The 2008 Nobel Literature Prize winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has asked Barack Obama to help Chagossians return to their homeland.
In a letter to the Nobel-peace-prize-wining US president, the French-Mauritian writer asked Obama to authorize the return of Chagossians to Diego Garcia, L'express.mu reported.
The Chagossian people were the habitants of Diego Garcia, Peros Banhos and Salomon Islands, as well as parts of the Chagos Archipelago, like Egmont and Eagle Islands.
Mostly coming of an African heritage, Chagossians were brought by the French from Mauritius as slaves in 1786.
"I would draw your attention to an injustice that has lasted forty years. I mean the deportation of people Chagossians," reads the letter published in the French newspaper Le Monde on Oct. 17, 2009.
"These unfortunates were forced to abandon their homes and their property in dire conditions. To those who refused to obey the militia responded with the threat," Le Clézio wrote in his letter.
Leader of the Chagos Refugees Group Olivier Bancoult said he was very touched by Le Clezio's initiative, adding that Obama could bring change to the situation of Chagossians.
The Chagos Archipelago was split off from the Colony in 1965 to form the British Indian Ocean Territory where anyone without a permit was prohibited from residing in the islands.
Between 1967 and 1973, the Chagossians were expelled by the British government, first to the island of Peros Banhos and then to Mauritius.
Some authorities believe their forced and illegal expulsion and dispossession was to establish an American air and naval base on Diego Garcia, where a small group of UK military personnel is stationed as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment