Diego Garcia: Forced removal of a population for a U.S. military base

Stealing a Nation (2004)

Documentary about the joint U.S.-British effort which forcibly and secretively expelled the Chagossian population from Diego Garcia and neighboring islands to make way for a U.S. military base.

"...it was, from the beginning, a US plan. The US identified Diego Garcia as the site for a military base beginning in the late 1950s and approached the British to gain access to the islands and to remove the Chagossians. And with the help of a $14 million secret payment that we made to the British government, we secured their agreement to give us access to the island and then to forcibly remove all the Chagossians..." -- David Vine. "Forcibly Exiled Nearly 40 Years Ago, Diego Garcia Natives Fight to Return to Island Home Now Used as Key US Military Outpost." Democracy Now, 2009-10-09.

Diego Garcia: Launchpad for invasions

a map showing the nearly central location of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, including labels showing the distance to other locations from Diego Garcia. Extended description available at link below.

Click here to read an extended description of this image.

"The Diego Garcia military base was established there after Britain—which ‘owns’ Chagos—forcibly removed its inhabitants between 1968 and 1973. Diego Garcia is one of America’s ‘most important and secretive’ military bases, and has been central to launching invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan and flying missions across Asia, including over the South China Sea." -- Asoka Bandarage. "U.S. Military Presence and Popular Resistance in Sri Lanka." CovertAction Magazine, 2019-08-12.