A British Chagossian has urged Sir Keir Starmer to “cancel” the Chagos deal to Mauritius following President Trump’s criticism.
Speaking to GB News, Avraham Ono called on the Prime Minister to “listen to the people” of Chagos and reconsider the agreement.
However, the Government doubled down on their Chagos stance today, with Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones telling GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope that there will be “no changes” to the agreement.
Hitting out at the deal, US President Donald Trump has described the decision to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as a “great stupidity”, despite initially backing the move.
Asked by host Tom Harwood if Donald Trump’s criticism of the deal gives him “hope” that there could be a U-turn, Mr Ono told GB News: “I hope so. I think Mr Trump is right to raise concern about the security, but the reality is that the returning Chagos to Mauritius doesn’t make Chagos any less secure.
“The UK and the US would retain their base on the agreement just as before. What must also be acknowledged us, the Chagossians, who were moved from our land like garbage.”
He added: “These days, no Government has genuinely asked our views. Too often we are treated as a no man’s land.
“We speak our voice, and it falls under deaf ears.”
​Chagossian has urged Keir Starmer to ‘cancel’ the Chagos deal after doubling down on the surrender agreement
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GB NEWS / PA
Hitting out at the “hypocrisy” of the Government amid their row with Donald Trump over Greenland, Mr Ono argued: “It’s just hypocrisy.
“How can you say that the island belongs to Greenland, belongs to Denmark and Chagos belongs to Chagossians, but in this case, it doesn’t happen?
“It’s still forcing us to give the island to Mauritius without our views, our consultation, which is sad.”
Delivering an urgent plea to Sir Keir, Mr Ono declared: “Cancel the deal and listen to our voice.”
Darren Jones told GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope that there will be ‘no changes’ on the Chagos deal
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GB NEWS
Asked for his thoughts on Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy’s involvement in the Chagos deal, Mr Ono said: “He has done nothing. I wrote to him many times, all he cares about is giving the island to Mauritius.”
Taking aim at Mauritius and how they are currently treating Chagossians, Mr Ono told GB News: “To be honest, I don’t think they really care about the island. I think they more care about the financial support they’re going to receive.
“It’s not about the people at all, because I live in Mauritius, but they never treat us like the Mauritian people. They treat us as a third class citizen. Why would they change now?”
Asked by Christopher Hope whether the deal could be reconsidered, Darren Jones replied: “We have secured [the Chagos Islands] as a military base for the next century, because the sovereignty of the island is being challenged.
Mr Ono told GB News that Chagossians are treated like ‘third class citizens’ in Mauritius
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GB NEWS
“But we agreed it was important for our security capabilities in the world, including for our Nato partners, which includes the United States, we needed to find a way through that protected that.
“That was done, and it was welcomed by the American administration when we did it. The treaty has been signed, and so there will be no change on the Chagos Islands.”
In a statement, a Government spokesperson has said: “The UK will never compromise on our national security.
“This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.”