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The Mauritian ambassador to the UN has raised the nation’s flag over an atoll within the Chagos archipelago
Mauritius formally challenged Britain’s possession of the Chagos archipelago on Monday, with Jagdish Koonjul, the Mauritian ambassador to the UN, elevating his nation’s flag over a northern atoll.
At 10:30am, officers sang their nationwide anthem and raised the flag throughout a ceremony on the tiny atoll of Peros Banhos, the Guardian reported.
“We’re performing the symbolic act of elevating the flag because the British have carried out so many occasions to determine colonies. We, nonetheless, are reclaiming what has all the time been our personal,” Koonjul stated.
Officers and gathered media then proceeded to take heed to a pre-recorded message by Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
“That is the primary time Mauritius has led an expedition to this a part of its territory,” Jugnauth stated in a message performed out on a speaker. “I really feel unhappy that I’ve not been in a position to be a part of this historic go to.” He added that he was comfortable that “our Chagossian brothers and sisters” might journey to their birthplace with no British escort.
“The message I want to give out to the world, because the state with sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago, is that we are going to guarantee a sensible stewardship of its territory – over its maritime safety, conservation of the marine atmosphere and human rights, notably the return of these of Chagossian origin,” Jugnauth stated.
A steel plaque positioned beneath the flagpole learn: “Go to of the Mauritius delegation to Peros Banhos archipelago, Republic of Mauritius, within the context of the scientific survey of Blenheim Reef.”
The Chagos Islands have been separated from Mauritius in 1965, three years earlier than the latter gained independence from the UK. Britain loaned the territory to the US and proceeded to deport the two,000 individuals who lived on the tiny islands and atolls. Most ended up in Mauritius or the Seychelles, whereas some went to Britain.
In 2019, the Worldwide Court docket of Justice in The Hague dominated unanimously that Britain ought to hand the territory to Mauritius. The UK has not carried out so.
In response to the worldwide rulings in 2019, the UK Overseas and Commonwealth Workplace said that the UK “has little question as to our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which has been beneath steady British sovereignty since 1814,” including that “Mauritius has by no means held sovereignty over the BIOT and the UK doesn’t acknowledge its declare.”
The Chagos Islands sit a whopping 2,200 kilometers (1367 miles) from Mauritius, additional complicating its declare.
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