Diane Speaks Out Against Audacious Move from the Government on Fate of the Chagos Islands.

08 Apr 2010

Diane Abbott MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington attended an urgent Parliamentary Question on Tuesday (6th April) regarding the fate of the Chagos Islands and their native inhabitants.

With a European Court of Human Rights case brought forward by the effectively exiled Islanders, territorial disputes with the Mauritian Government and widespread condemnation from various international bodies, it was thought that the British Government would engage in discussions regarding the establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) with all respective parties involved. However, on the same day of the announcement of the General Election, it was officially announced that the largest MPA in the world will indeed be established around the Chagos Archipelago and will be a ‘no-take’ marine reserve, meaning all commercial fishing will be banned.

During the debate, Diane stressed that the native islanders were being prevented from returning to their homeland under the pretence of environmental protection.
She asked Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant: “Does my hon. Friend accept that he cannot hide behind environmentalism to mask what many of us fear is an encroachment on the rights and legitimate expectations of the Chagossian people? He argues that the consultation he carried out approved a measure of support for further marine protection, but does he not accept that very few people want further marine protection at the expense of the [Chagossians]?”

The Government’s decision to establish an MPA has also received condemnation from other Members of Parliament such as Jeremy Corbyn, the Mauritian Foreign Minister Arvin Boolell and the Chair of the Marine Education Trust David Snoxell.

Ends
For more information please call Sally Scott on
020 7219 4426



back ⇢