AN INFLUENTIAL group of MPs has called for the original inhabitants of the Indian island of Diego Garcia to be allowed to return to their homeland in the Indian Ocean.
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee has said "there is a strong moral case" to allow the people of the Chagos Archipelago to return to their islands from which they were forcibly removed decades ago to make way for an American mili
tary base.
In its report, the group of MPs has also called for more UK supervision of US military flights in order to guard against the base being used by the Americans to transport torture victims around the globe.
Campaigners have welcomed the report as a major step towards allowing the Chagossians to return to their homes. Until 1971, Diego Garcia had a native population of 2,000 Chagossians.
In the 1970s, the islanders were forcibly depopulated by the UK Government. Since then they have campaigned to be allowed to return to the archipelago. The UK Government has argued that resettlement might cost up to £25m.
The report said: "We conclude that there is a strong moral case for the UK permitting and supporting a return to the British Indian Ocean Territory for the Chagossians. We note the recent publication of resettlement proposals for the Outer Islands by Chagos Refugees campaigners. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has argued that such a return would be unsustainable, but we find these arguments less than convincing."
The MPs added: "On Diego Garcia itself, we conclude that it is deplorable that previous US assurances about rendition flights have turned out to be false. The failure of the United States administration to tell the truth resulted in the UK Government inadvertently misleading our Select Committee and the House of Commons."
Iain Orr, a former diplomat and a campaigner for the rights of the Chagossians, said: "This report is significant and it makes it much more likely that the people will be allowed to return to the islands. It will cost money, but then it will be the righting of a massive injustice, and in the great scheme of government spending it's not very much."
The full article contains 368 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
