POLITICIANS yesterday slammed a British bases anti-poaching operation in the Famagusta district, which involved troops rather than police officers.
The operation took place on Wednesday at the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area (SBA), a known hotspot for bird trapping, netting loads of poaching equipment but failing to make any arrests.
EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou condemned the operation and called upon the government react to the British move to use troops.
He said troops stationed at the Dhekelia garrison “raided Greek Cypriot properties inside the SBA to carry out a mission … that could at least have been done by police and not Her Majesty’s armed forces.”
Omirou said Cyprus was no longer a British colony and that Britain’s so-called rights in Cyprus were colonial remnants that were illegal based on international law and the UN.
EVROKO general secretary Rikkos Erotokritou said the action was provocative, proving once more that the British did not respect the rights of the residents of the area where they are temporarily hosted. Neither did they appreciate the hospitality afforded to them by the Republic of Cyprus, Erotokritou said.
“The government ought to proceed with all necessary action to protect the property rights of residents inside the British bases and denounce the provocative action demanding it will not be repeated.” Erotokritou said.
The Green Party described the operation as a theatrical move devoid of an environmental content “but surely of political importance.”
“How else can you explain the soldiers’ intervention with full television and press coverage, ultimately locating leftovers of an illegal activity and of course no perpetrators?” the party said in a statement.
There is strong suspicion, the Greens said, that the military operation was carried out for political reasons – to confirm their sovereign presence in the area at a time when, after pressure, they accepted to partially grant rights of development to the residents of the areas they occupy.
During the operation, SBA authorities seized 237 metal and concrete bases used to prop the poles where the nets are fixed, 225 metal poles, three batteries, 405 metres of cable, 126 mats, six speakers and five nets.
The operation was welcomed by the Germany-based committee against bird slaughter CABS and Friends of the Earth Cyprus who gave their full support to every effort stamp out illegal bird trapping and killing on the island, regardless who conducts the operations.
“The two organisations strongly and actively pledge they will lend their support to every effort aimed at the effective implementation of Cypriot and European legislation on wild bird conservation, regardless of the origin of the initiative.”
