British defend arrest of anti-bases activists

By Charlie Charalambous

THE BRITISH bases yesterday dismissed allegations that they singled out three anti-bases demonstrators for strong arm tactics when they were arrested on Sunday.

Ecologists and the right-wing New Horizons party yesterday slammed the bases for arresting anti-British activists Christos Andreou, his wife Theanou, and Antonis Samoutis.

“The accusation that they were attacked by five individuals in uniform is nonsense,” bases spokesman Captain Jon Brown told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

He said all had been arrested for obstructing police officers carrying out their duties within the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia.

They were protesting against the recent conviction and two-month jail sentence handed out by a bases court against Hambis Himonas for assault and reckless driving.

“We believe they were trying to stop the cavalcade of the Greek President, which was heading towards Ayia Napa. We believe they were attempting to bring the so-called plight of Himonas to the attention of the Greek President,” a bases source said.

A statement by the ecologists slammed Cyprus police special branch for not only “standing by, but enjoying the incident of violent arrest”.

New Horizons charged the bases authorities of victimising the three in order to serve a greater political aim, as dictated by the British government’s policy on Cyprus.

“It was an unacceptable political act,” said a party statement.

The statement added: “The government should, once and for all, give a clear political message to the English that it will not bow to unacceptable provocation.”

But Captain Jon Brown said yesterday it was time for all those who “don’t understand” to realise that the legality of the SBA is provided for under the Treaty of Establishment.

“It provides for the bases to have their own courts and laws and to carry them out under due process.”

The trio were charged and released later on Sunday, but it is unlikely they will appear before a bases court, as they need to be summoned on SBA territory first.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.