The UK agreement to hand over the Chacos Islands was criticized for not telling the Chacosians

People with roots in the Chacos Islands have criticized what they called the UK government’s “exclusion” from the negotiations leading to the deal, which would see it relinquish sovereignty over the territory.

A collection of remote but strategically important islands in the Indian Ocean ceded to Mauritius for more than half a century.

Some Chagossians the BBC spoke to broadly welcomed the deal, but many said the tribe had been repeatedly denied the opportunity to participate in the talks.

The Foreign Office said the interests of the Sakhosian community were “an important part of the negotiations”.

Diego Garcia, one of the largest islands in the tropical basin, will be a joint US-UK military base and is expected to remain intact for 99 years with an option to renew.

Mauritius can start a resettlement program in the Chacos Islands, but not in Diego Garcia.

Pascalina Nellon, a grandmother who was born on the island before it became home to naval ships and long-range bombers, said the deal was a “stab in the back” by the UK government.

In recent years, the UK has faced increasing diplomatic isolation over its claim to what it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The International Court of Justice has previously ruled England’s administration of the island, which some have called its “last colony in Africa”, is “illegal” and must end.

The Mauritian government has long argued that it was illegally forced to cede the Chacos Islands in exchange for independence from Britain in 1968.

Britain later apologized for forcibly removing more than 1,000 islanders from the entire archipelago between 1965 and 1973, and promised to hand over the islands to Mauritius for strategic purposes.

Two years ago Mrs. Nellon went to England, where she called for Sakhosian intervention in the treaty on the region.

“Every time we ask for a request, we are excluded,” he said, adding that UK officials said the Sakosian community could not be involved in negotiations between the two countries.

“Today, again, we are excluded,” the 34-year-old postgraduate student told the BBC.

“We must respect the rights of indigenous peoples.”

Ms Nellon said she wanted to visit the islands, but was not under the control of Mauritius.

“Our right to self-determination – whether we want to be British citizens or Mauritian citizens – has been taken away today,” he said.

Frankie Bontemps, a second-generation Chagossian in England, told the BBC on Thursday he felt “betrayed” and “angry” because “the Chagossians were never involved” in the negotiations.

“We are powerless and voiceless in determining our own future,” he said, and called for the full inclusion of the Chakosians in crafting the deal.

Steve Bunkall, a practicing social worker from Sussex, was positive about the deal.

He said Mauritius was more likely to put resettlement schemes in place for Chagossians than the UK, which had “done nothing” for the community.

She hopes to return to the islands with her mother, who was removed from Diego Garcia. He resettled in Mauritius where he was born by Mr Pang.

Mr Pancall said it would be a “dream come true” for his 74-year-old mother, Diego Garcia.

However, he criticized the talks, saying they took place “behind closed doors”.

“None of us were told what was going on. It was unfair to us,” he said.

“It’s our tradition – we must have had a couple of people in the room.

“I don’t think the UK government believes us.”

Isabelle Charlotte was born in Mauritius to Chagossian parents, and has lived in the UK – where she is head of the Chagos Islanders Movement – for 19 years.

He said he hoped to return to the archipelago now.

“That’s what my family and I have been waiting for,” Ms Charlotte told the BBC.

“He welcomed the deal as a step towards recovery,” he said [her] identity, heritage and homeland”, all of which were “robbed” from her.

“I am [knew] “The Labor government wants to right historical wrongs and respect international law,” he said.

Some Conservative leadership candidates suggested the deal would undermine UK security.

Robert Genrick said: “It took three months for Stormer to surrender Britain’s strategic interests.”

Former Secretary of State James Wise described the move as “weak, weak, weak,” while former Defense Secretary Tom Dugentaud said it risked allowing China a military foothold in the Indian Ocean.

However, Jonathan Powell, the Prime Minister’s special envoy for negotiations between the UK and Mauritius, rejected such criticism of the deal and said Mr Wise had taken the negotiations forward.

Human Rights Watch called on the Chakosians to consult on the deal.

Clive Baldwin, the organization’s senior legal adviser, said the deal “doesn’t guarantee the Chagossians will be able to return to their homeland” and “seems to expressly bar them from the much larger island of Diego Garcia for another century.” He asked for compensation to the displaced people.

Mr Baldwin called for meaningful consultations with the Chakosians.

Unless this happens, he said, Britain, the United States and now Mauritius will be responsible for the “colonial crime that is still going on”.

On Thursday, Powell called Britain’s past treatment of the Chakosians “disgraceful.”

But he called the deal, reached after 11 rounds of negotiations, “truly historic”.

It cannot guarantee whether the Chakosians will be able to return to the islands, as they will become Mauritian territory, but the UK is committed to “assist with resettlement where possible”.

The UK government also said it would provide a package of financial support to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investments.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: This is a bilateral agreement between the UK and Mauritius.

“We are mindful that the future of the islands is an important issue for the Sakosian community. Their interests are an important part of the negotiations.”