Call for ethnic greek minority independence sparks debates

TIRANA, April 23 – Vasil Bollano, mayor of Himara townhall in southwest, said at a show at Top Channel television station that the area of the greek minority in the south should also become independent like Kosova. “We are asking no more than Albania does for Kosova,” he said. The saying sparked an immediate reaction from all factors, be they political or civic, in the country. The Human Rights Union Party immediately distanced itself from the statement considering it a bullshit. Jani Jani of the Omonia organization representing the greek minority in the country said Bollano’s statement was misunderstood.
It was the Socialsit Movement for Integration the first political party to react negatively against the statement. Edmond Haxhinasto said there existed no parallelism between the two issues _ the Kosova status and that of the ethnic greeks in albania. He considered the statement as arachaic that runs counter to the relations between the two countries. He also urged the Demcoratic Party, which is in a coalition with the HRUP, to distance itself from the statement. Pre硚ogaj of the Democratic party considered that as a mistake. Aleksander Biberaj of the same party went further consider the statement as violating Albania’s territorial itnegrity and anti-consitutional. Many other politicians said that was a violation of the constitution and Sabri Godo of the Republican party called on the premier to fire Bollano from the post. Kastriot Islami of the opposition Socialists said that Bollano’s words were damaging the ties between the two countries. “There is no link between Kosova’s issue and treating the Greek minority in conformity with the European standards,” said Islami. Spiro Peci, an independent MP but closely linked to the HRUP said that the greek minority would distance itself from such words.
Hundreds of thousands of albanians have gone to greece since the fall of communism in 1990 to support themselves and their families, but also becoming a good and cheap working force for that country. There are different figures ont he number of the greek minority in albania. Albanian official statistics give it as about 60,000 mainly based in southernmost Saranda and Gjirokastra districts. But greek media and other organizations there consider it in hundreds of thousands.