STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ["It's going to take quite a while to repair relations between the British military and the local population" UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw...Relations could be 'repaired' immediately if you took your NATOite imperialist arses out of Cyprus - RR] Wednesday, 4 July, 2001, 18:28 GMT 19:28 Britain on Cyprus alert Rioters caused �120,000 of damage on [Less than a fifth the price of a cruise missile] Tuesday night. Greek Cypriots have continued their demonstrations outside the island's British base at Akrotiri, following violent clashes on Tuesday night. But this time the protest was peaceful, with several hundred people gathering in opposition to the construction of radio masts at the base. About 40 police officers were injured in Tuesday's violence, when cars and buildings were set on fire. [The same amount of Yugoslav or Iraqi civilians torn to pieces in a typical British or American bombing raid, no?] But the British police presence this time was low key, and a senior police officer welcomed the peaceful nature of the latest protest. ["These satanic antennae will kill children and destroy the environment. I have done my duty and have no regrets" Marios Matsakis (I couldn't think of a better adjective; the one thing Khomeini got right.)] A deputy from Nicosia's parliament, Marios Matsakis, who was arrested for leading the protest on Monday, was also present on Wednesday. He defended his actions: "These satanic antennae will kill children and destroy the environment. I have done my duty and have no regrets." Condemnation Earlier UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned the violence as "completely unacceptable" and said every effort had been made to assure the Cypriots that radiation from the masts posed no risk. [The Man of Straw is deeply offended. Morally offended. The very day an Irish teenager was gunned down by a pro-London Loyalist death squad. Radiation poses no risk. Isn't this the same claim that the UK and US made to the thousands of Bosnian Serbians dying of leukemia?] The trouble flared following Mr Matsakis' arrest for trying to break into the Akrotiri base. Protesters burst into a nearby British police station where he was being held, demanding his release. Riot troops Troops in riot gear confronted the crowd of protesters and fired tear gas in clashes which lasted all Tuesday evening. {British riot troops would be better deployed in Belfast, Burnley and Oldham - if they could be trusted not to make the situations even worse.] Forty police officers were injured during the trouble A British military spokesman called the protests "one of the most violent and abhorrent acts of lawlessness ever seen in Cyprus". [The most abhorrent act in Cyrus is the very presence of British colonial occupation forces.] Protesters say the six low-frequency masts to be built near UK bases by 2003 will emit radiation that could seriously harm local residents, especially children. They are also concerned about possible effects on migratory birds. British authorities deny there is any risk to health, and say the antennae are needed for the UK military's global communications network. There are about 3,500 British soldiers based in Cyprus. [Kick the imperialist occupiers out!] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
