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Greeks in Albania

Greeks in Albania
Έλληνες στην Αλβανία
Grekët në Shqipëri
Regions with significant populations
Albania, Greece, United States
Albania23,485 (2023 census)[1]
United Statesover 15,000 (est. 1965)[2]
Languages
Greek, Albanian
Aromanian by Hellenized Aromanians
Religion
Orthodox Christianity

The Greeks in Albania are ethnic Greeks who live in or originate from areas within modern Albania. They form the largest minority group in the country. They are mostly concentrated in the south of the country, in the areas of the northern part of the historical region of Epirus, in parts of Vlorë County,[3] Gjirokastër, Korçë,[4] and Berat County.[5] The area is also known as Northern Epirus. Consequently, the Greeks hailing specifically from Southern Albania are also known as Northern Epirotes (Greek: Βορειοηπειρώτες Vorioipirotes, Albanian: Vorioepirot). The Greeks who live in the "minority zones" of Albania are officially recognised by the Albanian government as the Greek National Minority of Albania (Greek: Ελληνική Μειονότητα στην Αλβανία, Elliniki Mionotita stin Alvania; Albanian: Minoriteti Grek në Shqipëri).[6][7]

In 1913, after the end of five centuries of Ottoman rule, the area was included under the sovereignty of the newly founded Albanian state. The following year, Greeks revolted and declared their independence, and with the following Protocol of Corfu the area was recognised as an autonomous region under nominal Albanian sovereignty. However, this was never implemented.

In the communist era the Greek population suffered from the prohibition of the Greek language if spoken outside the recognised so-called "minority zones" (which have remained after their establishment in the communist era) and even limitations on the official use of its language within those zones.[8] During the same period many formerly Greek place-names were officially changed to Albanian ones.[8][9] Greeks from the "minority zones" were also frequently forcibly moved to other parts of the country since they were seen as possible sources of dissent and ethnic tension.[8] In post-1990 era, these issues, including the emerging subject of private property rights, continue to persist to an extent.[citation needed]

Both Albania and Greece hold different and often conflicting estimations, as they have done so for the last 20 years.[10] Most Western sources put the number at around 200,000. The Albanian government in the 1989 census estimated around 60,000, while the Greek government supports a figure of 300,000.[11][12][13][14][15][16] Furthermore, 13,329 ethnic Greeks with Albanian citizenship reside in Greece, and are issued special identity cards as of 2022.[17] Most of Albania's ethnic Greeks have acquired citizenship and thus no longer rely on special identity cards. It has been suggested that some Albanians and Aromanians have claimed to be Greeks in exchange for economic benefits in Greece, such as work permits and pensions.

  1. ^ "Population and Housing Census 2023" (PDF). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT).
  2. ^ Ruches, Pyrrhus J. (1965). Albania's Captives. Argonaut.
  3. ^ Petiffer, James (2001). The Greek Minority in Albania – In the Aftermath of Communism (PDF). Surrey, UK: Conflict Studies Research Centre. p. 7. ISBN 1-903584-35-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011.
  4. ^ Miranda Vickers, James Pettifer (1997). Albania: from anarchy to a Balkan identity. London: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 187. ISBN 0-7156-3201-9.
  5. ^ Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands, Borderlands A History of Northern Epirus-Southern Albania. Gerald Duckworth, Limited. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7156-3201-7.
  6. ^ "Ελληνική Δημοκρατία - Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών". Mfa.gr. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Bushati në Francë: bashkëpunim i përforcuar për flukset migratore, sigurinë dhe integrimin". Mfa.gov.al. Archived from the original on 4 December 2000. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Pettifer 2001, p. 6: "In addition, many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to pre-empt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well."
  9. ^ Stoppel 2005, p. 21: "Teil diverser Albanisierungskampagnen war schließlich auch das Dekret Nr.5339 vom 23.9.1975 über die Änderung unpassender Vor- und Zunamen, das die Vergabe von "in politischer, ideologischer moralischer Hinsicht ungeeigneter Vornamen" unterbinden sollte und sich wenn auch nicht direkt, so doch zumindest mittelbar gegen die Minderheiten richtete. Im selben Kontext steht die forcierte Änderung geographischer Bezeichnungen (insbes. von Ortsnamen) mit religiösem oder fremdsprachlichem Bezug in dieser Zeitphase. Sogar archäologische Stätten der Griechen- und Römerzeit wurden in "illyrische" umbenannt."
  10. ^ ""Northern Epiros": The Greek Minority in Southern Albania – Cultural Survival". Culturalsurvival.org. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  11. ^ Robert Bideleux; Ian Jeffries (2006). The Balkans: A Post-Communist History. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-203-96911-3. The Albanian government claimed that there were only 60,000, based on the biased 1989 census, whereas the Greek government claimed that there were upwards of 300,000. Most Western estimates were around the 200,000 mark ...
  12. ^ Republic of Albania, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2016). "Fourth Report submitted by Albania pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities". pp. 14–15.
  13. ^ RFE/RL Research Report: Weekly Analyses from the RFE/RL Research Institute. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Incorporated. 1993. Albanian officials alleged that the priest was promoting irredentist sentiments among Albania's Greek minority – estimated at between 60,000 and 300,000.
  14. ^ Sabrina P. Ramet (1998). Nihil Obstat: Religion, Politics, and Social Change in East-Central Europe and Russia. Duke University Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-8223-2070-8. that between 250,000 and 300,000 Orthodox Greeks reside in Albania
  15. ^ Jeffries, Ian (2002). Eastern Europe at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century: A Guide to the Economies in Transition. Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-415-23671-3. It is difficult to know how many ethnic Greeks there are in Albania. The Greek government, it is typically claimed, says that there are around 300,000 ethnic Greeks in Albania, but most Western estimates are around 200,000.
  16. ^ Europa Publications (2008). The Europa World Year Book 2008. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-85743-452-1. and Greece formally annulled claims to North Epirus (southern Albania), where there is a sizeable Greek minority. ... strained by concerns relating to the treatment of ethnic Greeks residing in Albania (numbering an estimated 300,000) ...
  17. ^ "Albanian Residents Leaving Greece for Wealthier Countries". The 2022 number issued by the Ministry includes the 13,329 Albanian citizens who are identified by the special designation "homogeneous" on their ID cards. This officially identifies them as individuals of Greek minority from Albania.

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