Le Royaume-Uni a déclaré officiellement que le Chagos Deal, agréé entre Port-Louis et Londres le 22 mai 2025, est caduc sur le plan politique. C’est ce qu’a déclaré officiellement le Foreign Minister, Stephen Dougherty à la Chambre des Communes, hier, avec la reprise après l’Easter Break.
« A treaty over ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has become impossible to agree at political level” and the corresponding bill will not complete its passage through Parliament », a fait comprendre le principal porte-parole du gouvernement de sir Keir Starmer. Il a confirmé que ce développement est intervenu suite au refus de Washington de confirmer son soutien initial au traité anglo-mauricien sur la souveraineté de Maurice sur l’archipel des Chagos et le bail de 99 ans pour la base américaine à Diego-Garcia.
Intervenant à la Chambre des Communes pour faire le point sur la situation, le Foreign Minister britannique affirme que « in recent weeks, the position of the United States president appears to have changed. And this means that, in practical terms, it has become impossible to agree at political level an update to the 1966 UK-US agreement concerning the Availability for Defence Purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory, known as the Exchange of Notes. »
Poursuivant, Stephen Dougherty laisse entendre que « it’s regrettable to us that obviously there has been a delay, we’ve run out of time in this parliamentary session, but the facts have not changed the need for this treaty, or indeed the need for the different processes and legal provisions to be brought in place. » Il a mis l’accent sur le fait que « updating the Exchange of Notes is necessary in order to ratify the treaty. »
Le Foreign Minister a expliqué que « updates to the exchange of notes are nothing unusual; in fact, they have been updated periodically to ensure that the governance arrangements for the base remain fit for purpose in a changing world. They were updated in 1972, 1976, 1987 and 1999, and were rolled over in 2016. They now need a further update in the light of the Diego Garcia treaty. We have previously debated this issue in this House, and I know that my counterpart, Baroness Chapman, has similarly discussed it in the other place. »
Stephen Doughety a ajoyté que « officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and from the Ministry of Defence, have been working with United States counterparts over many months and have made excellent progress in updating the agreement. I can confirm that a finalised text was agreed at official level and is ready for political clearance and signature, but due to the new comments to which I referred, this process will obviously not proceed on the previously agreed timeframe. Because of the delays in agreeing the exchange of notes, the Diego Garcia Bill cannot complete its passage in this parliamentary Session, and it cannot be carried over due to its advanced progression through Parliament. «
Depuis le 20 janvier dernier, le Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill est resté bloqué que ce soit au niveau de la Chambre des Communes et de la House of Lords suite à l’action politique des conservateurs et au refus des Américains de donner le feu vert officiel.
Dans la conjoncture, le Foreign Minister a aussi ajouté qu’à ce stade, aucun paiement découlant des termes du Chagos Deal n’a été effectué en faveur de Maurice. C’est ce qu’il a répondu à Dame Hariett Baldwin, ancienne ministre du parti des Conservateurs. « With the deal as yet unratified, no payments have been made or will be made during the period of delay. I can confirm that in relation to the costs associated with this treaty, they cannot be paid without the treaty being passed, without the relevant legislation being passed, » a-t-il déclaré.
Cette déclaration du gouvernement à la Chambre des Comunes dans la soirée d’hier a suscité de longs et vifs échanges, menés entre autres par la Shadow Foreign Minister des Conservateurs, Dame Priti Patel. Sa principale préoccupation est que le Chagos Deal ne doit pas être Revisited sans le consentement des Américains.
» Can the Minister confirm in no uncertain terms that as long as the US opposes this deal, Labour will not seek in any way to reinstate it? On the Chagossians, if the islands stay British, is it the Government’s intention to look at resettlement options? Will the Minister rule out any new legislation in the next Session, even if it is not in the King’s Speech, so that the surrender treaty cannot become operable? The only Bill that the Government should take forward in the next Session is my original Bill to make sure that Chagos remains British », s’appesaantit Dame Priti Patel.
Ce à quoi, le porte-parole de sir Keir Starmer sur le dossier des Chagos a répliqué « of course, it is not for the Government simply to choose easy paths. It is for the Government to choose the right path: the path that is in the interests of Britain and our national security, and that of our allies. At the heart of this is a fundamental question. The opposition know that there is a huge challenge. They knew that there was a problem, which is why they started the process. Throughout all the exchanges we have had, they have never been able to answer that simple question. »
Stephen Dougherty affirme néanmoins que « the government nevertheless remains confident that the Diego Garcia treaty is the best means of protecting the full operation of the military base for future generations, for us and our allies. »
De son côté, rapportant les débats à la Chambre des Communes, le quotidien The Guardian note que « the setback in the UK’s push to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, is a sign of the worsening US-UK relations after Trump’s heavy criticism of Keir Starmer over his stance on the Iran war. »
Le quotidien britannique reprend une déclaration de Stephen Dougherty que « the delay to the treaty will be sad news to many Chagossians – although I accept not all – who rightly see it as the only viable means to a sustainable programme of resettlement, which Mauritius would be able to implement under its terms.”
