Local Chagossian committee welcomes government support for legal claim |06 March 2018

The Chagossian Committee of Seychelles has welcomed the decision of the government to make a submission to the International Court of Justice in support of the Chagossian community here and in support of Mauritius on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.

Approval for Seychelles to make the submission was granted by the Cabinet of Ministers during its recent meeting.

The Chagossian Committee has lobbied consistently over the past few months for the government to make such a submission in time before the March 1 deadline.

The chairman of the Seychelles Chagossian Committee, Pierre Prosper, has said that the committee is very happy that the Seychelles government has taken this decisive and very important position at this juncture in support of the Chagossian community in Seychelles. 

“The Seychelles government's position with regard to the Mauritian sovereignty claim is independent of the Seychelles Chagossian Committee's position. While the Mauritian government has an apparent legal basis for its claim, we urge the Mauritian government to show more interests in the welfare of Chagossians in general, wherever they may be,” Mr Prosper said in a statement.

Mr Prosper added that the Chagossian Committee welcomes future discussions as to whom between the Mauritians or the Chagossians should be the rightful owners of the islands.