Letter to the Committee from Mr Paul Jeremy
I am writing with regard to the Government's
recent decision to appeal to the House of Lords over the case
of the Chagos islanders.
As the Government clearly remains obdurate in
its opposition to their return, is there not a case for the House
of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs to hold a hearing
into why this is so?
I should emphasise that I have no connection
with the campaign mounted by the islanders, but as a Labour Party
voter I am appalled by the treatment they have received from Labour
Governments since the evictions started under Denis Healey from
the 1960s. This record of callousness and duplicity belies the
Labour Party's honourable record of standing up for oppressed
people in British colonies and dependent territories.
I have no doubt that your committee has to prioritise
in its inquiries, but surely when we witness this government slyly
slipping this appeal through just when the Queen's Speech was
being delivered, then it should be brought to account by an independent
committee which is in the best position to examine such abusive
practices.
18 November 2007
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