Allen Vincatassin

Allen Vincatassin is a Chagossian activist who is the first and current President of the Diego Garcia and Chagos Islands Council.

Early life

Vincatassin was one year old when he was evicted from the Chagos Islands. His parents were not married and so ended up on separate islands. Vincatassin went with his paternal grandparents to Mauritius where he was forced to live in poverty.[1]

Political career

Vincatassin was elected as the President of the Diego Garcia and Chagos Islands Council in 2011.[2]

Vincatassin is opposed to Olivier Bancoult's Chagos Refugee Group as "they want Mauritian sovereignty over the islands. That is something we cannot negotiate. We believe that the rights of our people come first, not the state of Mauritius. We are proud to be British citizens and we believe a true democratic future lies with the UK."[3]

Speaking on the revelation that the Chagos Islands may have been used for torture, Vincatassin said: "Our homeland should only be used for good purposes, not as a second Guantanamo Bay with no set of rules or laws like other countries."[1]

Vincatassin said that the government "should disclose how much money it has received" from the sale of .io domain names and asked the government to provide "assurances that it will be used for the islands, including the resettlement that so many Chagossians want to see happen."[4]

In 2015, Vincatassin was interviewed by George Galloway on RT UK's Sputnik.[2]

Books

References

  1. 1 2 Jones, David (20 December 2014). "Is this speck in the Indian Ocean Britain's Guantanamo? Chilling questions raised over secretive island as more disturbing allegations emerge over UK's role in CIA torture". Daily Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 ""UK has a moral duty to Let Us Return" Chagossian Allen Vincatassin on Sputnik". UK Chagos Support Association. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Morrison, Alex (23 February 2011). "Meet the world’s smallest democratic government". Open Democracy. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Milmo, Cahal (30 June 2014). "Government accused of profiting from sales of Chagos Islands '.io' domain name". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
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