Chagos islanders win right to return

Families forced to leave the Chagos Islands, a British territory in the Indian Ocean, to make way for a U.S. military base at Diego Garcia during the Cold War have won a key legal victory in their long struggle to return.

The Court of Appeal in London ruled in favor of the islanders Wednesday and criticized the British government for "abuse of power." All 2,000 or so inhabitants were evicted from the archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s and have never been allowed back

The largest of the 65 islands is Diego Garcia, an atoll where the United States operates a large military base under lease from Britain. The base has been used to launch bombing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Under the court decision, the islanders are to be permitted to return to any of the islands except Diego Garcia. The British Foreign Office said it had 30 days to decide whether to file a final appeal to the House of Lords.

In the past, U.S. officials have opposed allowing people to live on any of the Chagos Islands, arguing that their presence could lead to electronic jamming and surveillance of military operations.

Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman, declined Thursday to comment on the ruling, calling it "an ongoing legal battle for British courts." Vasquez added that "Diego Garcia is an important base of operations in maintaining regional stability and in the war on terror."

In his ruling, appellate judge Stephen Sedley said that "few things are more important to a social group than its sense of belonging, not only to each other but to a place. What has sustained people in exile, from Babylon onwards, has been the possibility of one day returning home."

-Court Rules for Islanders Evicted in U.S. Base Deal

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