MF K

Chagossian descendant

[Chagossian Voices @ChagossianVoic2]

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀
Chagossian Voices has written for a second time to the Government raising serious concerns about the proposed management of the Chagossian Trust Fund. Letter attached to this post.

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@FPLbluegreen @jomickane In the 1960’s when they were forcibly Removed. Born and raised there and still alive

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@mr_brown_tweets @jomickane How can they be deported when they are British citizens?

[Chagossian Voices @ChagossianVoic2]

The negotiations between Mauritius and the UK were secret and in person. The handful of ‘consultations’ with Chagossians conducted by the last Government were on Teams, were not secure, had little clear focus, no minutes and provided no meaningful insight or input into the negotiations. They were so bad that Chagossian community groups wrote a joint letter in March 2023 to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to complain (extract below). They did not improve and then stopped.

[Rt Hon Sir Grant Shapps @grantshapps]

As Defence Secretary I was so concerned about the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands that I blocked the deal from proceeding. Today, this government has announced it's abandoned our sovereignty of the Archipelago, including the militarily essential Diego Garcia.

The government's joint statement fails to address FOUR urgent questions:

1. What happens after 99 years and specifically, is renewal then automatic? If not, then Starmer has just signed up to a Hong Kong style situation, which hasn't worked out well.

2. Exactly how much is the new rental payment to the government of Mauritius? The sums being demanded were both enormous and indexed linked. The government must release this number immediately.

3. How has the government ensured continued military use of Diego Garcia, especially since the location of these islands could be impacted by the Treaty of Pelindaba (also known as the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treat).

4. How will this capitulation help when it comes to protecting other British assets like Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and our two Sovereign Bases in Cyprus - all of which face varying levels of sovereignty challenge?

[Chagossian Voices @ChagossianVoic2]

@BBCAfrica @BBCAfrica Mauritius has proposed to settle "Mauritians including Mauritians of Chagossian origin" not Chagossians. That's a problem for us.

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@ChagossianVoic2 @DavidLammy Unbelievable! Big big lies in clear daylight .

[Chagossian Voices @ChagossianVoic2]

We will be writing to @DavidLammy and The Speaker of HOC. It was claimed in Parliament today that he and his team had met Chagossian groups to discuss the sovereignty negotiations. Neither we, nor any other groups we know have met him or his team to discuss this since the election. We learned about the announcement at 9.00am last Thursday in an email from the BBC.

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@oawpromotions @yuanyi_z @DavidLammy Nope. We had no say and learn through the media about it

[Andrew Rosindell MP 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @AndrewRosindell]

A shocking performance from the Foreign Secretary today. For over an hour, he refused to adequately answer a single question regarding the right of the British Chagossian people to have self-determination over the future of their island homeland. Having brought a group of Chagossians into the @HouseofCommons to watch the proceedings live from the public gallery, I put the Foreign Secretary on the spot. Many of my colleagues also raised serious questions about the national security risk of the Government's plans as well as the cost to the British taxpayer to lease a territory which has been British since the 1814 Treaty of Paris! It feels that Britain is in retreat across the globe under this Labour government! #ChagosIslands #SelfDetermination #BritishOverseasTerritories 🇮🇴🇬🇧

[Chagossian Voices @ChagossianVoic2]

It would be interesting to know if concerns such as these about Mauritius, addressed by UN Special Rapporteurs and experts in racism, xenophobia and people of African descent were addressed in the negotiations.

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

Check out World Affairs's video! #TikTok https://t.co/v9PL44W05E

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@SDoughtyMP Why don’t we the Chagossians have a say in what the UK government decide about our future?

[Chagossian Voices @ChagossianVoic2]

It is CHAGOSSIANS who were dispossessed and exiled but Mauritius only proposes the return of “Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin” (ICJ 2019). This subordinates Chagossians rights, prioritises Mauritians and diminishes Chagossian identity. @UNHumanRights @DavidLammy

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@EkunweL @NBC789 Yes we are

[Deepak Rai 🇮🇳 @DeepakRai98836]

India's 🇮🇳 Brilliant Geopolitical Move.

UK 🇬🇧 loses Chagos Islands and announced to return it to Mauritius.

The UK announced that he has agreed to hand over the Chagos Archipelago, i/c Diego Garcia to Mauritius following a period of at least 99 years.

In this deal, India helped a lot to Mauritius to get back his Islands and it could become possible only due to India diplomacy.

Mauritius govt thanks India for his help. Actually Chagos Islands was a part of Mauritius initially but the UK denied it to handover to Mauritius and illegally occupied these Islands with the help of the US.
Now India can also use these Islands, which is strategically important to make his Army base.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle 🏳️‍🌈🏕️ @lloyd_rm]

@SDoughtyMP Let the displaced Chagosians decide in a referendum- they not Mauritius own the islands

[Sophy Ridge @SophyRidgeSky]

Jonathan Powell - who brokered the Chagos deal - says James Cleverly “started the negotiations, and he actually pursued them very enthusiastically” as Foreign Secretary

[Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage]

Parliament must be able to scrutinise Starmer’s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands — before a treaty is signed.

I have written to @DavidLammy to request an urgent debate and a vote in the House on Monday.

This surrender was not in the Labour manifesto.

[MF K @mfkoo5775]

@KarenCarins @RupertLowe10 Absolutely! Two countries decided for the chagossian people. History repeating itself again !