A coalition of advocacy groups and peace advocates has launched an international campaign to remove British military bases from Cyprus.
The “UK-US: Bases Off Cyprus” initiative kicked-off an webinar last night, featuring organizations ‘concerned about the military presence on the island’.
The campaign highlights the ‘problematic role’ of British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus, describing them as “hubs for UK and US military operations” that aid in weapons transfers and intelligence sharing, especially in regional conflicts.
Jeremy Corbyn – a prominent British politician who served as the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2015 to 2020 – took part.
Critics have dubbed the bases “a lasting remnant of colonial rule” and undermine Cypriot sovereignty.
Representatives from various organizations, including the Stop the War Campaign (UK), the Palestinian Youth Movement, and Cypriot groups such as Genocide-Free Cyprus, Far Right Watch, and the Cyprus Peace Council, spoke at the webinar.
The British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus were retained by the UK under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment. Akrotiri, near Limassol, hosts a key RAF station for Middle Eastern and Mediterranean operations, while Dhekelia, near Larnaca, houses a British Army garrison and is adjacent to the UN Buffer Zone.
These bases cover around 3% of Cyprus’s territory and remain strategically important, but their presence is contentious among Cypriots, who see them as remnants of colonial rule undermining Cypriot sovereignty.
LONG HISTORY OF OPPOSITION
The continued existence of the Bases was, for the first time, raised as an issue in the 1987 presidential election campaign, posing the most serious challenge to the Government of the then President Kyprianou.
Kyprianou, who had been elected unopposed after the death of Archbishop Makarios in 1975, faced strong candidates from both the right and the left in the elections.
The President risked being knocked out in the first round of voting, potentially leaving a final contest between Glafkos Clerides, the leader of the right-wing Rally Party, and George Vassiliou, who had been endorsed by the communist party, Akel.
It was Vassiliou who raised the subject of the bases at Episkopi, Akrotiri, and Dhekelia, which in 1960, at the time of independence, were made sovereign British territory. Under international law, British ownership could not be unilaterally revoked by Cyprus, but any change in the Cypriot attitude would have been viewed unfavorably by Whitehall.
Opposition to the bases was not new, but there were signs that Cypriot anxiety was growing. That year, for the first time, saw a 4,000-strong peace march against Dhekelia, and there were two terrorist attacks against the bases.