The British Bases administration has defended plans to modernise infrastructure at the Akrotiri Salt Lake site, saying it remains committed to public consultation and engagement with local communities ahead of a planned protest on Saturday.
The protest is being organised with the support of the Akrotiri Merra Committee, the Akrotiri Zero Hour movement and organised groups from Kourion municipality. Organisers have called on participants to join the demonstration peacefully, “with unity and responsibility”, to send what they described as a clear message in defence of their community and the surrounding environment.
In a statement issued ahead of the demonstration outside RAF Akrotiri, a British Bases spokesperson said the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) Administration respected “the right to peaceful, lawful protest.”
The administration said the project involves modernising infrastructure at Akrotiri Salt Lake, including the installation of new equipment and upgrades to existing assets.
It added that maintaining the capability in the long term would require the acquisition of additional land, but stressed that any such process would follow the required legal procedures.
“Any such activity will follow the required processes and involve engagement with affected landowners, including consideration of compensation that might be due,” the spokesperson said.
Kourion mayor Pantelis Georgiou has previously accused the British bases’ administration of “lying” to his municipality over the number of communications antennae in the Akrotiri base area.
In the announcement the SBA administration said work on the project would not begin until the required statutory environmental assessment and public consultation procedures had been completed.
It said it was currently awaiting the necessary applications from the project sponsor before launching those statutory processes.
Addressing longstanding concerns raised by residents over possible health implications from the site’s radiofrequency emissions, the administration pointed to the findings of a publicly available independent study.
According to the study, “the dominant sources of radiofrequency fields were cell phone and national broadcast systems. There was no excess of cancer, birth defects or obstetric problems.”
The spokesperson added that the administration had “seen no evidence to suggest that this position has changed.”
The SBA administration also said it had informed the Republic of Cyprus that it would be willing to co-sponsor a new independent study into the issue.
It added that existing monitoring systems, including equipment located within Akrotiri village, continuously measure emissions from the site and provide data to the relevant Republic of Cyprus authorities.
The administration said the monitoring programme would continue to be independently verified and strengthened through its offer to install additional monitoring units across the Salt Lake site.
“The administration remains committed to ensuring that this project is delivered responsibly and in close cooperation with local partners and communities,” the spokesperson said.
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