Chagos islanders tell Donald Trump they could name an ISLAND after him if he blocks Labour’s £30 billion giveaway to Mauritius
Chagos islanders have made a last-ditch appeal to Donald Trump to veto Labour’s £30bn plan to hand over the vital archipelago to Mauritius.
Islanders’ First Minister Misley Mandarin has warned in a letter to the US President that a ‘very bad deal’ would ‘put at risk’ the strategically important UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
Mr Mandarin warns the deal brokered by Keir Starmer’s controversial National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell could give China ‘leverage’ over the base, which is seen as a critical military asset in the Indian Ocean.
Mauritius says it will ‘retain sovereignty over every inch of the US base’.
Mr. Mandarin suggests that grateful Chagossians might even be prepared to name an island after President Trump to ‘mark the moment when America chose power, justice and long-term security over short-term solutions.’
The letter, which is expected to be delivered to the White House this weekend, came before the critical vote in Parliament on Monday on the agreement that envisages the transfer of the islands to Mauritius.
Ministers insist the deal is necessary to secure the future of the base after a long-running sovereignty dispute. They agreed to pay Mauritius a total of £30 billion in exchange for a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia, which is currently under British sovereignty.
The agreement would also end the possibility of Chagossian people returning to the islands they were forced to abandon in the late 1960s to allow the construction of a military base.
Diego Garcia: home of a critical UK-US military base said to be the envy of China
Misley Mandarin, First Minister of the Chagossian government in exile, told President Trump that blocking the deal would ‘close the door to Chinese intervention’
One of 60 islands in the remote archipelago could be named after Donald Trump if Labor intervenes to block his deal, islanders have claimed
The White House has previously stated that it is willing to continue the agreement. But critics believe President Trump was never given the full picture of the risk this would pose to US operations in the Indian Ocean.
Mr. Mandarin says pausing the agreement would mean ‘a just and safe solution becomes possible’ in which the Chagossians could one day return home.
He said blocking the deal would also ‘close the door to Chinese intervention’ and ‘provide permanent legal certainty for US operations’.
In a direct appeal, he adds: ‘President Trump, you have always been outspoken… You do not accept agreements that tie America’s hands. You don’t accept arrangements that look good on paper but collapse under pressure.
‘There is a better alternative; An alternative that strengthens the foundation, eliminates legal risk, defeats Chinese influence and finally resolves a historic injustice.’
He adds: ‘Therefore, Mr. President, I ask you to do what you do best; Announce a bad deal and stop it.’
The government suffered four defeats in the Lords this week on the legislation needed to bring the deal with Mauritius into effect.
But ministers are expected to make a new proposal to introduce the law on Monday.
