Aerial talks with SBA collapse

AN AGREEMENT between Cyprus and Britain for environmental impact tests to be carried out before a massive new aerial goes up on the Akrotiri base has collapsed, the Foreign Ministry stated yesterday.

Protests from local residents prompted the ministry to begin a dialogue with British authorities on the issue. It was agreed, earlier this month, that measurements of electromagnetic radiation from existing aerials at Akrotiri would be carried out to assess the impact of the installations.

But the ministry announced yesterday that the British side had stated it was to begin preparatory work for installing the new aerial on Monday, the same day as radiation measurements were due to begin. The Foreign Ministry said the bases had said installation of the aerial would be delayed by at least a year unless the preparatory work began.

“The Cypriot side repeated its position that we could not agree to the starting of any work for the installation of the aerial. before it was established that the new aerial will not be harmful for the health of local residents of the environment,” the ministry stated. The two sides, which met again on Thursday, failed to reach an agreement on the issue and the Cypriot side told the British Monday’s measurements were off.

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.