Cyprus-Forum.com

[Bananiot]

Found the following from the Cyprus News Agency:

1350:CYPPRESS:05
Britain proposes Bases area for Cyprus settlement

London, Feb 24 (CNA) -- The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British envoy for Cyprus, Lord David Hannay, confirmed today reports that Britain is ready to grant an area of 45 square miles regarding its two sovereign bases on the island, as a contribution towards a solution to the Cyprus problem.

A Foreign Office Spokesman told CNA that the proposal is included in a revised plan the UN Secretary-General is expected to table for a compehensive Cyprus settlement.

According to the Spokesman, the British proposal will be valid only if both sides agree to the Annan proposals as a whole.

Details from:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... /11307.htm

And, here are the maps:

[Get Real!]

Bananiot, isn’t the larger blue area at Akrotiri shown on the map the useless swamp?

[Sotos]

Bananiot, isn’t the larger blue area at Akrotiri shown on the map the useless swamp?

No, i think those are Trahoni and Kollosi villages which gives more trouble to the British than gains. I guess they want to get rid of them. Who wouldn't?

[Bananiot]

No GR, the issue is the continuous presence of Turkey in Cyprus with 40 000 soldiers and thousands of settlers whose number is increasing by the day and the partition of our island, for which you voted for in 2003. The issue is, in the 5 years of Papadopoulos presidency we are now seen as the culprits and the Turkish Cypriots as the victims, by the international community.

[phoenix]

No GR, the issue is the continuous presence of Turkey in Cyprus with 40 000 soldiers and thousands of settlers whose number is increasing by the day and the partition of our island, for which you voted for in 2003. The issue is, in the 5 years of Papadopoulos presidency we are now seen as the culprits and the Turkish Cypriots as the victims, by the international community.

Bananiot I am really sorry you see fit to accept a partial solution.

Unless ALL the Turkish troops leave, ALL of Turkey's influence dissolved, ALL the settlers returned to Turkey, ALL of Cyprus restored to the RoC, we will continue to be in the SAME mess as we are in now.

Any little bit of Turkish influence still remaining will lead to the slow reintroduction, re-Turkification of the island that we are trying to get away from.

It's like trying to get rid of algae . . . unless you get rid of every last cell, as soon as your back is turned, they would have colonised again.

Same goes for the BASES and British influence. Complete and sole governing of Cyprus by RoC, otherwise we are back to square one and vulnerable to continued disruption of Sovereignty.

[Nikitas]

"Indeed, as one witness pointed out, one side-effect of the Annan Plan would have been "to re-legitimate the position of the SBAs" under international law"

Note the word "relegitimise" which is the key to this whole deal. Britain knows that under EU acquis the status of its bases in Cyprus is in jeopardy, and that is why it has tried its demandest to "relegitimise" them, both in the Annan plan and also under the draft EU constitution.

ABOVE ALL note the map of the Dekhlia base before and after the so called offer of territory. THE GREEK CYPRIOT sector is ALWAYS CUT IN TWO and the bases ALWAYS TOUCH THE tc SECTOR.

And this offer was contitional on us accepting the Annan Plan which would relelgitimmise the bases and extend their overall area to include their own 12 mile sea limit and Exclusive Economic Zone into the Mediterrranean.

This Bananiot was not an offer, this was sheer British Pezevengliki. We have been there before. THanks but no thanks.

[Nikitas]

The base issues can be very simply resolved. The TC component state is defined as a percentage of the ISLAND of Cyprus (as opposed to the Republic) and no more. TCs formally state that they have no claims to any other part of the ISLAND forever more.

The territorial plan is such that GC territory TOTALLY surrounds the bases. There is provision that makes it clear that the bases are on GC TERRITORY and when they leave the area willrevert totally to GC control, and the bases have no territorial water or EEC in the Med. Now THAT is a fair deal if the British want to be fair.

[Nikitas]

"Bananiot, isn’t the larger blue area at Akrotiri shown on the map the useless swamp?" Asks GR

If memory serves the area is designated by the EU as being a SPA, special protection area for migratory birds. As such it is more trouble to the British than it is worth, and it also brings in a legal point of EU jurisdiction over a base which Britain wants desperately to keep out of the EU. The bases in Cyprus are unilaterally declared by BRitain to be British but not part of the EU, something like Guantanamo which is American but not part of the USA for legal reasons.

[74LB]

So Bananiot was correct - almost half the SBA would have been returned to the Cypriot communities under the AP.

It's interesting that the response to this is ' yes, but its not areas that are of any use (my interpretation) '

which contradicts the linked article which says :

These areas are settled by Cypriot civilians; they consist largely of arable and grazing land, with some private houses. As part of the settlement envisaged under the Annan Plan, the British Government was prepared to transfer 46 square miles of SBA territory to Cypriot sovereignty, most of it within the boundaries of the Greek Cypriot constituent state.....

Either way though, the AP is done and dusted and we await a new proposal that can be evaluated and hopefully accepted by all sides.

[74LB]

phoenix

Unless ALL the Turkish troops leave, ALL of Turkey's influence dissolved, ALL the settlers returned to Turkey, ALL of Cyprus restored to the RoC, we will continue to be in the SAME mess as we are in now.

Any little bit of Turkish influence still remaining will lead to the slow reintroduction, re-Turkification of the island that we are trying to get away from.

It's like trying to get rid of algae . . . unless you get rid of every last cell, as soon as your back is turned, they would have colonised again.

I'm sure you've said something like this before..........which I interpret as you really want all of Cyprus for yourselves