Mauritius officially called into question the rights of Great Britain to the Chagos archipelago by placing its flag on the Pedro dos Banhos Atoll. It is reported by The Guardian.

The flag of the state was erected by the Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the UN, Yagdish Kunjul, to the anthem of the country.

“The message that I want to convey to the world as a state with sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is that we will ensure the wise management of its territory - over its maritime security, the preservation of the marine environment and human rights, in particular, ensuring the return of those who is of Chagos origin,” said Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnot.

Jugnot added that he did not know what would be the behavior of the British side after these events, adding that if the flag was removed, it would be considered a provocation.

The Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean was part of the British colony of Mauritius, but in 1966, two years before Mauritius was granted independence, the archipelago was separated from the colony and in its place, under an agreement with the United States, the “British Indian Ocean Territory” was formed, on which located a joint military base. At the same time, the entire local population of the islands, which amounted to several hundred people, was forcibly evicted to Mauritius without the right to return.

Mauritius refuses to recognize the legality of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from its territory, and in 2019 the International Court of Justice recognized that the decolonization of the region was in violation of the principles of the organization.

bbabo.Net