05.12.2010
Subash Gobine and the Diego military base.
On several recent radio programs and press interviews LALIT militants have commented on the mysterious need some people feel to express their cynicism as regards the struggle for the Chagos. We have said that it was clear what the motivation of the British and USA military apparatus was to hang on to this part of Mauritian territory; we understand the erroneous reasoning behind the court cases of the Grup Refizye Chagos in London and Europe; we can see the misguided logic of the MMM position to claim the other islands of the Chagos and “agree to disagree” on the issue of Diego Garcia. We could even see the way that single issue environmentalist organisations had been manipulated by the British State, and we warned some of them, like Greenpeace.
But we find it difficult to understand the motivation of people who think that there is nothing that can be done to retrieve the Chagos, allow the Chagossians to return should they so wish, and to build up pressure to have the Diego military base closed. Those people seem to be saying that we are wasting our time, as if that is any of their business how we chose to spend our time.
In an “Opinion” article in “Le Defi Plus” of 4th December 2010, Subash Gobine writes that the British and Americans have consistently chosen to keep the Chagos depopulated, to assure the security of the Diego Base which he describes as “une base ideale”. Then he asks the question: “Vont-ils changer parce que les Chagossians se font bruyants et qu’un groupuscule organise un seminaire?”
We presume he is talking about the 4-day International Conference that LALIT organised on 30, 31 October and 1, 2 November 2010. He is clearly implying that this has been a total waste of time, as it will not immediately drive the Americans back into the sea! Perhaps if he had paid more attention to the aims and content of the Conference, he may have reached some other conclusion.
We wonder whether Subash Gobine has held the same “opinion” throughout his rich and variegated journalistic career that has spanned the whole of the Mauritian political spectrum: the opinion that anybody carrying forwards the struggle for the Chagos is simply wasting their time. But we certainly look forward to reading in future Wikileaks how the US Embassy in Mauritius appreciates this opinion of Subash Gobine in the future “cables” to the State Department.
Ram Seegobin