"Diego Garcia" a Diego Garcia Travel Page by Ekahau

Diego Garcia was the population center of The Chagos Archipelago before the Americans built a base here which you can see in the picture. Although Diego Garcia once had a small native population, the inhabitants, known as the Ilois, were forced to relocate (1967–1973) so that the island could be turned into a military base—over the strong protestations of other Indian Ocean islands, who objected to having cruise missiles as neighbors. Most of the displaced Ilois were agricultural workers and fisherman. Uprooted and robbed of their livelihood, the Ilois now live in poverty in Mauritius's urban slums, more than 1,000 miles from their homeland. In 2000, a British court ruled that the order to evacuate Diego Garcia's inhabitants was invalid, but the court also upheld the island's military status, which permits only personnel authorized by the military to inhabit the island. The Ilois are currently suing both the U.S. and the British governments for compensation and the right to repatriation.

VIDEO OF THE EXPULSION FROM DIEGO GARCIA PAINFUL TO WATCH BUT WORTH SEEING

Chagos is an isolated group of atolls and reefs in the Central Indian Ocean. The group forms the southern end of the Laccadives - Maldives - Chagos atoll chain, and is centred at about 6° South, 72° East, roughly 2,000 miles east of Africa and 2,000 miles west of Singapore. There are five atolls, ten reefs and submerged shoals and 55 islands. One of the atolls, the Great Chagos Bank, is the largest atoll in the Indian Ocean. And lots and lots of Birds. Where I come in.