The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Chagos, Vince Cable, and Ed Miliband

The Chagos controversy is now making an impact at the highest levels of government. How will the new Labour leader respond?

By Sean Carey Published 30 September 2010 16:46

chagos letter

On 13 September, the Staggers exclusively revealed the contents of a letter from the new business secretary, Vince Cable, to his constituent, Dr George Beckmann, claiming that the coalition government was about to come to a "friendly settlement" with the Chagos Islanders, whose case concerning the right of return to their homeland is pending before the European Court of Human Rights. Then followed a frantic attempt by an official at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to claim that the letter had been sent "in error by his constituency office".

Dr Cable has now sent a second letter to his constituent (see above), also from his constituency office, apologising "for the mistake that was made" in "giving an incorrect impression of the actions of the British Government". Nevertheless, it is highly revealing about the status of the new business secretary that Cable did not feel obliged to toe the conventional Foreign Office line and invoke the usual smokescreen about defence security and "treaty obligations" to the US (note: sorry but an exchange of letters does not constitute a treaty) much used by former British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and the current minister responsible for British overseas territories, Henry Bellingham, particularly as regards the use of the military base on Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Instead, in his second letter, Cable makes it abundantly clear where his sympathies lie. He explains that while his busy ministerial role precludes him from "remaining as actively involved with this cause" he ventures, "I am sure that the Chagossian cause will continue to be championed by my colleagues within the Liberal Democrat party and campaigners such as yourself".

Meanwhile, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week Mauritius foreign minister, Dr Arvin Boolell, demanded the unconditional return of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, to Mauritius as soon as possible.

It is a sign of the frustration that Mauritius feels with successive UK governments that Boolell was unusually forthright. "The Chagos Archipelago was excised from Mauritian territory illegally by the United Kingdom... this is a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions 1514 and 2066," he said, referring to the fact that it was illegal under international law for Britain to excise part of the colony of Mauritius in 1965 before granting independence in 1968.

Boolell also reiterated that his government remains fully behind the right of return of the Chagos Islanders and "greatly appreciated the unanimous and unflinching support from the African Union and the Non-Aligned Movement". Further worries for the FCO will come from the announcement by Dr Boolell that his country had decided not to recognise the marine protected area in the British Indian Ocean Territory, which was announced by David Miliband on 1 April.

As for the future -- given that David Miliband, who during his time in government stuck resolutely to Foreign Office policy on Chagos, is now to leave front bench politics to spend more time with his family, the question is whether there will be a change in attitude on the right of return of the Chagos Islanders at the top of the Labour Party. It is well-known that Ed Miliband was supported from early on in his bid for the leadership by the Kinnocks. Although as a FCO minister Baroness Kinnock was obliged to defend the Foreign Secretary's policy towards the Islanders in the House of Lords on 6 April, she was clearly very embarrassed to do so. Perhaps, it is time for Glenys to make amends and use her famous Welsh charm to persuade Ed to follow Dr Cable's lead on this one.

Dr Sean Carey is Research Fellow at the Centre for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism (CRONEM), Roehampton University.

Tags: Chagos

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8 comments

Fri, 2010-10-01 02:01 — Paul Barasi (not verified)

DUPLICITY OF COALITION POLITICIANS

I always thought Coalitions compromise or horse trade except when the parties agree. But both Hague and Clegg said the same thing before the election and did another after it.

Hague said "if elected to serve as the next British government we will work to ensure a fair settlement of this long-standing dispute," but then on 8th September told the Foreign Affairs Committee that a Chagossian return was a ‘romanticised idea’.

Hague got all upset recently on big lies about his private life. He constantly claims Britain champions human rights. Yet he ignores his own duplicity on Chagos and his own complicity in breaching human rights that affects thousands of people's lives. Why? So that the Americans can use Diego Garcia to bring freedom to places like Iraq and Afghanistan by using it as a bombing base for wars many believe to be illegal anyway.

RACISM

Not content with breaching 10 out of the 30 Universal Declaration of Human Rights articles daily in relation to the Chagossians, the Foreign Office keeps taking decisions - the no fish zone; refusing to settle the legal case as requested by the European Court of Human Rights ... - without making any Equality Impact Assessments. This is despite the only people affected being 100% Black British, with no other instance of White British being treated in a similar way by the government.

UNACCOUNTABILITY OF OFFICIALS

Foreign Office officials are hell-bent on briefing ministers against a Chagossian return. Officials of this Department are unaccountable to the British people and you have to file a freedom of information request to get direct answers.

GOVERNMENT BY SECRET REVIEW

A damaging blow to British democracy is the way this government is so into secret policy reviews, which bar public engagement or even submission from any external organisation or individual. This is how the government has done the Trident value for money study, the Extradition review, and now the so-called Overseas Territories review, which covers Chagos.

PETITION TO ALLOW CHAGOSSIANS HOME

Please sign the petition at http://bit.ly/8Yh13w so that the government hears the voice of the people loud and clear.

Fri, 2010-10-01 08:59 — Sean Carey (not verified)

writeoff says:

"Interesting that the BBC and other mainstream media studiously ignore all this."

But nice piece in From Our Own Correspondent by Lorraine Mallinder reporting from Port Louis a few weeks ago. It starts at 17.21

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tq0x1/From_Our_Own_Correspondent...

Fri, 2010-10-01 22:55 — Red Maggie (not verified)

This is a travesty of justice and must be opposed. The Chagossians were illegally removed from their homes so that the US could have a handy military base in the Indian Ocean. A base that they currently use for attacks on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere. A base that they use as a threat to others within their reach.

There must be complete and unconditional withdrawal of all occupying forces from the Chagos Islands. There is no justification for the current situation and there never has been.

Kick the US empire out of Diego Garcia and allow the Chagossians home. And then put those responsible for perpetuating this crime on trial for human rights abuses.

Keep the pressure on. One day they will cave in.

Thu, 2010-09-30 17:30 — writeoff (not verified)

Ed isn't about to kick his brother in the archipelagos is he? I do hope I'm mistaken. If David gets sent off on a jolly to the Embassy in Washington he'll come back an even bigger neo-con opponent than when he left and as he's demonstrated repeatedly, he doesn't give a fish about the Chagossians and will no doubt work against justice wherever he lands. The fact Labour have had this fantastic opportunity to give Cable, Hague and Bellingham a good kicking and haven't done a thing suggests they want it dropped. If however, having indigenous settlers to protect helps the case against Mauritius, the Tories will probably move the Chagoissans back on an empty rendition flight. How cowardly to add a link into a letter, because he can't bear to admit directly what his government is doing.

How odd only Diane Abbott seems ready to speak about this issue for Labour.

Sun, 2010-10-03 01:05 — Scotch (not verified)

*Sigh*. Short sighted, all of you, tools used to give a world power a black eye.

I've met many people who have lived in Diego Garcia for 20+ years. They call it their home. You would kick them out to make way for some Mauritians who lived there for 8.

Do you think those Mauritians 'respect' those islands more than the Filipino contractors? Last time I saw the Mauritians there (yes, they visitied there a few years back), they could hardly pay attention to a reburial of their ancestors. They couldn't wait to get some free booze and smokes from the ship's store on island.

Anyone who had ever met both groups must conclude that the REAL Chagossians are the Filipino contractors. Kick out the US - but leave the Filipinos - and see if the Chagossians are still begging for the island back.

Thu, 2010-09-30 19:00 — writeoff (not verified)

Interesting that the BBC and other mainstream media studiously ignore all this. In the end it's just not worth annoying your sources for the sake of a huge injustice done to so few, such poor, such voiceless people. I think this piece is rather forgiving to Mrs K. whose principles are clearly over-ridden by other interests.