Northern Epirus

Ancient temple in Apollonia.

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). A son of Helenus named Chaon was believed to be the ancestral leader of the Chaonians.[11]

Remains of 6th century baptisery in Butrint.

Epirus was occupied in Neolithic times by seafarers along the coast and by hunters and shepherds in the interior who brought with them the Greek language. They buried leaders people in shaft graves akin to those used in Mycenaean cultures[18] In the 12th century BC Lusatian culture entered the South-west Balkans spreading also in the north of Epirus.[19] During a great expansion of Illyrian tribes c. 800–700 B.C. Illyrians settled in Mallakastër in their raids penetrated into the central Epirus.[20]

The earliest recorded inhabitants of the region (c. 6th century BC) were the Chaonians, one of the main Greek tribes of ancient Epirus, and the region south of the Aoös was known as Chaonia. The strength of the Chaonians prevented the foundation of any colonies on the Chaonian shore.[21] As with the rest of the north-western Greek tribes they tended to reside in small village clusters, unlike the typical Greek pattern of city-states.[18]

Illyrian rule in the plain of Korçë with burials of their chieftains at Tumulus I in Kuç i Zi lasted until 650 BCE.[22] During the 6th century BC, Chaonian rule was dominant over the region and their power stretched from the Ionian coast to the region of Korçë in the east. 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). Tumulus II in Kuç i Zi near modern Korçë is to date to the 7th century BC, and according to a historical reconstruction, it belonged to Chaonian nobles that replaced a previous Illyrian dynasty about 650 BC.[23][24]

The initial period of Epirote history saw the various Epirote tribes lacking well-known state-like institutions, and they were described as "barbarians" (though ethnically Greek) and "kingless" by contemporary writers.[25] This was followed by the period of the League of the Molossoi, which spanned the early and middle 4th century BCE.[25]

In 330 BCE, the tribes of Epirus were united into a single kingdom under the Aeacid ruler Alcetas II of the Molossians, and in 232 BCE the "Epirotic League" (Greek: Κοινόν Ηπειρωτών) was established, with Phoenice as one of its centers.[26] After 232 BCE, Epirote power declined, but Epirus remained important through its alliance with Macedonia.[27] In the Third Macedonian War, Macedonia and Epirus were defeated by the Roman legions of Aemilius Paulus in 167 BCE, leading to the large-scale destruction of Epirus.[28]

The Roman provinces of Epirus Vetus and Epirus Nova in relation to modern borders.

Epirus was formerly integrated into the Roman Empire as a province in 27 BCE.[29] Christianity first spread in Epirus during the 1st century AD, but did not prevail until the 4th century. The presence of local bishops in the Ecumenical Synods (already from 381 AD) proves that the new religion was well organized and already widely spread inside the Greek world of the Roman and post-Roman period.[30]

In Roman times, the ancient Greek region of Epirus became the province of Epirus vetus ("Old Epirus"), while a new province Epirus Nova ("Epirus Nova") was formed out of parts of[31] Illyria that had become "partly Hellenic or partly Hellenized".[32] The line of division between Epirus Nova and the province of Illyricum was the Drin River in modern northern Albania.[33] Based on the accounts of Procopius the population of the region as north as Dyrrachium was Greek during the 6th century AD.[34]

When the Roman Empire split into East and West, Epirus became part of the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire; the region witnessed the invasions of several nations: Visigoths, Avars, Slavs, Albanians, Serbs, Normans, and various Italian city-states and dynasties (14th century).

In 1204, the region was part of the Despotate of Epirus, a successor state of the Byzantine Empire. Despot Michael I found there strong Greek support in order to facilitate his claims for the Empire's revival. In 1210 the earliest mention of Albanians in the region is recorded, nevertheless, significant Albanian movements are not mentioned prior to 1337.[lower-alpha 6] In 1281, a strong Sicilian force that planned to conquer Constantinople was repelled in Berat after a series of combined operations by local Epirotes and Byzantine troops. In 1345, the region was ruled by the Serbs of Stefan Dušan. However, the Serbian rulers retained much of the Byzantine tradition and used Byzantine titles to secure the loyalty of the local population. At the same time Venetians controlled various ports of strategic importance, like Butrinto, but the Ottoman presence became more and more intense until finally in the middle of the 15th century, the entire area came under Turkish rule.

Church of Saint Nicholas in Moscopole

The local Ottoman authority was mainly exercised by Muslim Albanians.[36] There were specific parts of Epirus that enjoyed local autonomy, such as Himarë, Droviani, or Moscopole. In spite of the Ottoman presence, Christianity prevailed in many areas and became an important reason for preserving the Greek language, which was also the language of trade.[37][38] Between the 16th and 19th centuries, inhabitants of the region participated in the Greek Enlightenment. One of the leading figures of that period, the Orthodox missionary Cosmas of Aetolia, traveled and preached extensively in northern Epirus, founding the Acroceraunian School in Himara in 1770. It is believed that he founded more than 200 Greek schools until his execution by Turkish authorities near Berat.[39] In addition, the first printing press in the Balkans, after that of Constantinople, was founded in Moscopole (nicknamed "New Athens") by a local Greek.[40] From the mid-18th century trade in the region was thriving and a great number of educational facilities and institutions were founded throughout the rural regions and the major urban centers as benefactions by several Epirot entrepreneurs.[41] In Korçë a special community fund was established that aimed at the foundation of Greek cultural institutions.[42]

During this period a number of uprisings against the Ottoman Empire periodically broke out. In the Orlov Revolt (1770) several units of Riziotes, Chormovites and Himariotes supported the armed operation. Some Greeks from the area took also part in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830): many locals revolted, organized armed groups and joined the revolution.[43] The most distinguished personalities were the engineer Konstantinos Lagoumitzis[44] from Hormovo and Spyromilios from Himarë. The latter was one of the most active generals of the revolutionaries and participated in several major armed conflicts, such as the Third Siege of Missolonghi, where Lagoumitzis was the defenders' chief engineer. Spyromilios also became a prominent political figure after the creation of the modern Greek state and discreetly supported the revolt of his compatriots in Ottoman-occupied Epirus in 1854.[45] Another uprising in 1878, in the Saranda-Delvina region, with the revolutionaries demanding union with Greece, was suppressed by the Ottoman forces, while in 1881, the Treaty of Berlin awarded to Greece the southernmost parts of Epirus.

According to the Ottoman "Millet" system, religion was a major marker of ethnicity, and thus all Orthodox Christians (Greeks, Aromanians, Orthodox Albanians, Slavs etc.) were classified as "Greeks", while all Muslims (including Muslim Albanians, Greeks, Slavs etc.) were considered "Turks".[46] The dominant view in Greece considers Orthodox Christianity an integral element of the Hellenic heritage, as part of its Byzantine past.[lower-alpha 7] Thus, official Greek government policy from c. 1850 to c. 1950, adopted the view that speech was not a decisive factor for the establishment of a Greek national identity.[lower-alpha 8]

Picture of the official declaration of Northern Epirote Independence in Gjirokastër (1 March 1914).

With the outbreak of the First Balkan War (1912–13) and the Ottoman defeat, the Greek army entered the region. The outcome of the following Peace Treaties of London[lower-alpha 9] and of Bucharest,[lower-alpha 10] signed at the end of the Second Balkan War, was unpopular among both Greeks and Albanians, as settlements of the two people existed on both sides of the border: the southern part of Epirus was ceded to Greece, while Northern Epirus, already under the control of the Greek army, was awarded to the newly found Albanian State. However, due to the late emergence and fluidity of Albanian national identity and an absence of religious Albanian institutions, loyalty in Northern Epirus especially amongst the Orthodox to potential Albanian rule headed by (Albanian) Muslim leaders was not guaranteed.[lower-alpha 11]

In accordance with the wishes of the local Greek population, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus, centered in Gjirokastër on account of the latter's large Greek population,[52] was declared in March 1914 by the pro-Greek party, which was in power in southern Albania at that time.[53] Georgios Christakis-Zografos, a distinguished Greek politician from Lunxhëri, took the initiative and became the head of the Republic.[53] Fighting broke out in Northern Epirus between Greek irregulars and Muslim Albanians who opposed the Northern Epirot movement.[lower-alpha 12] In May, autonomy was confirmed with the Protocol of Corfu, signed by Albanian and Northern Epirote representatives and approved by the Great Powers. The signing of the Protocol ensured that the region would have its own administration, recognized the rights of the local Greeks and provided self-government under nominal Albanian sovereignty.[53]

However, the agreement was never fully implemented, because when World War I broke out in July, Albania collapsed. Although short-lived,[53][lower-alpha 13] the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus left behind a substantial historical record, such as its own postage stamps.

Under an October 1914 agreement among the Allies,[56] Greek forces re-entered Northern Epirus and the Italians seized the Vlore region.[53] Greece officially annexed Northern Epirus in March 1916, but was forced to revoke by the Great Powers.[lower-alpha 3] During the war the French Army occupied the area around Korçë in 1916, and established the Republic of Korçë. In 1917 Greece lost control of the rest of Northern Epirus to Italy, who by then had taken over most of Albania.[8] 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.[9]

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.[57] Questions arose over the size of the Greek minority, with the Albanian government claiming 16,000, and the League of Nations estimating it at 35,000-40,000.[lower-alpha 3] In the event, only a limited area in the Districts of Gjirokastër, Sarandë and four villages in Himarë region consisting of 15,000 inhabitants[58] was recognized as a Greek minority zone.

The following years, measures were taken to suppress[lower-alpha 14] the minority's education. The Albanian state viewed Greek education as a potential threat to its territorial integrity,[58] while most of the teaching staff was considered suspicious and in favour for the Northern Epirus movement.[lower-alpha 15] In October 1921, the Albanian government recognised minority rights and legalised Greek schools only in Greek speaking settlements located within the "recognised minority zone".[lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 17] Within the rest of the country, Greek schools were either closed or forcibly converted to Albanian schools and teachers were expelled from the country.[lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 17] During the mid 1920s, attempts at opening Greek schools and teacher training colleges in urban areas with sizable Greek populations were met with difficulties which resulted in an absence of urban Greek schools in coming years.[lower-alpha 18][lower-alpha 19] 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 360 schools of the pre-World War I period were reduced dramatically in the following years and education in Greek was finally eliminated altogether in 1935:[lower-alpha 20][64]

1926: 78, 1927: 68, 1928: 66, 1929: 60, 1930: 63, 1931: 64, 1932: 43, 1933: 10, 1934: 0

During this period, the Albanian state led efforts to establish an independent orthodox church (contrary to the Protocol of Corfu), thereby reducing the influence of Greek language in the country's south. According to a 1923 law, priests who were not Albanian speakers, as well as not of Albanian origin, were excluded from this new autocephalous church.[58]

Tomb of the unknown soldier, Greek Parliament. Several place names of Northern Epirus, where the Greek army participated, are inscribed on both sides.

In 1939, Albania became an Italian protectorate and was used to facilitate military operations against Greece the following year. The Italian attack, launched at October 28, 1940 was quickly repelled by the Greek forces. The Greek army, although facing a numerically and technologically superior army, counterattacked and in the next month managed to enter Northern Epirus. Northern Epirus thus became the site of the first clear setback for the Axis powers. However, after a six-month period of Greek administration, the invasion of Greece by Nazi Germany followed in April 1941 and Greece capitulated.

Following Greece's surrender, Northern Epirus again became part of the Italian-occupied Albanian protectorate. Many Northern Epirotes formed resistance groups and organizations in the struggle against the occupation forces. In 1942 the Northern Epirote Liberation Organization (EAOVI, also called MAVI) was formed.[65] Some others, c. 1,500 joined the left-wing Albanian National Liberation Army, in which they formed three separate battalion (named Thanasis Zikos, Pantelis Botsaris, Lefteris Talios).[66][67][68] During the latter stages of the war, the Albanian communists were able to stop contact between the minority and the right-wing soldiers of EDES in southern Epirus, that wanted to unite Northern Epirus with Greece .[66]

During October 1943–April 1944, the Albanian collaborationist organization Balli Kombëtar with support of Nazi German officers mounted a major offensive in Northern Epirus and fierce fighting occurred between them and the EAOVI. The results were devastating. During this period over 200 Greek populated towns and villages were burned or destroyed, 2,000 Northern Epirotes were killed, 5,000 imprisoned and 2,000 taken hostages to concentration camps. Moreover, 15,000 homes, schools and churches were destroyed. Thirty thousand people had to find refuge in Greece during and after that period, leaving their homeland. When the war ended and the communists gained power in Albania, a United States Senate resolution demanded the cession of the region to the Greek state, but according to the following post war international peace treaties it remained part of the Albanian state.[69]

After World War II, Albania was governed by a Stalinist regime led by Enver Hoxha,[lower-alpha 21][71] which suppressed the minority (along with the rest of the population) and took measures to disperse it or at least keep it loyal to Albania.[lower-alpha 22] Pupils were taught only Albanian history and culture at primary level, the minority zone was reduced from 103 to 99 villages (excluding Himarë), many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country, thereby losing their fundamental minority rights (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 ones, and Greeks were forced to change their personal names into Albanian names.[73] Archeological sites of the Ancient Greek and Roman era were also presented as "Illyrian" by the state.[74] The use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well.[lower-alpha 23][lower-alpha 24] As a result of these policies, relations with Greece remained extremely tense throughout most of the Cold War.[lower-alpha 3] On the other hand, Enver Hoxha favored a few specific members of the minority, offering them prominent positions within the country's system, as part of his "tokenism" policy. However, when the Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev asked about giving more rights to the minority, even autonomy, the answer was negative.[67]

Strict censorship was introduced in communist Albania as early as 1944,[76] while the press remained under tight dictatorial control right up until the end of the Eastern Bloc (1991).[77] In 1945, Laiko Vima, a propaganda organ of the Party of Labour of Albania, was the only printed media that was allowed to be published in Greek and was accessible only within Gjirokastër District.[78]

Although the Greek minority had some limited rights, during that period a number of Muslim Cham Albanians, that were expelled from Greece after World War II, were given new homes in the area, diluting the local Greek element.[79] Albanian resettlement policy included Muslim Albanian villagers who as state employees were resettled in newly created villages that served as a buffer zone between the recognized Greek 'minority zone' and traditionally Orthodox Albanian speaking regions of internally polarized national identity,[lower-alpha 20] as well as the permanent settlement of Albanian populations inside the minority zone and in other traditionally Greek speaking regions, such as in Himara.[83]

Stalinist Albania, already increasingly paranoid and isolated after de-Stalinization and the death of Mao Zedong (1976),[84] restricted visitors to 6,000 per year, and segregated those few that traveled to Albania.[85] The country was virtually isolated and common penalties for attempts to escape the country, for ethnic Greeks, were execution for the offenders and exile for their families, usually in mining camps in central and northern Albania.[86] The regime maintained twenty-nine prisons and labour camps throughout Albania, that were filled with more than 30,000 "enemies of the state" year after year. It was unofficially reported that a large percentage of the imprisoned were ethnic Greeks.[87] During this time, some Greeks and Orthodox Albanians with a Greek national consciousness managed to flee Albania and resettle in Greece.[lower-alpha 25]

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. The process started in 1949,[lower-alpha 20] with the confiscation and nationalization of Orthodox Church property and intensified in 1967 when the authorities conducted a violent campaign to extinguish[lower-alpha 26] all religious life in Albania, claiming that it had divided the Albanian nation and kept it mired in backwardness. Student agitators combed the countryside, likewise forcing Albanians and Greeks 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, and 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.[lower-alpha 27] Christians were prohibited from mentioning Orthodoxy even in their own homes, visiting their parents' graves, light memorial candles or make the sign of the Cross. In this respect, the campaign against religions hit ethnic Greeks disproportionately, since affiliation to the Eastern Orthodox rite has traditionally been a strong component of Greek identity.[90]

The first serious attempt to improve relations was initiated by Greece in the 1980s, during the government of Andreas Papandreou.[lower-alpha 3] 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.[lower-alpha 3] The most significant change occurred on 28 August 1987, when the Greek Cabinet lifted the state of war that had been declared since November 1940.[lower-alpha 3] At the same time, Papandreou deplored the "miserable condition under which the Greeks in Albania live".[lower-alpha 3]

Beginning in 1990, large number of Albanian citizens, including members of the Greek minority, began seeking refuge in Greece. This exodus turned into a flood by 1991, creating a new reality in Greek-Albanian relations.[lower-alpha 3] With the fall of communism in 1991, Orthodox churches were reopened and religious practices were permitted after 35 years of strict prohibition. Moreover, Greek-language education was initially expanded. In 1991 ethnic Greeks shops in the town of Saranda were attacked, and inter-ethnic relations throughout Albania worsened.[67][lower-alpha 28] Greek-Albanian tensions escalated in November 1993 when seven Greek schools were forcibly closed by the Albanian police.[92] A purge of ethnic Greeks in the professions in Albania continued in 1994, with particular emphasis in law and the military.[93]

Tensions increased when on 20 May 1994 the Albanian Government took into custody five members of the ethnic Greek advocacy organization Omonoia on the charge of high treason, accusing them of secessionist activities and illegal possession of weapons (a sixth member was added later).[lower-alpha 29] Sentences of six to eight years were handed down. The accusations, the manner in which the trial was conducted and its outcome were strongly criticized by Greece as well as international organizations. 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.[95] Tensions increased even further when the Albanian government drafted a law requiring the head of the Orthodox Church in Albania be born in Albania, which would force the then head of the church, the Greek Archbishop Anastasios of Albania from his post.[lower-alpha 3] In December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania as a gesture of goodwill, while Albania released two of the Omonoia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four. In 1995, the remaining defendants were released on suspended sentences.[lower-alpha 3]

In recent years relations have significantly improved; Greece and Albania signed a Friendship, Cooperation, Good Neighborliness and Security Agreement on March 21, 1996.[lower-alpha 3] 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.[96]

Although relations between Albania and Greece have greatly improved in recent years, the Greek minority in Albania continues to suffer discrimination particularly regarding education in the Greek language,[lower-alpha 3] property rights of the minority, and violent incidents against the minority by nationalist extremists. Tensions resurfaced during local government elections in Himara in 2000, when a number of incidents of hostility towards the Greek minority took place, as well as with the defacing of signposts written in Greek in the country's south by Albanian nationalist elements,[97] and more recently following the death of Aristotelis Goumas. There has been a growing campaign by the Albanian government to demolish ethnic Greek homes.[98] According to diplomatic sources , there has recently been an upsurge in nationalist activity among Albanians targeting the Greek minority, especially following the ruling of the International Court of Justice in favor of Kosovo's independence.[99]

Approximate extent of the recognized (after 1945) Greek 'minority zone' in green, according to the 1989 Albanian census. Greek majority areas in green.[136]

The Albanian Government continues to use the term "minority zones" to describe the southern districts consisting of 99 towns and villages with generally recognized majorities of ethnic Greeks. In fact it continues to contend that all those belonging to national minorities are recognized as such, irrespective of the geographical areas in which they live. However, the situation is somewhat different in practice. This results in a situation in which the protection of national minorities is subject to overly rigid geographical restrictions, restricting access to minority rights outside these zones. One of the major fields in which it has a practical application is that of education.[137][138]

Reported declared Greeks in the 2011 Albanian Census; Greeks and other groups are thought to have been underrepresented in numbers due to boycott and irregularities.[lower-alpha 37][lower-alpha 38]

The census of October 2011 included ethnicity for the first time in post-communist Albania, a long-standing demand of the Greek minority and of international organizations.[141] However, Greek representatives already found this procedure unacceptable due to article 20 of the Census law, which was proposed by the nationalist oriented Party for Justice, Integration and Unity and accepted by the Albanian government. According to this, there is a $1,000 fine for someone who will declare anything other than what was written down on his birth certificate,[142] including certificates from the communist-era where minority status was limited to only 99 villages.[143][144] Indeed, Omonoia unanimously decided to boycott the census, since it violates the fundamental right of self-determination.[145] Moreover, the Greek government called its Albanian counterpart for urgent action, since the right of free self-determination is not being guaranteed under these circumstances.[146] Vasil Bollano, the head of Omonoia declared that: "We, as minority representatives, state that we do not acknowledge this process, nor its product and we are calling our members to refrain from participating in a census that does not serve the solution of current problems, but their worsening".[147]

According to the census, there were 17,622 Greeks in the country's south (counties of Gjirokastër, Vlorë, and Berat) while 24,243 in Albania in general. Apart from these numbers, an additional 17.29% of the population of those counties refused to answer the optional question of ethnicity (compared to 13.96% of the total population in Albania).[148] On the other hand, Omonoia conducted its own census in order to count the members of the ethnic Greek minority. A total of 286,852 were counted, which equals to ca. 10% of the population of the country. During the time the census was conducted, half of these individuals resided permanently in Greece, but 70% visit their country of origin at least three times a year.[149]

The minority's sociopolitical organization from promotion of Greek human rights, Omonoia, founded in January 1991, took an active role on minority issues. Omonoia was banned in the parliamentary elections of March 1991, because it violated the Albanian law which forbade 'formation of parties on a religious, ethnic and regional basis'. This situation resulted in a number of strong protests not only from the Greek side, but also from international organizations. Finally, on behalf of Omonoia, the Unity for Human Rights Party contested at the following elections, a party which aims to represent that Greek minority in the Albanian parliament.[lower-alpha 39]

In more recent years, tensions have surrounded the participation of candidates of the 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.[151]

The municipal elections held in February 2007 saw the participation of a number of ethnic Greek candidates. Vasilis Bolanos was 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.[152] In 2015, Jorgo Goro, supported by the Socialist Party of Albania became the new mayor of Himara. Goro who himself had acquired Greek citizenship as a member of the minority declared in his election campaign that "there are no Greeks in Himara" and that he had changed his name from "Gjergj" to "Jorgo".[153] The Greek state revoked his citizenship in 2017 on grounds of him "acting against national interests".[154] In 2019 the candidacy of the representative of Omonoia, Fredi Beleri was rejected by the Albanian authorities due to a three-year conviction in the past. Albanian electoral law allows participation in elections as a candidate after 10 years have passed from the later conviction of a candidate. In the following election most of the Greek minority abstained from the procedure and Goro was re-elected.[155][156][157] Several irregularities were also reported during the elections.[158]

In 2004, there were five ethnic Greek members in the Albanian Parliament, and two ministers in the Albanian cabinet,[159] the same number of parliament members were elected in the latest elections (2017) too.[160]

The return to Albania of ethnic Greeks that were expelled during the past regime seemed possible after 1991. However, the return of their confiscated properties is even now impossible, due to Albanian's inability to compensate the present owners. Moreover, the full return of the Orthodox Church property also seems impossible for the same reasons.[92]

Bilingual road sign, in Albanian and Greek, near Gjirokastër.

Greek education in the region was thriving during the late Ottoman period (18th-19th centuries). When the First World War broke out in 1914, 360 Greek language schools were functioning in Northern Epirus (as well as in Elbasan, Berat, Tirana) with 23,000 students.[161] During the following decades the majority of Greek schools were closed and Greek education was prohibited in most districts. In the post-communist period (after 1991), the reopening of schools was one of the major objectives of the minority. In April 2005 a bilingual Greek-Albanian school in Korçë,[162] and after many years of efforts, a private Greek school was opened in the Himara municipality in spring of 2006.[163]

In 1991, the Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis specified that the issue, according to the Greek minority in Albania, focuses on 6 major topics that the post-communist Albanian government should deal with:[92]

• The return of the confiscated property of the Orthodox Church and the freedom of religious practice.
• Functioning of Greek language schools (both public and private) in all the areas that Greek populations are concentrated.
• The Greek minority should be allowed to found cultural, religious, educational and social organizations.
• Illegal dismissals of members of the Greek minority from the country's public sector should be stopped and same rights for admission should be granted (on every level) for every citizen.
• The Greek families that left Albania during the communist regime (1945–1991), should be encouraged to return to Albania and acquire their lost properties.
• The Albanian government should take the initiative to conduct a census on ethnological basis and give its citizens the right to choose their ethnicity without limitations.

In 1994 the Albanian authorities admitted for the first time that Greek minority members exist not only in the designated 'minority zones' but all over Albania.[164]

• In April 1994, Albania announced that unknown individuals attacked a military camp near the Greek-Albanian border (Peshkëpi incident), with two soldiers killed. Responsibility for the attack was taken by MAVI (Northern Epirus Liberation Front), which officially ceased to exist at the end of World War II. This incident triggered a serious crisis in Albanian-Greek relations.[164]
• The house of Himara's ethnic Greek mayor, Vasil Bollano, has been the target of a bomb attack twice, in 2004 and again in May 2010.[165]
• On August 12, 2010, ethnic tensions soared after ethnic Greek shopkeeper Aristotelis Goumas was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a car driven by three Albanian youths with whom Goumas allegedly had an altercation when they demanded that he not speak Greek to them in his store.[141][166] Outraged locals blocked the main highway between Vlore and Saranda and demanded reform and increased local Himariote representation in the local police force.[166] The incident was condemned by both the Greek and Albanian governments, and three suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial.[166]
• The killing of Konstantinos Katsifas in Bularat, close to the Greek-Albanian border during the Greek national celebrations on the 28th October 2018. He was shot dead by the RENEA special forces of the Albanian police near the village after allegedly opening fire against the Albanian police. Early Greek media reports mention that this happened as they tried to lower the Greek flag he had raised at a cemetery in honour of fallen Greek soldiers.[167][168] Later reporting from sources in the Greek police dismissed these accounts as baseless.[169] The Albanian police reports that the events that led to his death began when he was approached by police vehicles after seen shooting in the air.[170]

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