This is an attempt to shed some light on the excellent paper by Mr Nicholas Rainer about SSR (l’express 18/9/04). The first point is that SSR was against independence initially and for Chagos.

My lay understanding is that, up to 1960, when Cyprus wrested independence with a huge blood bath, the thought of independence of tinier colonies like Mauritius, had never crossed the minds of their leaders. Apart from India and Paskistan, only Ghana and Malaysia were independent (1957).

If in fact, SSR as leader of tiny Mauritius, in such an uncharted subject matter, was at a loss to decide on the question of “independence or not”. He was in good company. Take a look back to May 1775. At the congress of American colonists, few delegates wanted independence. In July 1775, they so petitioned King George III: no independence, but redress of complaints. Even after the war had started, George Washigton (later first President), still pleaded that he did not want independence. The rest is well-known. (See the famous Olive Branch Petition in US History).

As to the excision of the Chagos, the 1960s were the height of cold war. Soviet missiles were at the US doorstep (Cuba) in 1962. The following countries were under Russian-Chinese influence or threat: Madagascar, Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar (Tanzania), Ethiopia, Somalia, Egypt under Nasser, with the Soviets building the Aswan dam there. Monarchy was toppled in Ethiopia). With the entire African mainland bordering the Indian Ocean under Sino-Soviet political control, how could the US and the UK leave Mauritius without retaining a foothold in the region? It was with such a crucial prerequisite that British Prime minister, Harold Wilson, warned SSR: he might return home empty handed. There had been previous excisions: Cayman Islands, Singapore, Seychelles, Guantanamo Bay, inter alia. SSR could not ignore how Chady Jagan was neutralised in British Guyana. I humbly believe that reviews of these crucial phases of our history cannot be complete or objective enough, if they are divorced from foregoing factors. I am not actuated by any controversial mood. This is just a plain factual exposé.

<B>Gowtam CHOYCHOO</B>