Years Pass but Methods of Former Colonialists Don’t Change -By Abbas Doguwa

After decades of tense negotiations between Britain and Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago, the territorial dispute has finally been resolved in favor of the African state. Under the new deal, the UK would give up sovereignty over the remote but strategically important archipelago and return it to Mauritius. An important condition of the deal is that for at least 99 years there will be no change in the status of the main and most southerly isle of the archipelago, Diego Garcia, which has been hosting a vast secret US military base since 1966.

At first glance, this outcome of a decades-long territorial dispute may seem like a victory of international law over the vestiges of colonialism but, in fact, this peace deal has a dark side – the history of the American base on Diego Garcia and the reasons why its status remains unchanged. Much information about it remains classified to this day, but it has been revealed that during Global War on Terror initiated by the USA, the base was used by the CIA as a transit site in its “extraordinary rendition program”. This program was aimed at kidnapping people and transferring them to third states for torture, interrogation and detention, circumventing the legislation of the source country. In 2007, Dick Marty, a former Swiss prosecutor appointed to lead an investigation by the Council of Europe into the CIA’s rendition program, reported that he had “concurring confirmations” that United States agencies have used the island territory of Diego Garcia to torture prisoners. A few months later, UN special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, also confirmed this information.

As for the British government, the official ex-owner of the archipelago, it has long denied any involvement in what was happening on Diego Garcia. However, after some time, it admitted that it was aware that “the island had twice been used as refueling stop while rendering suspected terrorists”. When the intelligence committee of the US Senate investigated further the involvement of the archipelago in the rendition program, UK diplomats held more than 20 meetings with Senate members to lobby for any British role not to be disclosed. However, the classified Senate report found that the US abduction and torture program was established with London’s “full co-operation”, although the latter continues to deny its involvement.

A logical question arises: Why are the British so concerned that information about their involvement in the events at the American base on Diego Garcia might become public? Isn’t return of the Chagos Archipelago with the exception of one particular island merely a pathetic attempt to divert everyone’s attention from the horrors of its history by pretending to compensate for the forced displacement of local residents from their homes and all the abuses committed by the British and American forces on Diego Garcia during the so-called “war on terror”? Years pass, but the approach of former colonialists to solving problems does not change. Instead of a genuine remorse, there is only a concern for one’s image on the international stage; instead of apologies, there is a “generous” proposal for the return of lands that Mauritius was entitled to under the decision of the International Court of Justice in 2019, which should have been implemented anyway.

Abbas Doguwa

abbasdoguwa@emailasso.net