Editing John Pilger (section)

===''Stealing a Nation''===
{{Main|Stealing a Nation}}
Pilger's documentary ''[[Stealing a Nation]]'' (2004) recounts the [[Expulsion of the Chagossians|expulsion]] of the [[Chagossians]] by Britain and the USA between 1967 and 1973 so that the US could construct a military base on their former land. The poor economic situation faced by the Chagossians in [[Mauritius]] as a result of the deportation is described in the film. After the expulsion, the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] leased [[Diego Garcia]], the largest island in the Chagos Islands, from Britain and constructed a major military base there. In the 21st century, the US used the base for planes which were bombing targets in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a 2000 ruling on the events, the [[International Court of Justice]] described the wholesale removal of the Chagossian peoples from the Chagos Islands by Britain as "a [[crime against humanity]]". Pilger strongly criticised [[Tony Blair]] for failing to respond in a substantive way to the 2000 [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] ruling that the expulsion of the [[Chagossians|Chagossian people]] to Mauritius was illegal.

In March 2005, ''[[Stealing a Nation]]'' received the [[Royal Television Society]] Award.