The United Democratic Youth Organisation (EDON), together with hundreds of young people who gathered on January 28 2024, outside the British Bases at the top of Troodos mountain, reiterate their demand for an immediate end to the presence of the British bases in Cyprus.

The presence of the British military bases in our country is an affront to the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus. The British bases in Cyprus undermine the self-determination of the Cypriot people, as well as the Republic of Cyprus itself. They are an obsolete remnant of colonialism and, especially after the invasion and occupation, they are a second open wound in our land. They are a danger to peace and security in our region and bring suffering to both the Cypriot and our neighbouring peoples. 

We denounce the illegal presence of US troops and army in our country through the British military base of Akrotiri.

We denounce the establishment of the American military base within the British Base of Akrotiri and the illegal presence of 3,000 US soldiers.

Their existence and use are proving to be criminal for the peoples of the region, as military forces are being sent out from these bases to spread death in our region. Moreover, the bases involve our country in espionage and military operations on a daily basis, creating serious dangers. 

Both the DISY-Anastasiades government and the Christodoulides government, with their ideology of making Cyprus an “outpost of the West” and a “shield of Israel” at its core, bear enormous responsibility for the uncontrolled use of the bases by the imperialists and their involvement in the genocidal attack of the state of Israel against the struggling Palestinian people and the ongoing massacre in Gaza.  

Any involvement of Cyprus in the war-mongering plans of Nato and Israel makes, makes our country a part of the confrontation, creating new dangers for our people. 

The operation of the bases as an attack base of the Nato imperialists, cannot continue. These wars are aimed at controlling and claiming new territories, controlling the markets and resources of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The participation of the EU, together with Nato and their allies, in imperialist wars creates huge waves of refugees and migrants, especially from the Middle East and Africa. The “redrawing” of borders is being done with the blood of the peoples of the region, especially the civilians, women and children, and the thousands of migrants and refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots who remain faithful to the ideals of peace, we denounce those who try to give a “free pass” to Nato and offer them land and water by erasing Nato’s crimes against our people, turning Cyprus into an unsinkable aircraft carrier. 

We condemn the actions done to bring Cyprus into Nato and the warmongering programme of the “Partnership for Peace.” We do not declare allegiance to those who planned and executed the dismemberment of Cyprus. We demand that Cyprus has no participation, direct or indirect, in imperialist Nato’s plans and wars.

At the same time, we have as an irrevocable goal the liberation and reunification of our island, so that united Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can uproot the Nato abomination of the British bases from our island. United, we fight for a free, federal, sovereign, independent and demilitarised Cyprus, away from occupying armies, guarantor powers, interventionist rights, foreign dependencies and barbed wire.

We join the peoples of the world who are fighting for peace, democracy, freedom, without imperialist wars, poverty and misery and express our full solidarity with the struggling Palestinian people who are being murdered every day. 

We call for the dissolution of Nato, the closure of military bases and the dismantling of aggressor armies. We call for a complete nuclear ban and complete nuclear disarmament. 

BASES OF DEATH, OUT OF CYPRUS!

EDON general secretary Seviros Koulas declared:

“The eyes of humanity have been focused on our neighbourhood for about three months now. The slaughter of the struggling Palestinian people being committed by the state of Israel continues, writing new pages of shame for the international community and the mighty of the world who are watching unmoved.

“We express, once again, our full solidarity with the Palestinian people and all the struggling peoples around the world. We demand an immediate and full ceasefire and the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“We demand an end to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, an end to the occupation and colonisation of Palestine by the state of Israel. 

“We demand freedom for Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as provided for in the relevant resolutions of the UN.

“With the march we organised to the British bases at Troodos, we have once again denounced their use in the plans of the imperialists and through them our country’s involvement in their plans. 

“We have once again demanded the closure of the British military bases and dismantling of the warring armies.

“Comrades, from the highest peak of Cyprus, together Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, we pledge to struggle.

“A promise to us and to those who will come after us. To struggle until victory!

“Our generation is never going to accept that we will live with the barbed wire of division that separate us. 

“The slogan “Peace in Cyprus cannot be prevented” will continue to resonate in our gatherings, events and demonstrations.

“Long live Cyprus!
Long live our Common Homeland!
Peace in Cyprus cannot be prevented!”