CAMPAIGNERS fighting construction of a new antenna by the British at their base at Akrotiri Salt Lake have won the formal backing of the British Green Party at their party conference.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, the British Green Party adopted an emergency motion proposed by London MEP Jean Lambert and actor Peter Polycarpou, calling for “an immediate halt to building work and destruction and removal of wildlife from the Akrotiri wetland, a protected wildlife habitat and proposed nature reserve”.
Commenting on the decision to build the antenna, Lambert said yesterday: “this is yet another example of the arrogance of the British authorities who feel they can bypass good practice and totally ignore local communities.”
She said it was unacceptable to go ahead with a project like this without the consent of local people.
Cyprus Green Party president George Perdikis is to meet Lambert during a visit to the UK. The Green delegation will join other campaigners in a demonstration at Parliament Square outside the House of Commons on September 30.
The Akrotiri Salt Lake was designated to be included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance of the Ramsar Convention.
Under the terms of the Ramsar Convention, the British Bases are obliged to promote the conservation and wise use of the Akrotiri Ramsar site.
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.
