How does the situation in the Chagos islands give credibility to the claim that “all states are sovereign but some are more sovereign that others”?

The situation in the Chagos islands gives credibility to the claim by demonstrating how two states with power can blatantly disregard the welfare of another nation without power in order to attain their own national interests, namely the United States and Britain.

According to Houbert, its was because of the rise of Communism that the United States and Britain felt they needed setup bases in the Indian ocean to prevent the spread of communist ideologies (1992: 466). The USSR has land access to the rest of Asia, which gave them the ability to spread their communist ideologies with relative ease. The only way for the United States and Britain to gain influence into Asia was to setup a base on the island of Diego Garcia.

What is important to note here that they did not simply setup a base on Diego Garcia, they first deported the population. The local inhabitants, which had been living there for over 300 years (Pilger, 2004:1) were striped of their national identities and forcefully evicted into the slums of Mauritius. One can draw comparison between how the Diego Garcians were evicted with how the Apartheid state evicted people of colour from their homes.

Another important thing to note is that this took place during the Cold War. People generally learn from their mistake, but not the United States and Britain. Even in recent time, the sovereignty of the United States and Britain is still put ahead of less powerful states. According to Pilger, in 2000 the islanders made a small victory. The high court of Britain ruled their expulsion illegal. This victory was, however, short lived as in 2003 a follow-up case in the High Court of overturned the 2000 judgment (Pilger, 2004:1).

It appears that even in recent time, the United States and Britain are unwilling to admit their mistakes and that all states are sovereign but some states are more sovereign than others.

List of References:

· Houbert, J. (Sep., 1992). The Indian Ocean Creole Islands: Geo-Politics and Decolonization. The Journal of Modern African Studies. 30 (3). 465-484.

· Pilger, J. 2004. When Sin Plucks on Sin: Stealing Diego Garcia. [Online]. Available: http://www.counterpunch.org/pilger10062004.html. [Accessed: 2 August 2010].