By Nick Squires

 

CYPRUS, 07 March. - (ANA) - Hundreds of Cypriots marched through the streets of their divided capital on Saturday, demanding that Britain relinquish its two military bases on the island.

 

“Say it loud, say it clear, British bases out of here,” protesters chanted as they marched from a union headquarters in the centre of Nicosia to the presidential palace. It was a small but vocal demonstration, with around 300 people taking part.

 

A drone attack this week on RAF Akrotiri has reignited the debate over the future of Britain’s sovereign bases in Cyprus.

 

The country’s foreign minister has said there are questions over who should control the two bases, and called for conversations to take place between London and Nicosia.

 

Constantinos Kombos told the BBC’s Newsnight: “Right now we have the British bases on the island. There are questions. There are issues. There are concerns.”

 

Critics say that if the British cannot protect their bases, they should forfeit the right to have them at all. They fear that the presence of the British bases, at Akrotiri on the south coast and Dhekelia in the east of the island, makes Cyprus a military target in the widening conflict in the Middle East.

 

Sergio Velarde, a Mexican who has lived in Cyprus for six years, held up a placard calling for the British military to leave Cyprus. He told The Telegraph: “It’s not fair that the British still have these bases. It’s a form of colonialism. It’s very weird.”

 

Nico Panayiotou, the protest leader, said: “We want the British out of the bases. We believe they put Cyprus in danger. We don’t want the island used as a launchpad for military attacks.

 

“Cyprus has always been known as ‘the unsinkable aircraft carrier’. The island has been used for allied campaigns against Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Syria and Yemen. We don’t want to be that any more.”

 

Asked how likely it would be that the UK would agree to relinquish such strategically vital bases, he said: “Yes, there would be legal difficulties. But all of that can be overcome if there is the political will.”

 

Critics of the British bases have been emboldened by the Government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

 

British credibility on the island has also been undermined by the fact that HMS Dragon, a Royal Navy warship, will not arrive in Cyprus for two weeks because it is still undergoing maintenance in Portsmouth.

 

Mr Panayiotou said: “The case of the Chagos Islands shows that if there’s pressure then things can change. The British won’t tell us what kind of military materiel they have on the bases. It is a level of arrogance that is ridiculous for us. The myth that the bases will protect us has been debunked. It is the opposite – they make us a target.”

 

The protesters carried banners that read: “Cyprus is NOT your launchpad” and “Stop the war”. They marched to the sandstone gates of the presidential palace, which was guarded by police.

 

Matthew Stavrinides, another demonstrator, said: “The bases were given under duress to the British when we gained independence in 1960. We are looking at the Chagos Islands as a precedent.

 

“We need to push back against these remnants of the British Empire, which are used by the UK and the Americans to carry out military operations. The big powers have a choke-hold on small countries like Cyprus.”

 

However, in the village of Akrotiri, close to RAF Akrotiri and about 60 miles from the capital, the sentiment is very different.

 

Giorgos, the owner of George’s Fish and Chips, which serves British military personnel, said he and his wife heard the drone exploding in the early hours of Monday, but added: “I have 100 per cent confidence in Britain’s capability to defend the base. Things are back to normal ... I’m not concerned.”

 

In a butcher’s shop where photos of the Red Arrows display team and British military helicopters hang on the walls, Katia, the owner, said: “The first day after the drone attack, I felt very scared. I closed the shop. But I feel OK now.”

 

Andreas Xenophontos, 64, spent 33 years working as a chef at RAF Akrotiri. He now owns The Swan, a pub not far from the front entrance to the base.

 

He said: “The village is very quiet because a lot of people have left since the drone strike. They have gone to hotels in Limassol or to stay with relatives. There is a lot of uncertainty. Nobody knows what will happen next.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/07 March 2026 - - -