Joint USA-UK communiqué on the Chagos: Fernand Mandarin: “It is a clear sign of panic”

Fernand Madarin is a well-known figurehead of the Chagossian battle. He was born and worked on the archipelago until he was exiled to Mauritius in 1965 by the British colonial power who wanted to make way for a US military base.

On June 20, Fernand Mandarin published a book on this life-time struggle. His book has been translated into French by Emmanuel Richon. Four days later, a joint communiqué was issued by the diplomatic representations of the USA and UK. “The UK and USA are absolutely clear about UK sovereignty of these islands, which have been British since 1814. […] Neither the UK nor USA recognises the Republic of Mauritius’ claim to sovereignty of that Territory,” it said.

What do you have to say on the joint USA/UK communiqué on the Chagos?

This arrogant and ridiculous punch on the table is a clear sign of great panic and an awareness – that of a David versus Goliath battle. History and justice will eventually tell us that the winner is not always the one we believe! Might is not Right! In the joint communiqué, no mention is made of the Chagossians, their tragedy and their rights. It is symptomatic and somehow, a blatant lie by omission, coupled with outright lies! How to pretend to be the owner of an archipelago when it was needed to drive out all its inhabitants, without exception? This forced exile is proof of a theft! The squatter arrogating rights that he did not have in kicking the true occupant out... Never seen before! And all in the name of a so-called protection that nobody besides requested.

While pretending to protect someone against his will, should we not be above anything else? Now there is a rotten cherry on top of the crime: the protection of the environment and the marine park! For a region which is now nuclearised to the hilt, whom are we kidding?

In fact, in the discourse of this historic letter, we are in a problematic blackmail of the worst kind where the only proposal remains that of coercion; where Might is Right. Do not go searching for justice, otherwise I will retaliate against you and I have the means to make you bow... It is as old a rhetoric as the world! It is high time that the superpowers stop thinking instinctively and in an almost primal way with such elementary psychology at floor level... to finally address the human field in a civilised framework and as equals. People cannot claim giving protection without their expressed interest and cannot believe installing democracy by force from the outside! The name of an imposed democracy is not a democracy but a dictatorship... In fact, in this letter, and for those who can read, there are all the racism and misogyny of the world, hypocrisy and bad faith, lies and coercion, stupidity and arrogance, ignorance and wickedness. Diabolical!

How much time did you take to do research work on Chagos? What were your sources?

The idea came during the Chagos exhibition in 2013. We already wanted at that time to stop the imprisonment of Chagossians into a victimhood identity. Indeed, as we legitimately and repeatedly evoke the territorial excision and the deportation of the people, we did not show ourselves at all on the front. It was as if the criminal was entitled to have his background known and not that of the victim. Somehow, the Chagossian, as a people with its own culture, that of an entire archipelago, seemingly had no existence. This way of viewing things became a component of the crime, the individual becoming more of a victim, without a previous life. The exhibition was the first step in this direction. Very modest, but highly important. However, an exhibition does not leave a lasting impression. That is how the idea of a book was born. One which would mark history and perpetuate it while a generation was going extinct. It was urgent!

Emmanuel Richon and I regularly met in a disciplined manner, we chatted about my life on the archipelago. I told him how work was done in the economic and social system of the plantation. A co-authorship requires a lot of discipline and understanding. Emmanuel was very respectful, not only because I was his elder, but also as I have a good memory and I am able to recall my childhood in detail. What I saw, when I was still young, bequeathed me with a responsibility to tell everything.

He told me he was very lucky and that it was a great privilege and he confided: “Mandarin, you cannot leave without writing a book; it would be deeply unfair for this generation and generations to come!”

What next regarding your plight?

There will always be enough to account for the tragedy, as law and justice simply do not prevail, there will be voices to rise and denounce... This is precisely what the US and British authorities do not understand. Cynicism does not allow them to see the difference between simple people (they have also been slow to admit), and a people. The Chagossians always possess the right to return to their archipelago because the relationship to the land is not that simple, because these people built a land made of hands of men and women, a land that was one with them. Their identity will remain committed to this land. To believe that everything will be resolved by the gradual disappearance of the deportees themselves represents a serious error of judgement. Relying on time is a greater commitment in the perpetration of the crime; it is to aggravate one’s own guilt.