Northern Epirus is a triangular Greek-speaking region that starts from the Greek-Albanian border and extends north-westerly to Vlorë (Avlonas) and north-easterly to Korçë (Korytsa) and the Small Lake of Prespa. Today, northern Epirus is part of Albania. 

The main cities of northern Epirus are Sarande (Ayioi Saranta), Gjirokastër (Argyrokastro), Himarë (Chimarra), Vlorë (Avlonas) on the west coast of Albania and to the east Korçë (Korytsa) near Prespa. It should be clarified that with the exception of certain small villages, the Greek-speaking regions are not language-wise compact and that those who only speak Albanian form as a rule the majority of the population of the Greek-speaking areas.  It is also true that almost all the Greek-speaking Northern-Epirotes speak Albanian fluently. 

A brief historical perspective 

The predominantly Greek-speaking northern Epirus was part of the Ottoman Empire that collapsed in the early part of the 20th century. When, in the summer of 1912, the Turks withdrew from Epirus, they recognised these districts (including that of Ioannina) as Albanian provinces. However, a few months later, with the beginning of the Balkan Wars, the Greek army entered Korçë (Korytsa) and Ioannina and then Gjirokastër (Argyrokastro) and Tepeleni, but in July 1913 the great powers recognised Albania as an independent state and demanded via the Florence Protocol the withdrawal of Greek forces. 

However, the inhabitants of the region refused to obey, declared the autonomy of northern Epirus and forced the Albanian government to recognise Northern Epirus as an autonomous region, with the signing of the Protocol of Corfu in May 1914. 

But the Protocol of Corfu never got to the stage of being implemented, because a few months later the First World War broke out and the Greek army returned to northern Epirus and placed the area under the protection of the Greek state. However, in 1920, the Greek government got into the hands of the Germanophile royalists, resulting in the support of the Italians, the French and the British turning in favour of the Young Turks, ultimately leading to the catastrophe of Asia Minor in 1922 and to the reintegration of northern Epirus into Albania. 

In the interwar period, the Greek-speaking, orthodox Christians of northern Epirus were persecuted, the Greek schools in the area were closed and many teachers were expelled from the country. 

In 1939, Italy occupied Albania without a fight and in 1940 tried to invade Greece. However, with the victories of the Greek army against the Italians, northern Epirus became Greek again, to be lost again with Greece’s surrender to the Germans in April 1941.  Eventually, the area was occupied by Enver Hoxha’s forces and was integrated into Albania, which had already found itself on the other side of the Iron Curtain. 

Uncertainty, concern and insecurity 

I was in northern Epirus in early August for ten days. Everywhere I went, I felt that among the Greek-speaking people of northern Epirus there was a climate of uncertainty, concern and insecurity about the future and a feeling of injustice and discontent about the past. Undoubtedly, the persecutions of the interwar period, as well as the anarchy and corruption that prevailed in Albania in the early stages of the transition to democracy, justify the climate of insecurity and discontent that prevails among the Greek-speaking people of northern Epirus. For a long time, Greek-speaking Northern-Epirotes were second-class citizens in Albania and, at the same time, they were second-class “foreigners” in Greece, where many had fled for livelihood reasons in the first difficult years of the Albanian transition. 

There were also many injustices done to them during the “sharing of the pie” (ownership of the state-owned land) that – as a rule – favoured the “insiders” of the Muslim majority. Indeed, the continuing uncertainty regarding the ownership status of the land occupied by the people of northern Epirus is probably the main cause of the insecurity.

The irony of this is that they – in their effort to defend themselves against the threats confronting them – formed a united front (mainly under the umbrella of Omonoia), where the protagonists were nationalists, advocates of the political integration of northern Epirus into the Greek state. The Albanian state perceived this behaviour as a threat to its existence and, consequently, treated the Greek-speaking people of northern Epirus with a hostile predisposition. 

As I said in a recent article of mine, titled “Prisoners of Irredentism”, many Greek Cypriots have clung to the idea of “union with the motherland”, despite the fact that circumstances have changed, making this goal unattainable, but also meaningless, given that Cyprus has been a member state of the European Union for 20 years, with common laws, common borders, a common currency and a common political philosophy with all the other EU member states, including Greece. Given that Albania’s accession is on track, the same comment about “prisoners of irredentism” for Greek Cypriots obviously applies to Greek-speaking Northern-Epirotes, many of whom already hold the Greek citizenship. 

With these thoughts, I dare say that the Greek-speaking people of northern Epirus (and the Greek Cypriots) should abandon the vision of a direct political “union” with Greece (which, for various reasons, is now an unattainable goal) and seek to achieve an equivalent goal, which is the completion of their accession to the European Union and the promotion of the federalisation of Europe. 

On Sunday, August 4, municipal elections were held in Himarë (Chimarra), where the Greek origin candidate, Vangjel Tavo (Vangelis Tavos), backed by the Albanian ruling party, was elected with 59 per cent of the votes cast. The percentage secured by the candidate supported by Omonoia, Petraq Gjikuria (Petros Gikouria), was limited to 41 per cent. 

Admittedly, the losing side claimed that the elections were not fair. I am not in a position to confirm or deny the validity of this assertion, but certain specific accusations, such as more than 6,000 voters with expired identity cards were prevented from voting, seemed to me an exaggeration. 

However, I was saddened when the unelected candidate rejected the mayor-elect’s invitation to join the city council and work together for the good of Himarë. A good and constructive opposition could play a very important role in resolving the big problem of legalising the real estate owned by Greek-speaking Northern-Epirotes. 

Christos Panayiotides is a certified public accountant, political columnist and commentator.