HC Deb 23 June 1998 vol 314 cc471-2W
Dr. Marek

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has for the granting of full civil rights to inhabitants of the sovereign bases in Cyprus. [45818]

Dr. Reid

I have been asked to reply.

There are no plans to change the arrangements for the administration of the Sovereign Base Areas.

The Sovereign Base Areas are administered in accordance with the "Declaration by Her Majesty's Government regarding the Administration of the Sovereign Base Areas", included as Appendix 0 to Command 1093, in which HMG published the Treaty of Establishment and other documents concerning the 1960 Cyprus settlement. In accordance with Appendix 0, the "main objects to be achieved" in the administration of the Areas are:

  1. 1. Effective use of the Sovereign Base Areas as military bases.
  2. 2. Full cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus.
  3. 3. Protection of the interest of those resident in the Sovereign Base Areas.

Appendix 0 makes provision for freedom of access and communications to and through the Sovereign Base Areas; freedom of employment and cultivation in the Sovereign Base Areas; full protection of the rights of Cypriots (and others resident in the Republic) and Cypriot communities and corporations in regard to property; arrangements for legal proceedings concerning civil rights and obligations in which all parties are Cypriots to take place in the Courts of the Republic; and for the enforcement within the Sovereign Base Areas of the judgments and orders of such Courts in such proceedings.

Dr. Marek

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrests have been made of civilians in the sovereign bases in Cyprus in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [45819]

Dr. Reid

I have been asked to reply.

The Sovereign Base Areas are a British Overseas Territory of 98 square miles on the island of Cyprus and operate under British civil law. The laws of the Sovereign Base Areas are as far as possible the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus. SBA laws are enforced by the SBA Police, a civilian force comprising mainly of Cypriot officers. The Areas have their own properly constituted civilian court, with an independent civil judiciary.

Some seven thousand Cypriot civilians live in the Areas, and many other civilians travel through them by road, especially during the summer tourist season.

In the year to 31 March 1998, the number of arrests of civilians in the Sovereign Base Areas was 236.