British Bases antenna plans point to militarisation of Akrotiri, mayor says

Local British BasesLimassolTop News British Bases antenna plans point to militarisation of Akrotiri, mayor says Akrotiri village bases Relevant News Why manual social media monitoring is no longer enough 9 July 2026 British Bases antenna plans point to militarisation of Akrotiri, mayor says 9 July 2026 Kazakhstan’s new constitution takes effect, election date set 9 July 2026 Ioanna Mantzipa 9 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Kouris Mayor Pantelis Georgiou says British Bases plans for new antenna installations amount to the gradual militarisation of the entire Akrotiri area. A village-wide meeting held on Wednesday evening gave residents the green light to escalate their response, deciding to pursue legal action and stronger mobilisation. Speaking to philenews, Georgiou said the meeting set out both the history of the case and the changes that have emerged in the project’s design in recent months. He explained that what was initially presented as a limited project to replace existing antennas has, according to information available to the municipality, grown into a far larger undertaking. “Today we’re talking about a ten-year project,” he said, with 68 new antennas planned for the first phase and another 68 for the second, while a third phase is still not fully outlined to the municipality. Georgiou said the first phase also includes the construction of two new buildings to operate the installations, plus a third building next to the existing facilities. This differs from what local authorities were originally told, he added, under which the existing building was to be demolished and the site returned to public use. “We decided to proceed with legal measures,” he said, adding that the municipality has informed the Republic of Cyprus, which asked for some time to take its own action. He said the municipality expects legal opinions within the next two to three weeks, after which it will move to the next steps, confirming that resident mobilisation is also on the table. “The area is being militarised” The mayor appeared particularly concerned about the project’s impact, arguing that the expansion of the installations’ zone radically changes the character of Akrotiri. “We’re now talking about a huge military target,” he said, referring to a zone expansion of around 450,000 square metres that, together with the airport, encloses an entire community. He added that an area which has long been an environmental asset for Limassol, protected under the Ramsar Convention, risks permanent damage due to the extensive construction works and the sealing of land for the new infrastructure. Addressing concerns over possible effects from electromagnetic radiation, Georgiou said local authorities have not received the relevant studies they requested. “We’ve only been given verbal assurances,” he said, that emissions are within permitted limits, noting that the studies have been requested through the Foreign Ministry and are still awaited. “Local society is being ignored” Asked whether the British Bases take residents’ and local authorities’ views into account, Georgiou said that, in his assessment, they act as though the land were territory where they can do as they please. “I don’t believe what’s happening today serves the purposes for which the 1960 Treaties were signed,” he said, arguing that the Bases treat the land as being for military use. He said the paradox is that what has developed over time is the transformation of the area into a base for operations towards the Middle East, a resupply site, and a home for espionage systems. He stressed again that, in his view, these developments do not serve the purposes for which the 1960 Treaties were signed, and said the Republic of Cyprus must now treat the matter with due seriousness. As he put it, “the militarisation of the entire area is being pursued, and the victims of this militarisation are the citizens of the Republic of Cyprus themselves.” Read more: British Bases say no elevated cancer risk found over Akrotiri antenna expansion Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Why manual social media monitoring is no longer enough Kazakhstan’s new constitution takes effect, election date set Aykut still serving sentence in Israel, Cyprus confirms How will Marine Le Pen’s legal problems affect her presidential campaign? Cyprus unaffected as EU entry-exit system causes disruption in airports Cyprus is tiny — so why can’t they find the offenders? You can’t even keep the televisions working! Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.