The agreement was scheduled to be signed at a virtual ceremony with Mauritian government representatives on Thursday morning, but the injunction was issued in the last minute.
Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, two British nationals who were born at the Diego Garcia military base in Chagos and who argued that the islands should remain under British control, took action after Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe made their case in court.
The British government’s negotiations with a potential transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government were temporarily halted by High Court Judge Julian Goose.
He further stated that the defendant intends to keep the United Kingdom’s jurisdiction over the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Another court hearing is set for 10.30am (09: 30 GMT).
The two nationals’ lawyer, Michael Polak, claimed earlier this year that the government’s attempt to “give away” the islands without having them formally consulted with its residents was a continuation of their terrible treatment by the authorities in the past.
They continue to be the island people, but Polak claimed that their needs and desires are being ignored.
The Chagos Islands and Mauritius were split in 1965 by the UK, which has held control of the area since 1814, to form the British Indian Ocean Territory.
To make way for the Diego Garcia airbase on the largest island, the government evacuated about 1,500 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the early 1970s.
The government made a draft agreement in October that would grant Mauritius access to the islands and permit the United States to keep using the Diego Garcia base for a 99-year lease.
Source: Aljazeera
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