Cyprus communists against use of British bases for Libya

The communist-led Cyprus government said on Sunday it opposed any use of the two British bases on the island to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya but conceded it had no power to stop their involvement.
A command centre to coordinate the movement of British assets over Libya has been set up at an RAF base at Akrotiri, on the southern coast of the island.
"Unfortunately these bases are sovereign and can be used merely with Britain issuing an advisory (to Cyprus). We have given the message to Britain that we do not wish for these bases to be used, that we are against that," President Demetris Christofias told reporters.
His communist party, Akel, has frequently called for the closure of British bases on the island.
Marios Garoyian, president of the parliament and leader of the centre-right Democratic Party (Diko) that is a partner of the fragile ruling coalition, said on Saturday that Britain should consult with Cyprus before using its bases as a launchpad for military operations, while the socialist party Edek called the British military operations from Cyprus as a dangerous aggression.
The British bases' headquarters said Akrotiri was not being used to launch offensive strikes on Libya, nor was it hosting air assets from any other nation for the operation, despite earlier media reports in the U.K. suggesting the contrary.
There were no plans to deploy Typoon or Tornado aircraft at the base, it said in a statement. There were surveillance aircraft at the facility, it said.
In London, Defence Secretary Liam Fox told BBC television Britain would deploy Typhoons and Tornadoes to a base in southern Italy either later on Sunday or on Monday.