Albanian MFA calls for investigation into Albanian murder in Corfu Island, Greece
Story Highlights
- Greek media reported Zifle and the 44-year-old Greek extremist, who was also a Golden Dawn party candidate in Corfu Island at the latest elections and who has already been arrested and testified to the murder, had argued concerning Macedonia and other ethnic disputes until separated by other customers
- a day later Zifle was found lifeless inside a ditch.
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TIRANA, Dec. 4 - The Albanian Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs issued a statement Tuesday on Petrit Zifle’s murder in the hands of a Greek Golden Dawn member, calling on Greek authorities to conduct a full investigation on the circumstances that led to the 63-year-old’s murder.
“The ministry issues its condolences to the passing away of citizen Petrit Zifle, congratulates the capturing of the perpetrator by the Greek police, and calls for a thorough clarification of the circumstances of the incident,” the statement reads.
Greek media reported Zifle and the 44-year-old Greek extremist, who was also a Golden Dawn party candidate in Corfu Island at the latest elections and who has already been arrested and confessed to the murder, had argued concerning Macedonia and other ethnic disputes until separated by other customers; a day later Zifle was found lifeless inside a ditch.
This is the latest in a series of deaths that have tensed Greek-Albanian relations lately. Before Zifle, a 33-year-old Albanian was found dead under unknown circumstances in the Trikala prison, while earlier in November Altin Mullai was killed during a shootout with Greek police, as he was caught during an anti-drug raid close to the Greek-Albania border.
Tensions between the two neighboring countries were raised after ethnic Greek Konstantinos Katsifas was killed in Albania’s Bularat village during a shootout with Albanian special police forces, who were gathered in the village to maintain order.
Although official reports stated Katsifas was shot dead only after he opened fire on the crowd that was gathered to celebrate the Greek soldiers who died during the Greek-Italian war, official Tirana and Athens found themselves at odds over the incident while Greeks in Athens and Thessaloniki even took the streets in protest of Katsifas’ death.
Albanian migrants living in Greece are the most vulnerable to the tensions that arose after Katsifas’ death and funeral, attended by a big number of Greeks, 52 of which were announced persona-non-gratae after displaying anti-Albanian cheers and symbols in the country’s south.
Greece is currently second in hosting Albanian migrants after Italy.
Meanwhile, only one day before the foreign ministry’s statement, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told local media the Albanian-Greek relationship is a traditional relationship of friendship between two neighboring countries.
“Greeks love Albania, Albanians love Greeks. The rest is just politics,” Rama said, also confirming there will soon be another meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras under the process of intense dialogue and discussions on many issues.