Parvèz Dookhy: “Misley Mandarin appears more like a pawn of the identity right…”

Constitutionalist Parvèz Dookhy reviews recent developments in Chagos and believes that the action of Misley Mandarin, Prime Minister of the archipelago, is above all a political maneuver orchestrated by the British opposition. He also mentions the reform of the Constitution and underlines the absence of a constitutionalist within the commission responsible for this project. The Chagos file has seen quite a few developments over the past week. What is your assessment of the situation? As Winston Churchill recalled, in politics, a day can be worth an eternity. Mauritius is witnessing this today. The Ramgoolam/Bérenger government let the decisive moment pass: the coming to power of Keir Starmer, with an overwhelming parliamentary majority and a post-electoral state of grace. At this precise moment, a sensitive decision on Chagos could be politically assumed in London. This window will no longer open.

Since then, the balance of power has been reversed. The British opposition has become structured, hardened, and now benefits from major external support: Donald Trump, openly hostile to any handover of the Chagos archipelago. The land is no longer legal, it is strategic. International law, invoked as a talisman, carries little weight compared to the logic of power under Donald Trump and Benyamin Netanyahu.

Donald Trump makes it clear that the United States must keep Diego Garcia. This was predictable even before Trump’s election. The Ramgoolam/Bérenger government failed to appreciate the risks from the start. However, we had to act quickly. The Ramgoolam/Bérenger/Glover trio favored an internal narrative of “renegotiation”, sacrificing irreplaceable strategic time. In October/November 2024, the conditions were ripe to recover the Chagos like a letter in the mail. Today, the Starmer government is weakened, contested and politically incapable of imposing such a heavy decision in the face of internal resistance and international pressure.

Georges Clemenceau had this formula: “History does not repeat dishes”. In other words, the Ramgoolam/Bérenger government failed to jump on the bandwagon. He stayed at the dock!

Misley Mandarin says it is her legitimate right to be on the archipelago. What do you think? It is not because we are native to Chagos or have Chagossian origins that we have the right to settle as we wish in Chagos. A Mauritian, native of Mauritius, does not have the right to occupy land which does not belong to him or which belongs to the State in Mauritius. Furthermore, a Chagossian has no more right to the Chagos than a Mauritian (native of Mauritius) or Rodriguais. We are all Mauritian citizens and we are equal before the law.

The entire Mauritian territory is at the service of all Mauritians. As for Misley Mandarin, I don't know if he is a Mauritian citizen. Legally speaking