- Stephen Doughty, Foreign Minister: « And I am confident that the details of this arrangement will allay any (US) concerns »
En tout cas, l’ancien Premier ministre, Pravind Jugnauth, a légué au gouvernement de l’Alliance du Changement, mené par Navin Ramgoolam, un cadeau empoisonné, sous la forme du Chagos Deal, annoncé formellement le 3 octobre dernier. C’est du moins ce qui ressort de la levée de boucliers à la Chambre des Communes lors du Question Time d’hier après-midi. Le clan de l’Anti-Chagos Deal, avec pour leader Nigel Farage du UK Reform est monté en force pour brandir une éventuelle menace de veto de Donald Trump au retour de l’archipel des Chagos à Maurice. De son côté, répondant aux interpellations parlementaires, le Foreign Minister, Stephen Doughty, se dit confiant de pouvoir convaincre l’Administration des États-Unis de la pertinence de cette démarche. De son côté, la BBC fait état d’une manifestation des Chagossiens à Londres pour contester tout accord bilatéral au sujet de cette affaire.
Nigel Farage, intervenant lors des échanges à la Chambre des Communes, a affirmé que la nouvelle administration, devant s’installer à la Maison-Blanche dès le 20 janvier, se prépare à apposer un veto catégorique à tout accord anglo-mauricien sur les Chagos. Les consultations, remettant en cause la validité de cet accord, se déroulent au niveau du Pentagone en vue de rejeter l’accord du 3 octobre dernier, présenté par Pravind Jugnauth comme un Done Deal avec des milliards en prime.
« And if you say to me, ‘Well, yes, it’s OK, the United States are fully in favour [of the sovereignty deal], really I can tell you that the incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has form on this, right back to when [James Cleverly, the then foreign secretary] was doing his best to give away the sovereignty of the Chagos islands. Indeed, he wrote to Secretary of State Blinken at the time. There is, I can assure you, having been in America last week, knowing also the incoming defense secretary [Pete Hegseth] very well, there is outright hostility to this deal », affirme Nigel Farage à la Chambre des Communes.
« Whatever is said about a lease agreement, as we saw with Hong Kong, these agreements can very, very easily be broken. Diego Garcia was described to me by a senior Trump adviser as the most important island on the planet as far as America was concerned. So you’re going to outright hostility [to the deal from the Trump administration] … There is no basis for this agreement to continue what it is, and if you do, you will be at conflict with a country without which we would be defenseless », devait-il poursuivre.
Le leader du UK Reform Party devait s’appuyer sur la manifestation, hier, des Chagossiens pour étayer ses dires. « And by the way, when it comes to the Chagossian people, yes, of course, what happened to them was truly awful. They do not wish to live – they’re unanimous in this – they do not wish to live under Mauritian rule. They want to live under British rule because they actually trust us », maintient-il.
Le porte-parole du gouvernement Starmer devait essayer de calmer les ardeurs. « I fundamentally disagree with what [Farage] has had to say. Let me be absolutely clear, this government inherited a situation where the long-term secure operation of this crucial military base [Diego Garcia] was under threat International courts were reaching judgments. International organizations were taking steps not to undermine Mauritian sovereignty, and this threatened the secure and effective operation of the base. And, in the absence of a negotiated solution, a legally binding decision against the UK seemed inevitable. This would have threatened the secure and effective operation of the base and that was not sustainable », s’est-il évertué à expliquer aux parlementaires anglais.
« We’re looking very forward to working with [the incoming Trump administration], and I’m sure that they will be being briefed on the full detail of this deal. And I am confident that the details of this arrangement will allay any concerns », declare Stephen Doughy.
Les conservateurs britanniques sont déjà sur les Starting Blocks pour se joindre à la coalition anti-Chagos Deal sur le plan international. En tout cas, c’est ce qu’affirme Dame Priti Patel In No Uncertain Terms dans son First Commons Outing en tant que Shadow Foreign Secretary,
« The world is a more dangerous place than ever before in our lifetimes, and this government has agreed to give away a key strategic asset in the Indian Ocean ending more than 200 years of British sovereignty. It is a wrong decision, and we stand by that completely. A month is now gone since the government’s announcement, but we’re still in the dark about exactly what the government has agreed and this is simply not acceptable. We have no treaty and vital questions remain unanswered. That is unacceptable, and the minister needs to put that right today. We cannot afford for our military base on Diego Garcia to be compromised in this way », indique-t-elle.
Les conservateurs britanniques pourraient compter sur la générosité de Lord Ashcroft, le billionaire former Tory Deputy Chairman, pour financer toute campagne contre le Chagos-Deal. « I am on to financially support any legal action to reverse the shameful giveaway of the Chagos Islands. I have been there and understand why UK sovereignty is imperative… », déclare-t-il sur les réseaux sociaux.
Du pain sur la planche pour le nouveau Premier ministre sur le dossier des Chagos.