UK: Does Diego Garcia make UK complicit in US war crimes?
01 October 2007
In May 2005 families banished from their homes on the Chagos Islands 30 years ago to make way for a US military base won their legal battle to return home. The court of appeal upheld a High Court ruling from May 2006 that found the government's arguments "repugnant" and "irrational", adding that it found the delaying tactics used by the British as unlawful and an abuse of power. It said that thousands of people had been tricked, starved and terrorised from their homes to make way for the American military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The Chagosian's, who are British subjects, had not sought to return to Diego Garcia, but to other islands in the archipeligo. However, despite the scathing criticism of what can only be described as ethnic cleansing, the government has announced that it will launch a further appeal, this time to the House of Lords, (see
Statewatch Vol. 11 no 2, Vol. 14 no 5, Vol. 16 no 1, 2).
An insight into the government's thinking behind its long-term treatment of the Chagosian's is seen in the persistent allegations that the government has allowed the base to be used by the US military for the purpose of torture. While UK representatives, from the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, to Meg Nunn (the parliamentary under secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office), have denied being aware of torture, other sources contradict this. In June the second Marty Council of Europe report into rendition said:
we have received concurring confirmations that United States agencies have used the island territory of Diego Garcia which is the international legal responsibility of the United Kingdom, in the "processing" of high value detainees. It is true that the UK government has readily accepted "assurances" from US authorities to the contrary, without ever independently or transparently inquiring into the allegations itself, or accounting to the public in a sufficiently thorough manner.
Now the Conservative MP, Andrew Tyrie, has written to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee requesting that it investigate allegations of the use of British territory in the US "rendition" programme as part of its inquiry into the Overseas Territories. Mr Tyrie said that the government had done "next to nothing" to investigate the allegations. He added:
The UK government continues to turn a blind eye to breaches of the rule of law. Extraordinary rendition, whereby people have been kidnapped around the world and taken to places where they may be maltreated or tortured, demands its attention. It is high time our government took its head out of the sand and looked into these allegations for itself.
The Independent's Law Editor, Robert Verkaik, has obseved:
Should Britain be found to have played a complicit role in the use of torture or other breaches of human rights undertaken by the Americans forces in Diego Garcia, then ministers could be held to account in a UK court of law or even face charges at the International Criminal Court.
Dick Marty (rapporteur) "Committee on Legal Affairs and Illegal Transfers of Detainees Involving Council of Europe Member States: second report" 7.6.07 (Parliamentary Assembly) http://assembly.coe.int; Independent (Robert Verkaik) 17.10.07; see also Minority Rights Group International website for background: http://www.minorityrights.org