TNAG-0715-FCO40-911-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-4 — Page 68

Registry JEZ 014/1

No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

DSR 11

DRAFT

CONFIDENTIAL and PERSONAL

THIS IS A COP;

THE ORIGINAType1AS BEEN CHA

From

UNDERTO.

EXEMPTION No 23 (4.) (c) (d.).

UNTIL

To:-

? Abbreviate

Telephone No. Ext.

DRAFT TERRITORIAL SURVEY

In Confidence

Department

BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY (BIOT)

1. BIOT was established as a dependent territory specifically to serve long term Anglo/US defence needs in the Indian Ocean. In January 1964 in the course of Anglo/US discussions on long term defence planning in the Indian Ocean the US recommended the acquisition by HMG of certain Indian Ocean islands. They suggested that any local inhabitants should be resettled elsewhere and compensated, chiefly in order to avoid possible local political pressures and consequent threats to the security of defence installations. As established as a Colony by Order in Council on 8 November 1965 the Territory consisted of the Chagos Archipelago, detached from Mauritius, and three islands (Aldabra, Desroches and Farquhar) detached from Seychelles. Reversion of the former Seychelles territories took place on Seychelles' Independence, in June 1976, in exchange for certain political concessions by the Seychelles Government.

2.

Between 1965 and 1973 the inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, numbering about 1,000 people, were transferred to Mauritius, the Government of Mauritius being given financial assistance for their resettlement. The bulk of

this population consisted of plantation contract workers. Although constitutionally it would have been possible for us to detach the Chagos Archipelago unilaterally, we had been concerned to ensure that detachment should take place only on the basis of consent by the Mauritian local authorities. They were induced to accept it largely on the

/basis

CONFIDENTIAL and PERSONAL