Bérenger Questions Ramgoolam's Protocol on Chagos London Trip

Opposition leader Paul Bérenger has publicly questioned the diplomatic protocol behind Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam's planned trip to London to discuss the Chagos Islands issue, arguing that such a visit sets a damaging precedent for Mauritius's standing as a sovereign state. Speaking at a press conference on Saturday 26 July, the leader of the Front Militant Progressiste (FMP) — a Mauritian opposition party — was blunt in his criticism. "A prime minister cannot go to London to meet an advisor," he said, switching between Mauritian Creole and French. "What concept of the State, of a Prime Minister, does he have?" **What is the dispute about?** The trip in question involves Ramgoolam travelling to the United Kingdom to meet Jonathan Powell, the British Prime Minister's Special Envoy and National Security Advisor. Powell has been a key figure in the UK's engagement on the Chagos Islands question — the long-running sovereignty dispute between Mauritius and the United Kingdom over the Chagos Archipelago, home to the Diego Garcia military base jointly operated by the UK and the United States. Mauritius has consistently asserted that the Chagos Islands — separated from the country by the British colonial administration in 1965, three years before independence — are an integral part of its territory. A landmark 2019 International Court of Justice advisory opinion and a 2021 UN General Assembly resolution both backed Mauritius's position. **Bérenger's argument: this is a head-of-state matter** Bérenger's core objection is one of protocol and sovereign dignity. In his view, substantive negotiations on Chagos sovereignty should take place directly between Prime Minister Ramgoolam and his British counterpart — not between Ramgoolam and an advisor, however senior. He argued that this framing risks positioning Mauritius as the junior party in the talks. He also renewed his call for the establishment of a High Powered Committee on Chagos — a cross-party, expert body that would provide a structured, authoritative framework for Mauritius's negotiating position. Bérenger suggested that such a committee could then formally engage Jonathan Powell in a supporting role, helping to advance the decolonisation process without compromising the dignity of the Mauritian head of government. **What this means** The Chagos negotiations are at a delicate stage. The UK government under Keir Starmer has been reviewing the draft agreement reached under the previous Conservative administration, and Mauritius has repeatedly stated that sovereignty is non-negotiable. In this context, the optics of who meets whom — and at what level — carry real diplomatic weight. Bérenger's criticism reflects a broader concern among some Mauritian politicians that the Ramgoolam government may be moving too quickly, or too informally, on a file that defines the nation's territorial integrity. Source: ION News