Now is not the time to discuss how appropriate Orders-in-Council are for lawmaking in a twenty-first-century democracy, but this move showed disregard for the Chagossians’ basic human rights. Earlier this year, we saw this cynicism in action once again, when David Miliband, foreign secretary in the previous Labour government, declared the Chagos Islands to be a protected marine zone, thereby preventing the islanders – if eventually they do return – from making their living from fishing.
在英国这个21世纪的现代民主国家，如今已经无须争论枢密院令究竟如何适用于法律制定了，但这一举措表现出了一种对查戈斯人基本人权的漠视。在今年早些时候，这种犬儒主义的行为又一次出现在我们面前，即将离任的外交大臣大卫·米利班德竟然宣称查戈斯群岛依然是海军禁区，因此也不允许岛民——如果查戈斯人能真正回归的话——从事捕鱼活动。