US must quit DIEGO GARCIA
Arvin Boolell, the foreign minister of Mauritius, drew the attention of the participants to continuing illegal occupation of the Chagos island chain in the Indian Ocean and the use of the Diego Garcia military base located there for waging war and for nuclear activities. The colonial power, Great Britain, without the consent of Mauritius government, had leased the Diego Garcia base to the US. The military base is crucial to the ongoing American military campaign of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan. In case there is a military attack on Iran, Diego Garcia with its strategic location in the Indian Ocean will be an important forward base for the US. Boolell said that the latest WikiLeaks data revealed that one of the islands in the Chagos chain was earmarked for nuclear experiments by the US. He also pointed out that the islands were also used for rendition activities by the Bush administration. Boolell called for a diplomatic war to be waged and a common front to be forged against the imperial powers that still hold sway over large chunks of the developing world.
An interesting intervention was made by the noted French lawyer, Jacques Verges. Verges, who has carved out a lasting niche for himself through his consistent struggle against colonialism and imperialism since the 1950s, said that international law has been emasculated by judges appointed by the West. Verges, whose last high profile client was Ramirez Sanchez, known internationally as Carlos the Jackal, gave the instance of the case against Slobodan Milosevic. He said that the rules governing the case were changed 42 times. “Those who provide the money, decide the judges,” said Verges. He was extremely critical about the various international tribunals set up by the UN. Verges said that the tribunal set up to enquire the Hariri murder in Lebanon had first implicated Syria. Four senior Syrian army officers were arrested and had to spend four years behind bars. Now the UN says that the finger of suspicion is on the Hezbollah. On the other hand, he said, the UN is silent when the entire population of the Chagos islands are deported. “Is that not a violation of international law,” Verges asked.
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