Comment by rdtsc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rdtsc | Hacker News Reader

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> Just so no one is misled: "original inhabitants" does not mean "indigenous peoples" with respect to the BIOT. ... The depopulation was of post-colonial people.

Oh that's fine then. They only lived there for what 100 years, totally fine to do these things to those 1000 some people:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Garcia

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first tactics were implemented to decrease the population of Diego Garcia. Those who left the island - either for vacation or medical purposes - were not allowed to return, and those who stayed could obtain only restricted food and medical supplies. This tactic was in hope that those that stayed would leave "willingly".[26] One of the tactics used was that of the killings of Chagossian pets. Dogs were carried into sheds where they were gassed in front of their owners.[26]

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Is there a country on Earth which does not have a forced removal of 1000+ people in it's history?

I mean, that doesn't justify the act, but I question the logic of claiming moral superiority or questioning authenticity over this.

It isn't anywhere near the worst thing the UK has done (in this case for the US so, I think they share a bit of the blame). The key issue here is that it is ongoing - the UK still isn't allowing them back or properly compensating them. The UK government should recognise that what it did was wrong, establish that the land belongs to the Chagossians and, broker an agreement where the US tries to try to buy the land needed for the base from them. There will be a price that the US government is willing to pay to keep the base there, that the Chagossians will accept, I suspect. If there is not, the base should have to be moved over a period of five years. An alternative might be the construction of an artificial island nearby. It is also possible that the value to the Chagossians, and the cost of building an artificial island, are both greater than the value to the US of having the base, in which case they should just abandon it. This is the only fair solution IMHO.

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