Cyprus must demand answers from Britain over the drone strike on RAF Akrotiri and insist that the presence of the British Bases cannot be allowed to endanger Cypriot citizens, an international politics academic has warned.
Associate Professor of International Politics and Governance at the University of Nicosia, Giorgos Kentas, told philenews that while what happens inside the bases is not Cyprus’s responsibility, the Republic has every right to demand explanations for actions that could put at risk the safety of people living in areas under British base control.
“The presence of the bases cannot put Cyprus’s security in danger,” Kentas said.
The academic noted that the bases had been in the crosshairs before — during the first Gulf War in 1991, more intensely in 2003, and again during the Syria conflict, when anti-missile and anti-aircraft shields were set up to guard against a potential strike. Monday’s attack was the first time a drone actually got through.
Kentas said a particularly pressing question was how a drone managed to travel some 300 miles from Iran and reach Cyprus unimpeded. He pointed to statements by the British foreign secretary indicating that Britain was aware the bases in Cyprus were a target, and asked whether that threat had been taken seriously, what measures had been taken, and whether Cyprus had been informed.
Kentas described the bases as a continuation of colonialism on territory that was never handed to Cypriot sovereignty, noting that their legal basis stems from the Treaty of Establishment. He added that strong diplomatic representations were necessary to ensure that the operation of the British bases does not become a source of destabilisation or danger for the Cypriot state.
“The British are in Cyprus by imposition,” he said. “Their presence must not endanger the safety of the country’s residents, nor its economy.”
Separately, the report noted a legal dimension that has come into focus for the first time as a result of the attack. Article 3 of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee obliges the guarantor powers — including Turkey — to guarantee the integrity of British sovereign base territory. Although the provision was originally conceived to guard against internal challenges, it now carries practical weight under conditions of real external threat affecting the Republic of Cyprus.
The report noted that Turkey could attempt to invoke the treaty in order to present itself as a relevant party to developments.
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