Cyprus-Forum.com

[georgios100]

Georgios100:

Whether you like it or not the British Bases are here because of an agreement made some fifty odd years ago. That is simple fact. You do not have British troops patrolling your towns and villages as you would have if it were an US occupation. The UK is a declining World Power, but it still has a bit of clout around the World. Compare the situation here to the 700 bases the US has in over 70 different countries, most of them resulting from force of arms or shady deals with dictators and corrupt regimes. If Cyprus was subject to that I would agree with you 110%. I don’t know, apart from electronic surveillance and an occasional training ground for the Red Arrows (who I see are back again .... what recession!!) what the bases actually do but, one thing is for sure they are costing the British tax payers a hell of a lot of money for something.[/quote]

The 1960 agreement was to free the Cypriots from the British occupation (see current Turkish occupation) in exchange for permanent SBAs on Cyprus soil.
I was there when the agreement was signed. This agreement is outdated and serves only as a reminder of the British colonial era, costs a hell of a lot of money to the British taxpayers and practically provides absolutely nothing in return. The abolishment of the SBAs is only a matter of pride for the Brits but to us, the SBAs occupy 3% of precious ROC land. I don't give a s**t how many bases the US has around the world, totally irrelevant to this discussion.

The SBA status should be in the agenda of the ongoing talks in order to achieve their removal as part of the land & property issue. The new federal ROC must be clear of all foreign claims/installations and troops of any kind, including the British.

[wyoming cowboy]

Whether we like it or not the SBA's are here to stay. Since the cold war Cyprus has been a key listening point for the west(the huge US radar on troodos), then against the Soviet Union, now against China and Russia. If the west's satellites get knocked out, they would still have Cyprus and its unique listening devices and features. On the point of Iran having the capability to produce a nuclear weapon. Nuclear technology has been around for almost 70 years, if Iran wanted to produce them it would have already

[Robin Hood]

Georgios100:

This agreement is outdated and serves only as a reminder of the British colonial era .............

As far as I can find out, there is no expiry date on the 1960 settlement agreement. It may remind you of the British Colonial era but that is just emotional and a longing for things they way they could have been. The reality is, it is NOT an illegal occupation as the Turkish occupation of the North clearly is.

Sotos:

The whole Cyprus was taken like all other colonies......

That is not true. Britain leased the Island from the Ottomans in 1878, who had been the occupying colonial force since 1571 and they took it from the Venetians. The call for union with Greece (Enosis) started in 1821, long before the British came to the island. The island of Cyprus was annexed from the Turks in 1914 and became a crown colony in 1925. During the First World War Britain actually offered to cede Cyprus to Greece if that country would fulfil treaty obligations to attack Bulgaria, but Greece declined. In April 1957, in the new conditions as a result of the Suez shambles, the British government accepted that `bases in Cyprus' were an acceptable alternative to `Cyprus as a base'.

So, the British never mounted a military campaign to invade Cyprus, we rented it and then annexed it, without firing a shot. At that time there was no Republic of Cyprus it was merely an Island populated by Cypriots.

........2 parts remained under occupation. We accepted this because we had no choice as we were blackmailed!

Sotos, it is called compromise or doing the best deal you can with what is on offer! In this case the people who were to become the first Government of Cyprus, settled for 97% and agreed that the colonial power could retain the use of 3% for military purposes. It was deemed a Sovereign base, not a British colony, and there were limitations applied to the agreement. One I remember from a conversation some years ago was that if coal/oil/gas/gold/silver/copper etc. or any other natural resource was found either on the SBA land area or adjacent maritime areas, the resources would belong to The Republic of Cyprus not to the British Crown. No doubt many more restrictions and limitations exist even today?

To make a point; The plot of land I bought from a developer, when I first came here in 1990, was bought by the developer’s father about 20 years previously, for CY£6k for enough land to be subdivided later into another 23 plots. The developers father was laughed at by the locals at the time as being an idiot, for paying all that money for a ‘useless’ bit of land that was no good for growing anything and was used only for grazing goats. The plots were now selling for CY£18k in 1990. So this ‘worthless’ piece of land was now worth at around CY£415K.

Who was upset the most? The son of the guy who originally sold it to the developer’s father because he now maintained that the developers father had ‘stolen’ it from his father because he only paid a pittance for it. He hated both the developer and the British buyers and made life very unpleasant, as a form of revenge for his perceived loss.

For Cyprus at the time of the 3%:97% deal was seen as a reasonable compromise and was a legal consideration. It was not blackmail as it was never the subject of a threat. It was maybe a question of ‘.......here is a deal .... take it or leave it!’ But that is how all business deals are done. It is no good coming back 50 years later and saying we could have done some thing better and make it an issue of resentment. It was a done deal and presumably, at that time, every body concerned was happy with this give-n-take arrangement? This generation of Cypriots believe it should have been a 0%:100% deal in Cyprus’s favour but, that was not on offer.

Now, if you are saying that you should try to re-negotiate that deal, in a sensible and rational fashion, nobody could disagree with that. But to hold a resentment against the British for something that happened all those years ago, is not a reasonable standpoint and is totally counter productive.

As for looking for ‘Sovereign bases’ and expecting it to show US bases? Come on, the UK is a Sovereign State, the USA is effectively a Republic of States. To have something ‘sovereign’ you need a Monarchy. However, the USA IS an Empire, in fact the largest Empire the World has ever known and it is still growing ......and IRAN is next on the shopping list!!!!!! Contact US Head Office in Tel Aviv for further information.

[yialousa1971]

British Foreign Minister Alistair Burt, giving evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee regarding Iran's nuclear programme, has warned that the country already has weapons which could hit British forces in Cyprus and Afghanistan, and was now seeking to acquire the nuclear bomb..

Burt also highlighted concern over Iran's missile programme after Prime Minister David Cameron said last week it appeared to be seeking an intercontinental ballistic missile force in the Middle East with 200-300 medium range missiles, including the Shabab 3 that has been tested to hit targets at a distance of 2,000 km.

''To put this into perspective, Cyprus and UK troops in Afghanistan fall within that range with Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia,'' he said.

Iran, he concluded, is taking a ''grave risk'' if it does not end its banned nuclear programme and show the world it is not seeking to acquire the bomb.

He said UK authorities were on alert for possible terrorist activity of Iranian agents against British targets.

http://famagusta-gazette.com/iran-may-h ... 843-69.htm

Could Cyprus become a target of Iran because of the British bases? We know Cyprus is within the range of their missiles and I doubt their missiles are accurate enough to hit just the bases! They might aim for the bases but their missiles could land on Cypriot population

Thats what the JewishAnglo's wan't. Why mention it otherwise Anglo's/Jews/Turks, axis of evil

[yialousa1971]

Let's hope they are accurate. Or very inaccurate and hit the 'trnc'.

They will use the Russian GPS system.

[yialousa1971]

British Foreign Minister Alistair Burt, giving evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee regarding Iran's nuclear programme, has warned that the country already has weapons which could hit British forces in Cyprus and Afghanistan, and was now seeking to acquire the nuclear bomb..

Burt also highlighted concern over Iran's missile programme after Prime Minister David Cameron said last week it appeared to be seeking an intercontinental ballistic missile force in the Middle East with 200-300 medium range missiles, including the Shabab 3 that has been tested to hit targets at a distance of 2,000 km.

''To put this into perspective, Cyprus and UK troops in Afghanistan fall within that range with Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia,'' he said.

Iran, he concluded, is taking a ''grave risk'' if it does not end its banned nuclear programme and show the world it is not seeking to acquire the bomb.

He said UK authorities were on alert for possible terrorist activity of Iranian agents against British targets.

http://famagusta-gazette.com/iran-may-h ... 843-69.htm

Could Cyprus become a target of Iran because of the British bases? We know Cyprus is within the range of their missiles and I doubt their missiles are accurate enough to hit just the bases! They might aim for the bases but their missiles could land on Cypriot population

its been said their missiles cant go further then 200km

They have a range of up to 2000 KM, see videos.






Also they have lauched a satellite.

[kurupetos]

Let's hope they are accurate. Or very inaccurate and hit the 'trnc'.

They will use the Russian GPS system.

Excellent. Let them do their worst.

[yialousa1971]

Let's hope they are accurate. Or very inaccurate and hit the 'trnc'.

They will use the Russian GPS system.

Excellent. Let them do their worst.

They also have the S300 defence system.

[yialousa1971]

Cyprus displeased at reports that British bases provide help to Syrian rebels



English.news.cn 2012-08-23 19:35

NICOSIA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus said on Thursday it had asked Britain to give an official explanation for a Sunday Times report alleging that the British Sovereign Bases in Cyprus provide intelligence to Syrian rebels which helped them deal effective strikes against the Syrian army.

Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Markoulli told the state radio that she had instructed the Cypriot High Commissioner (Ambassador) in London to make a demarche to the British Foreign Ministry asking for official information on the report.

"It is a very serious issue if the Bases are being used for purposes other than those explicitly set out in the Treaty of Establishment," Markouli said.

She said she expected a British reply by the end of the day.

Markoulli added that the 1960 Treaty of Establishment under which Cyprus was granted independence states that two bases retained by Britain can only be used for defensive purposes.

British paper the Sunday Times claimed on Sunday that British agents operating in the British bases were collecting intelligence on Syrian army movements which is then channeled through Turkey to forces fighting the the Syrian army.

A spokesman for the British High Commission in Cyprus on Monday refused to confirm or deny the report, citing the official government position not to comment on intelligence or operational matters.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world ... 803641.htm