A coral atoll, part of the Chagos Archipelago. Do you have the vaguest idea where that is? If I say “The Indian Ocean” — does that narrow it down? Near Mauritius? Ring a bell? Anyone? Oh, dear. It’s, you know, over there, on the other side of the world from you, south of the Equator. Ah, the Equator — that you’ve heard of. (Pellinore mumbles to himself. “Small victories, Pellinore, small victories…one apostrophe at a time….”)
This particular atoll encompasses only about ten square miles. It separated from Mauritius in the 1960’s, and became part of what is known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, and then everyone was moved off of it, so that the Americans could build some military establishment of some kind. This, for some unforeseen reason, agitated the inhabitants of the region, and there was turmoil and table-banging in the 1970’s, and again in the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, the upshot of which is…(say it with me)…it remained a U.S. military base.
In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly demanded that the UK withdraw its colonial administration from the Islands, and return the land to Mauritius, to which the U.S. government replied that neither they nor the British have any plans to discontinue use of the military base on Diego Garcia. To which, in 2020, there was more table-banging.
Moral: There is no justice atoll.