Cyprus Mail - 25 February 2019 - article by Annette Chrysostomou
A decision set to be announced by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday afternoon could help to clarify whether the UK has the right to have military bases in Cyprus.
At 4pm Cyprus time the court will announce its view over a legal battle between the UK and its former colony Mauritius.
The decade-long dispute is over some Indian Ocean islands belonging to Mauritius. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, then colonial power Britain evicted around 2,000 Chagos islanders to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for a military base on Diego Garcia. It is now under lease to the United States.
The case raises the question whether it is legitimate, under international law, for Britain to use such territories as military bases.
One of the 22 countries heard before the court was Cyprus with Attorney-general Costas Clerides representing the island.
In his speech, he stressed the right to self-determination of a state, noting that colonialism is a violation of international law.
Talking to the Cyprus News Agency on Monday, Clerides said the successful outcome of the case would be a very serious legal weapon, noting that “the right to self-determination is and will always be respected and inalienable regardless of the circumstances which exist at the time countries gain their independence.”
The decision is not legally binding but an advisory opinion. It is nevertheless widely believed to be an important step in solving the dispute.
