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99 villages, of the recognized by the Albanian state minority zone, in the geographical region of Northern Epirus use officially [[Greek language|Greek]] as their principal language. There have been many minor incidents between the Greek population and Albanian authorities over issues such as the alleged involvement of the Greek government in local politics, the raising of the [[Flag of Greece|Greek flag]] on Albanian territory, and the language taught in state schools of the region; however, these issues have, for the most part, been non-violent.
99 villages, of the recognized by the Albanian state minority zone, in the geographical region of Northern Epirus use officially [[Greek language|Greek]] as their principal language. There have been many minor incidents between the Greek population and Albanian authorities over issues such as the alleged involvement of the Greek government in local politics, the raising of the [[Flag of Greece|Greek flag]] on Albanian territory, and the language taught in state schools of the region; however, these issues have, for the most part, been non-violent.


Greece does not recognise any minority within ''Greece'' its self. A significant Albanian minority do reside in Greece however, the Cham Albanians as they are called. Greece expelled hundreds of thousands of these people during WW11 after accusing them of allegedly collaborating with the Nazis. The Cham Albanians were forced to leave their homes and many were murdered and raped. Greece refuses to recognise this however, which further fuels tensions, while the Cham Albanians claim a right to return to land that is legally theirs.
Although relations between Albania and Greece have been greatly improved, the Greek minority in Albania, however, continues to suffer discrimination<ref>Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan IdentityISBN 1850652791,by Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer, 1999, page 79.</ref><ref>http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"In 1991, Greek shops were attacked in the coastal town of Saranda, home to a large minority population, and inter-ethnic relations throughout Albania worsened".</ref> as the Albanian government has purged ethnic Greeks from appointed positions of power<ref>Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan IdentityISBN 1850652791,by Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer, 1999,page 198,"A purge of ethnic Greeks in the professions in Albania continued in 1994, with particular emphasis on the law and the military." </ref> and continues to restrict<ref>http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"the area studied was confined to the southern border fringes, and there is good reason to believe that this estimate was very low"."Under this definition, minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country. Mixed villages outside this designated zone, even those with a clear majority of ethnic Greeks, were not considered minority areas and therefore were denied any Greek-language cultural or educational provisions. In addition, many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones...to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to pre-empt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well."</ref> the teaching of the Greek language.
Although relations between Albania and Greece have been greatly improved, the Greek minority in Albania, however, continues to suffer discrimination<ref>Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan IdentityISBN 1850652791,by Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer, 1999, page 79.</ref><ref>http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"In 1991, Greek shops were attacked in the coastal town of Saranda, home to a large minority population, and inter-ethnic relations throughout Albania worsened".</ref> as the Albanian government has purged ethnic Greeks from appointed positions of power<ref>Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan IdentityISBN 1850652791,by Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer, 1999,page 198,"A purge of ethnic Greeks in the professions in Albania continued in 1994, with particular emphasis on the law and the military." </ref> and continues to restrict<ref>http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"the area studied was confined to the southern border fringes, and there is good reason to believe that this estimate was very low"."Under this definition, minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country.


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 02:03, 8 November 2008

The region of Epirus, stretching across Greece and Albania.

Legend
  • grey: Approx. extent of Epirus in antiquity
  • orange: Greek periphery of Epirus
  • green: Approx. extent of largest concentration of Greeks in "Northern Epirus", early 20th cent.[1]
  • red dotted line: Territory of Northern Epirus

Northern Epirus (Greek: Βόρειος Ήπειρος, Vorios Ipiros, Albanian: Epiri i Veriut) is a term used to refer to those parts of the historical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans, that are part of the modern Albanian state. The term is used mostly by Greeks and is associated with the existence of a substantial ethnic Greek population in the region, as well as with political claims on the territory that were held by Greece and a Greek autonomous state during parts of the 20th century. The term is typically rejected by Albanians for its irredentist associations, although both countries lifted at 1987 the formal state of war and officially rejected any territorial claim against the other part.

Region

The term Epirus is used both in the Albanian and Greek language, but in Albanian refers only to the historical and not modern region.

Geographically, the region stretches from the Ionian coast of southern Albania to lake Prespa and south of lake Ohrid. During classical antiquity it was inhabited by the ancient Greek tribe of Chaonians[2] and its sub-tribes (Dassaretae [3] etc.). Northern Epirus geographically consists of the following districts in southern Albania (from west to east): Himarë region in Vlorë, Sarandë, Delvinë, Gjirokastër, south part of Tepelenë, Përmet, Kolonjë, central and east part of Korçë and Devoll.

For Albania, this region is part of several folkloric regions, like Laberia, Chameria and Southwest Albania.

Greek minority

Population

In Albania, Greeks are considered a "national minority". There are no reliable[4] statistics on the size of any ethnic minorities in Albania. Although conducting a satisfactory census of ethnic minorities is one of the country's commitments to the European Union, the Albanian government is not going to conduct an official census. Some commentators allege that this is out of fear that a considerable part of the population will register themselves as Greek.[5]

According to data presented to the 1919 Paris Conference, the Greek minority numbered 120,000,[6] and the last census to include data on ethnic minorities conducted in 1989 under the communist regime cites only 58,785 Greeks although the total population of Albania had tripled in the meantime.[6]However, the area studied was confined to the southern border, and this estimate is considered to be low. Under this definition, minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement and making the minority seem smaller than it is[7]. Sources from the Greek minority have claimed that there are up to 500,000 Greeks in Albania, or 12% of the total population at the time (from the "Epirot lobby" of Greeks with family roots in Albania).[8]

In a 1995 ethnological study, the number of ethnic Greeks in the Northern Epirus alone, are estimated at 40,000, while in the rest of the country there are further 20,000 Greeks.[9] The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimates the Greek minority at approximately 70,000 people.[10] Other independent sources estimate that the number of Greeks in Northern Epirus is 117,000 (about 3.5% of the total population),[11] a figure close to the estimate provided by The World Factbook (2006) (about 3%). But this number was 8% by the same agency a year before.[12][13]

Impact on Albanian-Greek relations

Tensions between Greece and Albania over the treatment of the Greek population persisted well after the end of the World War II, the formal state of war between the two countries being lifted only as late as 1987. Relations reached a low point after the fall of Albania's Communist régime in 1991. In 1993 Albania deported the Greek Orthodox Archimandrite of Gjirokastër for what is described as seditious behaviour. The crisis in relations was exacerbated in late August 1994, when an Albanian court sentenced five members (a sixth member was added later) of the ethnic Greek political party "Omonoia" to prison terms of 6-8 years on charges of treason, because they demanded that Northern Epirus is granted to Greece, and for illegal carrying of arms [14]. Greece responded by freezing all EU aid to Albania, sealing its border with Albania, and between August-November 1994, expelling over 115,000 illegal Albanian immigrants, a figure quoted in the US Department of State Human Rights Report and given to the American authorities by their Greek counterpart.[15] In December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania, while Albania released two of the Omonoia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four.

Today, relations have significantly improved; Greece and Albania signed a Friendship, Cooperation, Good Neighbourliness and Security Agreement on 21 March 1996. Additionally, Greece is Albania's main foreign investor, having invested more than 400 million dollars in Albania, Albania's second largest trading partner, with Greek products accounting for some 21% of Albanian imports, and 12% of Albanian exports coming to Greece, and Albania's fourth largest donor country, having provided aid amounting to 73.8 million euros.[16]

Current situation and issues

In more recent years, tensions have surrounded the participation of candidates of the ethnic Greek Unity for Human Rights Party in Albanian elections. In 2000, the Albanian municipal elections were criticised by international human rights groups for "serious irregularities" reported to have been directed against ethnic Greek candidates and parties.[17] The most recent municipal elections held in February 2007 saw the participation of a number of ethnic Greek candidates, with Vasilis Bolanos being re-elected mayor of the southern town of Himarë despite the governing and opposition Albanian parties fielding a combined candidate against him. Greek observers have expressed concern at the "non-conformity of procedure" in the conduct of the elections.[18]

99 villages, of the recognized by the Albanian state minority zone, in the geographical region of Northern Epirus use officially Greek as their principal language. There have been many minor incidents between the Greek population and Albanian authorities over issues such as the alleged involvement of the Greek government in local politics, the raising of the Greek flag on Albanian territory, and the language taught in state schools of the region; however, these issues have, for the most part, been non-violent.

Greece does not recognise any minority within Greece its self. A significant Albanian minority do reside in Greece however, the Cham Albanians as they are called. Greece expelled hundreds of thousands of these people during WW11 after accusing them of allegedly collaborating with the Nazis. The Cham Albanians were forced to leave their homes and many were murdered and raped. Greece refuses to recognise this however, which further fuels tensions, while the Cham Albanians claim a right to return to land that is legally theirs. Although relations between Albania and Greece have been greatly improved, the Greek minority in Albania, however, continues to suffer discrimination[19][20] as the Albanian government has purged ethnic Greeks from appointed positions of power[21] and continues to restrictCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). that the rest of southern Epirus to joined Greece. The Treaty of Bucharest gave Northern Epirus to Albania at the end of the Second Balkan War[22]. This outcome was unpopular among both Greeks and Albanians, as settlements of the two people existed on both sides of the border. When World War I broke out in 1914, Albania collapsed. Under a March 1915 agreement among the Allies, Italy seized northern Albania and Greece set up an autonomous Greek state of North Epirus in the southern part of the country. Although short-lived[23], the state of North Epirus left behind a substantial historical record. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 awarded the area to Greece after World War I, however, political developments such as the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1921-22 and, crucially, Italian, Austrian and German lobbying in favor of Albania meant that Greece could not claim northern Epirus. The area was finally ceded to Albania in 1924.

Zog's Rule to World War II

The Albanian Government, with the country's entrance to the League of Nations (October 1921), made the commitment to respect the social, educational, religious rights of every minority[24]. However, only a limited area (in the Districts of Gjirokastër, Sarandë and four villages in Himara region) was recognized as a Greek minority zone [25]. The following years, measures were taken to suppress[26] minority's education, Greek schools were either closed or forcibly converted to Albanian schools and teachers were expelled from the country. The number of schools reduced dramatically during this period:[27]

School Season Schools Teachers
1925-1926 78 113
1926-1927 68 102
1927-1928 66 95
1928-1929 60 85
1929-1930 63 83
1930-1931 64 82
1931-1932 43 50
1932-1933 10 11

With the League of Nations intervention (1935), a limited number of schools, and only of those inside the minority's recognize zone, reopened.

After World War II: Hoxha's regime

After World War II, Albania was governed by a Communist regime led by Enver Hoxha, which took draconian measures to keep ethnic Greeks loyal to Albania, such as: pupils were taught only Albanian history and culture at primary level, the minority zone was reduced from 103 to 99 villages (excluding Himara), many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country (as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to pre-empt ethnic sources of political dissent), Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well[28][29][30].

The state attempted to suppress any religious practice (both public and private),adherence to which was considered "anti-modern" and dangerous to the unity of the Albanian state. Christian Orthodox Church, which was a fundamental part of the minority's tradition and identity, was also persecuted. In 1967, the authorities conducted a violent campaign to extinguish [31] religious life in Albania, claiming that it had divided the Albanian nation and kept it mired in backwardness. Student agitators combed the countryside, forcing Albanians and minorities, including the Greek one to quit practicing their faith. All churches, mosques, monasteries, and other religious institutions were closed or converted into warehouses, gymnasiums, and workshops. Clergy were imprisoned, owning an icon became an offense that could be prosecuted under Albanian law. The campaign culminated in an announcement that Albania had become the world's first atheistic state, a feat touted as one of Enver Hoxha's greatest achievements

See also: Religion_in_Albania#Totalitarian_regime

Notable Northern Epirotes

Academics

Literature & Art

Military

Philanthropy

Politics

Religion

Sports

  • Pyrros Dimas
    Pyrros Dimas
  • Sotiris Ninis
    Sotiris Ninis
  • Ethnographic map of Northern Epirus in 1913
    Ethnographic map of Northern Epirus in 1913
  • 1-drachma value of the infantryman issue of March 1914
    1-drachma value of the infantryman issue of March 1914
  • Flag stamp, 5 lepta of 1914
    Flag stamp, 5 lepta of 1914
  • Occupation overprint on 3-lepta stamp of Greece of 1916
    Occupation overprint on 3-lepta stamp of Greece of 1916
  • Map of Epirus in classical antiquity (situation of ca. the 5th century BC)
    Map of Epirus in classical antiquity (situation of ca. the 5th century BC)

See also

Further reading

  • Triadafilopoulos, Triadafilos (2000). "Power politics and nationalist discourse in the struggle for 'Northern Epirus': 1919-1921". Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans. 2 (2): 149–162. doi:10.1080/713683343. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |laydate=, |laysource=, |quotes=, |laysummary=, and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

References

  1. ^ Following G. Soteriadis: “An Ethnological Map Illustrating Hellenism In The Balkan Peninsula And Asia Minor” London: Edward Stanford, 1918. Image:Hellenism in the Near East 1918.jpg
  2. ^ Crew, P. Mack. The Cambridge Ancient History - The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C. Part 3: Volume 3, p. 284. "Inscriptional evidence of the Chaones is lacking until the Hellenistic period; but Ps-Scylax, describing the situation of c. 380-360 put the southern limit of the Illyrians just north of the Chaones, which indicates that the Chaones did not speak Illyrian, and the acceptance of the Chaones into the Epirote alliance in the 330s suggest strongly that they were Greek-speaking."
  3. ^ They were the northern-most subtribe of the Chaonians.Smith, William (2006). A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography. Whitefish, MT, USA: Kessinger Publishing, LLC. pp. page 423. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"the area studied was confined to the southern border fringes, and there is good reason to believe that this estimate was very low"."Under this definition, minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country. Mixed villages outside this designated zone, even those with a clear majority of ethnic Greeks, were not considered minority areas and therefore were denied any Greek-language cultural or educational provisions. In addition, many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to pre-empt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well."
  5. ^ http://www.watsoninstitute.org/bjwa/archive/11.1/Essays/Barjarba.pdfNonetheless, it appears that the Albanian government is not going to conduct an official census, which would clarify the numbers. The Albanian government fears that if a census were adopted, a considerable part of the population would be registered as Greek
  6. ^ a b "Bilateral relations between Greece and Albania". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97 Defense Academy of the United Kingdom
  8. ^ "Country Studies US: Greeks and Other Minorities". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Winnifrith, T., J. (1995). "Southern Albania, Northern Epirus: Survey of a Disputed Ethnological Boundary". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "UNPO". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Jelokova Z., Mincheva L., Fox J., Fekrat B. (2002). "Minorities at Risk (MAR) Project : Ethnic-Greeks in Albania". Center for International Development and Conflict Management, MAR Project, University of Maryland, College Park. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ CIA World Factbook (2006). "Albania". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ The CIA World Factbook (1993) provided a figure of 8% for the Greek minority in Albania.
  14. ^ Clogg, Concise History of Greece 1770-2000, Cambridge University Press 2002 ISBN 960-7778-61-8 "In May, the Albanian authorities arrested 6 members of "Omonoia", the main Greek minority organisation in Albania. In the trial that followed, five of the six were tried for treason, with penalties varying form six to eight years, because they demanded the annexation of Northern Epirus to Greece, and for illegal carrying of guns."
  15. ^ Greek Helsinki Monitor: Greeks of Albania and Albanians in Greece, September 1994.
  16. ^ Greek Ministry for Foreign Affairs: Bilateral relations between Greece and Albania.
  17. ^ Human Rights Watch Report on Albania
  18. ^ Erlis Selimaj (2007-02-19). "Albanians go to the polls for local vote". Southeast European Times. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  19. ^ Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan IdentityISBN 1850652791,by Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer, 1999, page 79.
  20. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"In 1991, Greek shops were attacked in the coastal town of Saranda, home to a large minority population, and inter-ethnic relations throughout Albania worsened".
  21. ^ Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan IdentityISBN 1850652791,by Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer, 1999,page 198,"A purge of ethnic Greeks in the professions in Albania continued in 1994, with particular emphasis on the law and the military."
  22. ^ Clogg, Concise History of Greece 1770-2000, Cambridge University Press 2002 ISBN 960-7778-61-8 "The Second Balkan War had short duration and the Bulgarians were soon dragged to the table of negotiations. By the Treaty of Bucharest (August 1913) Bulgaria was forced to accept a little favourable regulation of the borders, even if she kept a way to the Aegean, in Degeagatch (modern Alexandroupolis). The sovereignty of Greece on Crete was now recognised, but her ambition to annex Northern Epirus with its large Greek population was stopped by the annexation of the area to an independent Albania."
  23. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97," In May 1914, the Great Powers signed the Protocol of Corfu, which recognised the area as Greek, after which it was occupied by the Greek army from October 1914 until October 1915. Greece’s administration under the Protocol was short-lived, however, and collapsed after the 10 Italian invasion in 1915."
  24. ^ Griffith W. Albania and the Sino-Soviet Rift Cambridge Mas. 1963,Page 40, 95
  25. ^ Historical archive of the Greek ministry of Foreign Affairs (A.Y.E.), 1922, A/5, League of Nations, Minorities in Albania, 22 Aug. 1922, Ypi letter, Tirana, 7 Jul. 1922
  26. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"Under King Zog, the Greek villages suffered considerable repression, including the forcible closure of Greek-language schools in 1933-1934 and the ordering of Greek Orthodox monasteries to accept mentally sick individuals as inmates. "
  27. ^ Historical archive of the Greek ministry of Foreign Affairs (A.Y.E.),1935.B/35, α.α.κ.9, Υπόμνημα Ά' Πολιτικής Διευθύνσεως (Κούστας) περί Β. Ήπειρου, Athens, 7 Feb. 1935, Page 68(
  28. ^ Badlands-Borderland: A History of Southern Albania/Northern Epirus, ISBN-10: 0715632019,2003,T.J. Winnifrith, Page 138:"... the Orthodox Albanian-speakers who had not been expelled. On the other hand under Hoxha there were draconian measures to keep Greek-speakers loyal to Albania. Albanian rather than Greek history was taught in schools. ..."
  29. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97," under communism, pupils were taught only Albanian history and culture, even in Greek-language classes at the primary level."
  30. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,"the area studied was confined to the southern border fringes, and there is good reason to believe that this estimate was very low"."Under this definition, minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country. Mixed villages outside this designated zone, even those with a clear majority of ethnic Greeks, were not considered minority areas and therefore were denied any Greek-language cultural or educational provisions. In addition, many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to pre-empt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well."
  31. ^ http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/G97,onset in 1967 of the campaign by Albania’s communist party, the Albanian Party of Labour (PLA), to eradicate organised religion, a prime target of which was the Orthodox Church. Many churches were damaged or destroyed during this period, and many Greek-language books were banned because of their religious themes or orientation. Yet, as with other communist states, particularly in the Balkans, where measures putatively geared towards the consolidation of political control intersected with the pursuit of national integration, it is often impossible to distinguish sharply between ideological and ethno-cultural bases of repression. This is all the more true in the case of Albania’s anti-religion campaign because it was merely one element in the broader “Ideological and Cultural Revolution” begun by Hoxha in 1966 but whose main features he outlined at the PLA’s Fourth Congress in 1961.
  32. ^ [1] in Greek
  33. ^ [2] in Greek
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