Mauritius to contest legality of new Chagos marine park

* Says area was created in violation of U.N. conventions
* Lease on island expires in 2016
Jean Paul Arouff Reuters AlertNet 21 Dec 10;

PORT LOUIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Mauritius plans to contest the legality of a new marine park around the disputed Chagos islands before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Indian Ocean islands' prime minister said on Tuesday.

Britain leased the archipelago's biggest island, Diego Garcia, to the United States in 1966, paving the way for the construction of a huge airbase which required the forced removal in the 1960s and 1970s of some 2,000 Chagossians.

The displaced islanders have waged a long legal battle for the right to return. In early December, Mauritius said it planned to summon Britain's top diplomat in the country after a leaked U.S. cable suggested the park was a ploy to stop uprooted islanders returning home.

"The marine protected area was created in violation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is not compatible with the rights of Chagossians," Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam told a news conference.

He said a statement of claim had been sent to British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"Mauritius requests the arbitral tribunal to declare ... that, in respect of the Chagos Archipelago, the Marine Protected Area is not compatible with the 1982 Convention, and is without legal effect," he said.

Britain gave the green light to what is now the world's biggest maritime reserve in April, in a move praised by environmentalists. [ID:nLDE6301QN]

Diego Garcia became an important base for the United States during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, acting as a launch pad for long-range bombers.

The U.S.-British lease for Diego Garcia expires in 2016. (Editing by George Obulutsa and Mark Trevelyan)

Mauritius challenges British marine park in court
Yahoo News 21 Dec 10;

PORT-LOUIS (AFP) – Mauritius has filed a protest with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over Britain's creation of a marine park around the Chagos islands, the Indian Ocean state's prime minister said Tuesday.

Navinchandra Ramgoolam argues that Britain's environmental project is in fact designed to prevent the return of the refugees it evicted decades ago to turn the islands into a military base.

"The marine reserve was created in violation of the 1982 (United Nations) Convention on the Law of the Sea, of which both Mauritius and the United Kingdom are signatories and which is incompatible with Chagossians' rights," Ramgoolam said.

The statement of claim was filed with the Hamburg-based tribunal on Monday and a copy handed to British Foreign Minister William Hague.

In the claim, a copy of which was seen by AFP, Mauritius argues that Britain is not qualified to set up a marine reserve.

"Only the Republic of Mauritius can declare declare an exclusive economic zone, in line with clause 5 of the 1982 convention" on the law of the sea, Ramgoolam told reporters in the the capital Port-Louis.

Ramgoolam said the statement explains how Britain detached the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius, from where it was administered, just a few years before the 1968 independence.

Mauritius, where some 2,000 Chagossians were resettled after their eviction in the 1960s and 1970s, still claims sovereignty over the archipelago.

The group of islands is also known as the British Indian Ocean Archipelago.

In April, Britain approved the creation of the world's largest marine reserve around the Chagos islands, in a move that angered Mauritius.

"By creating the protected marine area, Great Britain did not take into account Mauritius' rights and those of the Chagossians it shamefully evicted from Chagos," Ramgoolam said.

He claimed that London never tried to strike an agreement with Mauritius or any relevant regional body over the project.

"We know the real reason for the marine reserve: preventing Chagossians from returning to Chagos," the premier added.

A US diplomatic cable recently revealed by WikiLeaks purportedly quotes a British official as saying the marine park would ensure no "Man Fridays" could settle on the Chagos islands.

The main island, Diego Garcia, is now populated by an estimated 1,700 US military personnel, 1,500 civilian contractors and around 50 British personnel.