Place:British Indian Ocean Territory

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NameBritish Indian Ocean Territory
Alt namesBIOTsource: Wikipedia
IO00source: NIMA, GEOnet Names Server (1998-2000) accessed 01/20/99
Territorio Británico del Océano Índicosource: Rand McNally Atlas (1994) I-174
TypeTerritory
Coordinates7°S 72.017°E
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islandsmany very smallamounting to a total land area of . The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia, , the site of a Joint Military Facility of the United Kingdom and the United States.

The only inhabitants are British and U.S. military personnel and associated contractors, who collectively number around 3,000 (2018 figures). The forced removal of Chagossians from the Chagos Archipelago occurred between 1968 and 1973. The Chagossians, then numbering about 2,000 people, were expelled by the UK government to Mauritius and Seychelles in order to construct the military base. Today, the exiled Chagossians are still trying to return, saying that the forced expulsion and dispossession was unlawful, but the UK government has repeatedly denied them the right of return. The islands are off-limits to Chagossians, casual tourists, and the media.

Since the 1980s, the Government of Mauritius has sought to regain control over the Chagos Archipelago, which was separated from the then Crown Colony of Mauritius by the UK in 1965 to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. A February 2019 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice called for the islands to be given to Mauritius. Since this, the United Nations General Assembly and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea have reached similar decisions.

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How places in British Indian Ocean Territory are organized

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All places in British Indian Ocean Territory

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Further information on historical place organization in British Indian Ocean Territory

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