Akrotiri and Dhekelia
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Akrotiri (also known as the Western Sovereign Base Area or WSBA) and Dhekelia (also known as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area or ESBA) are UK Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus, a former British Crown Colony. Akrotiri is located in the south of the island near the city of Limassol (or Lemesos). Dhekelia is in the southeast near Larnaca. Both of these areas include military bases as well as farmland and some residential land. Akrotiri is surrounded by the territory controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, but Dhekelia also borders on the UN buffer zone and the territory controlled by the Turkish part of the island.
A British garrison force is stationed there to defend them, and they contain a British listening post, and the only fully fledged RAF station in the Mediterranean (since Gibraltar does not have any aircraft permanently based there), RAF Akrotiri. In addition to the garrison, the UK makes a contribution to the United Nations force in Cyprus. In total, some 3,500 British personnel are based in Cyprus.
There is certain disorientation when entering the military parts of a sovereign base area (unlike Guantanamo Bay, there are roads running through the territory and even through the military camps themselves, which are open to traffic from Cyprus). In particular, the road names in the military camps are all very English, like "Worcester Road". Civilian laws are enacted by the British civilian authorities, but are patterned on those of the Republic of Cyprus. Many Cypriots work in the SBAs, mainly for the British authorities or as farmers, or for a few local businesses. But only those Cypriots with a local connection are permitted to live there, such as those who live in Akrotiri village or in the outskirts of villages neighbouring the bases. Also the villages of Xylotimbou and Ormidhia, in the Republic of Cyprus, are enclaves surrounded by Dhekelia SBA.
The Sovereign Bases in Cyprus are an overseas territory, but instead of having a Governor, like other such territories, it has an Administrator, who, while appointed by the Queen, is responsible to the Ministry of Defence, not to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Since May 9, 2003, the administrator has been Maj. Gen. Peter Thomas Clayton Pearson.
A sizeable antenna (probably an over the horizon radar) was erected within the Akrotiri base, raising concern for the effect on local wildlife and on the health of people living in Limassol.
Ayios Nikolaos in the Dhekelia base is a listening station of the spying network ECHELON.
The bases have a complex relationship with the European Union as governed by various treaties. See Sovereign bases on Cyprus.
References
- Vassilis K. Fouskas. 2003. Zones of Conflict: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle East. Pluto Press. ISBN 0745320309. Pp. 93, 111
See also
External link
| Overseas territories of the United Kingdom | Missing image Uk_flag_large.png Flag of the United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Akrotiri and Dhekelia | Anguilla | Bermuda | British Antarctic Territory | British Indian Ocean Territory | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Falkland Islands | Gibraltar | Montserrat | Pitcairn Islands | Saint Helena (Ascension & Tristan da Cunha) | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands | |
| edit | British dependencies | Missing image Uk_flag_large.png Flag of the United Kingdom |
| Overseas territories: Bermuda | Anguilla | British Virgin Islands | Montserrat | Gibraltar | Turks and Caicos Islands | Cayman Islands | Falkland Islands | Saint Helena (Ascension, Tristan da Cunha) | Pitcairn Islands | British Indian Ocean Territory | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | British Antarctic Territory | ||
| Crown dependencies: Guernsey | Jersey | Isle of Man | ||
| UK Sovereign Base Areas: Akrotiri and Dhekelia (in Cyprus) | ||