Cyprus-Forum.com

[denizaksulu]

Todays Daily Mail contains an article on defence budget cuts. RAF bases overseas were mentioned especially Akrotiri, Cyprus.

I know how some Cypriots feel about their presence on the island, but would Cyprus benefit from their presence or their closure? Once they were a welcome source of foreign exchange - it that still the case?

I could not find the online link - but other more able searchers might be more successful.

[Get Real!]

Anything being gained from the presence of the SBAs can be doubled or tripled if the RoC was to take over this land. The British bases are nothing but a nuisance to Cyprus.

[denizaksulu]

Anything being gained from the presence of the SBAs can be doubled or tripled if the RoC was to take over this land. The British bases are nothing but a nuisance to Cyprus.

That is one view I have heard a lot of. Even from my English neighbour.

[Milo]

Cut backs at Dhekelia coming
By Nathan Morley Published on December 12, 2009


AN ‘EXCLUSIVE’ report on broadcast on Channel 4 news last night claimed that the British government is planning to scale down the British bases in Cyprus.
The news report comes just one week after widespread speculation that the British military operation here was being downgraded at an alarming pace.
According to the report, British ministers will also announce a package of defence cuts next week, after overspending on large scale military construction projects.
Channel 4 reported that the British government plans to introduce hundreds of millions of pounds of spending cuts in the department in order to balance the books.
In a rare public statement last week, the SBA authorities insisted that Dhekelia base was not being downgraded, insisting that there was a temporary transfer of a number of soldiers to the Akrotiri bases was due to upgrading work at Dhekelia.
“It is confirmed that temporary relocation of military manpower from Dhekelia to Akrotiri has been carried out in order to complete the refurbishment of Alexandra Barracks, part of the Dhekelia Garrison. When this work is complete the troops will return back to Dhekelia,” said Media spokesman Stuart Bardsley told the Cyprus Mail last week.
However, with Dhekelia Garrison recently being compared to a ghost town by locals, there has been wide speculation in the past few months that the base has been long earmarked for closure.
Several civilian contractors that have worked on the base for decades have been given redundancy notices this month, with more expected to follow next year.
SBA authorities recently announced a series of unpopular widespread spending cuts, on cleaning, house maintenance and even school transport for the children of soldiers.
According to Channel 4, the Ministry of Defence has discovered an overspend of £6bn over the next decade, in part because of bad procurement decisions.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2009

[Jerry]

If (God forbid) the bases were offered to the Yanks the Cyprus problem would be solved in a couple of days.

[BOF]

better to move the bases to a NATO aligned country methinks.

[denizaksulu]

If (God forbid) the bases were offered to the Yanks the Cyprus problem would be solved in a couple of days.

Could they do that Jerry. Perhaps share the facilities, but handing them over to the yanks - They better watch out for GR's Merry Marauders.

Imagine another Guantanamo Bay...OOPS........sorry Akrotiri BaY.

[Jerry]

If (God forbid) the bases were offered to the Yanks the Cyprus problem would be solved in a couple of days.

Could they do that Jerry. Perhaps share the facilities, but handing them over to the yanks - They better watch out for GR's Merry Marauders.

Imagine another Guantanamo Bay...OOPS........sorry Akrotiri BaY.

I recall that back in the 60s the Labour Government talked about giving up the bases but the US persuaded/asked them to stay. I don't like the idea of any imperialist power maintaining bases on someone else's territory but having said that I'm sure the income from them helped the Cyprus economy in its early days.

If one accepts the fact that a foreign base is going to remain on the island then perhaps a deal could be done with the Yanks but the ROC would expect a lot in return.

[Piratis]

Anything being gained from the presence of the SBAs can be doubled or tripled if the RoC was to take over this land. The British bases are nothing but a nuisance to Cyprus.

Not only we would gain financially, but we would not ran the risk of becoming the target of some Middle Eastern enemy of UK/USA.

I remember when it was the war in Iraq and we were calculating to see if the missiles of Saddam can reach Cyprus. Those missiles were so incarcerate that it is easy to imagine how some of them could land in our cities instead of the bases.

[Get Real!]

MoD 'facing massive cuts package'

"In a statement to the programme, the MoD acknowledged it was facing some "hard decisions" but insisted current operations would not be affected as a result.

As well the closure of an RAF base, the programme reported the British sovereign base in Cyprus will be scaled back while there will also be cuts in the MoD Police, IT, human resources and other back office functions."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/8853401