BRITAIN may be asked to pay a heavy price for peace in Cyprus, where it has retained two military bases without apparently paying a penny since 1963, a senior official said yesterday.
Alexis Galanos, chairman of an economics advisory committee to President Tassos Papadopoulos, said not only was money owed but it was urgently needed to help overcome the heavy economic burden of possible reunification with the poorer Turkish Cypriot part of the island.
“Great Britain owes us money for use of the bases and its high time we remembered that,” said Galanos.
“I don’t know precisely how much they owe but the accumulated amount would be considerable,” he told Reuters.
The British High Commission appeared taken aback by the remarks.
“This is not something that has been raised with us for years and years,” said a High Commission spokesman. “If it is raised we will look at it.”
The Foreign Office in London had no immediate comment.
Financial compensation for the bases presence on the island has not been broached at an official level by Cyprus in at least a decade but had in the past, a source close to the presidency told Reuters.
“The understanding was that the amount of aid Britain would give to Cyprus would be assessed within the first five years of independence,” the source said.
“We didn’t take it up in 1965 because of the troubles and since it has been sporadically approached by past governments.”
But Galanos said his panel would recommend that Papadopoulos broach the issue in discussions with Britain.
“We are going to insist he insists on this.”
Reunification talks started between Greek and Turkish Cypriots last week in a bid to usher a united island into the European Union on May 1.
Galanos said the constitutional crisis of 1963 was cited by Britain as the reason why it had not paid any dues.
“They didn’t want to give us the money at the time because they did not want to distinguish between Greeks and Turks. Now (with a deal) there is no excuse.”
To facilitate a deal leaving both sides with more territory under their control Britain has offered to give up just under half of the 97 square miles it keeps in Cyprus.
Greek Cypriots, economically better off than their northern Turkish Cypriot neighbours hobbled under international trade blockades, are looking at the settlement bill with alarm.
They estimate a bill could reach £16 billion, about double the GDP of both areas combined.
A large portion of that represents compensation to people who will lose their land in the settlement, and the rest covers reconstruction costs and relocation of people affected by a re-drawing of the boundaries between the two sides.
Britain retained sovereignty over the 97 square miles of Cyprus territory when it gave the island independence in 1960.
Although less than half of that is designated for pure military purposes and fenced-off in compounds, its value as a staging and supply post has been reinforced in the past two Gulf Wars when British forces travelled to the area from Cyprus.
