TNAG-1218-FCO40-1523-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1983 — Page 74

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BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY

Sovereignty

1.

Under the Treaty of Paris, 1814, France ceded to Britain

various islands in the Indian Ocean including Mauritius and the

Chagos Archipelago, of which Diego Garcia is the main island.

The Chagos Islands were administered for reasons of convenience

from Mauritius, following the French practice before 1814. The

Archipelago was detached from Mauritius in 1965 with the full

agreement of the Mauritius Council of Ministers to form part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Mauritius was paid

£3m compensation for the detachment of the Islands.

2..

The Mauritius Government has indicated its determination

to press for the return of the Chagos Archipelago. Mr Jugnauth,

the Mauritian Prime Minister, raised the Mauritius claim to

sovereignty over Diego Garcia at the United Nations General

Assembly last October. Last month, the Mauritians, encouraged

by India, actively canvassed their claim at the Non-Aligned

Movement Summit in New Delhi and succeeded in having a reference

to it included in the final communique.

Nature of the Defence Facility

3.

The facilities on Diego Garcia are available for the

defence purposes of both the British and the US Governments as they may arise. The scope of the facility is set out in the

Agreements of 1966, 1972 and 1976, published as Command Papers

3231, 5160 and 6413 respectively.

Removal of the Islanders : Comparison with the Falklanders

4.

Early in the 19th Century, the Chagos Islands passed into

private ownership and copra plantations were established on the larger islands. Plantation workers were recruited mainly from

Mauritius; they depended entirely on the plantation owners for

their livelihood, had no legal right to remain on the islands

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