Exiled Chagossians confident of Feb. court victory

PORT LOUIS, Jan 11 (Reuters) Indian Ocean islanders expelled from their homes are confident that a British court hearing in early February will allow them to return, their representative said today.

Some 2,000 islanders from the Chagos archipelago, a British territory between Africa and Indonesia, were forcibly exiled in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the US airbase on the island of Diego Garcia.

The base played a strategic role in the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Olivier Bancoult, chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group, told Reuters the High Court hearing in London would take place between the 5th and 9th of February.

''We expect a judgement at the end of March, beginning of April,'' he said. ''We are very confident.'' He added that a second case against Britain was pending in the European Court of Human Rights.

The Chagossians won court cases against the British government in both 2000 and 2006, but appeals and exceptional legal procedures have so far blocked their return.

''If we win, we will go back,'' Bancoult said.

Analysts say conceding to Chagossian demands will be politically difficult for Britain because Washington insists that the islands near Diego Garcia should remain unpopulated.

A British High Commission official in Port Louis said it would be inappropriate to comment while the case was still before the courts.

REUTERS SB MIR BST1700