BRITAIN:Hundreds of Indian Ocean islanders who were forcibly deported from their homeland by Britain 40 years ago won a battle yesterday that could see them set sail for an emotional return within days.
The court of appeal in London found the British government guilty of "abuse of power" for attempting to prevent the Chagos islanders from reclaiming land leased by Britain to the US in the 1960s.
Three judges upheld a ruling in the islanders' favour last year, ordered the government to pay their legal costs and withheld support for an appeal to the House of Lords.
An estimated 2,000 Chagossians were driven from their homes between 1967 and 1971 after Britain made a secret deal to lease one of the islands, Diego Garcia, to the US for use as an airbase. Some were tricked out of their homes, encouraged to leave on temporary trips and not allowed back. Others were subjected to intimidation. At one point US soldiers rounded up their dogs and gassed them. The departing Chagossians were loaded onto boats, allowed to take only one bag with them, and deposited in Mauritius, where most have lived in poverty ever since.
Diego Garcia has since served as a refuelling stop and base for air raids in a succession of wars, most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq.