THE SEVEN remaining Iraqis atop a tower on the British bases at Episkopi came down yesterday evening, ending a seven-day protest they hoped would secure them British passports.
“They came down at 6pm of their own free will,” said bases spokesman Captain Nick Ulvert.
“They are not going to get British passports. They will apply to the Cyprus government to see if they can get some sort of refugee status,” he added.
Ulvert said the men were offered food, water and medical attention as soon as they came down from the Episkopi SBA Fire Service Training building. However they declined the offer. “They got in a car and drove off,” he said.
While the seven men were still in the tower yesterday morning, bases authorities moved in to evict their families from their houses in Dhekelia on the other side of the island where they had lived for the past seven years.
“They were evicted from their houses. They will be allowed to pick up their personal effects from SBA customs,” said Ulvert.
“They won’t be allowed back into Richmond Village. They shouldn’t try to re-enter. It’s not in their interest. We know who they are. They know their best option is to appeal to the Republic of Cyprus”.
During the eviction operation, the seven men were in contact with their families by phone. Some of the men have, since their arrival in Cyprus, married in the north, which further complicates their situation given that the Cypriot authorities are not likely to recognise their marriages.
Talking to the Cyprus Mail, one of the rooftop protesters, Nabil Naji, expressed his grief over yesterday’s events.
“They are taking out women and children by force. They took cars with police dogs and armed soldiers to force them out of their homes. But they have nowhere to stay. If they take them out they will end up in the street. I don’t know where else they can stay,” Naji explained.
The operation, which started at 12pm yesterday, specifically targeted the families of the eight protesters, while the other Iraqi immigrants living at Dhekelia were allowed to remain in SBA housing.
A total of 40 Iraqi immigrants, including 22 children, in addition to the eight men on the roof, were housed at Dhekelia but only the homes of the eight protesters in Richmond village were targeted.
The remaining families will not be evicted because they are part of the immigrant group that arrived on bases territory in 1998.
The eight men were part of a different group that moved through the Cyprus Republic before ending up on the bases, which bases authorities say makes them the responsibility of the Cypriot authorities.
The eviction operation started with the cutting of electricity and water supply. Then, windows and doors were removed from the houses, to render them totally uninhabitable.
“The water and electricity supply was cut off,” confirmed Nikos Pandehis, Deputy Police Director at Dhekelia SBA. “The furnishings belong to the SBA and will remain in the houses. Their personal belongings will be put in storage and will be returned,” he added.
The operation took place because the deadline set by the SBA one month ago for the Iraqi families to leave Dhekelia and apply for asylum from the Republic of Cyprus, had expired.
The Iraqi immigrants refuse to leave the SBA, claiming that they have been promised British passports by the SBA in the past, while the SBA insist that this was never an option and that the Iraqis were asked to apply to the Republic from the outset.
A bulldozer was also on site and it is expected that the operation will be completed today with the demolition of houses. “These houses are dangerous and not fit to be inhabited as they are made of asbestos. They must be demolished,” said Pandehis.
According to Pandehis the SBA is not trying to punish the eight protesters by removing their Dhekelia housing, but is merely enforcing a previously scheduled eviction.
“The eviction took place because they are illegal immigrants. Temporary housing was provided to them at Richmond, but they have stayed here for seven years.”
The eight men were on top of the building since last Wednesday. Two came down on Saturday but returned on Sunday with food and water for the others. One distracted SBA police and the other re-entered the building.
In addition to the food and water, the man brought back a copy of the Cyprus Mail to the rest of the group who wished to make comments on SBA claims to the press.
“The SBA said that we had told them that we don’t trust the Republic of Cyprus. That is a lie. We respect the Republic of Cyprus. We respect the Cypriot people.
“We also want to thank Marios Matsakis for his help and we feel sorry for the way he has been treated by the SBA,” said Nabil Naji.
Matsakis had visited the site of the protest twice at the weekend. He asked the SBA to allow him to go up to the tower and provide medical care to one of the men who was hurt from a self-inflicted blow to the head.
When the SBA refused, Matsakis accused the SBA of torture and got involved in a scuffle with SBA police officers.
