Chameria (south epirus) Genocide

The Genoncide

During the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1913, the southern part of the region was cut off from the motherland and annexed to the Greek state despite the fact that people of the southern Epirus were Albanians of Orthodox and the Muslim faith. While the orthodox Albanians were targets of hellenization, the muslim Albanians were either exterminated or expelled from their ancestral lands by the Greek government.

Chams who lived in Southern Epirus (Chameria or Thesprotia as it is called by the Greeks) were the victims of the first ethnic cleansing in Europe at the end of the Second World War. The Cham tragedy is one of the most painful tragedies of the European continent. Statistical yearbook of the Greek government in 1936 showed that 26.000 Chams lived in Chameria region in Greece at that time.

As a result of the 1944-1945 ethnic cleansing and genocide, 30.000 Albanian Muslims were violently expelled from the Chameria region, and sought refuge in the Republic of Albania, where they still live. Today, there are 150.000 members of this population in Albania, a figure that has grown because of the high birth rate of the population. On the other hand, current number of Cham Albanians living in Greece is estimated at around 100.000. Yet these people are deprived of every sort of minority rights like other minorities living in Greece. To cite but one example, they can speak Albanian only in their homes.

The population of Chameria has always been ethnically Albanian: - A lot of voyagers and foreign historians wrote that Chameria had been populated by Albanians. Even the Greek historian Herodotus underscored this fact in his book Historias and called Albanians of the Chameria barbarians, a term used by the ancient Greeks to distinguish non-greek people. - The census held by the Turkish Administration in 1910 established that there were 83.000 orthodox and muslim Albanians in the region. The demographic map of the British military mission sent to the British government in London indicates that on the eve of the second World War, 75% of Chameria's population was Albanian. - The pro-Greek historian Spiro Muselimi, in his book "Historical Sight Through Thesprotia", edited in Joannina on 1974, wrote that "The bishop of Thesprotia in the year 1870 translated some parts of Bible into Albanian, as the people of orthodox faith of the region did not understand any word in Greek" .

The Greek authorities, sticking to the concept of absolute denial of the existence of ethnic groups on Greek territory, have followed a well-established chauvinistic policy and, as history recorded, they committed genocide against the Albanians of muslim faith. The racial assault on Chameria's muslim Albanians began to be first applied at the end of the Second World War, in 1944-1945, when criminal bands of the notorious General Napoleon Zervas perpetrated ethnic cleansing against them.

On June 27, 1944, Greek criminal bands resorted to the worst atrocities witnessed in this region. The terror committed against this population was beyond description. It included killings, rapes, inhuman treatment, massacre of women, babies and pregnant women. More than 1400 men, women and children were killed within 24 hours in the town of Paramithy, on Tuesday, June 27, 1944, which happened to be the date of St.Bartholomeus day for the whole Chameria.

During the June 1944-March 1945 period, 1286 persons were killed in Filat, 192 people were killed in Gumenica, 626 persons were killed in Margellic and Parga. There were hundreds of other missing persons. In the same period, as a result of Greek 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 villages were razed to the ground, 5800 houses and places of worship were burned down or destroyed. Furthermore, 30.000 Albanian Muslims were violently expelled from the Chameria region who took refuge in the Republic of Albania.

The Albanian government, after the war, took the Cham issue to the Peace Conference in Paris. The conference of Foreign Ministers of the Allied Powers not only recognized the very difficult circumstances the Chams were subjected to, but also demanded repatriation and recovery of their property. The International Investigation Commission of the United Nations, appointed for the verification of the tragedy on both sides of the border, concluded its report in 1946-1947, replete with facts and evidence about the massacre and painful tragedy of the Cham people.

Realities of the recent history of Chameria require the attention of the international community. Greece cannot avoid but recognize the genocide of the Cham Albanians. The civil and legal rights of those currently living in Greece, estimated around 100.000 today, must be respected by Greece. According to the official Greek stand, the muslim population of Chameria, which numbers around 150.000 and still refugees in Albania will never be allowed to return to Greece because they allegedly collaborated with the German occupiers during the Second World War. They are considered as war criminals according to the Greek laws (K.Mitsotakis, Tirana, May 1992).

This hypothesis is untrue and fabricated. To consider a whole community as criminals, many members of which died in Greece's liberation struggle in the Second World War, is a political and historical crime against Cham Albanians. In 1994, the Parliament of the Albanian Republic proclaimed 27 June 1944 as the commemoration day for the massacred Albanians of Chameria, and a monument was built up in Konispol in memory of the victims of Chameria.

After 1945, with a view to changing the demographic structure of Chameria, its colonization with Greeks, Aromens and Gypsies was begun. Greece wanted the demographic structure of the province changed because it did not trust the rest of the Albanian population who remained there, even though they were of the Orthodox confession. Greece violently put an end to every attempt to preserve the identity of the Albanian population of the Orthodox belief and Albanian was prohibited to be spoken in public. Thereby, the assimilation of orthodox Albanians gained momentum. The fate of the orthodox Albanians was not much different than that of their Muslim brothers when it came to maintaining their ethnic identity.

YOU CANNOT COMPARE GENOCIDE WITH GENOCIDE PEOPLE STILL GET KILLED.

Edited by EthnicAlbania - 06-Jun-2008 at 23:17

^^^www.greateralbania.com obviously....


During the time between the two World Wars, Greece was mostly lead by fasistic dictatorships that were cruel with the minorities that's true. However Chams joined the Axis during the Occupation and slaughtered many Greeks so when the Germans left partisans attacked their villages and forced them to flee to Albania as an act of retribution.

No Chams remained in Epirus, the only Albanians in Greece nowadays are the immigrants who entered the country in the 90's and still do.

@ Sparten, just check wikipedia, they have well-balanced articles about the Chameria issue.

It is the usual sad story that keeps repeating itself in the Balkans and in Eastern Europe in general of a escalation in violence until one of the two groups manages to eradicate the other one way or the other. As usual the story evolves around two key periods: the end of the Ottoman rule and the 1930-1950 succession of struggles.

In this case the escalation pretty much goes as follow: in 1913, Epirus is divided in two, the North goes to Albania, the South to Greece, many Muslim Albanian caught on the Greek side of the border are part of a population exchange with Turkey after the Lausanne treaty.

Those left behind suffered intense discrimination under the pre-war fascist Greek government. The Muslim Chams happily welcomed the Axis invasion and commonly served as auxiliaries for the Italians in their anti-partisans campaigns (and the destruction of the Jewish Ionian communities). Their actions led to several massacres of Greek populations in Southern Epirus. As the German retreated, many Chams followed them. Those who stayed were offered to fight along the anti-communist EDES. As they refused, the EDES massacred many villages. More Chams moved to Albania.

Nowadays, the assimilation strategies of the Greek government and the pressure to destroy the Cham community's culture has almost totally wiped off their identity. It is a sad fact that the collaboration with the Axis by some Cham people served as an excuse for a culture-cide (the term genocide is absolutely improper here). The Greek government should recognized the importance of cultural diversity and the fact that the possibility to freely choose one's culture and language is a basic human right.

Regarding the Chameria independence issue, a population should be offered the choice to be independent (or unified with another nation if they wish to) via referendum. Of course this won't ever happen since governments are terrorised to empower the people and to see the artificial state construction fall apart.


Edited by Maharbbal - 05-Jun-2008 at 17:07

Originally posted by Maharbbal @ Sparten, just check wikipedia, they have well-balanced articles about the Chameria issue.It is the usual sad story that keeps repeating itself in the Balkans and in Eastern Europe in general of a escalation in violence until one of the two groups manages to eradicate the other one way or the other. As usual the story evolves around two key periods: the end of the Ottoman rule and the 1930-1950 succession of struggles.In this case the escalation pretty much goes as follow: in 1913, Epirus is divided in two, the North goes to Albania, the South to Greece, many Muslim Albanian caught on the Greek side of the border are part of a population exchange with Turkey after the Lausanne treaty. Those left behind suffered intense discrimination under the pre-war fascist Greek government. The Muslim Chams happily welcomed the Axis invasion and commonly served as auxiliaries for the Italians in their anti-partisans campaigns (and the destruction of the Jewish Ionian communities). Their actions led to several massacres of Greek populations in Southern Epirus. As the German retreated, many Chams followed them. Those who stayed were offered to fight along the anti-communist EDES. As they refused, the EDES massacred many villages. More Chams moved to Albania.Nowadays, the assimilation strategies of the Greek government and the pressure to destroy the Cham community's culture has almost totally wiped off their identity. It is a sad fact that the collaboration with the Axis by some Cham people served as an excuse for a culture-cide (the term genocide is absolutely improper here). The Greek government should recognized the importance of cultural diversity and the fact that the possibility to freely choose one's culture and language is a basic human right. Regarding the Chameria independence issue, a population should be offered the choice to be independent (or unified with another nation if they wish to) via referendum. Of course this won't ever happen since governments are terrorised to empower the people and to see the artificial state construction fall apart.

Thanks for the well balanced summary of events. Puts the whole issue in perspective.

Originally posted by Maharbbal @ Sparten, just check wikipedia, they have well-balanced articles about the Chameria issue.

@ Sparten

Sorry, just wanted to help… I was being naive, I didn't realize it was copy pasting…

@ vorian

The referendum is ALWAYS useful. If anything on a diplomatic point of view. The next time the Albanian would ask for whatever regarding S. Epirus, the Greek government would just have to answer: "democracy has spoken, the independence option got 1.1% of the votes, lets not talk about it any more".
Besides, regarding the disappearance of the Chams in Greece I would have to take your word for it. You never know maybe the sons of Chams still feel pretty strongly about the issue (maybe). Or maybe Greek people there are just fed up with the government and would just welcome independence without relation to any ethno-religious claims.
In the Basque Country for instance, many of the hardest supporters of independence are not of Basque origin.

Cheers Maharbbal. No worrys mate.

Antigonus_
To be fair, we have to say that not all Albanians cooperated with the AXIS. Those who had interests and benefits did. Such people were in all countries, but unfortunately in the Balkans the numbers were high. Those who fought in our side even made a Greek cementary for the lost souls in Albania.

We should be carefull and be specific on such matters, otherwise we fall to the same level as the Cham propaganda.

This got to be the funniest topic so far.
This guy claims that in 1936 according to Greek sources 26.000 Chams live in Greece.
How did the Greek goverment manage to expell 30.000 of them?
Although its simple I will do the maths for you my friend:
26.000-30.000 = -4.000
The Greek government has miraculously managed to expelled more people than have actually existed and the same time perform a genocide!!!!
Whom did they kill ? Since according to your statistics 110% of the Chams were expelled?
Or did they first expel them and then go to Albania and kill them?

The scale is different. The chams were some tens of thousands, armenians were some millions.
"Genocide" is a heavy word that shouldn't be used everywhere. The Chams weren't "genocised". They were expelled.