Diego Garcia: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 7°18′S 72°24′E / 7.300°S 72.400°E / -7.300; 72.400
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Construction and maintenance of the base's communications equipment, fuel facilities and military hardware are conducted strictly by [[military contractor]]s, and inventories of that weaponry are classified. No service-member family dependents are allowed. In 2001, the United States [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] said that there were more buildings on Diego Garcia (654) than military personnel.<ref>Chalmers Johnson, ''The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic'' (London: Verso, 2004) 221.</ref>
Construction and maintenance of the base's communications equipment, fuel facilities and military hardware are conducted strictly by [[military contractor]]s, and inventories of that weaponry are classified. No service-member family dependents are allowed. In 2001, the United States [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] said that there were more buildings on Diego Garcia (654) than military personnel.<ref>Chalmers Johnson, ''The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic'' (London: Verso, 2004) 221.</ref>

Most Marines that were stationed at Diego Garcia on Security Forces duty, agree that the duty aboard a Ocean locked base stinks.


==Politics==
==Politics==

Revision as of 14:56, 29 July 2010

For other uses, see Diego Garcia (disambiguation).
Diego Garcia
Summary
Airport typeNaval Support Facility
OwnerUnited Kingdom
OperatorRoyal Navy, Royal Marines, United States Navy[1][2].
LocationBritish Indian Ocean Territory, Indian Ocean
Built1980s
In use1971 - present
Elevation AMSL9 ft / 3 m
Coordinates7°18′48″S 72°24′40″E / 7.31333°S 72.41111°E / -7.31333; 72.41111
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
13/31 12,003 3,659 Concrete

Diego García is a coral atoll and the largest island in terms of land area, of the Chagos Archipelago. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The island is located in the Indian Ocean, about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) south of the southern coast of India.[3] The closest other countries to Diego Garcia are Sri Lanka and Maldives.

In the 1960s, the Chagos archipelago was secretly leased to the United Kingdom and detached from Mauritius with the intention of expelling its entire population and establishing a military base. In 1971 the United Kingdom and United States entered an agreement under which the latter would set up a military base in Diego Garcia.[citation needed]

Since then, the United Kingdom enforced the highly controversial depopulation of Diego Garcia, forcing the deportation of all 2,000 inhabitants of the island, who were descendants of African slaves and Hindu labourers brought to the islands by the French in the 18th century, to the surrounding islands, including Mauritius, located 1,200 miles away. In their place, a joint British-American military base was established.

This island has one of the five monitoring stations assisting the operation of the Global Positioning System, the others being on Ascension Island, Hawaii, Kwajalein Atoll and in Colorado Springs.

It is covered in luxuriant tropical vegetation. It is 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, with a maximum elevation of 6.7 metres (22 ft), and nearly encloses a lagoon about 19 kilometres (12 mi) long and up to 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide. Depths in the lagoon extend to 30 metres (98 ft), and numerous coral heads present hazards to navigation. Shallow reefs surround the island on the ocean side. The channel and anchorage area are dredged, while the old turning basin can also be used.

Geography

Location map of Diego Garcia.

The atoll forms a nearly complete rim of land around a lagoon, enclosing 90 percent of its perimeter, with an opening only in the north. The main island is the largest of about sixty islands which form the Chagos Archipelago. Besides the main island, there are three small islets at the mouth of the lagoon:

  1. West Island (3.4 ha/8.4 acres)
  2. Middle Island (6 ha/14.8 acres)
  3. East Island (11.75 ha/29 acres)

A fourth island shown on some maps, Anniversary Island one kilometre (1,100 yards) southwest of Middle Island, appears as just a sand bar on satellite images. Both Middle Island and Anniversary Island sit on the Spur Reef complex.

The total area of the atoll is 174 km2 (66 sq mi) according to [1], of which 30 km2 (12 sq mi) are land, 17 km2 (6.5 sq mi) peripheral reef and 124 km2 (48 sq mi) are lagoon.

Climate

Eclipse Point

Annual rainfall averages 260 cm (102 in), with the heaviest precipitation from October to February. August, the driest month, averages 100 mm (4.2 in). Temperatures are generally close to 30°C (86 °F) by day, falling to the low 20s °C (70 °F) by night. Humidity is high throughout the year. The almost constant breeze keeps conditions reasonably comfortable.

Diego Garcia is at risk from tropical cyclones. The surrounding topography is low and does not provide an extensive wind break. Since the 1960s the island has not been seriously affected by a severe tropical cyclone, even though it has often been threatened. The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone in the period 1970-2000 was approximately 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph).

Sunset at Cannon Point

The island was somewhat affected by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Service personnel on the western arm of the island reported only a minor increase in wave activity. The island was protected to a large degree by its favourable ocean topography. About 80 km (50 mi) east of the atoll lies the 650 km (400-mile) long Chagos Trench, an underwater canyon plunging more than 4,900 m (16,000 ft). The depth of the trench and its grade to the atoll's slope and shelf shore makes it more difficult for substantial tsunami waves to build before passing the atoll from the east. In addition, near shore coral reefs and an algal platform may have dissipated much of the waves' impact.[4][5] A biological survey conducted in early 2005 indicated erosional effects of the tsunami wave on Diego Garcia and other islands of the Chagos Archipelago. One 200-to-300-metre (220 to 330 yd) stretch of shoreline was found to have been breached by the tsunami wave, representing approximately 10 percent of the eastern arm. A biological survey by the Chagos Conservation Trust reported that the resulting inundation additionally washed away shoreline shrubs and small to medium size coconut palms.[5]

On November 30, 1983, a magnitude 7 earthquake 55 km (34 mi) northwest of the island caused a small tsunami resulting in a 1.5 m (5 ft) rise in wave height in the lagoon, causing some damage to buildings, piers and the runway. Immediately following the earthquake, many of the military and civilian residents of the island gathered at the Naval Support Facility swimming pool. The hill built to enclose the swimming pool, at 22 feet above sea level, is the highest point on the island.

History

Coconut Plantation, East Point
(former main settlement)

The islands were part of the group called Lakshadweepa (One Hundred Thousand Islands in Sanskrit) in Ancient India and were considered a part of the South Indian kingdoms.

Portuguese explorers may have been the first Europeans to discover the island of Diego Garcia. The Portuguese navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas (1470–June 23, 1555) may have discovered the island during his voyage of 1512–13, but there is little corroborative evidence for this; cartographic analysis points to 1532 or later.

Tradition suggests that the island took its name from the same Diego García de Moguer who sailed to the Río de la Plata in 1526, and possibly with Hernando de Soto's voyage. García headed a Portuguese expedition in the Indian ocean in 1554 and died before completing the return travel. Some Portuguese scholars believe that the Christian name "Diego" of the island's discoverer was a misnomer or a misreading which came into use towards the end of the sixteenth century. Although the Cantino Planisphere (1504) and the Ruysch map (1507) clearly delineate the Maldives, giving them the same names, they show no islands to the south which can be identified as the Chagos archipelago.

A Diego Garcian Chagossian and his final coconut harvest before being forcibly exiled by the British Government to make way for a military base. Photographed at the time of the first United States encampment in 1971.

The Sebastian Cabot map (Antwerp 1544) shows a number of islands to the south which may be the Mascarene group. The first map which identifies and names 'Los Chagos' (in about the right position) is that of Pierre Descelier (Dieppe 1550), although Diego Garcia is not named. An island called 'Don Garcia' appears on the Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis of Abraham Ortelius (Antwerp 1564), together with 'Dos Compagnos', slightly to the north. It may be the case that 'Don Garcia' was named after Garcia de Noronha, although there no evidence exists to support this supposition. The island is also shown as 'Don Garcia' on Mercator's Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Description (Duisburg 1569). However, on the Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae Description of Jodocus Hondius (London 1589), 'Don Garcia' mysteriously changes its name to 'I. de Dio Gratia', while the 'I. de Chagues' appears close by.

The first map to delineate the island under its present name, Diego Garcia, is the World Map of Edward Wright (London 1599), possibly as a result of misreading Dio (or simply 'D.') as Diego, and Gratia as Garcia. The Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica of Henricus Hondius (Antwerp 1630) repeats Wright's misreading of the name, which is then proliferated on all subsequent Dutch maps of the period, and to the present day.

The islands were uninhabited until the 18th century, when the French established coconut plantations using slave labour. Diego Garcia became a colony of the United Kingdom after the Napoleonic wars, and from 1814–1965 it was a dependency of Mauritius.

In 1914, the island was visited by the German cruiser SMS Emden.

Barachois Maurice, Diego Garcia.

In 1965, the Chagos Archipelago, which include Diego Garcia, were detached from Mauritius to form part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). In 1966 the Crown bought the islands and plantations, which had been under private ownership and which had been unprofitable since the introduction of new oils and lubricants. In 1971, due to an agreement between the UK and the US, the plantations were closed. The entire local population has been deported and the island made available to the US as a military base. No payment was made as part of this arrangement, although it has been claimed that the United Kingdom received a US$14M discount on the acquisition of Polaris missiles from the United States.[6] The agreement forbids any other economic activity on the island.

Until 1971 Diego Garcia had a native population of two thousand Chagossians or Ilois, descendants of Indian workers and African slaves who had been brought to the island in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to work on the coconut and copra plantations. They lived in three settlements: East Point, the main settlement on the eastern rim of the atoll; Minni Minni, 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) north of East Point; and Pointe Marianne, on the western rim. The islands were forcibly depopulated by the UK, their residents moved to the Seychelles and then to Mauritius using controversial techniques.[7] Since their expulsion the Chagossians have continually asserted their right to return to Diego Garcia. In April 2006, 102 Chagossians were allowed to visit Diego Garcia for a day, to tend to graves and visit their birthplaces.[8][9]

Current Military use

Diego Garcia Police Station

Diego Garcia is the site of a military base jointly operated by the United Kingdom and the United States. The base is a naval refueling and support station, and the home of a U.S. naval prepositioning squadron, which is responsible for the readiness of naval vessels as part of the Military Sealift Command in the Indian Ocean.[10] It has an air base that primarily supported land-based U.S. Navy P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft during the Cold War. Since 11 September 2001, in addition to P-3 aircraft, it has also supported some of the largest military aircraft. U.S. Air Force B-52s and B-1Bs, as well as various aerial refueling tanker aircraft have been deployed to Diego Garcia to execute missions. During the 1991 Gulf War, Diego Garcia was home to the 4300th Bomb Wing (Provisional), made up of B-52G bombers from the former Loring AFB, Maine and other B-52G bases. It was also used in support of military missions in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Iraq again during the 2003 invasion. The B-52s, and B-1s deployed to Diego Garcia in anticipation of the second Iraq War carried out the initial aerial bombardment on Baghdad on March 22, 2003. Some of these bombers dropped GPS guided bombs and laser guided 1,905 kg (4,200 lb.) bunker busters in "decapitation strikes" intended to kill Saddam Hussein and other Baath Party officials.[11] Although they now primarily deploy to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Diego Garcia still remains a regular deployment site for U.S. Navy P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

In recent years, Diego Garcia has also become the home for forward deployed U.S. guided missile submarines, SSGN-728 (USS Florida) and SSGN-729 (USS Georgia). Florida and Georgia are formally assigned to Submarine Squadron SIXTEEN, based out of Kings Bay, Georgia, but conduct crew turnover and minor maintenance at Diego Garcia.

GEODSS at Diego Garcia

The base is part of the U.S. Space Surveillance Network,[12] with a three-telescope GEODSS station, and is a NASA Space Shuttle emergency landing site.[13]

Neither the UK nor the U.S. recognise Diego Garcia as being subject to the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, though the rest of the Chagos Archipelago is included. [14]

The agreement between the UK and U.S. for the U.S. to use the island as a joint military base was made in 1966 and is due to expire in 2036. However, either government may opt to terminate the agreement in 2016.

Construction and maintenance of the base's communications equipment, fuel facilities and military hardware are conducted strictly by military contractors, and inventories of that weaponry are classified. No service-member family dependents are allowed. In 2001, the United States Department of Defense said that there were more buildings on Diego Garcia (654) than military personnel.[15]

Most Marines that were stationed at Diego Garcia on Security Forces duty, agree that the duty aboard a Ocean locked base stinks.

Politics

Detailed map of Diego Garcia.

In 2000 the British High Court upheld the claims of the islanders that the Ordinance which had been enacted to ensure their removal (although it was never in fact invoked for that purpose) was unlawful. Robin Cook, the British Foreign Secretary at the time, did not appeal. In 2002, the UK Parliament enacted legislation which granted all Chagossian islanders British citizenship, and the legal right to return to the Territory.[16] In 2002, the islanders and their descendants, now numbering 4,500, returned to court requesting compensation after two years of delays by the British Foreign Office. The Chagossians began proceedings to seek additional compensation payments from the British Government (they had been granted £650,000 compensation on removal in the 1970s, and a further £4 million in the early 1980s). The High Court and Court of Appeal upheld the Government's position that the compensation already paid was fair and lawful, and rejected the Chagossians' claims for additional payments. Subsequently, on June 10, 2004, the British government enacted two Orders-in-Council re-establishing immigration controls on the islands and effectively banning the islanders from returning home, reversing the 2000 court decision.[17] Some of the Chagossians are making return plans to turn Diego Garcia into a sugarcane and fishing enterprise as soon as the defence agreement expires, and there have been discussions about the development of a commercial tourism industry on the islands, which may raise environmental concerns. A few dozen other Chagossians are still fighting to be housed in the UK, although they have the same rights as all British citizens.[18]

On May 11, 2006, the High Court ruled that the 2004 Orders-in-Council were unlawful, and that the Chagossians were entitled to return to the Chagos Archipelago. The judges, Lord Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Cresswell concluded: "The suggestion that a minister can, through the means of an order in council, exile a whole population from a British Overseas Territory and claim that he is doing so for the 'peace, order and good government' of the territory is to us repugnant." Olivier Bancoult, the representative of the Chagossians, called on Prime Minister Tony Blair to honour the decision of the court and allow his people to go home.[19]

"We have always believed that a human being has the right to live in the place of his birth. Everywhere, the British government paints itself as the champion of human rights - so what about the human rights of the Chagossian people?"

This judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal on May 23, 2007.[20][21] The British Government then appealed to the House of Lords, which on 22 October 2008 overturned the earlier decision and ruled that the evicted islanders could not return to the archipelago.[22] The Chagossians may now take their legal battle to the European Court of Human Rights.[23]

Prison site allegation

Human rights groups claim that the military base is used by the U.S. government for the controversial extraordinary rendition of prisoners. This claim was supported by the Council of Europe in June 2007.[24] The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stated in Parliament that U.S. authorities have repeatedly assured him that no detainees have passed in transit through Diego Garcia or have disembarked there.[25] In October 2007 the all-party Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament announced that it would launch an investigation of the claims, which it is reported were twice confirmed by General Barry McCaffrey.[26]

On October 19, 2007 The Guardian reported: "The all-party foreign affairs committee is to examine long-standing suspicions that the agency has operated one of its so-called "black site" prisons on Diego Garcia..."[26] The Guardian quoted British MP Andrew Tyrie, "Time and time again the UK government has relied on US assurances on this issue, refusing to examine the truth of these allegations for themselves. It is high time our government took its head out of the sand and looked into these allegations."

On July 31, 2008 Time Magazine reported that a former White House official stated that the U.S. had imprisoned and interrogated at least one suspect on Diego Garcia during 2002 and possibly 2003.[27]

Manfred Nowak, the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, says that credible evidence exists supporting allegations about the use of Diego Garcia as a prison black site for alleged terrorists. Furthermore, Clara Gutteridge, an investigator with human rights group Reprieve, stated that US-operated ships moored outside the territorial waters of Diego Garcia were used to incarcerate and torture detainees.[28]

Rendition admission

On February 21, 2008, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted that two US extraordinary rendition flights refuelled on Diego Garcia in 2002.[29] Further, it has been implied that these actions constituted a direct breach of the treaty between the US and the UK concerning Diego Garcia.[30][6]

Arrests

On 12 March 2008, The Guardian reported that two British protesters had been arrested for illegally entering the waters of Diego Garcia.[31]

Strategic importance

B-1B Lancer Bombers on Diego Garcia.

During the Cold War era, the United States was keen to establish a military base in the Indian Ocean. Because of Diego Garcia's proximity to India, the U.S. saw the island as a strategically important one. U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia have caused friction between India and the U.S. in the past.[32] Various political parties in India repeatedly called for the military base to be dismantled, as they saw the U.S. naval presence in Diego Garcia as a hindrance to peace in the Indian Ocean.[33] In recent years, relations between India and the U.S. have improved dramatically. Diego Garcia was the site of several naval exercises between the U.S. and Indian navies held between 2001 and 2004.[34]

The island also proved valuable for the U.S. during the Iranian revolution and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, during which the base experienced rapid increases in military force numbers.

Diego Garcia has several current missions. U.S. Air Force bombers and air refuelling planes operate from the 3,650 m (12,000 ft) runway, and the USAF Space Command has built a satellite tracking station and communications facility there.

The atoll shelters the 14 ships of the U.S. Marine Pre-positioning Squadron Two. These ships carry equipment and supplies to support a major armed force with tanks, armoured personnel carriers, munitions, fuel, spare parts and even a mobile field hospital. This equipment was used during the Persian Gulf War, when the squadron transported equipment to Saudi Arabia.

Aircraft Parking Area, Diego Garcia.

U.S. pre-positioned vessels

There are five cargo vessels that each carry supplies for the U.S. Marine Corps sufficient to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force for 30 days.

  • USNS Button
  • USNS Kocak
  • USNS Lopez
  • USNS Stockham
  • USNS Fisher

The four combat force ships provide rapid-response delivery of equipment to ground troops in the U.S. Army. Three are Lighter aboard ships (LASH) which carry barges called Lighters that contain Army ammunition to be ferried ashore.

  • MV American Cormorant
  • SS Green Harbour, (LASH)
  • SS Green Valley, (LASH)
  • MV Jeb Stuart, (LASH)

Five logistics vessels service the rapid delivery requirements of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency. There are two Air Force container ships for munitions, missiles and spare parts; a 500-bed hospital ship, and two floating storage and offloading units assigned to Military Sealift Command supporting the Defense Logistics Agency, including an offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS) tanker ship.

Global Positioning System

Diego Garcia is one of the five control bases for the Global Positioning System, operated by the United States military. The U.S. Air Force also has monitoring stations in Hawaii, Kwajalein, Ascension Island, and Colorado Springs. The stations synchronise and update the atomic clocks on the 24 orbiting satellites that emit the signals used by GPS receivers.

ETOPS Emergency Landing Site

Diego Garcia may be identified as an ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Engine Operations) emergency landing site (en route alternate) for flight planning purposes of commercial airliners. This allows twin engine commercial aircraft (such as the Airbus A330, Boeing 767 or Boeing 777) to make theoretical nonstop flights between city pairs such as Perth and Dubai (9,013.61 km (5,600.80 mi)*), Hong Kong and Johannesburg (10,658 km (6,623 mi)*) or Singapore and São Paulo (15,985.41 km (9,932.87 mi)*), all while maintaining a suitable diversion airport within 180 minutes flying time with one engine inoperable.[35]

Space Shuttle

The island is one of 33 emergency landing sites worldwide for the NASA Space Shuttle.[36] None of these facilities has been used for a Shuttle landing.

Cargo service

MV Baffin Strait transits between Singapore and Diego Garcia once a month.

Since 2004 the U.S.-flagged container ship MV Baffin Strait, often referred to as the "DGAR shuttle," has been chartered to deliver 250 containers each month to Diego Garcia from Singapore.[37] The ship delivers more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year."[37] On the return trip to Singapore, it carries recyclable metals.[38]

In 2004 TransAtlantic Lines outbid Sealift Incorporated for the transport contract between Singapore and Diego Garcia.[39] The route had previously been serviced by Sealift Inc.'s MV Sagamore, manned by members of American Maritime Officers and Seafarers' International Union.[39] TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about US$2.7 million.[39]

The Baffin Strait's last charter ran from 10 January 2005 to 30 September 2008 at a daily rate of US$12,550.

Wildlife

Red Crab, Diego Garcia.

The island is a haven for several types of crab; hermit crabs overrun the jungle at night. The extremely large 4-kilogram (8.8 lb) coconut crab, or "robber crab" is found here. The island hosts birds from many different regions, including Indian Barred Ground Dove (Geopelia striata), Turtle Dove (Streptopelia picturata), Indian Mynah (Acridotheres tristis), Madagascar Fody (Foudia madagascariensis), and imported chickens (Gallus gallus).[40]

All the flora and fauna are protected, and it is even unlawful to be in possession of a dead coconut crab. Hefty fines are levied against violators.

See also

Further reading

  • The Minority Rights Group Report No 54 - 'Diego Garcia: a contrast to the Falklands' (a good general history of the Islands and what happened to the Ilois)
  • David Vine, Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009.
  • Simon Winchester, Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire (2004). Chapter 2 covers Winchester's attempt to travel to Diego Garcia and a very good short history of the relocation of the Islanders. Winchester was the British journalist who first broke the story of the displaced Chagossians.

References

  1. ^ Government of the United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence. "Permanent Joint Operating Base: Diego Garcia". Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  2. ^ Government of the United States, United States Navy. "Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia". Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  3. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=KC&p_theme=kc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EF0639AC568EB36&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  4. ^ "Diego Garcia Navy base reports no damage from quake, tsunamis". Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes. 28 December 2004. URL accessed 1 June 2006.
  5. ^ a b Sheppard, Charles (2005). "The Tsunami, Shore Erosion and Corals in the Chagos Islands" (PDF). Chagos News. 25. Chagos Conservation Trust: 2–7. ISSN 1355-6746. Retrieved 2008-02-21. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b "Westminster Hall Debates for 7 July 2004" ([dead link] – Scholar search). Hansard House of Commons Daily Debates. 423 (part 615). Retrieved 2008-02-21. {{cite journal}}: External link in |format= (help); Unknown parameter |unused_data= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Pilger, John (2004-10-02). "Paradise cleansed". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  8. ^ "Emotional return for Chagossians". BBC News. 14 April 2006. URL accessed 1 June 2006.
  9. ^ "Out of Eden". John Pilger, The Guardian. 29 May 2006. URL accessed 1 June 2006
  10. ^ "Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Two", URL Accessed 1 February 2007
  11. ^ Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic (London: Verso, 2004) 221-2.
  12. ^ United State Strategic Command: "Re-entry Assessment and Space Surveillance". U.S. Strategic Command. March 2004. URL accessed 1 June 2006
  13. ^ "Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites". GlobalSecurity.org. URL accessed 1 June 2006.
  14. ^ Sand, Peter H. (29 January 2009). "Diego Garcia: British–American Legal Black Hole in the Indian Ocean?". Journal of Environmental Law. Vol. 21, no. 1. Oxford Journals. pp. 113–137. doi:10.1093/jel/eqn034. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  15. ^ Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic (London: Verso, 2004) 221.
  16. ^ Government of the United Kingdom (2002-02-26). "British Overseas Territories Act 2002". The UK Statute Law Database. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  17. ^ "Developments in the British Indian Ocean Territory". UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2004-06-15. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  18. ^ "Exiles protest in Downing Street". BBC News. 3 November 2004. URL accessed 1 June 2006
  19. ^ Neil Tweedie (2006-05-12). "Britain shamed as exiles of the Chagos Islands win the right to go home". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  20. ^ "Chagos families win legal battle". BBC News. 2007-05-23. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  21. ^ Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and The Queen on the Application Of Bancoult [{{{year}}}] EWCA Civ 498 (3 May 2007)
  22. ^ "Chagos islanders lose battle to return", The Guardian, 22 October 2008
  23. ^ "House of Lords says Chagos exiles cannot return", Radio Netherlands, 22 October 2008
  24. ^ Dick Marty, Switzerland, ALDE (2007-06-07). "Secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states: second report" (.PDF). Section 70; page 13. Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. Retrieved 2008-02-21. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ "Written Answers to Questions 21 June 2004" ([dead link] – Scholar search). Hansard House of Commons Daily Debates. 422 (part 605). UK Parliament. Retrieved 2008-02-21. {{cite journal}}: External link in |format= (help)
  26. ^ a b Ian Cobain (2007-10-19). "Claims of secret CIA jail for terror suspects on British island to be investigated". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-10-21. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Source: US Used UK Isle for Interrogations". Time. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  28. ^ Jamie Doward (2008-03-02). "British island 'used by US for rendition'". The Observer. London. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  29. ^ Staff writers (2008-02-21). "UK apology over rendition flights". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  30. ^ James Robbins (2008-02-21). "Miliband's apology over 'rendition'". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  31. ^ Duncan Campbell (2008-03-12). "British campaigners arrested at sea in Diego Garcia protest". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  32. ^ Patrick Martin (2004-12-30). "Bush's response to South Asia disaster: indifference compounded by political incompetence". World Socialist. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  33. ^ Yechury, Sitaram (1 July 2001). "Access to Indian Military Bases: Making India an Appendage to US". People's Democracy. XXV (26). The Communist Party of India (Marxist). Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  34. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-25566204_ITM
  35. ^ http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/faqs/etopseropsenroutealt.pdf
  36. ^ John Pike (2004-04-27). "Space Shuttle Landing Sites". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  37. ^ a b Change at the helm for MSC's Diego Garcia office
  38. ^ Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) (2007). "2006 Pollution Provention and Solid Waste Success Stories" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  39. ^ a b c American Maritime Officers (2004-11). "Non-union operator wins charter held by Sagamore". AMO Currents. Retrieved 2007-09-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  40. ^ Ted Morris (2007-04-04). "Herons and Land Birds of Diego Garcia". PROPEOPDEMREPDG. Retrieved 2008-02-21.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diego Garcia.

Video

7°18′S 72°24′E / 7.300°S 72.400°E / -7.300; 72.400

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