HL Deb 20 October 1975 vol 364 cc1143-5

2.48 p.m.

Baroness LEE of ASHERIDGE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations took place with the inhabitants of Diego Garcia before they were expelled from their homes.

The PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)

My Lords, during the course of one of his regular visits to Diego Garcia in January 1971, the Administrator of the British Indian Ocean Territory informed all those working there that it was the intention to close down the copra plantations and that, in consequence, it would be necessary for the workers and their families to return to Mauritius or Seychelles. At the same time, he undertook to arrange for as many workers as possible, if they so wished, to go on to other islands in the Chagos Archipelago.

Baroness LEE of ASHERIDGE

My Lords, the House will remember that as recently as 19th March 1975 your Lordships were informed that the Americans did not plan to base ships or aircraft at Diego Garcia, and that there was no question of facilities for any kind of nuclear weapons. We were assured that there were certain extensions being made to the port facilities for peaceful communications and trade. Can we have an explanation why, if that was the situation as recently as seven months ago, four years ago all the islanders had to be expelled from their homes?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, my noble friend has quite correctly repeated what I said in the debate last March on the intentions in regard to these islands; namely, that there is no plan to extend the use of these islands for defensive purposes beyond a limited communications facility. The decision in 1965 to retain these islands for defence purposes was based on joint Anglo-American needs for defence in the area. Those needs then and those needs today do not include the kind of operation that my noble friend has mentioned.

Baroness LEE of ASHERIDGE

My Lords, may I ask whether the noble Lord does not think it an extremely callous situation that, apparently, four years after being expelled from their island homes many of these people are still in absolute destitution, and that it took an exposure in the American Congress Committees to give us in the British Parliament the information that I think we ought to have had directly a long time ago.

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, I could not agree that the information "exposed" in the American Congress would not have been available otherwise. However, we agree that the condition of those who were returned to Mauritius and the Seychelles—and to Mauritius, in particular—is not satisfactory. For that reason our High Commissioner in Port Louis has, over the past two years or so, repeatedly had talks with the friendly and independent Government of Mauritius about the future resettlement of these people. As recently as 24th September, my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs had a talk with the Prime Minister of Mauritius, one of the outcomes of which was that that Government has now asked the British Government whether we will provide expert advice as to the best way to utilise the generous donation of £650,000 which we made for the purpose of resettlement of the Diego Garcians and other islanders.