With a peaceful protest to be held tomorrow, Saturday, outside the Akrotiri Bases, the Municipality of Kourion is reacting to the British intention to proceed with the installation of new military antennas in the area.
The protest, the Mayor of Kourion, Pantelis Georgiou, was decided upon following the “outbreak of discontent,” as the British Army command issued an “order to requisition the Merra Akrotiri area,” despite ongoing consultations with local authorities, while he emphasized that “this issue concerns us all, because it is a matter of health and of ensuring the safety of the region, given that the Akrotiri Peninsula is being heavily militarized.”
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At the same time, the British Army issued a statement today assuring that the project will be carried out responsibly, in close cooperation with local partners, the relevant authorities, and local communities.
As Mr. Georgiou stated, “Although we had reached a consensus in all our discussions that no procedures would move forward until we had received all the studies, the necessary inspections had been conducted, and the required approvals had been granted, from the relevant departments, two weeks ago we were served with an expropriation order as the owners of the land in Merra Akrotiri, sparking a wave of discontent among all members.”
In this regard, he continued, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed, “which informed us that this was done to reassure the contractors—that is, to confirm that the land actually exists and that they should proceed with the construction plans.”
“Given that we were initially told there would be 20 antennas for Phase A of the project and we ended up with 68 antennas, we decided to organize a peaceful protest march, during which we will present a relevant resolution,” said the Mayor of Kourion, adding that the march is supported by the Merra Akrotiri Committee, the “Akrotiri Zero Hour” Movement, organized groups, and citizens.
He added that there has not yet been a response to the request for the data used in the British environmental study, “so that we can verify it, but also conduct our own environmental study to determine whether the data presented is accurate.”
“We sent letters to the BBC, the Department of the Environment, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, which informed us that it has forwarded our request to the British government, and we are awaiting a response as to whether or not we will be provided with this data,” he added.
Beyond that, he continued, “they unilaterally proceeded with an expropriation without having secured any permit, with the assurance that they would not proceed with any work unless all conditions were met and the necessary approvals were secured,” adding that “we expect that, by September, the environmental study will be ready for public consultation.”
He also expressed the view that “the Republic of Cyprus must also address this issue; we are calling for its active involvement in the process to halt the British intention to proceed with the installation of the antennas.”
Calling on the public to participate in tomorrow’s protest, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the entrance to the Akrotiri municipal district, Mr. Georgiou emphasized that “This issue concerns us all, because it is a matter of health and of ensuring the safety of the region, given that the Akrotiri Peninsula is being heavily militarized.”
“We saw the results of this militarization last March (the drone crash), and it is also a major environmental issue, since this area is protected by the Ramsar Convention,” he added. “It is unthinkable,” he emphasized, “that in a place where no citizen is allowed to erect even the slightest structure, we suddenly see antennas as tall as 22 meters springing up— two structures in one area and yet another in the existing area—where the older antennas are located—and to see groundwork being done to lay cables.”
When asked about this, Pantelis Georgiou said that, based on the presentation given last May, the British intend to install the new antenna system in three phases over an eight-year timeline, under the pretext that this is for the security of the area and the British Bases.
“The first phase involves 68 new antennas, while according to their documents, another 68 antennas are expected to be installed in Phase II, with the dismantling of some old antennas. Phase III appears to call for an expansion of the existing Pluto system, located west of the Akrotiri salt flats,” he added.
The Akrotiri Bases issued a statement in response to tomorrow’s protest, with a spokesperson noting that “the British Bases Administration respects the right to hold peaceful and lawful protests.”
It adds that “the British Bases Administration is carrying out an infrastructure modernization project in the Akrotiri Salt Flats area, which includes the installation of new equipment and the upgrading of existing facilities,” and assures that “it remains firmly committed to maintaining close, open, and transparent communication with all key stakeholders throughout the project’s implementation.”
In addition, it states that “to ensure the long-term operational functionality of the infrastructure, it will be necessary to acquire additional land, and any such process will be carried out in accordance with the applicable legal framework and will include consultation with the affected landowners, as well as consideration of the payment of any compensation provided for.”
The announcement emphasizes that “the commencement of work is contingent upon the completion of the environmental procedure required by law, as well as the conduct of a public consultation, while management is awaiting the submission of the necessary applications by the project’s implementing agency so that the relevant legal procedures can be initiated.”
At the same time, it notes that a publicly available independent scientific study concluded that “the main sources of radiofrequency fields were mobile phone networks and national radio and television broadcasting systems, while no increased incidence of cancer, birth defects, or obstetric problems.” “The Administration does not have any data suggesting that these conclusions have changed,” it adds.
It is also noted that the BB Management has informed the Government of the Republic of Cyprus that it is willing to co-fund a new independent scientific study and indicatesthat “the existing monitoring mechanisms, including those operating in the Akrotiri community, provide, on an ongoing basis, data on the facility’s emissions to the competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus.”
“Independent verification of this data will continue and be further strengthened through the Administration’s proposal to install additional monitoring stations throughout the Akrotiri Salt Flatsregion,” the statement adds.
In conclusion, the statement notes that “the British Bases Administration remains committed to the responsible implementation of the project, in close cooperation with local partners, the relevant authorities, and local communities, guided by the principles of transparency, environmental protection, and the timely provision of information to all stakeholders.”
Source: CNA
