A formerly top secret UK report shows Britain’s territory on Cyprus formed a key part of NATO’s surveillance and nuclear capabilities in the Mediterranean during the Cold War, despite knowing this was “not consistent” with the island’s non-aligned stance.
by Matt Kennard
by Matt Kennard
Part 1
Independent Cyprus’s first president, Archbishop Makarios, was prominent supporter of Non-Aligned Movement during Cold War
But British territories on Cyprus were “of great strategic importance” to NATO
Top secret map shows UK ran “NATO communications station” in Cyprus outside of British base areas
Covert surveillance operations were carried out from British Cyprus “on behalf of NATO”
Targets for Cyprus-based nuclear-capable Vulcan bomber squadrons were coordinated with NATO
UK planners cautioned “it is important to avoid drawing attention to the NATO implications of military activities” on British Cyprus
The UK used its bases in Cyprus, which it retained after the island achieved independence in 1960, as key NATO assets despite Cyprus’s declared non-alignment between East and West, it can be revealed.
NATO was established in 1949 ostensibly as a “defensive” Western military alliance against the “threat” posed by the Soviet Union. Greece and Turkey were added as members during its first expansion in 1952, but neighbouring Cyprus never joined.
The first president of independent Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, was a prominent figure in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which refused to take sides in the Cold War.
President Makarios attended the first summit of the NAM in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1961, making Cyprus one of its 25 founding members. He would serve as president until 1974 when he was overthrown in a coup d’état ordered by Greece’s military junta.
NATO was established in 1949 ostensibly as a “defensive” Western military alliance against the “threat” posed by the Soviet Union. Greece and Turkey were added as members during its first expansion in 1952, but neighbouring Cyprus never joined.
The first president of independent Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, was a prominent figure in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which refused to take sides in the Cold War.
President Makarios attended the first summit of the NAM in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1961, making Cyprus one of its 25 founding members. He would serve as president until 1974 when he was overthrown in a coup d’état ordered by Greece’s military junta.
A British Ministry of Defence study, prepared three years before the coup, in 1971, was marked “top secret” and “UK eyes only”. Titled, “the importance to the UK of the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus”, it gives a window into the real reason the British sought to maintain two de facto colonies on Cyprus after independence.
It shows that these British territories, named Sovereign Bases Areas (SBAs), served as key NATO intelligence and military assets in the Middle East and North Africa throughout Makarios’s time as president.
It shows that these British territories, named Sovereign Bases Areas (SBAs), served as key NATO intelligence and military assets in the Middle East and North Africa throughout Makarios’s time as president.
Source, links:
Comments
Post a Comment