Akrotiri and Dhekelia
cover 3% of the land area of Cyprus, a amount of 98 square miles (47.5
at Akrotiri and 50.5 at Dhekelia). 60% of the soil is privately owned,
either by British or Cypriot citizens. The additional 40% is owned
by the Ministry of Defence, or is classed as Crown land. In addition
to Akrotiri and Dhekelia themselves, the Treaty of Establishment also
provides for the retained use by the British Government of certain
facilities in Cyprus, known as Retained Sites.
Akrotiri is located in the south of the island, near the city of Limassol
(or Lemesos). Dhekelia is in the southeast, near Larnaca. Both of
these areas let in military bases, as well as farming area and a bit
of residential state. Akrotiri is surrounded by territory controlled
by the Republic of Cyprus, however Dhekelia also borders on the United
Nations (UN) buffer zone and the Turkish-occupied a share of the island.
Ayia Napa lies
to the East of Dhekelia. The villages of Xylotymvou and Ormidhia,
likewise in the Republic of Cyprus, are enclaves surrounded by Dhekelia
SBA. The Dhekelia Power Station, divided by a British road into
two parts, also belongs to Cyprus. The northern a share is an enclave,
like the two villages, whereas the southern a share is located by
the sea, and therefore not an enclave, though it has no territorial
waters of its possess.
The Sovereign Base areas made up created in 1960
by the Treaty of Establishment, when Cyprus, a colony within the
British Empire, was granted independence. The United Kingdom wished
to continue sovereignty over these areas, as this guaranteed the
use of UK military bases in Cyprus, including RAF Akrotiri, and
a garrison of the British Army. The meaning of the Bases to the
British is based on the strategical location of Cyprus, at the eastern
edge of the Mediterranean, close to the Suez Canal and the Middle
East the ability to use the RAF base as staging post for military
aircraft; and for general training aims.
In 1974, Turkey invaded
the North of Cyprus, in the lead to the establishment of
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. However, this did not affect
the condition of the Bases, and the British were not involved in
the fighting. Greek-Cypriots fleeing from the Turks were permitted
to travel through the Dhekelia base, and made up granted humanitarian
help. The Turkish advance halted when it reached the border of the
base locality, rather than risk war with Britain. The Ayia Napa
locality was thus kept in Greek hands.
Cyprus has occasionally demanded the return of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, citing that the bases take up a large amount
of territory that could be used for civilian development. For 4
years after Cypriot independence in 1960, the British government
paid the Republic of Cyprus rent for the bases. After the intercommunal
conflict of 1963-64 they stopped, claiming there was no guarantee
that both residential area* would benefit equally from that money.
The Cypriot government is still laying claim money for the years
from 1964 to now. Estimates for the debt range from several hundred
thousand to over one billion Euros.
In July 2001, violent protests existed held at
the Bases by local Cypriots, angry at British plans to construct
radio masts at the bases, as section of an upgrade of British armed
forces communication posts around the world. Locals had claimed
the masts would endanger local lives and cause cancer, as well as
have a negative impact on wildlife in the locality. The British
government denied these claims.
The UK has demonstrate no intention of surrendering
the Bases, although it has offered to give up 117 square kilometres
of farmland as part of the rejected Annan Plan for Cyprus. Today,
around 3,000 troops of British Forces Cyprus are based at Akrotiri
and Dhekelia. Ayios Nikolaos, in the ESBA, is believed to be a listening
station of the intelligence network ECHELON.
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