UK and U.S. for the U.S. to use the island as a military base was made in 1966. It runs until 2036, but either government can opt out of the agreement in 2016. Construction and maintenance of the base's communications equipment, fuel facilities and military hardware are done strictly by military contractors, and inventories of that weaponry are classified. No service-member family dependents are allowed. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense said that there were more buildings on Diego Garcia (654) than military personnel.[11] [edit] Politics Detailed map of Diego Garcia. In 2000 the British High Court granted the islanders the right to return to the Archipelago and granted them UK citizenship. In 2002, the islanders and their descendants, now numbering 4,500, returned to court requesting compensation, after two years of delays by the British Foreign Office. However, on June 10, 2004, the British government made two Orders-in-Council banning the islanders from returning home, reversing the 2000 court decision.[12] Some of the Chagossians are making return plans to turn Diego Garcia into a sugarcane and fishing enterprise as soon as the defence agreement expires. A few dozen other Chagossians are still fighting to be housed in the UK.[13] On May 11, 2006, the High Court ruled that the 2004 Orders-in-Council were unlawful, and that the Chagossians were entitled to return to the Chagos Archipelago.[14] This judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal on May 23, 2007.[15][16] It is not known whether the British Government will make a further appeal, or how and when the judgment might be carried out. [edit] Torture site allegation Human rights groups claim that the military base is used by the U.S. government for the controversial extraordinary rendition of prisoners. This claim was supported by the Council of Europe in June 2007.[17] The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stated in parliament that U.S. authorities have repeatedly assured him that no detainees have passed in transit through Diego Garcia or have disembarked there.[18] In October 2007 the all-party Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament announced that it would launch an investigation of the claims, which it is reported were twice confirmed by General Barry McCaffrey.[19] On October 19, 2007 The Guardian reported: "The all-party foreign affairs committee is to examine long-standing suspicions that the agency has operated one of its so-called 'black site' prisons on Diego Garcia..."[19] The Guardian quoted British Member of Parliament Andrew Tyrie, "Time and time again the UK government has relied on US assurances on this issue, refusing to examine the truth of these allegations for themselves. It is high time our government took its head out of the sand and looked into these allegations." [edit] Rendition admission by F.O. On February 21, 2008, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted that two US extraordinary rendition flights refueled on Diego Garcia in 2002.[20] Further, it has been implied that these actions constituted a direct breach of the treaty between the US and the UK concerning Diego Garcia.[21] [22] [edit] Further allegations from U.N. Official Manfred Novak, the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, says that credible evidence exists supporting allegations about the use Diego Garcia as a prison for alleged terrorists. Clara Gutteridge, an investigator with human rights group Reprieve, states that US-operated ships moored outside the territorial waters of Diego Garcia were used to incarcerate and torture detainees.[23] [edit] Arrests On 12 March 2008, The Guardian reported that two British protesters had been arrested for "entering the waters [of Diego Garcia] illegally". [24] [edit] Strategic importance During the Cold War era, the United States was keen on establishing a military base in the Indian Ocean. Because of Diego Garcia's proximity to India, a potential ally of the Soviet Union, the United States saw the island as a strategically important one. U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia have caused friction between India and U.S. in the past.[25] Various political parties in India repeatedly demanded that the U.S. dismantle the military base as they saw U.S. naval presence in Diego Garcia as a potential threat to India's dominance of the Indian Ocean.[26] B-1B Lancer Bombers on Diego Garcia. After the end of the Cold War, relations between India and U.S. improved dramatically. Diego Garcia was the site of several naval exercises between the U.S. and Indian Navy held between 2001 and 2004. Diego Garcia is also located relatively close to the Middle East, and experienced rapid military build-ups during the beginnings of the Iranian revolution and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Diego Garcia has several current missions. U.S. Air Force bombers and AWACS surveillance planes operate from the 3,650 m (12,000 ft) runway, and the USAF Space Command has built a satellite tracking station and communications facility. The atoll shelters the 14 ships of Marine Prepositioning Squadron Two. These ships carry the equipment and supplies to support a major armed force with light tanks, armored personnel carriers, munitions, fuel, spare parts and even a mobile field hospital. This equipment showed its necessity during the Persian Gulf War, when the Squadron quickly delivered its equipment to Saudi Arabia. There, soldiers flown on air transports from U.S. and European bases quickly unloaded and deployed the pre-positioned material. [edit] Pre-positioned vessels This section does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. There are five cargo vessels that each carry Marine Corps supplies sufficient to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force 30 days. MV Anderson MV Baugh MV Bonnyman MV Hauge MV Phillips The four combat force ships provide rapid-response delivery of U.S. Army equipment to ground troops. Three are Lighter aboard ships (LASH) which carry barges called Lighters that contain Army ammunition to be ferried ashore. MV American Cormorant SS Green Harbour, (LASH) SS Green Valley, (LASH) MV Jeb Stuart, (LASH) Five logistics vessels[clarify] service the rapid delivery requirements of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency. There are two Air Force container ships for munitions, missiles and spare parts; a 500-bed hospital ship, and three floating storage and offloading units assigned to Military Sealift Command supporting the Defense Logistics Agency, including an offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS) tanker ship. MV Buffalo Soldier, container MV Fisher container MV Green Ridge, hospital USNS Henry J. Kaiser, tanker SS Potomac, OPDS tanker [edit] GPS Diego Garcia is one of the five control bases for the Global Positioning System, operated by the US military. The US Air Force also has monitoring stations in Hawaii, Kwajalein, Ascension Island, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. The stations synchronise and update the atomic clocks on the 24 orbiting satellites that emit the signals used by GPS receivers. [edit] Space Shuttle The island is one of 33 emergency landing sites worldwide for the United States Space Shuttle.[27] None of these facilities has been used for a Shuttle landing. [edit] Cargo service MV Baffin Strait transits between Singapore and Diego Garcia once a month. Further information: MV Baffin Strait (T-AK W9519) Since 2004 the MV Baffin Strait, often referred to as the "DGAR shuttle," has been chartered to deliver 250 containers each month from Singapore to Diego Garcia.[28] The ship carries everything from fresh food to building supplies to aircraft parts, delivering more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year."[28] On the return trip to Singapore she carries recyclable metals.[29] In 2004 TransAtlantic Lines outbid Sealift Incorporated for the transport contract between Singapore and Diego Garcia.[30] The route had previously been serviced by Sealift Inc.'s MV Sagamore, manned by members of American Maritime Officers and Seafarers' International Union.[30] TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about US$2.7 million.[30] The Baffin Strait's current charter runs from January 10, 2005 to September 30, 2008 at a daily rate of US$12,550 under contract number N00033-05-C-5500.[31] [edit] Wildlife The island is a haven for several types of crab; hermit crabs overrun the jungle at night. The extremely large 4 kg coconut crab, or "robber crab" is found here. There is a large number of red crabs everywhere in the island though it is not known to which species they belong. They can be seen everywhere (tents, showers, laundry rooms, runway, etc.) The island hosts birds from many different regions, including Indian Barred Ground Dove (Geopelia striata), Turtle Dove (Streptopelia picturata), Indian Mynah (Acridotheres tristis), Madagascar Fody (Foudia madagascariensis), and imported chickens (Gallus gallus).[32] All the flora and fauna are protected, and it is even unlawful to be in possession of a dead coconut crab. Hefty fines are levied against violators. Diego Garcia was designated a Ramsar Site on July 04, 2001(354km2). [edit] See also Depopulation of Diego Garcia RAF Gan James Horsburgh Robert Moresby Stealing a Nation [edit] References ^ "Diego Garcia Navy base reports no damage from quake, tsunamis". Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes. 28 December 2004. URL accessed 1 June 2006. ^ a b Sheppard, Charles (April 2005). "The Tsunami, Shore Erosion and Corals in the Chagos Islands". Chagos News 25: 2-7. Chagos Conservation Trust. ISSN 1355-6746. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ "Westminster Hall Debates for 7 July 2004" . Hansard House of Commons Daily Debates vol. 423 (part 615). Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ [1] ^ "Emotional return for Chagossians". BBC News. 14 April 2006. URL accessed 1 June 2006. ^ "Out of Eden". John Pilger, The Guardian. 29 May 2006. URL accessed 1 June 2006 ^ "Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Two", URL Accessed 1 February 2007 ^ Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic (London: Verso, 2004) 221-2. ^ United State Strategic Command: "Re-entry Assessment and Space Surveillance". U.S. Strategic Command. March 2004. URL accessed 1 June 2006 ^ "Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites". GlobalSecurity.org. URL accessed 1 June 2006. ^ Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic (London: Verso, 2004) 221. ^ Developments in the British Indian Ocean Territory. UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (15 June 2004). Retrieved on 2008-02-21. ^ "Exiles protest in Downing Street". BBC News. 3 November 2004. URL accessed 1 June 2006 ^ Neil Tweedie. "Britain shamed as exiles of the Chagos Islands win the right to go home", The Daily Telegraph, 12 May 2006. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ "Chagos families win legal battle", BBC News, 23 May 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and The Queen on the Application Of Bancoult [2007] EWCA 498 (Civ) (2007-05-03) ^ Dick Marty, Switzerland, ALDE (7 June 2007). "Secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states: second report" (.PDF). Section 70; page 13. Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. Retrieved on 2008-02-21. ^ "Written Answers to Questions 21 Jun 2004" . Hansard House of Commons Daily Debates vol. 422 (part 605). UK Parliament. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ a b Ian Cobain; Richard Norton-Taylor. "Claims of secret CIA jail for terror suspects on British island to be investigated", The Guardian, 19 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.  ^ Staff writers. "UK apology over rendition flights", BBC News, 21 February 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ James Robbins. "Miliband's apology over 'rendition'", BBC News, 21 February 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ "Westminster Hall Debates for 7 July 2004" . Hansard House of Commons Daily Debates vol. 423 (part 615). Retrieved on 2008-02-21.  ^ Jamie Doward. "British island 'used by US for rendition'", The Observer, 2 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.  ^ Duncan Campbell. "British campaigners arrested at sea in Diego Garcia protest", The Guardian, 12 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.  ^ Patrick Martin. "Bush's response to South Asia disaster: indifference compounded by political incompetence", World Socialist, 30 December 2004. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.  ^ Yechury, Sitaram (1 July 2001). "Access to Indian Military Bases: Making India an Appendage to US". People's Democracy XXV (26). The Communist Party of India (Marxist) url=http://pd.cpim.org/2001/july01/july012k1_indo_us.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.  ^ John Pike (27 April 2004). Space Shuttle Landing Sites. GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. ^ a b Change at the helm for MSC's Diego Garcia office ^ Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) (2007). 2006 Pollution Provention and Solid Waste Success Stories. U.S. Department of the Navy. Retrieved on 2008-03-18. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sag ^ MSC Procurement Spreadsheet ^ Ted Morris (04 April 2007). Herons and Land Birds of Diego Garcia. PROPEOPDEMREPDG. Retrieved on 2008-02-21. [edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diego Garcia The UK Chagos Support Association : The story so far Chagos Islands Indigenous Population Internet Site Diego Garcia Online: Information for locals of Diego Garcia. Official site of the United States Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia. Official site of the UK PJHQ Overseas Bases, Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia timeline posted at the History Commons Diego Garcia "Camp Justice", GlobalSecurity.org US/UK BIOT defence agreements, 1966-1982, U.S. Court filing Where in the World Is Diego Garcia?, Infoplease.com Simon Winchester on Diego Garcia, in Granta Magazine Diego Garcia: Paradise Cleansed, by John Pilger The Jewel in the Pentagon's Crown, by Gisle Tangenes, BitsofNews.com Atoll Research Bulletin 149: Geography and Ecology of Diego Garcia Atoll Stealing a Nation - A Special Report by John Pilger on Google Video; on YouTube.com A Return from Exile in Sight? The Chagossians and their Struggle, from the Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights Alex Doherty 'Diego Garcia', in ZNet Curtis, Mark Web of Deceit: Britain's Real Role in the World. London:Vintage, 2003. BBC News Exiles lose appeal over benefits 02/11/07 The Island is a jazz opera commisioned and broadcast in the 60's on radio themed on events in Garcia Diego written by William Russo, words Adrian Mitchell performed by the Russo Orchestra sung by Cleo Lane and Denis Quilley Coordinates: 7°18'S, 72°24'E v • d • e Atolls of the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) Atolls with land area Diego Garcia · Egmont Islands · Peros Banhos · Salomon Islands · Great Chagos Bank · Blenheim Reef · Speakers Bank Totally submerged Colvocoresses Reef · Benares Shoals · Victory Bank · Cauvin Bank · Pitt Bank · Ganges Bank · Wight Bank · Centurion Bank · Owen Bank v • d • e Strategic Air Command (SAC) Bases Active (MAJCOM) CONUS Altus (AETC)  · Andrews (AMC)  · Barksdale (ACC)  · Beale (ACC)  · Bolling (AFDW)  · Cannon (AFSOC)  · Columbus (AETC)  · Davis-Monthan (ACC)  · Dyess (ACC)  · Ellsworth (ACC)  · Eglin (AFMC)  · Eielson (PACAF)  · F. E. 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