The United Kingdom has informed the government of its intention to install a cluster of 32 antennas at RAF Akrotiri, covering a range of up to 340 square kilometres.
“To allay concerns, the base authorities were willing to install three electromagnetic radiation meters and present the results, as well as the environmental study, publicly,” Akrotiri municipality confirmed on Sunday.
The request has been submitted to the competent committee chaired by Kourion mayor. Pantellis Georgiou, who said, “I am against the installation of the antennas, and the municipality will go to court to stop the project.”
He added that updated epidemiological data from the health ministry had been requested in regard to the potential risks posed by the installation and that both the foreign and interior ministry were being kept informed.
The Ecologists movement expressed its strong concern and opposition on Sunday, saying the plan to expropriate 340 acres “directly endangers the health of the residents and the environment.”
It criticised the bases’ studies as untrustworthy and demanded “an independent epidemiological study and full respect for the ecosystem of Akrotiri, which is protected by the Ramsar convention and constitutes one of the most important wetlands in the Mediterranean.”
Government preparations for negotiations with the United Kingdom are underway.
“The government is undertaking preparations at all levels for negotiations to take place with the United Kingdom over the future of the British bases,” government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis previously said.
He added that “at the appropriate time and where and when there is something which can be announced, it shall be.”
The discussions follow heightened security concerns after the Akrotiri airbase was recently targeted by an Iranian-made drone.
The government has also sought legal advice regarding the treaty of establishment’s position on British sovereignty over Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
“The issue of security is complex and will be the subject of discussion with the British side,” deputy spokesman Yiannis Antoniou said.
President Christodoulides has committed to “an open and frank discussion with the British government” on the bases, describing them as a “colonial remnant,” while the European Council affirmed its readiness to assist Cyprus in negotiations.
The UK has refuted suggestions that the bases’ future is up for negotiation.
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