"The Other Side" OBSERVATORY initiative

We are the Initiative "The Other Side", an observatory group of Greeks of Greece, who are concerned with issues pertaining to the historical indigenous Greek Community in Albania (Northern Epirus), from a perspective of democracy, human rights, social equity and ecology. Along with our abiding concern with the welfare of ethnic Greeks residing outside the Greek state, we also express solidarity with oppressed peoples and those movements that fight for peace, justice and human rights. The defence of the rights of the indigenous Greeks of Albania assumes the consolidation of cordial relations with our Albanian neighbours. The democratic assertion of the rights of all citizens of Albania, who identify themselves as Greeks to live in freedom, is an exemplar of a broader struggle for security, peace and stability in the Balkans. Given recent events in Himara and the pre-trial detention of the ethnic Greek mayor-elect Dionysios - Fredis Beleris during the recent municipal elections in Albania as well as that of his partner Pantelis Kokavesis (released with stringent conditions due to the critical state of his health,) we seek to draw your attention to a series of human rights violations by the Albanian government, in contravention of International Treaties, Declarations, and the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. As you may know, in 1913, a large part of the historical region of Epirus was awarded to Albania by the Florence Protocol. This is an area full of monuments from antiquity to the modern period, that attest to the continuous presence of its indigenous Greek inhabitants, the vast majority of which fought for union with Greece. However, while in 1914 the Albanian government agreed to provide part of the region within its border’s autonomy, this was never implemented due to the advent of the First World War and the subsequent Asia Minor Catastrophe. From that time until World War II there was a lack of clarity regarding Greeks living in Albania, which allowed for additional human rights abuses, culminating in the ban on Greek language schools, condemned as illegal by the International Court of Justice in 1935. After the end of World War II, the Albanian Communist regime imposed minority zones in the region by arbitrarily limiting the zones of what they deemed to be the “Ethnic Greek Minority” (official legal term), to only 100 villages in two of the historical Greek regions. Chimara (Himara), Korytsa (Korça) – Erseka (Ersekë‎) – Kolonia (Kolonjë), Delvino (Delvina), Premeti (Përmeti), Avlona (Vlora) and the environs of other cities where numerous Greek communities had lived for centuries were expressly left out of the recognised minority zones. From 1945 until 1990, the Greeks of Albania were subjected to a regime of terror: targeted murders, abductions, executions, exile, rape, torture and incarceration. Simultaneously, the regime sought to disrupt the cohesion of the Greek communities by recruiting collaborators from that community via force or with the promise of privileges. After 1991 and until 1994, while the Albanian state attempted a series of democratic reforms the legal organization of the Greeks, “Democratic Union of the National Greek Minority” (DEEEM) "Omonoia" was forbidden to participate in the elections as a legal political party. Being discriminated against on the basis of race. During that period despite Albania's official European orientation, Greek schools that had been founded were closed, national celebrations and demonstrations of ethnic affiliation were banned or suppressed, Orthodox priests were expelled, and the systematic re-settlement of Albanians within Greek areas was implemented, in order to change the demographic composition of historic Greek cities (e.g. the city of Agioi Saranda (Saranda), was settled with 25,000 Albanians who were granted property titles by the state). Further, the secret police of the previous regime continued to operate without interruption. In 1994, after a terrorist act by unknown perpetrators against an Albanian military outpost, an unprecedented pogrom against the leadership and members of DEEEM Omonoia was organised, resulting in a show-trial of five of its leaders for high treason. The consequence was the first great flight of Greeks from their homes, who mainly immigrated to Greece. The next great flight of Greeks from Albania took place in 1997 with the collapse of the pyramid network of banks which caused a huge crisis accompanied by armed confrontation across the country. Murders, kidnappings, destruction of infrastructure and targeted armed attacks on ethnic Greek villages became commonplace. Then, in the first decade of the 21st century, there was a period of relative normalization of the situation in Albania. While Albania joined international organizations and signed texts accepting the European acquis, ethnic Greeks and manifestation of a Greek identity was met with increasing disfavour, facilitating the mass migration of ethnic Greeks to Greece. Issues such as: • the perpetuation of minority zones, • the refusal to establish new Greek schools outside minority areas, • the continuation of school programs with anti-Greek content, • the confiscation of communal and private properties belonging to ethnic Greeks for centuries (by Albanians bearing false Ottoman title deeds), • intimidation and terrorism during national and municipal elections against ethnic Greek voters, candidates and elected officials, • the support and management of deep-state groups and organizations that intimidate the ethnic Greeks, reversed the initial climate of openness that began to be created in 1997 after the end of the pyramid-banking crisis. In 2010, the brutal murder of the ethnic Greek inhabitant of Chimara (Himara) Aristotelis Goumas was perpetrated by elements of the deep state. Goumas was murdered for speaking Greek in his own establishment. During this the period the Albanian government was inaugurating new road networks in the coastal tourist areas of Agioi Saranda (Saranda) – Chimara (Himara) – Avlona (Vlora) with support from "deep state" operatives who prohibited the use of the Greek language in public space. At the same time, taking advantage of development programs of the International Bank without satisfactory controls, the government facilitated, especially in the province of Chimara (Himara), the commencement of a project that encroached upon the properties of ethnic Greeks, this being the construction of tourist accommodation, with money laundered from international illegal activities. In the following decade, with the election of the current Prime Minister Edi Rama, a new era of systematic tension and escalation of the previous issues began. An idiosyncratic dictatorship was established that lasts to this day. Many institutional changes based on the European acquis are pending as the implementing provisions have not yet been formulated and voted upon. Employing an ultra-nationalist discourse, Rama’s ruling group continues to pressure and expel the ethnic Greeks, enacting such measures as: • the law on "strategic investors" or "tourism development" which targets the expropriation of ethnic Greek properties for meagre compensation (Ligj Nr. 55/2015 Për Investimet Strategike në Republikën e Shqipërisë and Ligj Nr. 20/2020 Për Përfundimin E Proceseve Kalimtare të Pronesësi në Republikën e Shqipërisë), • the law on the administrative divisions of the country which absorbs ethnic Greek regions into Albanian ones (Ligj Nr. 115/2014 Për Ndarjen Administrativo-Territoriale të Nëjsive të Qeverisjes Vendore në Republikën e Shqipërisë), • the neglect of infrastructure (road networks, water network, electricity, etc.) and the many monuments that characterize the ethnic and religious identity of the inhabitants of the villages of the official Ethnic Greek Minority, • the reinforcement of deep-state anti-Greek gangs, as well as the support of journalists, publicists, politicians who foment anti-Greek sentiments, • the continuation of school programs that teach irredentism, e.g. in History and Geography courses, as well as the non-establishment of school units in areas where a solid ethnic Greek population lives (the villages of Chimara, Avlona, Delvino, Korytsa, etc.) • the violation of International Law by a multitude of institutional and political actors, • the state-sponsored murder of ethnic Greek Konstantinos Katsifas in his own village by the special forces of the Albanian police who were officially ordered to only conduct an arrest, • the non-implementation of mandated provisions during the 2011 census to take into account ethnic minorities (we inform you that the European Commission on Minorities, this year, indicated to Albania that its census was fatally flawed and could not be relied upon), • cooperation with persons active in criminal groups or involved in corruption, • as well as other examples of national and international human rights violations and abuses, Can only be considered as a type of ethnic cleansing. The case of Himara is but one example. We conclude our briefing, appealing to you to defend the rights of the indigenous Greeks of Albania, with reference to the four appendices at the end of this communication but also, enjoining you to consider the following facts, which we hope will illuminate the international context of these issues: 1. Albania, a candidate state for joining the European Union, is generously funded in order to implement institutional changes. However, it does not meet these changes in any field. No scheduled sanctions or funding interruptions have been imposed beyond a few exceptions. 2. Cultivating close relations with Erdogan's Turkey, enables the latter to weaponise Albania's foreign policy, while also reinforcing authoritarian patterns of exercising power. 3. Albania is being utilised by USA and NATO in its policy of a general recruitment of Western Balkan nations to Western organizations, in the context of a new cold war commenced via the intervention in Ukraine. 4. Albania, in the official narrative of its Academies and Institutions, proclaims the union of Albanian territories which today are in Greece, Skopje, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro. 5. Albania does not face the sanctions provided for by its membership of international organizations (European Union, NATO, Schengen Treaty, UN, etc.) for its the violations of European and International Law, in particular, those concerning the official minority zones of the Ethnic Greek Minority but also wherever in the country indigenous Greeks reside. So far Greece’s only response is limited to entreaties to the Albanian government that it respect the rule of law, none of which are heeded. We hope you will raise your voice, wherever you can, for the just cause we are fighting for and we look forward to hearing from you about your own struggles. We ask you immediately join your voice to ours to end the politically motivated and illegal incarceration of Beleris- Kokavesis and to allow the elected mayor of Himara to exercise his duties. We look forward to assisting you with any queries/clarifications in this regard. Finally, our appeal to you also includes the issue of the arbitrary ban on entry into Albania of a number of Greek citizens concerned with the plight of the ethnic Greeks of Albania, by the Albanian authorities, including our member Kostas Dimitropoulos. Kostas Dimitropoulos, a teacher, had previously taught for 15 years in educational institutions of the Autocephalous Church of Albania (University of Argyrokastro "Ekrem Tsabei", 9-year School "Homeros" in Himara) and entered Albania freely between 1991-2018. He has not been prosecuted for any criminal offence in Greece or abroad and is a citizen of good standing. On 17 July 2023, he was issued a second ban on entry into Albania (the first was in 2019) according to the text of which he is "considered a threat to public order, internal security, public health or international relations of the Republic of Albania". Kostas Dimitropoulos ism by virtue of the entry ban, forbidden to meet his relatives in Himara (he is the husband of Pantelis Kokavesis' sister, who is being prosecuted together with the elected mayor of Himaras Beleris). We request you to raise your voice in protest against this arbitrary practice as well. Thank you for your attention "The Other Side" OBSERVATORY initiative, For communication: Dimitropoulos Konstantinos Kyriakou Georgios https://oiapedw.blogspot.com/ e-mail: oiapedo2023@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094652520960 APPENDIX 1: the Beleris - Kokavesis hostage situation During this year's pre-election campaign for the election of municipal authorities (Municipal Elections of May 14, 2023), Prime Minister Edi Rama publicly targeted then-candidate, and currently elected mayor Himaras Beleris in rallies. Edi Rama has violated every sense of ethics and duty he has as a Prime Minister. The police arrested Fredis - Dionysios Beleris and Pantelis Kokavesis two days before the municipal elections without any evidence, as Albanian lawyers, politicians and intellectuals agree, allegedly for illegal financing of voters. Beleris is in pre-trial detention while the outgoing mayor's term of office is being extended with an illegal procedure. The outgoing mayer, due to his position, for a period 12 years legalised all property encroachment activity perpetrated, by a group of actors centred around the prime minister of Albania. An indicative example of this situation is the granting of approval for the construction of a tourist unit on the beach of Himara by the husband of the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Olta Xhaçka, as well as the silencing of any protest against this breach of law. APPENDIX 2: the historical case of Himara Himara is a historic Greek region characterised by perennial struggles to preserve its ethnic identity. It has made a large contribution to the liberation of Greece from the Ottomans. In 1945 the Himariotes refused to participate in the Albanian elections (there was rigged referendum to legitimize Enver Hoxha as the leader of the country and founder of the People's Republic of Albania). After this heroic act, the inhabitants suffered executions, exiles, imprisonments, tortures, as well as forcible recruitment in service to the regime. This was followed by the colonization of the area by Albanian military, members of the security forces, government employees, etc. Throughout the dictatorship, Himara resisted by clandestinely keeping alive the forbidden Greek language and Orthodox religion inside the inhabitant’s homes. After 1991 until today Himara is at the epi-centre of the Albanian state’s ire, with constant pressure, intervention in legal procedures, encroachments on the properties of Greeks, prohibitions on the registration of ethnic Greek properties in the land registry, beatings, surveillance, official distortion of history, the assassination of Aristotelis Goumas as well as with deep-state acts that terrorize the local ethnic Greeks as well as the Albanians sympathetic to the local ethnic Greek element.