Chagos Islands
Modified 31 Oct 2002
South of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
ex-BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territory),
now a British commonwealth member.
Almost 2000 islanders were moved to Mauritius and the
Seychelles in 1971,
to establish a military base on Diego Garcia.
The island is now leased by the U.S. government
as a military base.
Around 1980 the British government made a payment it
intended as settlement of all claims.
The government more recently said it would allow the
islanders to return to all islands except Deigo Garcia.
In 2000 a London court ruled that the deportation was
illegal.
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