NICOSIA, June 15 (Xinhua) — The opposition parties in Cyprus have demanded the government to take advantage of the Brexit opportunity and a UN General Assembly decision on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to push for the termination of the presence of the British bases on the eastern Mediterranean island, local media reported on Saturday.

During an overnight debate in parliament on Friday, the issue was debated on the suggestion of center Democratic Party (DIKO). The proposal was supported by the socialists and two other smaller opposition parties, including far-right ELAM party.

Opposition parties have a majority of seats in parliament. Although all parties agreed that the bases should go, they disagreed on the timing.

Britain retained two sovereign areas totaling 253 square kilometers or 3 percent of the territory of Cyprus to use as military bases, when it granted independence to the eastern Mediterranean island in 1960.

One of the bases at Akrotiri, on the south shores of Cyprus, is an important air base providing support to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations in the Mediterranean and as far as Afghanistan. According to military specialists, it is also one of the most important electronic surveillance hubs in the NATO network.

DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos said Brexit provided a historic opportunity for the Cypriot government to raise the issue of terminating the presence of British bases in Cyprus.

He also said a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an application by Mauritius, and a resolution of the UN General Assembly declaring illegal the presence of the Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands was an opportunity Cyprus should not miss.

Andros Kyprianou, leader of left wing AKEL, the biggest opposition party in the Cypriot parliament, said his party has always said that the bases constitute a violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, but argued that the Brexit was not the right opportunity to raise the issue, as Britain had declared right from the beginning that the territory of the bases was not part of the European Union.

He also argued that opening a second front at a time when Cyprus is facing challenges to its sovereignty by Turkey would not be a wise move.

Governing DISY party also agreed with AKEL that the timing was not right to push for the British bases to go.

The party also argued that in the case of a messy Brexit, Cyprus and Britain have to agree on arrangements to avoid hardship for Cypriots living within the bases territory and for British expatriates, mostly pensioners, living in Cyprus.