Lords dash hopes of Indian Ocean islanders

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's highest court ruled in favour of the British government Wednesday, blocking the return of hundreds of Chagos Island people to their homes in the south Indian Ocean after nearly 40 years of exile.

The decision by the House of Lords ends a years-long battle to secure the Chagos Islanders the right to return to their archipelago, from where they were forcibly removed in the 1960s and '70s to make way for an American airbase on Diego Garcia.

By a ruling of 3-2, the lords backed a government appeal that argued that allowing the islanders to return could have a detrimental effect on defence and international security.

The decision is a grave disappointment for the Chagos people, who have fought a David-and-Goliath-style battle against the government for a decade, supported by some of the sharpest legal minds in the country who have rallied behind their cause.

"It has been the misfortune of the Chagos Islanders that their passionate desire to return to their homeland has been caught up in the power politics of foreign policy for the past 40 years," their lawyer Richard Gifford said after the verdict.

"Sadly, their struggle to regain their paradise lost has been dismissed on legal grounds, but the political possibilities remain open for parliament, the British public and the international community to continue to support (their return)."

The British-owned island chain was forcibly depopulated between 1968 and 1973, with 2,000 residents shipped out to Mauritius and Seychelles, allowing Britain to rent out the main island of Diego Garcia to the United States.

Many of those forcibly removed lived a life of penury in Mauritius and Seychelles, missing their homeland and struggling to farm successfully to support themselves. Some eventually moved to Britain, where they began their fight to return.

LEGAL BATTLES

In 2002, Britain's High Court ruled that those evicted and their descendants had a right to return home, and that ruling was upheld last year by the Court of Appeal.

The government sought leave to appeal to the House of Lords, the nation's highest court, which led to Wednesday's decision.

The government is particularly sensitive about the Chagos issue because Diego Garcia has become an important base for the United States with conflicts going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, including acting as a refuelling site for long-range bombers.

Over the years of exile, small concessions have been made to the islanders, including allowing them to return to wash and tend to the graves of their ancestors on smaller atolls, but they are prohibited from setting foot on Diego Garcia.

Olivier Bancoult, the chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group, expressed disappointment at the lords' decision, but said it would not put a stop to the fight for the right of return.

"The sense of relief which may be felt in Westminster today must also be tempered with a sense of responsibility for the fate of Chagossians. We believe that there must be a review of the policy, now that litigation in this country is at an end."

The islanders and their descendants are believed to number about 5,000 in total. Around a fifth are looking to resettle on two of the archipelago's six atolls.

An adviser drawing up a 10-year resettlement strategy has argued that the islanders could make a living from coconuts, fishing and ecotourism and would not need major support.

(Editing by Myra MacDonald)