Chagossians should get referendum on islands return, MPs hear

Chagossians should have a self-determination vote, MPs have heard.

Nigel Farage, Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh and Liberal Democrat Europe spokesman Al Pinkerton were among the backers of a referendum for Chagossians, who were evicted from the Chagos Archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for a UK-US military base.

Opposition MPs suggested that a referendum should become part of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill, which, once passed, will see London cede the archipelago to Mauritius as part of a deal reached earlier this year.

But Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the islands that make up the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) “have never been self-governing, and no question of self-determination for a population, therefore, arises now”.

Mr Pinkerton called on the Government to pause its agreed plan with Mauritius to wind up the current governance of the BIOT until it had tried to seek a right of return and referendum for Chagossians.

“My grave concern is that the treaty to be given effect by this Bill fails to rectify that historic and ongoing injustice,” he said.

“Not only does it fail to provide adequate protection for their rights, it also fails to establish a legally binding right to return or a binding programme of resettlement of the islands for Chagossians.”

The Lib Dem frontbencher added: “The treaty that has emerged, not only falls short in addressing past injustices, it introduces new injustices of its own.”

He said the United Nations promotes “self-determination of peoples”, as part of its charter, “yet for the Chagossian people, that right has been denied for more than half a century”.

Sir Edward tabled his own, separate proposal for an “advisory referendum of Chagossians residing in the UK, seeking their opinions on the treaty signed with the Government of Mauritius and the provisions” of the Bill.

“Surely, we in this House have a moral duty to the Chagossian people, not to bureaucratic convenience or diplomatic horse-trading,” the Conservative MP for Gainsborough told the Commons, as he described his plea as “very moderate, very sensible”.

Sir Edward twice said: “Britain should not repeat the sin of dispossession under the guise of decolonisation.”

Reform UK leader Mr Farage was listed as a backer of his proposed new clause, who said he felt “great sympathy for the Chagossians”.

He continued: “They got a rotten deal 50 years ago, they’re perhaps getting an even worse deal in many ways now.

“So they should be consulted.

“The fact they’re not being, I think, is shameful, for a Government that goes on endlessly about human rights and the international rule of law.”

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said he understood the “historical treatment of Chagossian communities” and concerns about resettlement, but rejected calls for a referendum.

He told MPs: “I understand and share the strength of feeling on the wider subject and the historical treatment of Chagossian communities, and that’s why the Government has put at the heart of this Bill the preservation of nationality rights.

“And I am sympathetic regarding the concerns put forward regarding resettlement, and I understand the intention of amendment nine (Mr Pinkerton’s amendment), but it isn’t necessary, because under the agreement, we’ve already agreed that Mauritius will be able to develop a programme of resettlement on islands other than Diego Garcia.”

The minister added: “I also understand the questions on consultation, but as I’ve said, these negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius.

“The islands that make up BIOT do not have and have never had a separate population, and have never been self governing, and no question of self determination for a population, therefore, arises now.”

Labour backbencher Calvin Bailey earlier said he recognised the “deep injustice” which Chagossian people faced.

“We cannot turn back the clock on this, however much we might want to,” the Leyton and Wanstead MP said.

He later added: “There are reasons why international treaties are negotiated by the Government and subjected to democratic scrutiny through this House and the procedures that we are going through now.

“What the Liberal Democrats are proposing amounts to making a UK foreign and defence policy dependent on a referendum, including vital defence interests that are shared with the US and other allies.”

Mr Bailey said he thought the Lib Dems “more than anyone would have learned from the disastrous experience of Brexit, that making foreign policy by referendum is not the wisest course of action”.

MPs rejected Mr Pinkerton’s proposal by 319 votes to 83, majority 236. They did not vote on Sir Edward’s proposal.