is somehow not a crime. They carry on committing the crime and we carry on suffering because of them. I think this is very unjust. Please let us go home. You can have your base. Let us live and be happy.
Nice one! Took me awhile to get the time to read, but enjoyable as always.