Together With Brexit UK Must Exit From Chagos Archipelago And Falklands, Other Overseas Territories May Decide Their Own Fate
The Holier than the Pope, The BBC, speaks about Indian Occupied Kashmir, without any Shame. So now who will speak on the territories all over the world, still under British Occupation.
Some of the Occupation is totally illegal. Imagine, in 1947, the British Government had a plan to hold onto Andaman & Nicobar ! They would have been certainly thrown out like the Portuguese.
The British Occupied Territories are spread across the world covering a diverse range of cultures and environments. The smallest is the tiny island of Pitcairn in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the largest are the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean.
The Occupied Territories though have separate constitutions at least in name with elected governments who are responsible for the day to day administration. They also have a Governor, appointed by The Queen whose responsibilities include external affairs, security, defence and air safety.
LThere are 14 such occupied territories which the Britain considers to be under its Sovereignty but not as part of the United Kingdom itself. Before 1981 the territories being occupied were rightly known as colonies. Then playing their so calked DEMOCRATIC CARD, these were labeled as Overseas Territories.
The territories of Jersey, Guernsey and Iske of Man though also under the sovereignty of the British Queen, have a slightly different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, and are consequently classed as Crown Dependencies rather than Overseas Territories.
Colonies are different from Protectorates, which though under control, are nominally independent states, whereas colonies were part of the state. On the other hand Dominions were independent states, equal in sovereign status to the United Kingdom within the Empire and Commonwealth.
Crown colonies, such as earlier Hong Kong, were differentiated from other colonies in being administered directly by the Crown, without the degree of local autonomy found in self-governed colonies such as Bermuda. The 14 existing occupied territories are :
Anguilla—located in the with area of 102 sq km and population of 12800. Capital is The Valley. Caribbean
Bermuda located in the North Atlantic With an area of 53.3 sq km and a population of 64482. Capital is Hamilton.
British Antarctic Territory Located in Antarctica capturing an area of 1709400200 Sq Km In The Name Of Research. Rothera is the main base.
British Indian Ocean Territory located in Indian Ocean.
Many islands known as Chagos Archipelago. Total land mass 60sq km. Diego Garcia is the main island and presently an USA base on lease. Belongs to Seychelles which has gone to International Court of Justice to get it vacated.
British Virgin Islands located in the Caribbean with total land mass of 153 Sq Km. Road Town is the Capital
Cayman Islands located in the Caribbean. Total land mass is 260 sq. km. George Town is the Capital. Total population is 46600.
Falklands forcibly occupied is located in South Atlantic. Area is 12173 Sq Km and actually belongs to Argentina. It has population of just 2967 and Stanley is the capital
Gibraltar Southern Europe 6.5 km² (2.5 sq mi) 27,776 Gibraltar
Montserrat Caribbean 102 km² (39 sq mi) 9,000 Plymouth (abandoned due to volcano—de facto capital is Brades)
Pitcairn Islands Pacific Ocean 43 km² (17 sq mi)
(all islands) 67 Adamstown
Saint Helena(including Ascension, Tristan da Cunha)
South Atlantic Ocean 410 km² (158 sq mi)
(all islands) 6,563 Jamestown
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Atlantic Ocean 3,903 km² (1508 sq mi) 11-26 staff King Edward Point/Grytviken
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Mediterranean(Cyprus) 254 km² (98 sq mi) 15,000 (almost half British military and staff) Episkopi Cantonment Turks and Caicos Islands
North Atlantic Ocean 430 km²
(166 sq mi) 21,500 Cockburn Town
The head of state in the Overseas Territories is the British King/ Queen. The Queen appoints a representative in each territory to exercise her executive power.
• British Antarctic Territory
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
No native population, therefore there is no elected government. The Commissioner, supported by an Administrator run the affairs of the territory.
• British Indian Ocean Territory
There is no elected government, and currently has no native settled population. However, the Chagos Islanders – who were forcibly evicted from the territory in 1971 and considered to be that territory’s people – are currently defending an appeal against an English High Court judgment which quashed an Order preventing them from returning.
• Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
There is no elected government, however the British military authorities try to ensure convergence of laws with those of the Republic of Cyprus where possible.
• Pitcairn Islands
There is an elected Mayor and Island Council, who have the power to propose and administer local legislation. However, their decisions are subject to approval by the Governor, who retains near-unlimited powers of plenary legislation on behalf of the United Kingdom Government.
• Falkland Islands
• Saint Helena
The Government consists of an elected Legislative Council. The Governor is the head of government and leads the Executive Council, consisting of appointed members made up from the Legislative Council and two ex-offico members.
• Anguilla
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Montserrat
These larger territories have a larger Legislative Council, with political parties. The Executive Council is usually called a cabinet and is led by a Chief Minister (except in the Cayman Islands, which have a Leader of Government Business), who is the leader of the majority party in parliament.
The Governor exercises less power over local affairs and deals mostly with foreign affairs and economic issues, while the elected government controls most “domestic” concerns.
• Gibraltar
Under the 2006 constitution which was approved in Gibraltar by a referendum, Gibraltar now has a Parliament. The Government, headed by the Chief Minister is elected.
Defence, external affairs and internal security vest in the Governor as a matter of distribution of powers. The UK, administers absolutely nothing in Gibraltar.[5]
• Bermuda
• Turks and Caicos Islands
Bermuda, settled in 1609, is the oldest and most populous of the Overseas Territories, and most executive powers have been devolved to the head of government, known as the Premier.
Its system of government is very similar to that of a sovereign Commonwealth Realm. The UK government retains only minor powers, exercised through the Governor, but most of those are handed to local ministers for day-to-day purposes.
Bermuda’s Parliament held its first session in 1620, and Bermuda has been largely self-governed and self-sufficient since then.
The Turks and Caicos Islands adopted a new constitution effective 9 August 2006 ; their head of government now also has the title Premier, and their autonomy has been greatly increased.
