Migrants moved from secretive UK military island after three years

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Migrants moved from secretive *** military island after three years

Getty Images

Diego Garcia hosts a ****** ***-US military base

Migrants stranded for more than three years on the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia have been brought to the ***.

The Sri Lankan Tamils are permitted to remain in the country for six months, with financial support from the Foreign Office, according to documents seen by the BBC.

Their journey to the *** marks the end of years of complex legal battles waged over thousands of miles over their fate, but their long-term future ******** uncertain.

Most of the group of around 60 migrants have been living in a makeshift camp on Diego Garcia – the site of a strategic ***-US military base – since October 2021,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

On Monday, a government spokesperson described the move as a “one-off, due to the exceptional nature of these cases and in the interests of their ********”.

“This government inherited a deeply troubling situation that remained unresolved under the last administration for years,” the spokesperson said.

Tessa Gregory of *** law firm Leigh Day, which represents some of the migrants, said it was the “only sensible solution to end the humanitarian crisis” on the island.

“This vulnerable group which includes 16 children have spent 38 months detained in the most squalid of conditions on Crown land… we hope our clients will now be able to seek safe haven and begin to rebuild their lives,” she said.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

and the migrant camp there, where the Tamils were housed in groups in military tents, some of which had leaks and rats nesting inside.

During their time on the island, there were multiple hunger strikes and numerous incidents of self-harm and ******** attempts in response to the conditions, after which some people were transferred to Rwanda for medical treatment.

There were also allegations of ******* assaults and harassment within the camp.

Migrants have told the BBC it was like living in “*****”.

Supplied

Tamils have been housed in groups in military tents

Those in Rwanda have also been brought to the ***, arriving on a flight on Tuesday morning.

One told the BBC: “I hope to turn a new page. I hope my health will improve and I will transform into a new person.”

Two men with ********* convictions and another under investigation remain on the island, the BBC understands.

The Tamils’ arrival in the *** comes amid uncertainty over the future of the territory.

The *** announced in October that it was ceding control of the Chagos Islands, of which Diego Garcia is part, to Mauritius. But the new Mauritian prime minister

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

which was struck by his predecessor and has still to be signed, and has asked for an independent review.

The deal is facing opposition from some politicians in the *** and allies of US President-elect Donald Trump.

*** Foreign Secretary David Lammy has

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

describing it as a “good deal” for both Mauritius and the ***, and saying it addresses US concerns about the future of the Diego Garcia base.

In recent years, the territory has been costing the *** tens of millions of pounds, with the bulk of this categorised under “migrant costs”.

Communications obtained by the BBC between Foreign Office officials in July warned that “the costs are increasing and the latest forecast is that these will be £50m per annum” if they were to remain there.

Getty Images

Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Islands

In letters sent to the Tamils on Friday from the Home Office, they were told they were being granted temporary entry clearance to the *** “outside of the Immigration Rules” to allow them to consider their “long-term options”.

It stressed that the offer did not “constitute permanent settlement in the *** or recognition of ******** status by the *** government”, and said the group would not be permitted to work.

The government says the Chagos Islands, known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), are “constitutionally distinct” from the ***, with the unusual status leading to the long legal dispute.

Most of the Tamils have been awaiting final decisions on claims for international protection – which the ******* Nations says is akin to ******** status – or appealing against rejections.

In total, eight have been granted international protection, meaning they cannot be returned to Sri Lanka, the BBC understands.

Successive governments have previously said that bringing the Tamils to the *** would risk creating a “********* migration route”.

But the government said on Monday that arrangements had been made to ensure this did not happen, citing a deal to send future arrivals to St Helena – another *** territory some 5,000 miles away.

“Once a sovereignty agreement with Mauritius is fully in place they would then take responsibility for any future migrants,” the spokesperson said.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Migrants #moved #secretive #military #island #years

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up