FOR decades they lived in exile, kicked out of their tropical homeland by the British government to make way for a US military base. Then 20 months ago, islanders from the remote Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean heard the news they’d been waiting for. The High Court in London declared they could return home.
But the American military, which has a base on Diego Garcia – the largest, most habitable island where the majority of Chagosians once lived – refuse point-blank to let them visit. Now their prospects of returning have diminished further.
The other coral islands in the group may…
