I first saw the island of Diego Garcia when a damaged yacht I helped crew across the Indian Ocean landed there in monsoon season in 1975. Information in the pilot book stated that the Chagos Islands were a group of seven atolls with more than 60 tropical islands and that the US had leased it for 99 years in order to build a top-secret military base there. It was off limits for visitors but we urgently needed help and began our “Mayday-mayday-mayday!” calls for three long days until we were finally granted permission to dock there.
I didn’t learn the sordid history of Diego Garcia until we sailed on and docked in the Seychelles. While there I met natives from Diego Garcia who shared their sad story of being forcefully removed, their animals gassed, and being shipped to far away places by the UK with no concern for the welfare of the native people.
I am sad to learn that the Supreme Court in the UK has ruled that the Chagos native islanders cannot return to their homeland.
Shame on the US and UK for forcing the natives of Diego Garcia off their island homeland in order to build a top-secret military base in the Indian Ocean.
Powerful nations intimidating and ignoring the wishes of much smaller countries, all in order to extend their own powers and spying abilities on other parts of the world. Really sad for the Chagos Islanders.
Really sad for me having met some of the natives. My heart is heavy knowing how the wheels turn in today’s world. Shameful!!!
Thank you for drawing attention to this evil.
Sad. Sordid! And yes evil. If we ran the circus, we would surely do better.
Hi Susan,
a hot iron, but known for many many years and no one can do anything about it, against this “political and money power” of those two GREAT NATIONS !!
“First, they tried to shoot the dogs. Next, they tried to poison them with strychnine. When both failed as efficient killing methods, British government agents and U.S. Navy personnel used raw meat to lure the pets into a sealed shed. Locking them inside, they gassed the howling animals with exhaust piped in from U.S. military vehicles. Then, setting coconut husks ablaze, they burned the dogs’ carcasses as their owners were left to watch and ponder their own fate.”
Not dogs only, also cats and other pets, like pet birds etc. etc. Its a MUST READ, how they did it, how they motivated the population and how they deported them with cheating and lying on highest level of art. They “CLEANED” the island completely – last time we faced this kind of behavior was in the years 1939 til 1945 !!
The truth about the U.S. military base on the British-controlled Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia is often hard to believe. If you like to read all and much more, then click on:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_truth_about_the_us_military_base_at_diego_garcia_20150615 or read:
http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/03/18/diego-garcia-truth-and-power and many many more articles.
One of the best and most informative documentary’s is David Vines book about it.(avail. at Amazon) “Island of Shame”: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia Paperback – 4th print, January 23, 2011,25,–
Thanks Mike for your feedback. I also heard this account while visiting the Seychelles. Humanity?Has it ever existed?
Yeah Susan, you are sooooo right,
everyone involved in this expulsion of the islanders has a lot of “blood on their hands” !!