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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the circumstances in which the Government of Mauritius told his Department that the Mauritius Shipping Company cancelled a visit to Diego Garcia for Chagossians and (b) the implementation of his undertaking to Chagossians that they be allowed to visit ancestral graves in the British Indian Ocean Territory. [210472] Mr. Rammell: The British High Commission in Mauritius was informed in November 2004 by the Mauritius Shipping Corporation (MSC), a parastatal company, that the M/V Trochetia would be available for a visit to the British Indian Ocean Territory to take place in April. A provisional booking of the vessel was made on 29 December. In the meantime, I had written to the Mauritian Foreign Minister on 13 December to inform him of the visit and that we were entering into negotiation with the MSC. On 7 January the MSC informed the British High Commission that the M/V Trochetia could not be made available, and the Prime Minister of Mauritius told me on 13 January that it was he who had personally intervened to prevent its use because he felt it would undermine Mauritius' claim to sovereignty. My officials are seeking to make alternative arrangements to enable the visit to go ahead.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

210472; 430 c427W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

British Indian Ocean Territory Mauritius Politics and government Shipping Diego Garcia Visits

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk