[111][112] The 2014 CIA World Factbook estimate put the Greek minority at 0.9%, which is based on the disputed 2011 census. 2011. p. 13. [r][s] With the intervention of the League of Nations in 1935, a limited number of schools, and only of those inside the officially recognized zone, were reopened. The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus (Greek: Αὐτόνομος Δημοκρατία τῆς Βορείου Ἠπείρου, romanized: Aftónomos Dimokratía tis Voreíou Ipeírou) was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars on February 28, 1914, by Greeks living in southern Albania … Only 1,156 ethnic Greeks reside outside of this region, principally in the cities of Tirana, Durres and Elbasan. [104], Most non-Albanian and Greek sources have placed the number of ethnic Greeks in and from Albania between 200,000-300,000. From about 370 bce on, the Aeacidae were able to expand the Molossian state by incorporating tribes from the rival groups in Epirus. However these past 5 years have indicated that the "Vorio Epirus" issue, or the Greek territorial claims on Albania, is going to condition the Many of the region's settlements are associated with the Trojan Epic Cycle, with Elpenor from Ithaca credited with founding Orikum and Thronium, Amantia believed to have been founded by Abantes from Thronium, and Aeneas and Helenus believed to have founded Bouthroton (modern-day Butrint). Critical Review and Policy Recommendations", Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography, Southern Albania, Northern Epirus: Survey of a Disputed Ethnological Boundary, Social and political policies regarding Hellenism in Albania during the Hoxha period, "Εκπαιδευτική πολιτική σε ζητήματα ελληνόγλωσσης εκπαίδευσης στην Αλβανία: διερεύνηση αναγκών των εκπαιδευτικών και των μαθητών για τη διδασκαλία/εκμάθηση της ελληνικής γλώσσας", Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Albania: Greeks, Second Report Submitted By Albania Pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 1, Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: Second Opinion on Albania, "International Religious Freedom Report for 2014: Albania", "Macedonians and Greeks Join Forces against Albanian Census", "Με αποχή απαντά η μειονότητα στην επιχείρηση αφανισμού της", "Ανησυχίες της ελληνικής μειονότητας της Αλβανίας για την απογραφή πληθυσμού", "Η ελληνική ομογένεια στην Αλβανία καλεί σε μποϊκοτάζ της απογραφής", Census data: Resident population by ethnic and cultural affiliation, "Omonias Census: Greek Minority Constitutes 10% of Population in Albania", "Albanians go to the polls for local vote", "Jorgo Goro i Himarës me nënshtetësi greke. It was unofficially reported that a large percentage of the imprisoned were ethnic Greeks. The Pindus Mountains separate Epirus from the Greek regions of Macedonia (Makedonía) and Thessaly (Thessalía) to the east. The principal town in Greek Epirus is Ioánnina, and the largest settlement in Albanian Epirus is Gjirokastër. Their total number is 189,000." ", "...the area studied was confined to the southern border fringes, and there is good reason to believe that this estimate was very low". Gender Ethnicity and Landed Property in Albania", "Better than Muslims, not as good as Greeks. Epirus / ɨ ˈ p aɪər ə s / is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania.It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian mountains in the north to the Ambracian Gulf and the ruined Roman city of Nicopolis in the south. Northern Epirus thus became the site of the first clear setback for the Axis powers. [ag] Outside the area defined as Northern Epirus, two coastal Greek speaking villages exist near Vlorë. The name of Epirus seems to originate from the ancient Greek word “Epeiros” which means “land” or “continent”. Working Paper. In 334, while Alexander the Great, son of Philip and Olympias, crossed into Asia, his uncle, the Molossian ruler Alexander, attacked southern Italy, where he was eventually checked by Rome and killed in battle in about 331. But the highest concentration of the Greek minority is located in an area of I ,000 square kilometers in the enclaves of Pogon, Dropull and Vurg, specifically, the townships of Lower Dropull, Upper Dropull and Pogon, in the district of Gjirokastra; the townships of Vergo, Finiq, Aliko, Mesopotam and the city of Delvina in the district of Delvina; and the townships of Livadhja, Dhiver and the city of Saranda, in the district of Saranda. 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. Excerpt: Northern Epirus (Greek: , Vorios Ipiros, Albanian: ) 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 Albania. Some Muslim families from Kurvelesh, in the mountainous area of Labëria, also came to Lunxhëri at the same time – in fact, many of them were employed as shepherds in the villages of Lunxhëri even before the Second World War. Phoenice or Phoenike (Greek: Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians. In the 5th century Epirus was still on the periphery of the Greek world. ", "When the Greek army withdrew from Northern Epirot territories in accordance with the ruling of the Powers, a fierce struggle broke out between Muslim Albanians and Greek irregulars. [c] In the post Cold War era relations have continued to improve though tensions remain over the availability of education in the Greek language outside the official minority zone, property rights, and occasional violent incidents targeting members of the Greek minority. [13] From the 4th century BCE onward, with a degree of certainty, the boundaries of Epirus included the Ceraunian mountains in the north, the Pindus mountains in the east, the Ionian Sea in the West, and the Ambracian Gulf in the south. They lived in clusters of small villages, in contrast to most other Greeks, who lived in or around city-states. Such alliances were both encouraged by the regime and used by people to facilitate internal mobility and obtain a better status and life-chances. 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. 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. Afterwards, the northern part of Epirus was awarded to a newly created Albanian state, and in early 1914, Greek troops withdrew from the region. In 1204, the region was part of the Despotate of Epirus, a successor state of the Byzantine Empire. Greek crimes in Epirus against Ethnic Arvanites / Albanians !! [c] In 1984, during a speech in Epirus, Papandreou declared that the inviolability of European borders as stipulated in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, to which Greece was a signatory, applied to the Greek-Albanian border. ", "The stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha imposed a ruthless dictatorship in the country the lasted with little respite...", "Like all Albanians, the members of the Greek minority had suffered severe repression during the communist era and cross-border family visits had been out of the question. In the 18th century Turkish sovereignty over Epirus was threatened by the Albanian warlord Ali Paşa Tepelenë, who was recognized in 1788 by Turkey as pasha of Ioánnina. Important Chaonian settlements in the area included their capital Phoenice, the ports of Onchesmos and Chimaera (modern-day Saranda and Himara, respectively), and the port of Bouthroton (modern-day Butrint). But this number was 8% by the same agency a year before. [c] At the same time, Papandreou deplored the "miserable condition under which the Greeks in Albania live". [7] 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 (1919–22) and, crucially, Italian, Austrian and German lobbying in favor of Albania resulted in the area being ceded to Albania in November 1921.[8]. Molossia was taken in 167 by victorious Rome, and 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved. In that way, according to the Greek State Council, the Greek ethnic origin can be granted on the basis of cultural ancestry (sharing "common … He was shot dead by the, This page was last edited on 11 March 2021, at 12:07. To the 5th-century historian Thucydides, the Epirotes were “barbarians.” The only Epirotes regarded as Greek were the Aeacidae, who were members of the Molossian royal house and claimed descent from Achilles. were classified as "Greeks", while all Muslims (including Muslim Albanians, Greeks, Slavs etc.) Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. ", "During the mid-war period and the period between WWII and the foundation of the communist regime in Albania, there is a wave of relocations of Greek and Albanian Christians from South Albania to Greek Epirus, who have become known as "Vorioepirotes", meaning Greeks who come from the part of Epirus that was yielded to Albania and is since called by Greeks "Northern Epirus". The region has an area of about 9,200 km 2 (3,600 sq mi). 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. Similar burial chambers were subsequently used by the Mycenaean civilization, suggesting that the founders of Mycenae may have come from Epirus and central Albania. [134] 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. The Greek families that left Albania during the communist regime (1945–1991), should be encouraged to return to Albania and acquire their lost properties. 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