The official announcement that the ‘Chagos Deal’ as agreed between the British and Mauritian Governments has cleared all hurdles must have resulted in an elated sigh of satisfaction at the highest echelons of the Mauritian Government, relieved that at long last the revised deal has been finalized and the fallout to occur just ahead, perhaps with a few minor points remaining to be sorted out. At the same time a slap in the face of those haughty Brits who seem to believe ‘Britannia (still) rules the waves’.
Over the past weeks, there was growing optimism the deal will be finally concluded, particularly after Trump’s approval notwithstanding that barrage of obstacles to the deal from British Opposition and a section of the British Press, added to the ultras in the States.
We must nevertheless express our gratitude to the British Prime Minister for having stood firmly to get a deal concluded, which he undertook to defend against persistent opposition in the House of Commons. And certainly he must have played a key role in winning Trump’s approval when they met recently in Washington. While we must praise the new Government for having stood firm on the issue, and thankful to the negotiators who managed to get a better deal than that agreed by the ousted regime.
Yet, there would be many who will see no cause to jump on the bandwagon to rejoice at this development, and at the same time caution against blowing out of proportion the bearing of the deal, calling it historical, while it will only mean a few billion rupees added yearly to national revenues, albeit welcome in the present circumstances, but only partial recovery of sovereignty over the archipelago. Yet, the excision of Chagos prior to Independence will always be part of our history, and the deal a ‘kot mal taye’, admittedly the best we could obtain in the present circumstances.
So far, to its credit, the present Government has adopted a cautious attitude on the issue, with a fair dose of humility and low tone language. Even at one point wheedling the guy with the like ‘Trump n’est pas un loup’. Anybody in his right mind will agree, but only in the sense ‘Trump n’est pas un loup, but a fire-spitting dragon’!, who is getting several countries, including long-time allies, to spring to their feet to react and retaliate, indeed with irreversible changes in the global landscape.
Yet, the Chagos issue is not entirely resolved, and will never be. The harm caused by the uprooting of numerous Chagosians decades ago can never be atoned, however much the present rulers may attempt. No amount of money can ever heal the pain suffered by hundreds, many of them having carried in their graves the bitter souvenir of having been forced out of their native land. While at the same time it will never be possible to oust the Yankees from the archipelago. God knows who are the real culprits of that tragedy, themselves dead too. Historians of the future will have a lot to write on the entire saga, when, unfortunately, many reading this present note will no longer be here when it happens, and possibly miss on many details the majority was never aware of.
Trump’s approval of the ‘Chagos Deal’ will be forgotten in the days ahead by the larger public, if ever they paid any attention to it. But forgetting Trump altogether will be a mistake for what he is provoking on the world stage through major policy shifts on many fronts, that stun even long-time close allies. In the meantime we keep our fingers crossed and hope the 90-day suspension of tariffs for many countries just decided in another turnaround will last and extended, with the possibility of Trump having second thoughts in the meantime. Avec Trump, qui peut savoir ce qu’il fera demain ou après-demain? Tariffs on our exports to the U.S. would be a sledgehammer blow at this point in time while we are only in the initial stages of putting the economy on the brink of collapse back on the rails.
Nevertheless, our political masters will now have to pay particular attention to what is happening in Washington, in spite of having so much to do clearing up the mess left behind by the ousted regime. We cannot afford to pretend to ignore the consequences of what Trump has set in motion with no indication he intends to backpedal, but rather double down on his destructive tariffs crusade, to unleash a global trade war with the first signs already underway and likely to expand. And with consequences no one may fully predict, but negative consequences there will be.
But be that as it may, this is the end of the Chagos saga, though we may hear, from time to time, to play to the gallery, or even ‘take the sting out of Joe’s embarrassing PNQs’, ‘nous poursuivrons le combat’, … after 99 years. Isn’t it that ‘sovereignty is the most important matter’?!!!
Endy Jay
