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| Muslims were subjected to severe pression, that increased under the rule of ]. Tensions exacerbated at the time of ]. Italy captured Albania in ], and in ] Greece fell as Italian forces invaded from Albania, and Germans through ]. Italians recruited Muslim civilians to assist in the occupation. A minority of Chams were responsible of atrocities against ], but the majority were only passive collaborators, distrusting both Italians and Greeks. As the Germans and their allies began to lose ground to the anti-Nazi militias in 1944, and started retiring in Albania, many hundreds of Chams followed them.<ref>M. Mazower (ed.), ''After the War Was Over; Reconstructing the Family, Nation, State in Greece, 1943-1960'', (2000), p. 25; M. Vickers, ibid.</ref> | Muslims were subjected to severe pression, that increased under the rule of ]. Tensions exacerbated at the time of ]. Italy captured Albania in ], and in ] Greece fell as Italian forces invaded from Albania, and Germans through ]. Italians recruited Muslim civilians to assist in the occupation. A minority of Chams were responsible of atrocities against ], but the majority were only passive collaborators, distrusting both Italians and Greeks. As the Germans and their allies began to lose ground to the anti-Nazi militias in 1944, and started retiring in Albania, many hundreds of Chams followed them.<ref>M. Mazower (ed.), ''After the War Was Over; Reconstructing the Family, Nation, State in Greece, 1943-1960'', (2000), p. 25; M. Vickers, ibid.</ref> | ||
| Beginning on ]], and continuing through March ], ] resistance fighters operating under British |
Beginning on ]], and continuing through March ], ] resistance fighters operating under British orders in an attempt to estabilish a mono-ethnic border, launched a series of attacks on Muslim villages in Epirus, killing 5,000 Chams and causing 35,000 to flee to Albania or Turkey.<ref>M. Mazower (ed.), ibid.; M. Vickers, ibid.</ref> | ||
| The issue remains a point of friction between the two nations. Greek ]es mention no ] presence in Epirus since ]; they do not include linguistic data. | The issue remains a point of friction between the two nations. Greek ]es mention no ] presence in Epirus since ]; they do not include linguistic data. | ||
Revision as of 18:32, 21 June 2006
The Chamerian issue is a dispute between Greece and Albania over the violent expulsion of Cham Albanians from the Greek province of Epirus between 1944–1945, during the World War II.
Region
Chameria (or Çamëria) is the Albanian name for a region which was once part of ancient Greece and which is called by the Greeks Thesprotia, in Epirus. The name is derived from the same ancient Illyrian root as the name of the Thyamis (or Kalamas) river, which runs through the center of the region. The region extends from Butrint on the coast of the southwest tip of Albania, north to Lake Prespa, southward to Preveza in Greece, and eastward as far as the Pindus mountains, and was in the 19th century mainly populated by Albanians, as reported by Byron.
See the article on Epirus (region) for more information.
The Massacre
Following the defeat of Ottoman forces in the region and the Balkan Wars of 1913, an international boundary commission awarded the North of the territory of Epirus to Albania, and the South to Greece. The newly drawn borders, which left consistent minorities on both sides of the border, left almost all Chameria in what was now recognized as Greece, except for a few Cham villages assigned to Albania. Considerable numbers of Chams were forced to leave, and other were expelled to Turkey under the treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
Muslims were subjected to severe pression, that increased under the rule of Ioannis Metaxas. Tensions exacerbated at the time of World War II. Italy captured Albania in 1939, and in 1940 Greece fell as Italian forces invaded from Albania, and Germans through Yugoslavia. Italians recruited Muslim civilians to assist in the occupation. A minority of Chams were responsible of atrocities against Greeks, but the majority were only passive collaborators, distrusting both Italians and Greeks. As the Germans and their allies began to lose ground to the anti-Nazi militias in 1944, and started retiring in Albania, many hundreds of Chams followed them.
Beginning on June 271944, and continuing through March 1945, EDES resistance fighters operating under British orders in an attempt to estabilish a mono-ethnic border, launched a series of attacks on Muslim villages in Epirus, killing 5,000 Chams and causing 35,000 to flee to Albania or Turkey.
The issue remains a point of friction between the two nations. Greek censuses mention no Muslim presence in Epirus since 1951; they do not include linguistic data.
A large number of the predominantly Muslim refugees settled in villages of southern Albania, where today they number about 200,000.
Notes
- M. Vickers, "The Cham Issue - Albanian National & Property Claims in Greece", (2002)
- Ibid.
- M. Mazower (ed.), After the War Was Over; Reconstructing the Family, Nation, State in Greece, 1943-1960, (2000), p. 25; M. Vickers, ibid.
- M. Mazower (ed.), ibid.; M. Vickers, ibid.
- M. Vickers, ibid.
See also
External links
- Epirus Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
- Epirus UNRV.com
- Greek Civil War globalsecurity.org
- SOUTHERN ALBANIA, NORTHERN EPIRUS: Survey of a Disputed Ethnological Boundary farsarotul.org
- The Cham Issue - Albanian National & Property Claims in Greece Conflict Studies Resolution Centre - pdf
- Pan-Albanianism: How Big a Threat to Balkan Stability? International Crisis Group - pdf p.24-25