Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

Britain offers land for Cyprus reunification

By Joe Churcher
Thursday, 12 November 2009

The UK would give up tracts of its military bases in Cyprus if reunification talks are successful, Gordon Brown said yesterday.

After meeting President Dimitris Christofias, the Prime Minister urged the leaders of the divided Greek and Turkish populations to be "courageous" in efforts to secure a United Nations- brokered deal.

He said: "An offer has been made to the United Nations to make available just under 50 per cent of the territory of the UK's Sovereign Base Areas to a unified Cyprus in the event of a solution. It will be up to the two leaders to negotiate what happens with this land.

"Today, my message to Cyprus's leaders and to their people is: you can make history; be bold, be courageous; the UK will support you."

The two base areas – Akrotiri and Dhekelia – were retained under UK jurisdiction when Cyprus was granted independence in 1960 but are military not "colonial" territories.

They cover 98 square miles – which is 3 per cent of the Mediterranean island's total land area – but around 60 per cent of that is privately-owned and around 7,000 Cypriots live within them.

The Foreign Office said the base areas, which are entirely military, would be able to function as normal within the reduced land area.

RAF Akrotiri, an air base on the southern coast, has acted as a key staging post for British forces en route to the Gulf and elsewhere in the region.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 19028.html

[halil]

Response from Eroglu .....
Dhekelia to Turkish Cypriots ...........
Akrotiri to Greek Cypriots ..................

daily Afrika reported today ..................

[Oracle]

How swiftly the vultures swoop ....

[halil]

PM EROGLU SAYS BRITISH OFFER TO CEDE BASES LAND HAS NO MEANING FOR TALKS

[Gregory]

PM EROGLU SAYS BRITISH OFFER TO CEDE BASES LAND HAS NO MEANING FOR TALKS

He must be getting frustrated that no one's listening to him. Eroglu is now talking in capitals

[halil]

PM EROGLU SAYS BRITISH OFFER TO CEDE BASES LAND HAS NO MEANING FOR TALKS

He must be getting frustrated that no one's listening to him. Eroglu is now talking in capitals

Eroglu said that he had doubts whether the British offer to cede land in Cyprus would ever be realized as the issue of British Sovereign Bases had even been excluded during South Cyprus’ EU membership bid.

[Oracle]

PM EROGLU SAYS BRITISH OFFER TO CEDE BASES LAND HAS NO MEANING FOR TALKS

He must be getting frustrated that no one's listening to him. Eroglu is now talking in capitals

He must have sent halil an urgent 'telegram' to counter his last stupid remark.

[halil]

PM EROGLU SAYS BRITISH OFFER TO CEDE BASES LAND HAS NO MEANING FOR TALKS

He must be getting frustrated that no one's listening to him. Eroglu is now talking in capitals

He must have sent halil an urgent 'telegram' to counter his last stupid remark.

2.5% of the TRNC’s total territory is made up British Sovereign Base land. What difference would it make when Britain cedes 0.5% of this land” he said.

Pointing out that issue of territory was a very sensitive subject for the Turkish Side; the Prime Minister expressed the view that land to be ceded from the sovereign bases did not really have any significance for the British government.

[Gregory]

PM EROGLU SAYS BRITISH OFFER TO CEDE BASES LAND HAS NO MEANING FOR TALKS

He must be getting frustrated that no one's listening to him. Eroglu is now talking in capitals

He must have sent halil an urgent 'telegram' to counter his last stupid remark.

Lonely business being the PM of an imaginery state. You scream and yell and still no one listens. You surround yourself with little mini-flags of your fake state and still it doesn't quite feel right. How many times are you gonna take the merc from Lefkosa to Kyrenia?

You wanna travel! You wanna be welcomed with millitary bands and saluted by foreign Generals....you wanna have coffee with Merkl and cognac with Sarkozy...

Poor guy, he doesn't even get saluted when he visits Turkey anymore.

My sympathies to this little impotent napoleon.

[halil]

Eroglu also said he did not believe that the land to be ceded will contribute to the settlement of the Cyprus Problem.

“If Britain decides to withdraw from the sovereign bases and cede the Dikeliya base to the Turkish Side and the Akrotiri base to the Greek Cypriot Side, then that would have some meaning” he added.