FOR years, Cypriots have fought for the removal of British military bases from their country. Now the war in Iran has given campaigners new impetus and new problems, according to one activist from the divided island nation.
Nicos, an activist with the Afoa group who did not wish to give his second name, told the Sunday National that the recent attack on RAF Akrotiri, the British air base on the south of the island, had caused anxiety among some in the movement.
Though the drone strike, thought to have been launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon, caused only “minimal” damage, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), it had left people “scared” and “confused”, according to Nicos.
“Because it’s a developing situation, I think people are a bit in between,” he said.
“We want the bases to go out but because of our government putting us in danger and the UK bases putting us in danger, because we think both are putting us in danger.”
He added: “People are a bit unsure if this is the right time to make the case for the bases to go because they’re thinking, ‘Who’s going to protect us because we’re still collaborating?’ At the same time they’re thinking, ‘If the bases leave maybe the attacks will stop’, which is most probably true, if there is less militarisation.
“I think they’ve got people really mixed up right now with what’s happening.”
But he is clear that the bases pose a danger to the people of Cyprus and must go. Nicos said that he knew people who had decided to move away from the base until the situation stabilised.
He added: “The people live around the area, a lot of Cypriots work there, their lives are in danger.”
Compared to Israel, where bomb shelters are commonplace, Cypriots face acute dangers if more strikes rain down on the island, Nicos said.
“A lot of the bunkers cannot be used,” he added. “People do not feel safe, the government is not prepared.”
President Nikos Christodoulides said earlier this month that no more than 45% of the one million people living in Cyprus could be sheltered in the bunkers currently available, and the country’s interior minister admitted that 480 of the 2480 bomb shelters known to the authorities were unsuitable, inaccessible or private.
Christodoulides said he was “not at all happy with the state of the shelters” and has drafted plans to build more shelters to protect Cypriots should the situation worsen.
Nicos argued that Britain’s move to send HMS Dragon to Cyprus “will put us more in danger”, adding: “We don’t believe that these ships of different countries that send their military ships are here to protect us, we think that they’re here to protect military assets and to support what the US and Israel are doing in Iran.”
Keir Starmer earlier this month announced that the Type 45 destroyer would be deployed to the Mediterranean, saying: “The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there.”
The warship, which is manned by more than 200 people, will be accompanied by two Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters armed with Martlet missiles, which are designed to counter drone attacks.
RAF Akrotiri was also central to Britain’s involvement in the Gaza genocide, with spy flights for Israel taking off from the base.
British planes repeatedly flew over the besieged Palestinian territory and the UK Government has previously said that this was to aid with the recovery of Israeli hostages, though Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer was accused of “turning a blind eye” to atrocities it is believed will have been observed on those missions.
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