VERY PROBLEMATIC THE SITUATION FOR GREEKS OF HIMARA

The greek weekly comments the situation in Himara Region.

"Woods" to the people of Himara because they spoke Greek! In the trial of ten Greeks because they attended a gathering to protest the fact.

by John Simeonidis

Himara, Northern Epirus, evening of June 9 to 10 April. Police stopped two young Greeks of homogeneity and catch perpetrators because the «crime» Greek to speak in front of them! We stop, but there, after the nationalist rage and leads them to the beating of Ellinopoulon! It is not surprising that this event triggered the anger of other Greeks in Chimaras, who complained to police authorities. They respond with new attack on the shop his father owned one of the two victims of the previous evening! The evening of 10 April, expatriates gathered outside the police station of Chimaras protest against the incident. The merger is peaceful, but marked by shooting in the air and blackmail threats from «institutions around». Subsequently, the police start to shoot in the city centre.

The people protested and stating the facts and the prefect Vlore, which owns the Chimara. The Albanian authorities believe carried out the illegal gathering exercise and persecution against ten Greeks. The summons states that accused of involvement in an illegal gathering during which slogans requested by the removal of police from Chimara and its replacement by Greek police. Most of the persecuted refused to appear in court last week. It is worth noting that this is not the only case where Greeks are accused Albanian courts.

The other case concerns proceedings against the mayor and chairman of Himaras «Omonoias» (organisation of the Greek minority), Vassilis Bolanou because xilose signs written in Albanian and English. «The xilosame it is the responsibility of local government to places. The municipal council had decided to take written and Greek », declares in« A »Mr. Bolanos. Census since Chotza! He stressed that the aim of the Albanian authorities is to exontosoun every Greek voice in Northern Epirus. Currently living in the region around 250 to 300 thousand Greeks. In Chimara, a total of 13 thousand inhabitants, around ten thousand are our compatriots. The population is registered around 29 thousand Greeks, but most now living in our country. These figures, however, are calculations of CIA (!) After the population census has to be done since the communist regime! «We are asking to be democratic population census Equipment through the free will of every citizen and to register their nationality and religion of each», stresses Mr. Bolanos.

«Albania tramples human rights» Meanwhile, the mayor Himaras calls to the Greek government to push for democratisation of the neighbouring country. «Greece supports the integration of Albania into the European Union and NATO, but that continues to hunt the Greeks of Northern Epirus, which turns our very backward. This country is not entitled to participate in the Euro-Atlantic structures, after tramples basic human rights such as freedom of expression, self determination and the right to property ».

At this point it is worth recalling that since 2003 pending court cases because our five compatriots demonstrated for legitimate elections, and since 2006 two pending court cases because the Greeks have demonstrated against illegal interruptions in supply. Obviously, they claim by the Union Chimarioton Greece, that all these moves are part of a larger project, through terrorism, violation of moral and economic paralysis methodefomenis, sole purpose is the seizure of their land and use for servicing economic interests. For his part, the chairman of the Union Chimarioton Greece, Dionysis Beleris, speaking in our newspaper, speaks of a systematic attempt by Albanian state to eradicate them from the syntopites patrogonikes their homes by Greek land four thousand years: «First question is recognition of our nationality.

As of the Church. They counterfeit cards and psefdomartyres, claiming that land belonging to Greek Albanian state and not us ». Life, roads and infrastructure of the city, as our present Mr Beleris, reminiscent of those in Greece in the early'60s and'70s. Identifies, in fact, Chimara as a typical Greek city past decades, the Albanian government. He, however, express and complained to the Greek government, after «not active and not as it should protect the interests of the Greeks of Northern Epirus».