Chagossian leader Misley Mandarin has told Andy Burnham that his people “will not surrender” as the Prime Minister prepares for a showdown over the future of the Chagos Islands at the United Nations.
Speaking to GB News, the self-appointed First Minister urged Mr Burnham to listen to Chagossians who want their homeland to remain British as pressure mounts over the proposed transfer of sovereignty to Mauritius.
The Prime Minister is set to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next month, where Mauritius is expected to press Britain over the Chagos dispute.
“My message to our new Prime Minister coming next week in September is that this can be a pivotal moment for him to show leadership to the world and say, ‘I’m listening to my own people’,” Mr Mandarin began.
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“Even though we are in the middle of the Indian Ocean, we’re still British.”
“They want their homeland to stay British, and they want to settle as British citizens into their homeland,” he insisted.
Addressing the Prime Minister directly, the Chagossian leader pledged that the islanders would resist any attempt to hand over the territory.
“If Andy Burnham decided to go ahead with that shameful deal, we can fight tooth and nail to keep our homeland British,” he said.
“We are here as British citizens, and we would not surrender,” he said, adding: “We can fight tooth and nail to keep our homeland British.
”A deal agreed between Britain and Mauritius would transfer sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius while allowing the UK to retain control of the strategically important Diego Garcia military base through a long-term arrangement.
But the proposed settlement has faced opposition from Chagossians who say their own wishes have been overlooked.
Mr Mandarin accused Mauritius of pursuing “lawfare” through international institutions in an attempt to gain territory “that’s not theirs”.
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He argued that the situation had now fundamentally changed because Chagossians living on the islands are British citizens.
“Now Chagossians are living for more than seven months. They are British Overseas Territory citizens. They are British citizens on British territory.”
The remarks refer to the group of Chagossians who returned to the islands earlier this year in defiance of UK restrictions, seeking to establish a permanent presence on their ancestral homeland.
Mr Mandarin said the dispute was ultimately about Chagossians’ right to determine their own future.
“The main thing for the UN is self-determination of people,” he said, adding: “That is something paramount in the law.”
“We are talking more about real people’s lives. We are here as British citizens, and we would not surrender to the UN or to the British Government under Andy Burnham.”
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