Mauritius getting international support in Diego Garcia claims: BBC

The BBC said Mauritius is gaining a lot of international support in its claims against the UK on Diego Garcia.

In a report today, the British television station said Mauritius has surprisingly garnered a great deal of international support.

Last year, Mauritius won an opportunity to present its case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Mauritius recently embarked on a diplomatic campaign to win international support for the islands’ return.

Last year, the UK suffered a humiliating defeat at the United Nations general assembly.

The UN members voted overwhelmingly to send the matter to the ICJ in The Hague.

Last year, the UK’s traditional European allies, including France and Germany, chose to abstain.

Experts said the US lost support after it voted for Brexit, with one lawyer saying Britain has fallen off its pedestal.

People are also saying the Diego Garcia case is a sign of the end of the British empire and the end of colonialism.

Mauritius has also accused the British government of arm-twisting, threatening a close ally. According to the Mauritians, it is now a bitter diplomatic tug-of-war. At stake is the fate of the tiny, strategic archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

“The dispute over the Chagos Islands – home to the US military base on Diego Garcia – is being portrayed by some as an indication of Britain’s waning influence on the world stage following the Brexit vote,” wrote the BBC.

Next week the issue will come before judges at the ICJ in The Hague.

Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth, in an interview with BBC News, said there were threats against Mauritius.

He said they were in forms of retaliation.

“Retaliations… on issues of trade and on issues of investment, you know, and on our relationship with the UK,” Mr Jugnauth said, according to the BBC.