Hundreds gathered outside the British Bases in Akrotiri to protest what they say is British support to Israel’s Gaza bombing campaign and operations. It was organised by the Cyprus Peace Council and supported by left wing opposition AKEL, who had called on citizens to participate en masse.
There was increased security in the area, as protesters condemned missions, as they noted, being conducted out of the British Bases and carrying military equipment to support Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip.
Under the banners ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Cyprus-Palestine-Solidarity’, the Cyprus Peace Council said it was sending the message that the island wants to become a peace building bridge amongst nations and people ‘do not want the British military bases in their country, as they are a constant source of danger’. It demanded their immediate closure.
‘We want the Palestinian genocide to stop’, protesters added.
The British Bases responded with a statement citing the defence ministry, which noted that ‘the Bases in Cyprus continue to support the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and that no RAF flights to Israel have ever carried lethal military material.
The UK, as the defence ministry underlined, has doubled its humanitarian aid to 60 million pounds and last week, ‘the RFA Lyman Bay, with the support of British Forces Cyprus, delivered 87 tonnes of British and Cypriot aid to Egypt for the people of Gaza. ‘We have also delivered a further 74 tonnes to Palestinian civilians through Egypt’, the British Bases announcement said.
