Legal approach for displaced Palestinians

BALI, INDONESIA – First, an explanation of the dateline. I write from this idyll of a resort, courtesy of my daughter, the more famous Pedrosa, CNN anchor, Veronica who invited me to join her for her holidays. Her husband, war photographer Mark Phillips, is still deep in the American war in Afghanistan and could not make it on time for the already booked holidays. I’ve come to be both babysitter for my grandson, Gabriel, and to find quiet reading time among a bevy of palms and Hindu-influenced architecture.

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Readers of this column will remember that I reviewed the book War on America – Seen from the Indian Ocean, by Sir James Richard Marie Mancham, founding president of Seychelles recently. From the perspective of mainstream Western media, this book may be peripheral but since September 11 there has been a sea-change that dictates this may be presumptuous arrogance. The fact is, and September 11 taught us this, that nothing is insignificant in achieving peace in the world. Indeed, it may be that this penchant for exclusivity by rich and powerful nations like the United States, is a dangerous practice that guarantees its vulnerability. Since my review of President Mancham’s book, he has kept in touch with The STAR through this column.

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Before I left Manila, President Mancham sent me "breaking news" which I want to share with my readers as quickly as possible; hence, this advance column for The STAR and Riyadh Daily, for which I also write a weekly column. First the breaking news itself:

President James Mancham of Maha, Seychelles sent me this dispatch last March 14th 2002. In his despatch, he said U.S. lawyers have briefed Chagossians (inhabitants of Diego Garcia) to seek compensation from the U.S.A. for displacement. Two US lawyers yesterday briefed over 100 Chagossians on efforts the two attorneys and another four were making to seek compensation from the US government for the islanders’ removal from their country in the 1960s. In a meeting which took place in Port Victoria, Maha, lawyers Dan Jawor and Julia Scarpino told the displaced persons that a group headed by Professor Michael Tiger had filed a suit in Columbia, Washington D.C., and the US government’s reaction was due next week. The lawyers would then have 30 days in which to respond to the government’s reaction.

They said they expected the US to ask the court to throw out the case, but were happy that a UK court had already ruled that the eviction of the Chagossians was illegal and it was only fair for the US court to arrive at a similar ruling. They explained that the suit was a "class type" proceeding and required afflictions to be proved in only a sample of the estimated 4,466 islanders.

Saying the "war on terrorism" made Diego Garcia one of the most important places for the US at the moment, the lawyers – whose leader recently won a number of other class suits against cigarette manufacturers – added that this was as opportune a time for them to sue as any. The two told the people who sought refuge in Seychelles when UK offered the Chagos islands to the US for military purpose that they had sued the US government for aiding in genocide, torture, negligence and trespass during the involuntary removal of the islanders.

Asked to explain why genocide was one of the crimes the US was accused of aiding, in addition to trespass and other charges, the lawyers said that the broader sense of the word included such violations as forcing people to adapt to other cultures and separation them from family members. Responding to questions from the Chagossians, the lawyers said they expected the case to last about two years, explaining they were leaving the court to determine the amount of monetary compensation that was due.

They told the sceptical among them that unlike compensation reportedly paid to some in another country which they claimed never reached the intended benefactors, should the US court rule for compensation, it would most probably also appoint a trustee charged with ensuring that the money was not paid to a government or other body, but directly to the displaced islanders.

The story of the Chagos islanders of Diego Garcia fame is covered in the book – War on America – Seen from the Indian Ocean written by Sir James R. Mancham, KBE – the founding President of the Republic of Seychelles which was recently published in the USA by Paragon House (details: paragonhouse.com).

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So what if Chago islanders file a class suit against the USA? What has that to do with Filipino readers of The STAR who are more concerned with the American military presence in Mindanao? Precisely. Chagossians or what happens to them may not interest us but the displacement of peoples in general should interest us. These create occasions for war and unless we find peaceful ways of resolution we can expect bloody battles without end, such as what is happening today between Palestine and Israel which in itself can be said to be a major source of global terrorism .

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That is why the first thing that came to my mind when I received the dispatch from President Mancham was to call a few Arab friends to tell them that the Chagossians’ legal suit might be the model they can use in their struggle for a settlement of the Palestine conflict. Why not explore the possibilities for bringing the case of displaced Palestinians to a world court? The International Court of Justice? I do not know its current standing now from the point of view of its relevance or effectiveness but if a case can be made, then the Arab world should use it in seeking paths of peace. It will enhance its initiative if such a legal suit is made at the same time that it pursues its diplomatic initiative to recognize the state of Israel when the OIC nations meet in Beirut on March 23. Moreover, the suit can be the more acceptable leitmotif for a global public relations campaign for the Arab cause than its accusations against a "hired press" in the West.

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As Mancham says in his dispatch, the Chagossians need only to cite a few of them who were afflicted because of displacement. Surely, the Palestinians will have no problem in putting together a similar class suit of a displacement of people. There is another group that might help in promoting this legal approach and that is the recently formed Committee for Intervention for Human Rights and Peace (I do not have the exact name to hand being away from my notes) which includes UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and former President Fidel V. Ramos. Such a move will draw international action away from warmongering or violence that has recently gained the upper hand both in words and deeds, as ways to resolve conflict.

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I should add that the idea of a legal suit accompanying a diplomatic initiative in the global arena was inspired by our own experience in the Philippines on how to tackle the trial of an impeached President or the Erap "crisis." The threat of violence from his supporters, on one hand and the softer political compromise by senators and congressmen, was doused by a single-minded, stronger and correct preference by civil society for the rule of law. This article will also be printed in Riyadh Daily where I hope it would catch the attention of the Saudi officials concerned.

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My e-mail address: [email protected] or [email protected].