February 19, 1953
BRITISH BASES: Paris, 18 – According to wires from Nicosia, the construction of two large military bases on Cyprus is proceeding swiftly. The project will cost about 20 million pounds sterling. One of these two bases, which is to be completed first, is on the bay of Episkopi, 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of Limassol. The other is at Dekeleia, 8 miles east of Larnaca. ARGOSTOLI BASE: The journey by His Majesty King Pavlos (…) to the British capital (…) is directly connected to an important mission for the nation, which is to exert pressure aimed at bringing about the union of Cyprus with Greece. Certainty about the purpose of the king’s journey arises from confirmed reports and many indications. The most characteristic of these are: (…) the fact that the British Admiralty has asked the Greek Ministry of the Navy for the use of a port in the Ionian Sea to be used as a base for exercises by the British fleet and subsequent rumors that a free zone is to be set up in Argostoli, obviously to be used for the supply of military units and crews of the British fleet. PRISONERS: United Nations, New York, 19 – About 3,000 Greek soldiers and about 100 officers are being illegally held in states behind the Iron Curtain who have avoided any response to requests from the UN about the prisoners’ fate. Information released today by the United Nations General Secretariat indicates the barbarous and inhuman way in which the communist states are treating the Greek soldiers captured.
