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PER TE MOS MBETUR ÇESHTJA ÇAME NE UDHEKRYQ

PER TE MOS MBETUR ÇESHTJA ÇAME NE UDHEKRYQ

  

Shkruar nga  KOLEC TRABOINI

Kolec P. Traboini
Chameria Blog Editor

Veprimtaritë mediatike e partisë së Shpëtim Idrizit, që ka në qeveri zëvëndsministra, ndër të cilët të kulturës, i cili njëkohësisht drejton ankandin e shitjes së pikturave në News 24(!!!), janë bërë me shpenzime jo të  pakta, për pllakatet e video-koncertet folklorike në Bulevardin qendror të Tiranës, me tubime  e intervista çfarë të kujton  më shumë se gjithçka një show mediatik. Pse e themi këtë? Sepse nuk e kuptojmë ku është qëllimi i këtij manifestimi, çfarë do të realizohet me të, në sytë e kujt do të bjerë e kush do të reflektojë.

Sikur kjo të ishte bërë në Bruksel apo në New York para organizatës së Kombeve të Bashkuara, apo para pallatit të Gjykatës Ndërkombëtare të Hagës,  vërtet do të kishte një kuptim dhe me siguri edhe efekte pozitive. Nuk besojmë se opinioni botëror e ka vëmendjen në Tiranë në këtë verë të nxehtë, kur pasioni i të gjithëve është mbërthyer në fushat e blerta të kampionatit europian të futbollit. Nga ana tjetër nuk paraqet ndonjë risi as në Tiranë përveç se si një javë kulturore e zakonshme, sepse nuk ka shqiptar të mos dijë se çfarë është Çamëria, cila ka qënë masakra ndaj popullsisë shqiptare, si u vra, u dogj e u përzu një popull, i cili sot e kësaj dite e vuan atë genocid që u krye nga shteti grek ndaj tij. Çfarë do të mësojmë më tepër? Çfarë do të arrijmë me këtë koncert video-folklorik me zë buçitës në qendër të Tiranës dhe a ka ndonjë rrugë e mënyrë tjetër më efektive për të realizuar programin. Por më kryesorja a ka program dhe sa koherent jemi me realizimin e tij?

Shumë më mirë do t’i shërbente çështjes çame që ajo shumë parash të përdorej në ngritjen e çështjes çame në instancat ndërkombëtare duke mos lënë portë pa trokitur apo mundësi pa shfrytëzuar. Aq më tepër se problemi nuk ka ngecur në Tiranë, por në Athinë dhe Athina duhet të përballet me instancat e  drejtësisë e humanizmit dhe në gjykatat ndërkombëtare. Asnjë influencë nuk kanë fjalimet e zhurmshme nëpër rrugë e sheshe apo dhe këngët folklorike në mes të zhegut të Tiranës.

Duhet të jemi më racionalë, të dimë çfarë të kërkojmë e të kemi një strategji të qartë. Çfarë mund të realizojmë me këto video-koncerte e banderola "I Love Çamëria!". Ne mund të dalim e të themi sa të duam edhe "I Love Italia!", "I Love Amerika!" sepse askush nuk na pengon në këtë dashuri. Kjo shprehje është ndjesi e jo program. Më së shumti shkruhen nëpër mure apo bluza të rinjsh e kaq. Natyrisht edhe ajo ka vlerën e vet, por ama nuk ka të bëjë me një program strategjik të menduar mirë e për të cilin nuk ka pse të mos marrim edhe këshilltarë e juristë me emër në arenën ndërkombëtare. Sepse nuk mund ta mposhtim të keqen me berihaj, dhe me të keqe kam parasysh politikën mediokre greke që ndalon ish -shtetasit e vet, të përzënë këta në mënyrë të dhunshme nga trojet e veta etnike, pra i ndalon të kthehen sërish pranë tokës e shtëpive të tyre.

Në Greqi janë kthyer të gjithë komunistët e EAM-it të përfshirë në luftën civile e të ikur në Shqipëri, Poloni e Rusi. Nga këta të ikur ne kemi si kujtim të hidhur djegien e Bezistenit mesjetar të Shkodrës). Vetëm popullsia çame ka mbetur ende e dënuar të jetojë larg trojeve të veta. Rast unik në Europë e për faj të Europës që nuk e ndaloi dot genocidin grek ndaj popullsisë shqiptare.

Por kjo nuk mund të vazhdojë përgjithmonë. Në kushtet kur u shemb muri i Berlinit, si është e mundur të ekzistojë ende një mur që e ndalon popullsinë e vrarë, e dhunuar, të përzënë, të kthehet në trojet e shtëpitë e veta pikërisht në kushtet kur Greqia është anëtare e Bashkimit Europian ku inspirojmë të hyjmë edhe ne si shtet shqiptar. Kjo është një mënxyrë e një kohe tjetër mbetur peng në kohën tonë. Si mund ta lejojë Europa që pasojat e gjenocidit të vazhdojnë.

Mendoj se kështu do të mund të ngulmohet nëpërmjet asistencës së personaliteteve me influencë në fushën e drejtësisë e legjislacioneve  ndërkombëtare për ta paraqitur çështjen çame në forumet dhe instancat euro-amerikane. Dhe aty duhen shpenzuar energji, madje edhe para sepse nuk janë pa rëndësi këto ndërmarrje.

Mirëpo sa kohë që Shpëtim Idrizi dhe partia e tij dalin në tubime të skenës politike shqiptare duke garuar në zgjedhje për në parlamentin shqiptar, duke bërë aleanca partiake për pushtet e duke vënë në ministri  itharët e partisë,  nuk besoj se kanë gjë në vijë, sepse kurrgjë nuk është në dorën e shtetit shqiptar dhe as të qeverisë shqiptare.

Nëse kërkesat e partisë së Shpëtim Idrizit janë thjesht kthim i çamëve në trojet e veta në Çamëri e jo bashkimin e Çamërisë me Shqipërinë nuk mund të inkludohen në luftë për poste qeveritare në Shqipëri, sepse kjo e konfondon krejt çështjen çame, dhe në sy të opinionit publik apo qendrave të vendosjes konsiderohet një çështje e mbyllur, sepse çamët janë inkluduar kështu tërësisht në sistemin politik e në jetën shoqërore shqiptare.

Përmbajtja konseguente në programin e kthimit të çamëve në Greqi, kërkon që ai dhe jo vetëm ai, por mbarë opinioni shqiptar të ngulmojë e të luftojë në atë qëllim në arenën ndërkombëtare. Ndërsa brenda në Shqipëri të bëjë organizimin e çamëve madje duke guxuar të krijojë zgjedhje në ekzil  për deputet në Parlamentin e Greqisë, të bëjë grup parlamentar, e të flasë si deputet në emër të popullit të zbuar në një parlament të munguar. Të gjithë e dinë historinë e fillimit të lëvizjes  palestineze  me krijimin e një fronti në ekzil, çfarë  pati efektin e vet në arenën ndërkombëtare dhe e çoi çështjen drejt zgjidhjes, ani pse ende nuk është përfunduar plotësisht. Vetëm kështu do ta dëgjonin ndërkombëtarët, sepse askush në instanca ndërkombëtare nuk pranon të të dëgjojë si përfaqësues i popullsisë së dëbuar çame nëse paraqitesh si një deputet i parlamentit të Shqipërisë që e ka juridiksionin vetëm brenda territorit të shtetit shqiptar. Flet si qytetar i këtij vendi, i përmbahesh ligjeve të këtij shteti dhe marrveshjeve që ky shtet ka me fqinjët e jugut, ndërkohë që shteti grek e ka më të lehtë të mohojë e të lozë me fjalët ndërhyrje në punët e brendshme.

Manovrat që bën Athina duke e paraqitur të munguar edhe emrin Çamëri në shtetin grek, nuk  bëhen pa qëllim por për ta bërë çeshtjen çame të paqënë, sikur në Greqi nuk ekziston një vend me emrin Çamëri. Po ne nuk ka pse të jemi aq të ngurtë, fundja le ti përgjigjemi me agresivitet mohimit  për t’ua bërë më të padurueshme situatën. Le  t’ia bashkangjisim emrin Çamëri-Thesproti, sepse janë e njëta gjë. Aq më tepër që kur të huajt dëgjojnë për Çamërinë, nuk arrijnë ta indentifikojnë as vendin ku ndodhet. Fundja le t’i ndihmojmë ata dhe t’i bëjmë grekëve me dije se nuk hiqemi nga udha e kthimit.

Sensibilizim i instancave ndërkombëtare në mënyrë të vazhdueshme e pa u lodhur kurrë, mendojmë se vetëm kështu mund të krijohen  premisat e kthimit.

Përkundrazi  kjo mundësi të duket iluzive në këtë mënyrë siç e konceptojnë strategjinë dhe taktikat në partinë e Shpëtim Idrizit me shokë, të cilët duan t’i flasin e t’i kërkojnë Greqisë nëpërmjet foltores së parlamentit shqiptar, gjë që nuk sjell asnjë efekt dhe krijon konflikte në mes të dy shteteve, çfarë as Europa dhe as Amerika nuk e mbështet.  Të mos harrojmë fuqitë e mëdha nuk duan të hapen vatra të reja konfliktesh në Ballkan, aq më tepër  kur gacat nën hi në mes të Ankarasë e Athinës rrinë ndezur e janë gati për t’u përflakur.

 Për të mos mbetur çështja çame në udhëkryq, theksojme ka dy rrugë të mundshme. Nëse i përmbahet vetëm programit të kthimit, të dalin si përfaqësues të një populli të zbuar e të zgjedhin deputetët e vet sa herë Greqia bën zgjedhje, duke u konsideruar në ekzil si pjesë e parlamentit grek e si të tillë të paraqiten në forumet ndërkombëtare. Kjo do të ishte një sfidë e papërballueshme nga qarqet greke. Mund të paraqiteshin në emër të çamëve në të gjitha instancat ndërkombëtare madje do t’i dërgoheshin  peticione edhe presidentit grek. Kjo do të bënte më shumë efekt se sa të dalësh si deputet i parlamentit shqiptar në një koalicion qeveritar qeverisës, ku do nuk do, je nën presion të dyfishtë si të brendshëm e të jashtëm dhe gjithnjë do të mbetesh me një program të cunguar e me një veprimtari të kushtëzuar nga politika qeveritare e cila nuk guxon t’i bjerë ndesh Europës.

Në të kundërt, nëse  mundësitë e kthimit bëhen gjithnjë e më të pashpresa, nëse qëndrat e vendosjes, ashtu dhe Greqia dhe Europa e bëjnë veshin shurdhër, vetvetiu si reaksion lindin format e forcat radikale, shpeshherë jashtë kontrollit, duke përdorur çdo mjet të mundshëm legal a jo, duke sensibilizuar opinionin e qarqet ndërkombëtare për  bashkimin e Çamëri-Thesproti  me Shqipërinë, në pamundësi  për zgjidhje tjetër. Greqia këtë territor Çamëri-Thesproti, ku historikisht me shekuj kanë jetuar shqiptarët, e ka marrë në një luftë agresive dhe me një marrëveshje e vendim të turpshëm të  fuqive të mëdha në dëm të Shqipërisë, pasi kjo e kishte shpallur pavarësinë, çfarë i jep të drejtën e kërkesës së rishqyrtimit të konferencave e vendime që i copëtuan padrejtësisht  trojet shqiptare. Këto vendime arbitrare në Konferencën e Londrës krijuan kushtet për precedentin ku fqinjët e jugut  të ndërmerrnin  genocidin mbi popullsinë shqiptare në territoret e okupuara, se ne ashtu duhet t’i konsiderojmë, jo vetëm në rrugë akademike por edhe politike.

Por kauza çame nuk ka qënë e as është çështje këngësh e vallesh (siç e konceptonte sistemi diktatorial në Shqipëri për pesëdhjetëvjet), por e të drejtës ndërkombëtare dhe humane sepse siç e thamë, ndaj atij populli është bërë një krim me përmasa genocidi e gjithë kjo në mes të Europës, e cila heshti dhe ka për detyrim të reflektojë.

Çfarëdo që të bëjmë në bulevardin e Tiranës e në “Qafën e Botës”, prej kaq larg Bota nuk na dëgjon, e,  për të shkuar në Greqi, çamët duan apo nuk duan do të kalojnë nëpërmjet Europës, prandaj duhet të trokasim në dyert e saj me durim e guxim, edhe sikur t’na  vriten e copëtohen duart, e në është e nevojshme t’i shkallmojmë ato dyer që ne shqiptarëve edhe sot e kësaj dite na ngjallin imazhin e Murit të Berlinit.  

Gazeta "Tirana Observer" 29 qershor 2012 

Shënin: Autori i shkrimit është Editor i  Blogut CHAMERIA

ÇAMËRIA

CHAMERIA

Çameria geographically is situated on the to-day north-west Greece. This beautiful region, has a rich Albanian heritage and it was only in the 1912 that it was annexed unfairly and unjustifiably from Greece. This was the aftermath of the decision of the great powers to give Çameria to Greece, just as the great powers had made similar decisions to give Kosova and other Albanian territories to Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro.
The word Çam is an evolution of the word "t'chiam" which is the name of an ancient river passing right through Çameria (The word T'chamis appears on many ancient Roman and even Hellenic maps, indicating that the word Chameria is older than the word Epirus, and it's used only by Albanians). Another branch of this river remains to be known to this day as the "lumi i kalamait" (Kalamait River - Childrens Rivier). What's most important is that everything about Çameria is Albanian in every sense of the word. The word Çameria has more of a topological meaning, but Çams have a very strong Albanian ethnicity, tradition and customs. Çameria has a very well-defined ethno-geographical meaning, which is strongly Albanian.

A large number of Çam population is situated on the seaside and goes up to the Gulf of Preveza. Another considerable number of towns and villages are situated on both sides of the river of "kalamait". The rest of of the Çam villages and towns are situated in more remote places and often on hills and mountains.

The Greek government has been very hostile toward Çams and the main reason is the fact that Çams have a very strong Albanian identity. Another reason of the Greek hostilities is the fact that Greeks inherited a very hostile policy towards us. During the period of time, from 1854 till 1877 the Albanians of Çameria resisted successfully the attacks from Greek "Andartes". During the WWI and WWII the greek troops attacked Çameria again. The (provisional) government of Vlora (Albania) responded by sending Albanian military troops to assist the Albanian population of Çameria , but the decision of the Ambassadors Conference assigned Çameria to Greece. As a result of this decision by the great powers, Greeks forces led by the hateful figure of N. Zervas launched attackers that ended up with many innocent Albanian locals killed.

To this day, we Çams in greece are described as bad people from an increasing "suffocating" Greek propaganda based on the fact that we refuse to be assimilated as it is the case with some of "Arvanites" in south and central Greece.

The today exact number of Albanians of Çameria in Greece is approx. one million people, taking into the account some relativly newly formed Çam villages and towns elsewhere in Greece..if all the number of Albanians in Çameria is added to the number of Arvanites in other areas of Greece, then the total number of Albanians in Greece is around 3.000.000 people. However only Albanians in Çameria call themselves real Shqiptars (Albanians). Arvanites elsewhere in Greece are under greater assimilating pressure from the Greek government and Anti-Albanian Greek circles.

This section is dedicated to hundreds of thousands of Albanians from the region of Chameria expelled by force, from the Greek forces in 1944 and residing now in the Republic of Albania and in the memory of 850,000 Cham Albanians sent to Turkey during the period between 1913-44.

During the summer of 1944, the neo-nazi forces led by Zervas attacked many villages and towns of Chameria and as a result 9,000 Albanians (including children, women and old folks) were killed indiscriminately. A considerable number of Albanians were expelled and live now in the Republic of Albania. The official number of those Albanian refugees from Chameria is between 150,000 and 300,000.

Today they have formed their own Albanian patriotic and cultural association based in Tirana and which is active right across Albania. Among other they are asking from the Greek government in Athens-Greece, to be repatriated and their lands and other assets be returned to them as well as compensations for the usage of the lands for the past 50 years. Also they are rallying for the opening of Albanian schools to the Albanians living in Chameria.

The policy of expulsion of Cham Albanians from Chameria had started earlier than 1944. Greeks as well as Serbs followed the same pattern in politics with respect to Albanians. Often they had signed documents with the Turkish government for the exchange of Muslims with Christians. During all this not a single Cham Albanian was asked! As a result of such policy around 850,000 Cham Albanians from Chameria were sent to Turkey, where they are settled in the region of Asia minor in Turkey.

Prior to WWI and WWII, the population in Çameria was around 93% Albanian, the rest were other ethnic groups such as Greeks, Vlachs, gypsies, etc.. On the 19th century, 80% of the Albanian population in Çameria was of Muslim Religion (the process of conversion to Islam started in the 18th century) and a 20% Christian Orthodox, however the first world war, found the the Albanian community as made up of 50% muslim and 50% orthodox believers (this shift happened in a matter of 70 years). After the world wars a fraction of the Muslim Populations was expelled by the Greek special forces, leaving intact the mainly orthodox Albanian population (50%) and a small fraction of molsims(13%) who by now mostly converted to orthodoxy to survive. The conversion back and forth from one religion to the other, before the World War I, was common among families!
However both Albanian religious communities were extremely close to each-other before the war and to this day, the Greek government has not managed to assimilate the Albanians of Çameria. The Albanian language is spoken indoors and outdoors as much as on everyday working places, but the Greek government with very little pressure from outside refuses to recognize Albanian minority in Greece and refuses to open schools on Albanian language.

The region is officially known as Epirus by the Greek government, but on the further north western corner of Greece, every single people knows the place as Çameria. Anyone from this region stating that he or she is a Çam, makes a political statement saying that he or she is an Albanian. That's why the Greek government doesn't know officially the region as Çameria. The heartland of Çameria is also called Thesprotia.

My own opinion is that this region has still an Albanian majority (since many people of other ethnic groups have emigrated away, which has compensated somehow for the displacement of some Albanians during WWI and WWII!) and all the Çams expelled unjustifiably from Greece are very welcomed by all the Albanian people here, there is a UN resolution which asks the Greek government to repatriate our brothers and sisters back to their homes, where they belong among the rest of us.

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ÇAMERIA: An Albanian Region Divided Between Greece and Albania


The Epirus, or Çameria, area in southern Albania and northern Greece has constituted the main focus of potential dispute between Athens and Tirana. The Greeks consider the southern extremity of Albania to be northern Epirus, while the Albanians consider the northwest corner of Greece to be southern Çameria. Although neither government has pressed for territorial revisions in recent memory, both regions are inhabited by minorities whose conditions and treatment have given rise to some concern and interstate discord. Claims over Çam numbers have ranged from 90,000 to over one million but are believed to be understated because Athens has not considered the local Albanians to be a separate ethnic group and has completely hellenized the majority of Orthodox Christian Albanians. They have not been entitled to any special minority rights and have been prevented from establishing any educational, cultural, or political associations inside Greece.

Since the democratic breakthrough in Albania in early 1991, the Albanian Çams organized as a pressure group within Albania on behalf of their co-ethnics in Greece. In March 1991, the first national conference of the Çameria Political Association (CPA) was held in Tirana with many of its activists drawn from the Albanian community who had been expelled from Greece after the war. The CPA intended to bring to international attention the neglected linguistic, cultural, and educational rights of Orthodox Albanian Çams who have been subjected to a Greek policy of assimilation. The group has also launched campaigns on behalf of Çam exiles in Albania. It has encouraged the expansion of contacts with compatriots in Greece, the return of exiles to their family areas, and the payment of compensation for property and land that was illegally taken from them during their expulsion.
Since 1991, Albanian activists across the political spectrum have become more outspoken on the Çameria issue vis-a-vis Greece. Historic grievances over Greek repression of Orthodox and Muslim Albanians earlier this century have been aired, and Athens has been criticized for its ongoing assimilationist pressures against Orthodox Albanians who still reside in the Çameria/Epirus region. Although the Greek authorities have denied that any Çam problem exists, Çam representatives have continued to urge the Albanian government to take up the issue with Athens at the highest bilateral levels. Excerpted from pages 185 and 186, Nations in Turmoil by Janusz Bugajski, Westview Press, 5500 Central Ave., Boulder, CO 80301-2877

* * * * * * * *
A small section of Çameria consisting of 7 villages and the town of Konispoli belongs to Albania while the rest of Çameria was awarded to Greece by the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1913. The main Çam towns in Greece are Filati, Gumenica,Paramethia, Margellici, and Parga. In the 16th to 17th centuries, Çameria turned into an area of fierce revolts against Ottoman rule. In the 18th century, the process of forced islamization began -- part of the Suli and Parga populations fled to Greek islands to escape conversion. During 1820-1850, the region again took part in uprisings against the Ottomans. In 1854 and 1877, the population successfully resisted attacks by Greek Andartes. During the Balkan Wars, Greek troops intervened in Çameria. Military troops were sent by the (provisional) government of Vlora (Albania) to assist the local population, but the decision of the Ambassadors Conference assigned Çameria to Greece.

After WWII, the Greek government expelled by force thousands of Muslim Albanians to Turkey on the pretext that they were Turks because of their religion. At the end of WWII, the terror exercised against the local population forced 25, 000 Çams of Muslim faith to leave their homeland and seek temporary asylum in Albania. Çam dances, especially men's dances, are renowned. Some Çam dances, called Çamiko, are also used by the Greeks. Excerpted from pages 149-50, Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar, Akademia Shkencave e RPS te Shqiperise, Tirana, Albania, 1985

(Translated from Albanian into English by Agron Alibali)

MIHAL ARTIOTI nga Arta e Çamërisë, shenjtori shqiptar i Rusisë me emrin Maksim Greku, i mbiquajtur kështu mbasi ishte përkthyes i shkrimeve të shenjta nga greqishtja e vjeter.

CHAM QUESTION-ANGLO - AMERICAN COMMENTS

ANGLO - AMERICAN COMMENTS
THAT LIGHT ON THE PERSECUTION
OF THE CHAMS IN THE YEARS
1944-1945

1. In 1944 the Chams were evicted from Northern Greece by guerilla forces under the command of Gen. Zervas acting under the instructions of Allied officers... It was unfortunately true however that the eviction was carried out in an extremely bloody manner, and in the form of a reprisal...
In March 1945 units of Zervas’ dissolved forces, under a certain officer called Zotos, carried out a ruthless massacre of the Chams in the Philiates area, and practically cleared the area of Albanian(Cham) minority.1)

2. Colonel Chriss Monague Woodhouse, head of the British Military Mission in Greece reported as follows in October 1945:
"Encouraged by the Allied Mission I headed, Zervas drove the Chams out of their homes in 1944. The majority fled to find shelter in Albania... Their eviction from Greece was carried out with large scale bloodshed. Zervas work was followed with a big scale massacre that cannot be excused among the Philiates Chams in march 1945... The result was eviction of the undesirable Albanian population from their own native land"2)

3. In June 1946, Joseph Jacobs, Head of the U.S. Mission in Albania (1945—1946), writes in his report:
"According to all information 1 have been able together on the Chams issue, in autumn 1944 and during the first months of 1945, the authorities in north—western Greece perpetrated savage brutality by evicting 25.000 Chatns, residents of Chameria, from their homes, where they had been living for centuries on end, chasing them across the border after having robbed them of their land and property. Most of the young people were killed because the majority of the refugees were old folk, and children"3)

1)Documents of the. British Foreign Office No.371/58479/ R 10458
2)Documents of the British Foreign Office ice, No.371/48094/544/R8 564
3)Documents of the U.S Department of State, No.84/3,Tirana Mission, 1945—1946, 6—646.

REFUTATION OF MR. MITSOTAXIS STATEMENTS
BY THE GREEK GENERAL, ZERVAS STATEMENTS

The statements made by Mr. Mitsotakis and the Greek chauvinistic clan that the Chams were collaborators of the invaders and ordinary criminals, that they were not evicted but left on their own to follow the fate of the invaders in order to escape Greek justice and so on are unfounded. The real aim of these statements is to justify the monstrous crimes and genocide against the Cham population. The violent eviction of the Cham population from its own native land, was a strategy long since worked out and applied by Greek chauvinism. This conclusion is also clearly proved by two statements of Napoleon

Zervas:

1. In his letter to one of his collaborators, Jani Dani Popovit, he instructs the latter as follows: "Take upon yourself the task of enlightening our compatriots on who cleared Chameria of the Albanians who had been riding roughshod on Hellenism for five hundred years on end" (See: Spiro Muselimi "Historiqi pripatiana tis Thesprotias", p.8, Salonika, 1976). The letter is dated August 4, 1993.

2. In 1950 when Napoleon Zervas was under medical care in France, he declared: "Even if I die right now, i feel at ease. The task entrusted to me to clear Epirus of the Muslim Chams, has been accomplished". (See: The newspaper "Kombi", No. 13, January 3, 1991).

Patriotic -political Albanian Association" Camëria" Tirana

Honorable Mr. Jim Trafficant, Member of the Congress of the USA
Honorable Mr. Josef Dioguardi, President of the Albanian -American League

The Cham Community living nowadays in Albania, constituted of 3OO, OOO members, expelled violently by the Greek chauvinist since 1944 has the request to meet publicly you to present their views about solving their problems dealing with returning of them in their lands according to international laws and all other conventions and existing documents of this kind.
It will be a great honour for us if you will be ready to fix the date of this meeting soon as possible.

President of "Cameria",
writer and publicist
Bedri Myftari

REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
PATRIOTIC-POLITICAL ASSOCIATION
"CAMERIA" Tirana,

The Patriotic-Political Association "Chameria" ("cameria") that represents the protection of the human rights and freedoms of the Albanian population of Chameria evicted with violence and terror from its own native land in Chameria (ThesprotiaGreece),
Taking into account the positive processes that are going on in Europe today and the efforts made by the international community, the CSCE and other organizations to guarantee the fundamental democratic national and human rights and freedoms,
Making more attainable the rights that should be enjoyed by the national minorities and ethnic groups that have remained outside borders in certain historical circumstances,
Addresses itself with great respect to the international public opjnion and organizations concerning very important problems of the Chams (cam), Chameria Albanians.

THE CHAM TRAGEDY - AN INJUSTICE THAT SHOULD BE REDRESSED

The Albanian region of Chameria or Thesprotia as it is called by the Gréèk administration, begins from the most southern part of today’s Albania.
It comprises the ‘southern part of the ethnic territories of Southern Epirus, inhabited by Albanians since the ancient times (Pellazgico-Illyrian times) until today.
One people and one ethnic territory continuity is testified to by Greek authors of ancient times and also by the Great Greek Encyclopedia, as well as by many world wide known scientific authorities. This is also proved by the real presence of Albanians there and their language, culture and tradition.
The population of Chameria has been ethnically Albanian. It comprised 99% in the cities and 100% in the villages. Till the beginning of the _18th century, the population of this region was of the orthodox faith. After this period, the process of Islamization began among the Albanians. As a result of this process, according to the statistical data of the Turkish administration, 50% of the Albanian population converted to Islam and 50% kept the Orthodox faith. These figures. have been misrepresented even today, harming ethnic Albanians. The census held by the Turkish administration in 1910 testifies that in the region there were 83.000 orthodox and Muslim Albanians. While the statistical yearbook of the Greek government in 1936 shows that only 26.000 Chams lived in Chameria, it does not mention the Orthodox Albanians, because the Greek government considers them Greeks.
As a result of the 1944-1945 ethnic cleansing and genocide, 30.000 Albanian Muslims, violently expelled from the Chameria region, were received in the Republic of Albania, where they still live today.
There are 205.OOO members of this population, a figure which has increased because of the high birth rate of the population after the genocide.
At present, the community of native Albanians of the orthodox faith of Chameria-Thesprotia(Greece), has reached the figure of 250.000-300.000 persons. Today, as a result of the assimilation policy followed by the Greek circles towards other nationalities on Greek territory, this community is under such circumstances which do not allow it to assert its own identity.
The demographic map of the British military mission sent, to the British government in London, which indicates that on the eve of the Second World War, 75% of Chameria’s population was Albanian, is an authentic testimony by western sources about the Albanian presence in the region. An incontestable testimony about the presence of the Orthodox Albanians in Chameria (Greece) today are the early kinship links that the Muslim Chams have with them, a fact which the Greek circles try hard to deny.
With the decisions of the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1913, the region was cut off the motherland and annexed to the Greek state, despite its resistance, the native population of Chameria was subjected to a tragic fate; it was considered an Albanian ethnic minority under Greece.
The destiny of the Albanian minority of Chameria is an Albanian national tragedy not only in terms of territory, but of people as well.

THE GREEK POLICY AND OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE ALBANIAN MINORITY IN CHAMERIA

After the annexation of Chameria in 1913 until today, its population during all these years under the Greek state has not enjoyed national or human rights.
•Greek official circles, sticking to the concept of absolute denial of the existence of ethnic groups on Greek territory, have followed a well-studied chauvinistic policy in. two directions:
1. Towards the Albanians of the Orthodox faith it has followed an assimilation policy denying them every ethnic, cultural or language rights, considering them Greeks and intentionally mistaking faith for nationality, an action they still apply today towards Albanians, pretending that all the Orthodox are Greeks.
2. Towards the Albanians of the Islam faith, they followed the policy of genocide, denying their nationality as well. In many cases, they have intentionally considered them as Turkish Chams and not Albanian Cham as they really are.
This strategy worked out about one century ago by Greece was achieved at the end of the Second World War, in 1944-1945, when the criminal bands of the notorious General, Napoleon Zervas perpetrated the. ethnic cleansing of the. Chameria Muslim Albanians.

THE CONTINUOUS GENOCIDE IN CHAMERIA (ETHNIC CLEANSING) AGAINST THE ALBANIANS.

To realize their aims, Greek official circles have never respected the Albanian population of Chameria, being so ungrateful for the historic valuable help it has given to the Greek population through the centuries.
1. Immediately after annexation they violently persecuted the. innocent Albanian population, perfidiously killing 72 of the most influential men of this region in 1913, in a place called Selan Paramithi (Ajdonat) who had gone there to negotiate with the Greek party. Other dozens of innocent people suffered the same fate.
To prevent persecution by the Greek government, Cham patriots protested to European circles on June 8, 1913.
2. The Chams were shocked at the Satanic attempts of the Greek government in 1923-1924 to include even the Muslim Chams among the Muslim Turks living Greece, who according to Lozana Agreement reached on January 19, 1923, between Turkey and Greece, were to be exchanged with the Greeks of Anatolia
The Greek government flagrantly violated this Agreement; it did not stick to the statement of its representative in Lozana, Kalamanos, on January 19, 1923, whoa declared that his government didn’t intend to exchange the "Muslims of Albanian origiif who, as he himself admitted, "lived in a region clearly determined as Epirus" and though they share the same religion as the Turks, they are in no way their compatriots"~2].
The Greek-Turkish Joint Commission decided on March 1924~4] not to observe any procedure or formality in the framework of the exchange of the Greek-Turkish population, towards the Albanian population of Chameria, an ethnic and historical reality, that was recognized also by the Greek party.
Contrary to historical reality and the Agreement reached, the Greek official circles imposed the exchange of( as black slaves in the Middle Ages) tens of thousands of Chams realizing at that time part of their plan for ethnic cleansing of the "minorities" in their territories.
3. With the coming to power of the Yoannis Metaxas fascist government in 1936, the situation of the Albanian population of Chameria became even more difficult. That government applied an unheard of discriminatory policy;: it continued colonization with Greeks aiming to change the proportion of the population. The name of the places inhabited by Albanians were replaced by Greek place names. It resorted to real genocide, arrests, deportation, and confiscation of property. The program stepped up further making the life of the Albanians unbearable.
4. The situation in Chameria became more troubled and tense especially on the eve of the World War II. Prior to the fascist Italian occupation of Greece, the Greek government made the general Mobilization of the population for war. The Albanians of Chameria, as citizens of the Greek state, asked the then Greek government to mcbiize them to fight against the common enemy.
"Acknowledging" this peace-loving gesture of the Chams, the Greek government thanked and mobilized them, but instead of arms, it gave them picks and spades to do construction work.
With this act, the Greek government showed its lack of confidence in theili overlooking their readiness and estranging them from itself; with the intention of accusing later on the Muslim Chams of being collaborators with the occupiers.
Shortly prior to the occupauon ot Greece by Italy, the Greek authorities, out of fear for what they had done towards the unprotected Cham population, deported the men from 14 years old and more to concentration camps on the isles of the Aegean Sea, the islands of Medilin, Hio and Corinthus, etc.
On the way to the concentration camps the Greek official circles created the psychosis that they were prisoners of war who had killed the sons of the Greek people, thereby hiding the truth that they were innocent people forcibly torn away from their homes and from the war front.
During the exile in the camps of the Mathausen type, the Chams were illtreated and physically liquidated, meanwhile, in the Chameria region there were only unprotected women, old folk, children, subject to killings, robbery and rapes by Greek criminal gangs.

L. Stavrianos, The Balkans Since 1453, New York, 1961, p.60
Council, dated 29.11.1924, in Journal Officiel de Ia SdN:4 October 1924, Process-Verbatix du Conseil. Annexe 689 pp

UNHEARD OF GENOCIDE AND EVICTION OF ETHNIC ALBANJANS FROM THEIR HISTORICAL NATWE LAND

The last act, of genocide, against the Albanian Muslim population in the Chameria region, that led to their ethnic cleansing, began on June 27, 1944.
The criminal bands of Greek chauvinism resorted to cruelest atrocities in this region. The cruelty committed against this population were beyond imagination. They included killings, rapes, inhuman treatment, such as cutting different body organs, the nose, ear, etc. massacred women, babies and pregnant women. More than 600 men, women and children were killed within 24 hours in the town of Paramithy, on Tuesday, June 27, 1944, which is the date of St. Bartholomeus for the whole Chameria. During the June 1944 - March 1945 period, 1286 persons were massacred and killed in Filat, 192 people were killed in Gumenica, 626 persons were killed in Margellic and Parga.
There were hundreds of other unidentified and missing persons. During 1944-1945, the Greek chauvinists perpetrated massacres, acts of robbery and rapes against the Albanian population of Chameria; 2900 young and old men, 214 women, 96 children were massacred, 745 women were raped, 76 women abducted, 32 children, younger than 3 years were massacred, 68 village were razed to the ground, 5800 houses and sites of worship were burned down or destroyed, all the furniture houses and 84752 kilos of olive oil, 67434 quintals of corn, 4453 work animals, domestic animals were stolen. The terror was of such proportions that the Albanian Muslim population had to leave their ancestral land for Albania, after March 1945.

EFFORTS TO INTERNATIONALIZE THE CHAM QUESTION

After their violent expulsion, the Cham immigrants who had Greek citizenship and Albanian nationality, were immediately organized in Albania during 1945 and under the direction of the Cham Antifascist Committee sensibilized different international bodies as well as the mother state over their tragedy and lawful demands.
The new Albanian government after the war took the Cham issue to the Peace Conference in Paris and the conference of Foreign Ministers of the Allied Powers, not only supporting the very difficult position of the Chams, but also demanding their repatriation and recovery of their own property. This was their legitimate right that was also defended by the then international decisions on the rights of national minorities.
The miserable situation of the Chams and their demands were also presented to the Paris Peace Conference (1945) by the then Albanian Foreign minister.
As well as this, many attempts to internationalize the question and to secure the support of the Allied Powers were made by the Cham National-Liberation Committee, as the most direct representative of the Cham population.
Many memorandums and telegrams of protest were sent to the Allied Powers and relevant for as to the General Assembly of the United Nations in London and New York, to the Council of the Allied Foreign Ministers in London and Mosóow, to the San Francisco Conference, to the governments of Great Britain, United States of America, to the House of Representatives ‘in Washington D.C., to London and Moscow, to the Mediterranean General Staff; etc.
These demands were not supported or answered. No support or answer was given even by the representatives of the British, Russian and Yugoslav missions that took part in the second Cham Congress held in Vlora-Albania (September 194.5) and saw for themselves the catastrophe of this population.
The international Investigation Commission of the United Nations, during the verification of the tragedy on both sides of the border, drew the proper conclusions in 1946-1947, replete with real facts and evidence about the massacre and painfuI tragedy of the Cham people.
After this, only the international fora, after having specified the displaced Cham population as immigrants, gave an economic aid of about 1.2 million dollars and other material aid for thousands of Cham refugees who had no bread and no home.

THE 1947 -1990 ENIGMATIC SILENCE

At a time when the Chams hoped for a solution of their legitimate rights, their attempts were ensued with total silence. The 1947-1990 period is one the most grave acts of this tragedy, because that was done by the Albanians themselves. It is the state of the antinational, communist dictatorship of E. Hoxha itself that kept silent. Such silence is still a mystery.

THE GREEK OFFICIAL ATTITUDE AFTER THE EXPULSION OF THE MUSLIM ALBANIANS OF CHAMERIA

1. Greece violently put an end to every attempt to preserve the identity of the Albanian population of the Orthodox belief; who still continue to live in Chameria. Albanian, their mother tongue, was not allowed to be spoken in public and a number of other measures of assimilation were taken in order to deny completely its Albanian national origin.
As a result of this assimilation and discriminatory policy, it was impossible for them to assert themselves in Chameria.
2. After 1945, the action to change the demographic structure of Chameria and it colonization with Greeks, Arumuni and gypsies began. Greece changed the demographic structure of the province because they did not trust the rest of the Albanian population who remained there though it was of the Orthodox confession.
3. The property of the expelled Chains was given by the Greek government to new settlers without the legal right of ownership.
4. The present Greek government follows a discriminatory policy towards the Chams in Albania, by preventing them from visiting their homes. It is afraid of the truth about the Chams, of the revival of traditional brotherhood among the Orthodox and Muslim Albanians.
5. The Albanian place names were replaced with Greek place names.

THE DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS IN ALBANIA AND THE PROBLEM OF CHAMERIA

The victory of democracy and the destruction of the communist system in Albania created the conditions to analize this great national misfortune.
As e result of pluralism, on January 1991, the "cameria" Patriotic-Political Association was created in continuation of the efforts and aspirations of the martir population of Chameria.
The Chameria question is part of the program of most of the political parties in’ Albania, which are trying to solve it in accordance with the spirit and standarts of the international human rights documents of the UN, the CSCE and the Council of Europe.
First of all, the "Chameria" Association as well as the Albanian democratic government have asked the Greek state and government to settle this outstanding problem, judging that the bilateral way is the most efficient manner to deal with it. So far, the Greek government and its high officials have adopted a negative attitude.
According to the Greek official stand, the Muslim Chams will not be allowed to return to Greece "because they have collaborated with the Italian-German invaders during the Second World War and as such they are criminals of war and are punished according to Greek laws" (Statement ,of Prime Minister Mitsotakis, in Tirana, May 1992)

MASSACRES AND ROBBERY PERPETRATED BY GREEK CHAUVINISM

MASSACRES AND ROBBERY PERPETRATED BY GREEK CHAUVINISMAGAINST THE ALBANIAN POPULATION OF CHAMERIA (1940-1945)

Killed persons:

1940-1941: Internment of all male persons from 16 to 75 years of age, started by the Metaxa regime two months before Greece’s occupation by fascist Italy and continued. Thousands of Chams were interned to the islands of the Aegean Sea.
During the internment, 450 people died of tortures.

June 27, 1944	Men	Women	Total
Paramithi, Margellic, Gumenice and villages:	800	230	1.030
Parge:	130	-	13

August 1944	Men	Women	Total
Filat and villages:	198	61	259

March 1945	Men	Women	Total
Filat and villages:	372	59	431
Deaths in internment:	450	-	450
Total:	1950	350	2300

Deaths en route (diseases and afflictions): 2 400
Victims (total): 4 700
Raped women: 475
Kidnapped women: 76

MATERIAL DAMAGE:

villages / burnt houses
Parge, Preveze, Arta Paramithi, Margellic: 21 / 2300
Gumenice: 26 / 2300
Filat: 44 / 1200
_________________
Total: 91 villages / 5800 burnt houses

RELIGIOUS OBJECTS BURNT DOWN:

Paramithi (town) 7 mosques“(villages) 54 "
Gumenice and villages :25 "
Filat (town) 2 "“ (villages):22 "
_________________________
Total: 102 mosques

Large scale plunder of agricultural and livestock products, as well as more than 46 000 sheep and 5 137 cattle

This is a false and an untrue "hypothesis".

- To consider the Chams criminals at a time when they have shed their blood together with the Greeks for liberation is a political-diplomatic crime.
Because:

* The Chams did not collaborate with occupiers of any kind; they are their victims.
* If Chameria had some "collaborators" (a common phenomenon for all the states under Nazi-Fascist occupation during World War II, what about the 30.000 such people in Greece, with general Ralis at the head. Nobody accuses them in Greece, on the contrary they are Eehabilitated by the general amnesty of the Greek state.
* It is a historical fact that the Chams were the first to take part in the Greek resistance against the invaders (together with ELAS and EAM).
* Documents that testify to the undeniable truth of the Cham tragedy, do exist.
* There are documents of the German state which prove that Napolon Zervas, one of the persons, most responsible for the genocide against the Chams, was a collaborator of the German Gestapo.
The Greek official stand does on honour to the Greek democratic government, which has signed all the international documents on human rights, we don’t blame it today for this tragedy, but it is not human to be a partner of the authors of gravest tragedies in Europe, following World War II, by using false accusations in order to hide the truth.

THE CHAM TRAGEDY MEANS:

* GENOCIDE
* ETHINC CLEANSING
* RELIGIOUS WAR
* VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

A PROBLEM THAT MUST BE SOLVED

The Albanian martyr population of Chameria wants that today’s Europe of human dimension, all the international fora, all European political-diplomatic circles, the USA and other countries, the Greek government and people support and help meet its legitimate human demands:
1. We request that the Greek Democratic government as a member of the European Community, as a state that has signed all International Acts on Human Rights and respect for national minorities, recognizes our denied rights
2. We request that the Greek state and government should accept the historical reality of the Cham question.
3. It should recognize the civil and legal rights of the Albanians evicted from their own territories in 1944-1945, as well as their right as legitimate owners of the property they have been robbed of.
4. We request that the Greek state and government should allow and make possible the free movement of this population to visit its ancestors’ land.
5. On February 2, 1943, at Markat (Konispol), the Chameria umt was formed Later on, it grew in size and assumed the name of the "Chameria" battalion, composed mamly of partisans from the Chamena province.
6. In the spring of 1944, in the village of Qeramice, Filat, the fourth mixed battalion was set up as part of the 15th regiment of the Greek ELAS, including about 500 members from the Albanian minority of Chameria. Chami’officers led some of these formations and their subordinate units.
7. Albanians from the Chameria province took part in all the formations of the Albanian National Liberation Anny.
8. Fighting formations composed of Albanians from the Chami minority fought such battles against the Nazi-fascist occupiers inscribing glorious pages in the history of the Greek and Albanian peoples as:
- The 55 day long battle against German forces in August 1944 m the Konispol region on the border between Greece and Albania.

The battles along the Skolim-Filat-Gumenica-Janina line.

Many Albanians from Chameria shed their blood in these battles, giving their lives on the same trenches as the Greek partisans for their joint liberation. They were, just to mention a few, the hero of the Albanian people Ali Demi, Bido Sejko, Muharrem Myrteza, Ibrahim Halluni, Husejn Vejseli and dozens of others who fell on the Qeramica Pass, in Konispol and in many other battles that were fought at that time.
The attitude adopted by the Greek officials, including the present-day official authonties of Greece, to the effect that the Chami people were collaborators of the Nazi-Fascist occupiers, hence, they were war criminals, negates all this contribution of the Albanians of Chameria, slinging mud at the blood they shed for the liberation of the two, Albanian and Greek, peoples. This Greek accusation which is made in an effort to justify and disguise the truth about the Chami tragedy and the ethnic cleansing against the Albanians of Chameria at the hands of Greek theocratic chauvinism in the 1944-1945 period, does not bear scrutiny, it does not hold as an argument either in time and runs counter to the historical truth. In so doing, the present Greek government becomes an accomplice of the authors of the crime and genocide against an innocent and defenseless population.

ALBANIANS OF CHAMERIA IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE NAZI-FASCIST INVADERS DURING WORLD WAR II

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF THE ALBANIANS OF CHAMERIA IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE NAZI-FASCIST INVADERS DURING WORLD WAR II - AN INCONTESTIBLE HISTORICAL TRUTH

Chameria and the Chams contributed to the great antttascist war physically, materially and morally; they unreservedly joined total war the occupiers.

1. It were the Chami patriots of Konispol, Filat such as Bido Sejko, Nakije Sejko and Muharrem Demi, Sami Murati from Spatar, Maze Hodo from Koska who, together with other patriots of the Chameria province, called on the people on April 7, 1939 to fight arms in hand against the fascist occupiers by laying ambushes at the Bogaz Pass, at a time when the Greek frontier authorities, under instructions of their government, rejected the request to let the passage of the forces that would fight against the occupiers to both sides of the Greek-Albanian border, with the excuse that they did not want to aggravate relations with fascist

2. The appeal for struggle of the Greek government to the Greek citizens, met immediate positive response from the Albanian population of Chameria, who ‘expressed its readiness to line itself up alongside the Greek people in order to cope with the common threat. The Greek government of loanis Metaxa responded to the readiness of the Albanian population to fight with neglect and increasing disbelief. At the meeting on the eve of the declaration of war by fascist Italy with the commander of the 8th division of the Greek army, general Kacimitro, the Chami soldiers asked him for arms to fight the common enemy, for until then they were kept disarmed. In reply to their request, the Chami soldiers were supplied with pickaxes and shovels to open up trenches,thereby treating them as prisoners of war. However, though insulted by the attitute of the Greeks, the Albanian population of Chameria committed itself fully on the side of the Anti-Fascist Coalition in order to make its own contribution to the fight against the invaders.

3. In early 1942, an illegal group of anti-fascist resistance was organised at Filat.
The group also comprised such well- known anti-fascist fighters as Vehip Demi, Mustafa Sulo Dauti, Dervish Dojaka, Sami Alushi, Tahir Demi, Muharrem Demi, Rexho Huso, Vehip Huso and others.

4. In March 1943, the Chami fighting unit set up at Filat and a Greek unit formed the first mixed partisan formation, the second fighting formation in Epirus.

EFFORTS TO INTERNATIONALIZE THE CHAMI ISSUE
(1944-1947)

1. By the end of September 1944, at the Shales conference (Konispol), considered at that time the first Congress of the Chami refugees, the Chamis in exile raised their voice calling for cooperation against the occupi&s and the injustice committed by the Greek monarcho-fascists against them.

2. A commission of the Chami Anti-Fascist Council was sent on October 30, 1944 to Athens to lodge a protest with the Greek government of Mr. Papandreou against the Greek massacres in Chameria. The Greek government took no pledge or measure.

3. On October 30, 1944, the Chami Anti-fascist Council senf a vote of protest to the government of the Greek National Union, the Mediterranean General Command, the allied governments, the Central Committee of EAM, against the attrocities of the Greek fascists in Chameria.

4. On May 9, 1945, the Chami Anti-fascist Committee sent the Allied Military
Missions the copy of the telegram addressed to the president of the San Francisco Conference as regards the rights of the Chami people under the Atlantic Charter.

5. On June 25, 1945, a Telegram of Protest against the massacres in Chameria addressed by the Chami Anti-fascist Committee to the Democratic Government of Albania, the Allied Military Missions (British, American, Soviet, French, Czechoslovak), the Yugoslav Legation, the Albanians in the USA, Italy and Bulgaria.

6. Memorandum to the Allied Foreign Ministers' Conference in London by the delegates to the Chami Congress on September 4, 1945.

7. On September 23, 1945, the Second Chami Congress held in Viora, sent a memorandum to the London Conference, requesting that the Chami issue be taken up for discussion and those who caused the bloodshed be condemned.

8. Telegram to the JJNRRA General Headquarters by the Chami Anti-fascist Council asking relief (September 25, 1945)

9. Aide-memoire to Mr. Hutchinson, Labour deputy (Great Britain on November 26, 1945.

10. Memorandum to the United Nations Assembly by the Chami Anti-fascist Council on the 11th of January, 1946.

11. Memorandum to the United Nations Assembly in New York by the Chami Anti-fascist Council on October 25, 1946.

12. Memorandum by the Anti-fascist Committee of the Chami refugees to the Investigation Commission of the United Nations Security Council on the inhuman treatment of the Albanian minority of Chameria in Greece and the massacre perpetrated against it (Tirana, 1947).

GREECE: Document of the Committee of the Cham Albanians

GREECE: Document of the Committee of the Cham Albanians

IN EXILE, ON GREEK PERSECUTION OF THE CHAMS, SUBMITTED TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN 1945

We, the Anti-Fascist Committee of Cham immigrants in Albania, having faith in the democratic and humanitarian principles of the UN, and acting in the name of Cham immigrants in Albania, do hereby address the Investigating Commission concerning our lost rights, oppression, persecutions and massacres committed by Greek Fascists in order to exterminate the Albanian minority in Greece.
In pursuit of the protests and appeals that we have addressed to the Great Allies and the United Nations, we ask for justice with regard to the following:
For 32 years in succession, Greek chauvinist and reactionary cliques, in brutal violation of every humanitarian principle, and in total disregard of international treaties, have carried out a policy of extermination toward the Albanian minority in Greece.
Beginning with the Greek occupation of Chamëria on February 23, 1913, the gang of Deli Janaqi, incited and assisted by the local authorities, massacred without cause whatsoever 72 men, in the brook of Selani, district of Paramithia.
This massacre marked the beginning of the drive to exterminate the Albanian minority, and made clear the orientation of Greek policy toward our population.
The hounding, persecutions, imprisonment, internment, tortures, and plunder carried out on the pretext of disarming [the population] in the years 1914-1921, the terrorist actions of outlaws, and the provocations of Gjen Baire in 1921, reveal the reality of the sufferings to which our population was subjected during the Greek occupation.
Koska, Lopsi, Varfanj, Karbunari, Kardhiqi, Paramithija, Margëllëçi, Arpica, Grykohori, and others, are some of the villages that paid an especially high price as a consequence of the terror.
In 1922-1923, the Greek authorities decided to displace the Moslem element of Chamëria, in exchange for the Greeks in Asia Minor, on the pretext that we were Turks. This shameless act of the Athenian authorities ran into opposition on our part and the intervention of the League of Nations which, upon ascertaining the Albanian nationality of our people, rejected the decision of the Greek Government.
But despite the intervention of the League of Nations, and the solemn commitments undertaken by the Greek Government in Lausanne on January 16, 1923, the authorities in Athens continued their policy of extermination. They resorted to every device to make it difficult for the Albanian element to remain in Chamëria, and confiscated 6,000 hectares of land owned by hundreds of families in Dushk, Gumenicë, Kardhiq, Karbunarë, and others, without compensating them in the least.
The government in Athens settled the immigrants from Asia Minor in Chamëria, with the intention of peopling it with Greeks and creating conditions that would lead to the emigration of the autochthonous Albanian population.
Entire families were forced to abandon their birthplace and migrate to Turkey, Albania, America and elsewhere, and villages like Petrovica and Shendellia were deserted completely by their Albanian inhabitants.
Under these circumstances, we did not enjoy any national rights, not even the use of our mother tongue. Fanaticism and ignorance were given support, instead of developing our national culture and stimulating progress. Instead of opening schools, they subsidized religious clubs in the Arab language. Ninety-five percent of our population remained illiterate. The province of Chamëria, a fertile and prosperous land, remained backward, without economic development, without communication facilities, and in the hands of money-lenders and monopolists, such as: Koçoni, Pitulejtë, Kufalla, Zhulla, Ringa and others, who impoverished and enslaved the entire region.
In the war against Fascism, and more precisely at its conclusion, the reactionary Monarcho-Fascist forces of Llakë of Suli, which were created by the reaction to serve the occupier under the command of General Napoleon Zerva, turned on and treacherously massacred the Moslem Albanian inhabitants of Chamëria.
At that time, when the troops of ELAS [National Popular Liberation Army] and our troops were committed to fighting the Germans, the leadership of EOEA [National Troops of Greek Guerrilas], in league with the Germans, maneuvered to gain positions to fight a civil war. And when our forces, in keeping with the spirit and decisions of the protocol of Kasartë (Sarafis-Zerva), August, 1944, implemented the orders of the Joint Command in pursuit of the Germans, General Napoleon Zerva, commander of the resistance forces in Epir (ELAS – EOEA), gave orders to massacre the innocent population of Chamëria.
The massacres in Chamëria were a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles, and a shameless disregard for the principles and the nature of the Anti-Fascist struggle. The massacres in Chamëria were a result of the collaboration and agreements with the Germans, who in the process of retreating, let Zerva’s forces take their place. Here is a concrete example of the collaboration between Zerva’s forces and the Germans. Theodhor Vito, the commander of the Zerva forces in the district of Filat, met the commander of the retreating German forces on September 22, 1944 in the village of Panaromen, 3 km. from Filat, just one day before the entrance of Zerva’s forces in Filat. Right after that meeting, and even before the German forces cleared out of Filat entirely, the forces of Theodhor Vito entered Filat. That close collaboration strengthened the position of the Zerva forces, and enabled them to initiate the terror and the massacres on a broad scale in all the districts of Chamëria.
The forces of the X th Division of EOEA, under the command of Col. Vasil Kamaras, and specifically the XVI th Regiment of that division, which was led by Kranja and his aides Lefter Strugari, attorney Stavropullos Ballumi Zotos, the notorious criminals Patazejt and others, entered the town of Paramithia on June 27, 1944. Contrary to their promises and the agreement arrived at between mufti Hasan Abdullaj, on the one hand, and Shapera and the Bishop of Paramithia, on the other, who acted as agents of Zerva, the most ignoble massacres were set in motion. Defenseless men, women and children became targets for the Greek Monarcho-Fascists. The number of the massacred in the town of Paramithia and vicinity reached 600 souls.
On July 28, 1944 the forces of Regiment Nr. 40, commanded by Agores, entered Parg and massacred 52 men, women and children.
The forces of EOEA under the command of Theodhor Vito, Ilija Kaqo, Hristo Mavrudhi, Hristo Kaqo, Hari Dhiamanti and others, first encircled the town of Filat, then on Saturday morning of September 23, 1944 entered the town. The same day they also entered Spatër. They plundered and seized all of the families, and whatever else they found. On the eve of [September] 23 and the dawn of September 24, 1944 there entered also the forces commanded by Kranja, Strugari and others. As soon as these forces arrived, the massacres began. Forty-seven men, women and children were massacred in Filat, while 157 were killed or missing in Spasar, many of whom had gone there from other villages. All of the young women and girls were abused and raped by Zerva’s criminals. A few days later the Monarcho-Fascists rounded up all of the men that remained, and following the decision of a kangaroo court, consisting of Koçinja – president, Staropull – prosecuting attorney, and four other members, 47 innocent Albanians were massacred. In Granicë of Filat are buried the corpses of 46 persons who were slain with knives, and 45 others on the plain bordering the field of Xhelo Meto.
Other families were wiped out, including parents, children and babies in their cribs. Women and young girls were raped. Hundreds of declarations by those who survived, describe the killings and endless suffering. They make plain the crimes and aims of the Monarcho-Fascists in Chamëria.
Here are some examples:
Sanie Bollati of Paramithia was burned alive with gasoline, after her breasts were cut off, and her eyes were plucked out. Ymer Murati was murdered and his body was chopped up in Paramithia.
In the house of Sulo Tari had gathered more than 40 women. Çili Popova from Popova, wearing a military uniform, and a group of soldiers, entered the house, seized the prettiest women and girls and began to rape them in another room. The screams of the girls and the women were deafening. This debauchery continued all night. Seri Fejzo, Fizret Sulo Tare and others, were victims of their baseness.
Hilmi Beqiri of Filat was wounded in front of his family and left there, as the attackers took off. Wanting to shelter him, the family brought him over to dentist Mavrudhiu. He kept him for a few hours, but later sent word to have him taken away. The family then took him to Stavro Muhaxhiri, after which they went over to Shuaip Metja, where many other families had gathered. Andartët [Greek irregulars – Translator’s note] were informed about this, and they went over and seized him, and after pulling his gold teeth with pliers, killed him.
Malo Muho, an 80-year-old man, who had been ailing for four years, was butchered with a hatchet in front of his wife. His brain splattered on the lap of his wife, who gathered them together, and after covering him with a quilt, ran away.
Abdyl Nurqe was seized in Spatar and taken barefooted to Filat, where he was dragged through the streets of the town, and finally killed in front of the house of Nidh Tafoqi.
The family of Lile Rustemi from Sullashi, numbering 16 persons, most of them children, was totally wiped out, without anyone being able to survive.
Xhelal Miniti of Paramithia was beheaded with a bayonet over the body of mufti Hasan Abdullahu.
Sali Muhedini, Abedin Bakos, Muhamet Pronjë and Malo Sejdiu had their fingers, nose, tongue, and feet cut off, and while they screamed with pain, andartët of Zerva sang the song of their commander, and rejoiced as they witnessed this scene of terror. In the end, they hung them with butchers’ grappling irons.
Following is the declaration of Eshref Himi, a resident of Paramithia, concerning the massacres in Paramithia:
“On Tuesday, June 27, 1944, at 7 in the morning, the Greek Monarcho-Fascists entered Paramithia, commanded by Col. Kamora, Major Kranja, Captain Kristo Stavropulli, an attorney; Captain Lefter Strugari, attorney; sub-lieutenant Nikolla Çenos, and others. As soon as they entered the city, the order was given that no one should leave, because no one’s honor, liberty or property would be threatened in any way. Immediately in the afternoon, there began the arrest of men, women and children, and thievery as well. By next morning all the men were murdered.
“After imprisoning me for four days, they let me go, so as to bury the dead. On the site called ‘The Church of Ajorgji’, I was able to identify five of the bodies. The others were beyond recognition, on account of the tortures inflicted on them. The five victims I was able to identify were: Met Qere, Sami Asimi, Mahmut Kupi, Adem Beqiri, Haki Mile. Two days later, they sent me over to ‘Golataj’, near the house of Dhimitër Nikolla, where they had murdered 8 people. I could not recognize them, because they had cut them to pieces. All around there were corpses of people. A woman by the name of Sanie Bollati was subjected to frightful tortures and burned alive with gasoline. This tragedy took place on Wednesday, while on Friday morning her body was moved away, covered with a blanket by her mother and two townspeople, and placed in a cellar by order of the Monarcho-Fascists, who would not let anyone to see her. The wretched woman died there five days later. By then, her cadaver was full of maggots.
“All of the things I declare here, I have seen with my own eyes. At first, I hid for five days on top of a ceiling, but was arrested by the Monarcho-Fascists and turned over to Major Kranja who, after questioning me briefly, ordered that I be imprisoned. In prison I found 380 persons, including women and children. One hundred twenty of those died of starvation. Four persons and me were in prison for 15 days, after which they transported us to Prevezë, and from there to Janinë, where we stayed for 40 days. There we were subjected to indescribable tortures. We were freed after the arrival in this town of troops of the EAM [National Liberation Front].”
Dervish Sulo from the village of Spatar in [the district of] Filat, describes the massacres in Spatar as follows:
“In the morning of a Saturday in September, 1944, the entire population gathered in front of the (Spatar) village mosque. The soldiers began seizing and raping women, girls, and even old women. Paçe Çulani, 50 years of age, was raped, her hair was cut and even her ears, and finally she was killed in her own orchard, in the vicinity of Muço. In our house was installed the family of Sako Banushi from Skropjona, which numbered eight women, men, and children. After raping the women, whose breasts were pierced with knives, all were massacred….
“In the house of Damin Muhameti, 5 women and 3 children were killed….In the house of Fetin Muhameti, Hane Isufi and another woman were tortured and raped….
In the house of Dule Sherifi, they cut off the heads of 80-year-old Sulejman Dhimicë and his wife. In the house of Meto Braho, 20 persons, including men, women and children, were burned alive….Kije Nurçia, 70 years of age, was knifed to death….In the vineyard of Zule and the garden of Avdyl Nurçe, I saw 20 people who had been massacred….In the house of Haxhi Latifi, the daughter of Haxhi Gulani was raped, while in the dwelling of Mejdi Meto, Hava Ajshja was raped, and Nano Arapi was both raped and killed.”
According to statistics available to date, the victims and the missing among the Albanian minority in Greece, during the massacres in the years 1944-1945, number 2,877, broken down as follows:
Filat and vicinity, 1, 286; Gumenicë and vicinity, 192; Paramithia and vicinity, 673; and Magellç and Parg, 626. This was the fate of all those who were unable to flee Chamëria, with the exception of a few women who are today living witnesses of the chilling massacres in Paramithia, Parg, Spatar, and Filat. The words that come from their mouths make clear the naked criminality and barbaric acts, organized by the Greek Monarcho-Fascist reaction in Chamëria.
This carnage, inspired by the basest sentiments of chauvinistic and religious hatred, resulted in the displacement of nearly 23,000 Chams, who afterward found shelter in Albania under the most miserable conditions.
A total of 68 villages with over 5,800 houses, were seized, destroyed and burned down.
An account of the damages reveals that the Monarcho-Fascist forces of Zerva seized the following assets left behind [by the Chams] in Chamëria: 17,000 heads of sheep and goats, 1,200 heads of cattle, 21,000 kv [kuintals – 1 kv. equals 100 kg. – Translator’s note] of cereals, and 80,000 kv of [olive] oil; plus the product of the year 1944-1945, which totaled 11,000,000 kg. of cereals, and 3,000,000 kg of [olive]oil. During the emigration, 110,000 sheep and goats, and 2,400 cattle died or were lost. This shows clearly the economic catastrophe that befell our people, which was forced to take the roads of immigration with only the clothes on their back.
This catastrophe happened because our people, together with the Greek people, fought alongside the EAM, rather than jump in the camp of the collaborationists who were allied with the occupiers. Chamëria contributed materially and morally to the great Anti-Fascist war. Hundreds of young Çams joined the ranks of ELAS, when EAM sounded the alarm for freedom. With the broadening of the Anti-Fascist war against the German occupiers, the population of Chamëria threw itself unreservedly in the war against the occupier, and formed the Fourth Battalion of the XV th Regiment of ELAS. Out of the small population of Chamëria, stepped forward over 500 troops who fought with determination against the Nazi-Fascist occupiers and the traitors in the camp of Zerva.
The blood of the national hero, Ali Demi, and of the martyr Bido Sejko; and the blood of martyrs Muharrem Myrtezaj, Ibrahim Hallumi,Hysen Vejseli and others, that was shed together with that of the Greek Partisans at the Pass of Qeramicë, bears out this fact.
In Chamëria at the end of the war, the troops commanded by General Napoleon Zervas operated in our districts and villages not as liberators, but as executioners and sworn enemies of the Albanian element.
In accordance with the Agreement of Caserta (Sarafi – Zervas) in August, 1944, the troops of the resistance were placed on a common front against the Nazi armies, under a joint command, in designated operational zones. This agreement was violated in Chamëria. Zerva’s troops compromised with the Germans, and attacked our troops and obstructed the activity of the IV th Battalion of the XV th Regiment in the zone of Filat. The operations and massacres in the district of Filat are directly connected with this situation, and in open contradiction to the trust and spirit of cooperation established in Caserta. The last village of Chamëria, Koska, which was one of the bases for organizing the resistance forces of the National-Liberation Front in Chamëria, was destroyed and burned. It was the final action in the destruction of Chamëria.
A Commission of the Cham Anti-Fascist Council was dispatched to Athens on 10/30/1944, to meet with the Greek Government of Papandreu, and protest against the massacres in Chamëria, as well as demand that they be condemned. The Government of Papandreu refused to take any measures, or commit itself in any way regarding this matter.
Following the operations of December, 1944 and the liberation of Chamëria from the Zervist occupation, a portion of our population was repatriated and settled in the district of Filat. Then, on March 12, 1945 government forces of the garrison of Corfu, in violation of the Agreement of Varkizë (February, 1945), organized and treacherously carried out the vile massacres in Vanre (Filat). This exposed once again the attitude and policy of the responsible authorities of the Greek Government, concerning the extermination of the Albanian population of CHAMËRIA.
In the wake of our immigration to Albania, the democratic Government of Albania gave to our masses boundless material and moral assistance. A fund of 240,000 francs was set aside by the Albanian Government for our people, and all-round efforts have been made to alleviate our deplorable condition.
Responding to this situation, the UNNRA Mission in Albania won approval from its headquarters in Washington [D.C.], to dispense 1,450,000 dollars as immediate relief to the immigrants, in view of our difficult situation.
Even in these conditions, the Cham immigrants continued to contribute more and more to the Front. At the Conference of Shalës (Konispol), held at the end of September, 1944, the voice of the Chams in exile was raised strongly in favor of collaboration against the occupier, and the injustices of the Greek Monarcho-Fascists.
At the Congress of Vlorë on September 23, 1945 the Cham delegates, who represented all the groups of Cham immigrants in Albania, spoke against the massacres that Greek Monarcho-Fascists had perpetrated among them, and demanded by means of memoranda addressed to the London Conference, an inquiry into their problem, and the condemnation of those responsible for the pointless bloodshed and immeasurable sufferings in Chamëria. The Congress concluded with a resolution summarizing all of its proceedings.
While in exile, we have many times addressed appeals to the world, regarding the rights that have been denied us, and asked for repatriation.
On October 30, 1944 the Cham Anti-Fascist Council addressed a protest note to the Greek Government of National Unity, the Mediterranean Chief-of-Staff, the Allied Government, and the Central Committee of EAM, discussing the barbaric actions of Greek Fascists in Chamëria.
On May 9, 1945 the Cham Anti-Fascist Council dispatched to the Military Missions a copy of the telegram addressed to the President of the Conference in San Francisco, concerning the rights of the Chams, based on the Atlantic Charter.
On June 27, 1945 telegrams of protest by the Cham Anti-Fascist Council, against the massacres in Chamëria, were addressed to the Democratic Government of Albania, the Allied Military Missions including the Soviet, the English, the American, the French, and the Czechoslovak; the Yugoslav Legation, and the Albanians in America, Italy and Bulgaria.
A memorandum was addressed to Mr. Hutchinson, Labor [Party] Deputy in Great Britain, on 11/26/1945.
Telegrams were addressed to the General Directorate of UNRRA, by the Cham Anti-Fascist Committee (9/25/1945), asking for aid.
A memorandum was addressed to the Presidency of the Conference of Allied Foreign Ministers in London, by the delegates of the Cham Congress, in September, 1945.
A memorandum was addressed to the Assembly of the United Nations in London, by the Cham Anti-Fascist Committee, on January 11, 1946, bringing up again the issue of the massacres, and asking for the rights due [the Chams].
A memorandum was addressed to the United Nations Assembly in New York, by the Cham Anti-Fascist Committee on October 25, 1946 and later.
We are victims of the Monarchist regime that reigns in Greece today. Together with the fraternal Greek people, we are suffering the consequences of the dark terror that was inflicted on them throughout Greece.
For two and a half years now, we roam Albania in misery, away from the Fatherland, while our fertile lands are exploited unjustly by the agents of the Monarcho-Fascists in Chamëria.
Our travails in exile have been, and continue to be without bounds. Thousands have perished owing to the situation that has come into being.
Despite our protests and the rights to which we are entitled, we continue to live in exile, while the Greek Government, without any justification, is busy quartering alien inhabitants in our Chamëria, in order to prevent our return.
In the name of our people, we protest once again against all these things, and present before the Investigating Committee of the UNO Security Council, the [issue of the] tragedy that has taken place in Chamëria, drawing attention to the barbaric acts carried out with the intention of wiping out the Cham people.
We stress the need for a speedy resolution of the Cham problem, and being persuaded that our demands will be met, we set them forth, as follows:

1. That immediate steps be taken to prevent the settling of foreign elements in our homes.

2. That all Chams be repatriated.

3. That all our properties be returned [to us] and all damages to real and moveable properties of ours be compensated.

4. That assistance be given to rebuild our homes and resettle [our people].

5. That steps be taken to insure the benefits that derive from international treaties and mandates, such as the security of civil, political, and cultural rights, and the security of the person.

6. That all persons responsible for crimes committed be tried and punished.
With our most distinguished considerations:

THE ANTI-FASCIST COMMITTEE OF CHAM IMMIGRANTS

Taho Sejko Kasëm Demi Rexhep Çami
Tahir Demi Vehip Demi Dervish Dojaka
Hilmi Seiti

Translated by Peter R. Prifti from the original Albanian document, published by Dr. Agron Fico in Diaspora e Rilindur ( Tirana, Albania: Albin), 2006, pp. 46-61.