ATHENS, June 27 – Greece’s government has issued a strong statement condemning Albanian officials’ decision to display rocks from neighbouring countries, including a village in northern Greece, in the capital of Tirana, as part of the redevelopment plan of the city square to represent all areas inhabited by ethnic Albanians.
“We condemn the placement, in Tirana’s redeveloped central square, of stones from various regions of the Balkans, including from the Greek region of Filiates. These stones, on which their regions of origin are inscribed, constitute a work that symbolises the ‘unity of Albanian territories’ and is clearly a state action that cultivates and conceals irredentism,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding the decision was taken by “dangerous and obsolete mindsets of the previous century are undermining the region’s progress and prosperity, creating a stone obstacle to Albania’s European future.”
Filates is in the part of Greece from where Cham Albanians were expelled from at the end of World War II. The Cham Albanians and their descendents say it was illegal and are demanding their properties and citizenship back. The Greeks say the expulsion came because the population had cooperation with occupying German forces, a claim the Chams vehemently deny.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj has said the square is the center of nationhood for Albanian people across the world and it would have rocks coming from all the areas where indigenous Albanians live, including Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro — and Greece.
Athens says there no indigenous Albanians in Greece.
The Greek government’s statement said the Tirana government’s move was “yet another provocation from the Albanian government, which is openly undermining good neighbourly relations. This is tangible proof of the central support for irredentist tendencies against the countries bordering Albania, given that the names of regions of various Balkan states are literally etched in stone.”
The Greek Foreign Ministry noted that it had notified friends, partners and international organisations with regard to the matter.
“We will tolerate conduct that is inconsistent with the European spirit of peaceful coexistence and cooperation and that flagrantly violates the fundamental principle of maintaining good neighbourly relations, which is one of the key prerequisites for Tirana’s European course,” the Athens’ statement added.
