Chagos Archipelago

The Chagos Archipelago ( also German Chagos Archipelago) is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean. He is under the political Chagos Archipelago name a British Overseas Territory, the last remaining part of the British territory in the Indian Ocean and serves as the Fleet and Air Force Base.

Geography

The archipelago is located in the Indian Ocean, about 1600 km south-west of India, 500 km south of the Maldives, as well as about 1900 km east of the Seychelles. The archipelago consists of numerous atolls, some of which are completely washed over by the sea, others only at high tide. The largest object is the Great Chagos Bank, a huge complex of coral reefs with atoll- like structure, which occupies an area of ​​over 12,000 square kilometers. In contrast, the land area of all islands in the archipelago with 63.17 km ² is comparatively low. The largest island is the main island of the atoll of Diego Garcia with about 27 sq km area.

The following atolls and islands are part of the Chagos Archipelago (from north to south):

  • Speakers Bank ( submerged at high tide)
  • Blenheim Reef ( at high tide washed over )
  • Peros Banhos
  • Salomon Atoll
  • Great Chagos Bank with Nelson Iceland
  • Three Brothers
  • Eagle Islands
  • Danger Iceland

Flora and Fauna

The Chagos Archipelago is one of the best protected tropical island systems. The islands provide habitat for many species, especially for seabirds. Overall, BirdLife International pointed out ten Important Bird Areas (IBA ), including the Barton Point Reserve on Diego Garcia, which is home to the world's largest population of Rotfußtölpeln (Sula sula ).

History

The archipelago was discovered in 1544 by the Spaniard Diego García de Moguer during an expedition to the Portuguese crown, was previously known but already the Maldivians. End of the 17th century, France claimed the islands for themselves and populated - of Réunion and Mauritius - the islands. On April 27, 1786 United Kingdom raised his claim on the Chagos islands, but was only in 1814 the sovereignty and ordered them first administrative Seychelles, later ( 1903) to Mauritius. After the Mauritian independence in 1968, the archipelago the " British Indian Ocean Territory " was, but also claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles. In analogy to Mauritius and the Seychelles, the French island names have despite British sovereignty today is often claimed.

From the 18th century until 1971 the following three atolls of the Chagos Islands were colonized: Diego Garcia, Egmont Islands, Peros Banhos and Salomon. The people - the Chagossians or Ilois - were forcibly relocated to the islands deserted handed over to the U.S. military can. Today about 5,500 descendants of the Ilois live in Mauritius, Seychelles and the United Kingdom.

1998 brought the Ilois in a British court an action for compensation and the right to return. In 2000, the High Court of Justice declared the deportations of illegal and confessed to the deportees the right to return to, but this had no consequences. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II issued on behalf of the government an Order-in -Council, which banned the Ilois from their homeland. In May 2006 the High Court of Justice this Order-in -Council declared in 2004 but illegal. This in turn has been challenged by the Government and on appeal to the Court of Appeal. In May 2007, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Ilois. The British government appealed against the judgment, in turn, a vocation. On 22 October 2008, the House of Lords of the British government was right and forbade the return of the inhabitants on the island. In contrast to the European Court of Human Rights has been charged. The end of 2012, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that due to a final agreement made ​​in 1982 to make amends between the Chagosianern and the British government of the victim status of Chagosianer is omitted. Therefore, and because the British courts have already granted the Chagosianern legal protection, the Court dismissed the action under Article 35 ECHR. In December 2010, the Chagossians have appealed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague against the United Kingdom.

In April 2012, an international petition to the United States was filed to ask the White House about to review the case of the Chagossians. An official response has been published on the petition the White House site. In it, the responsibility for the fall of the Chagossians to the United Kingdom is referenced. In November 2009, a group of nine British nature conservation and scientific organizations launched a campaign to the protected status of the coral reefs of the archipelago. The here proposed protected reef area had an area of ​​554,000 km ², which would make it the world's largest marine reserve.

Protest

Two small boats, the "People's Navy", launched in December 2007 in the direction of the Chagos Archipelago, in order to draw attention to the situation of the exile population. After a 2,000 -mile trip were Pete Bouquet and Jon Castle, the crew of the boat Musichana, arrested on 11 March 2008 in front of Diego Garcia and deported to Singapore on 23 March 2008.

Salomon Islands Nelsons Island Three Brothers, Chagos Danger Island
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