May and the June ultimatum

The issue of the restitution of the Chagos to Mauritius continues to be in focus. The interest was fueled by the unanimity that this issue has triggered within the political class, although their opinions might differ on the strategy to be devised.  

So, the former British Prime Minister Mr. David Cameron chose to wash his hands like Pontius Pilate did to show that he was not responsible for the execution of Jesus. Similarly, Mr. Cameron replied to the letter sent by the Mauritian Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth and advised that it would be better to wait for the formation of a new British Government to discuss the issue of the retrocession of the Chagos. Sir Anerood Jugnauth had agreed to the request of the British High Commissioner in Mauritius Mr. Jonathan Drew to extend the initial delay by another week. The initial delay came to an end on 30 June, 2016.

It should be recalled that while replying to the Private Notice Question (PNQ) of the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Paul Bérenger at the National Assembly on Tuesday 5 July, 2016, the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth insisted “that the Chagos Archipelago should be returned by the United Kingdom to the effective control of Mauritius by a precise date to be agreed upon.” Sir Anerood Jugnauth added the following: “I had asked for a response to my request by the end of June 2016, otherwise Mauritius would take appropriate action at the international level including at the United Nations”.

DELAYING TACTICS?

When Mr. Cameron replied to the letter of Sir Anerood Jugnauth, almost everybody found this move as a delaying tactic from the part of the British Government. Initially, Mr. Cameron was to stay in office as the British Prime Minister till September, until his successor would be designated and appointed. But things have moved on faster than expected. In fact, conservative Prime Minister Mr. David Cameron resigned after failing to persuade Britons to vote to stay in the European Union in a seismic June 23 referendum and his successor was due to be announced on September 9.

Mrs. Theresa May became the sole contender to be the successor to Mr. David Cameron as Britain’s Prime Minister on Monday after her only rival pulled out in a dramatic twist as turmoil swept the political scene in the wake of the Brexit vote. Mrs. Andrea Leadsom, who had come in for strong criticism after appearing to imply that she was more qualified than May because she had children, stated that a lengthy and testing leadership race would be “highly undesirable.”

“ Two unusual positions are worth nothing. First that of Mr. Jean Claude de l’Estrac who insists that the struggle should be more political than legal for the simple reason that Mauritius does not have a “strong case”, as suggested by Lalit frontliner Mrs Lyndsey Collen, given that the archipelago was sold."

On Wednesday, Mrs. May was appointed as the new British Prime Minister. She chose a populist tone for her first public address as Prime Minister, adding that she would continue predecessor Mr. David Cameron’s “true legacy” of social justice. What would be her approach regarding the Chagos issue? Would there be new developments on this issue in the wake of the appointment of Mr. Boris Johnson as Secretary for Foreign Affairs or will the British government claim that they have other priorities?

A BOAT FOR CHAGOS

Meanwhile, the Mauritian Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who was on official visit to Rodrigues at the end of last week and over the week-end, told the media that he cannot wait indefinitely. “I have taken the initiative to follow a precise tract and I am moving forward”.

The Leader of the Opposition Mr. Paul Bérenger proposed a quite original idea on Saturday at his weekly press conference: that all the Mauritian MPs as well as Chagossians charter a boat and head towards the Chagos in a bid to take back what is rightly ours. According to Mr. Bérenger, operation “a boat for the Chagos” would give extensive international publicity to the Mauritian government’s claims. Lalit also proposed a similar exercise in a document titled Roadmap ver la viktwar (Roadmap towards victory).One of the measures they suggested, as underlined by Mr. Alain Ahvee from the comité Diego, is an amendment to the Constitution of Mauritius so that Chagos is included as a constituency to be represented at the National Assembly by one elected member.

Friday promises to be a very busy day regarding the Chagos issue. A meeting between the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth and the leader of the Groupe Réfugiés Chagos Mr. Olivier Bancoult is scheduled at the Treasury Building in Port Louis. On the same day, both committees on the Chagos, the parliamentary and the technical committees, will meet. The parliamentary committee, which is chaired by the Prime Minister and has as members representatives of all parties having elected MPs at the National Assembly, will see the participation of Mr. Paul Bérenger this Friday. The suggestion made by the first elected MMM MP Mr. Dev Virahsawmy to organize an all-parties conference on the Chagos issue is yet another indication that consensus already prevails among all political parties on this specific issue.

The technical committee is chaired by the Secretary to the Cabinet Mr. Sateeaved Seebaluck and comprises the Sollicitor General Mr. Dheerendra Kumar Dabee, the Attorney General Mr. Ravi Yerrigadoo, several high-ranked officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, namely the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Usha Dwarka-Canabady and Mr. Philippe Sands Q C from Matrix Chambers.

UNUSUAL POSITIONS

Two unusual positions are worth nothing. First that of Mr. Jean Claude de l’Estrac who insists that the struggle should be more political than legal for the simple reason that Mauritius does not have a “strong case”, as suggested by Lalit frontliner Mrs Lyndsey Collen, given that the archipelago was sold. He based himself on declassified documents on negotiations between the United Kingdom and Mauritius dated 1965 and referred to as “purchase, acquisition of the Chagos”.

The other original stand was adopted by the self-proclaimed President of the Provisional Government of Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands, Mr. Allen Vincatassin. Interestingly enough, he was received by the British ndian Ocean Territories (BIOT) Commissioner Mr. Peter Hayes at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Wednesday. “I have informed the BIOT Commissioner that most Chagossians acknowledge only British sovereignty over their homeland and they want to be resettled only by the UK, as the Chagos islands is a British Overseas Territory”, he told the media following this meeting. Obviously, his position is diametrically opposed to that of the Government of Mauritius, which does not recognize the BIOT and claims sovereignty on the Chagos.

Although the political leaders seem to ready for a consensus on the Chacos issue, things are quite different on the purely political front. For instance, L’Express published an article on Friday 8 July , 2016, in which it is mentioned that the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM) suspects the Parti Mauricien Ssocial Démocrate ( PMSD) of secretly negotiating with the Labour Party in view of a new political alliance. The author of article, Mr Axcel Chenney, avers that even the sharing of tickets ( 40/20 or 45/15)has been discussed and that Dr Arvin Boolell will team up with Mr. Xavier-Luc Duval. Navin Ramgoolam would be offered another senior position but would not be presented as the Prime Minister.

Mr. Chenney is right on at least one aspect: that the MSM has been trying to cozy up with the PMSD on two issues. Former Environment Minister Mr Raj Dayal was made to indulge in a volte face following his public statement whereby he compared his own stepping down following the bags of colours case while Parliamentary Private Secretary Mr. Thierry Henry (PMSD) kept his post although he is allegedly involved in a fatal road accident. Finance Minister Mr. Pravind Jugnauth upturned an earlier decision of the Bank of Mauritius to replace existing bank notes, as this was upsetting the PMSD since its former charismatic leader Sir Gaëtan Duval figures prominently on the one-thousand rupees bank note.

The Mouvement Patriotique (MP) has ultimately found its calling in life after its one year existence. It is destined to be a king maker, nothing less, with or without its estranged secretary general Mr. Joe Lesjongard.

Let us wait and see how Mrs. Theresa May reacts to the June ultimatum.