March 09, 2007 (the date of publication in Russian)
Yaroslav Butakov
THE BUILDUP OF "GREAT ALBANIA"
A Kosovo option for Greece, Macedonia and Montenegro?
The destiny of Kosovo, Serbia's former autonomous region, is almost predetermined. The "plan of final reconciliation", promoted by UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari, does not even formally acknowledge any relationship of Kosovo to Serbia. This document suggests the region's "restricted sovereignty" under "international supervision". Essentially, that means Kosovo's secession, and a prelude to its independence, with a probable subsequent integration into Albania.
The overall population of Albanians is estimated in 10 to 12 millions. Around 4 million from this number reside in Albania, and almost 2 million in Kosovo. The Albanian diaspora is most numerous in Italy, Turkey, and the United States.
Still, the region of indiscrete residence of ethnic Albanians is located in South-Eastern Europe, expanding from Albania and Kosovo to adjacent states. This creates a pretext for Albania's territorial claims to neighbor nations.
Undoubtedly, in case the global community takes its cue from Albanian chauvinists (which is actually happening today), and satisfy the claims for Kosovo's special status, the Albanian temptation for territorial overtakes will be only fueled up.
THE ALBANIAN VERSION OF EQUALITY: GHETTOES FOR "MINORITIES"
In October 2004, when then-time Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos paid an official visit to Tirana, Alfred Moisiu, his Albanian counterpart, raised the issue of Chamuria (Chameria, the Greek prefecture of Thesprotia) – a region in Greece's north-west, densely populated by Albanians before World War II. In 1944, many Albanian nationals fled from this territory, fearing of responsibility for collaboration with Italian fascists. Another part of local Albanians left the area during the civil war in Greece in 1946-1949. Moisiu raised the issue of compensations for their descendants. The Greek President replied that "the problem of Chams" does not exist, as it belongs to a different historical epoch. "In case we start discussing relevant problems, Greece would also raise claims on Albania", he said.
It is true that a large Greek community resides on Albania's territory for centuries. Its rights were infringed first under a Communist, then under a chauvinist Albanian regime. Officially, the territory traditionally populated by the Greeks is proclaimed "an ethnic minority zone". Non-Albanians are allowed to use their civil and political rights only within its borderline but not in the rest of Albania's territory. The Greek leadership has repeatedly raised this issue before the Albanian counterpart, but with no effect.
Infringing rights of ethnic minorities on its own territory, Albania nevertheless insists that other countries recognize the rights of their Albanian minorities, and moreover, to grant them territorial autonomy with a prospect of separation. At his arrival in Tirana on November 1, 2005, Greece's President Karolos Papoulias was confronted with a demonstration of nationalists, demanding autonomy for Chameria and re-immigration of descendants of former Albanian refugees. After this episode, Papoulias refused to meet with the head of Albania, and the Greek government issued an official protest. Still, the artificially created "problem of Chamuria", as it is identified in Albania, is picking up steam, threatening with replay of a Kosovo scenario.
A PYRRHUS VICTORY AS A SUBJECT OF NATIONAL PRIDE
In fact, the Albanian state is a fruit of a compromise among a number of nations. After the First Balkan War of 1912, the newly established Balkan states did not manage to agree on a number of territories in the process of division of the territory of the sunken Ottoman Empire. That is why it was decided to establish an independent Albania. This project was heavily supported by Italy, which planned to transform the new country into its colony. Until Mussolini's defeat, the country was practically ruled from Italy.
Albanian nationalist feelings awakened at the same time with the other peoples of the Balkan peninsula, in the late XIX century. Earlier, the Albanians were regarded as the most devoted patrials of the Sultan. Elite military units were formed from Albanians in Turkey, Egypt and other Moslem states. The Albanians were famous for their fanatic devotion to the sovereigns who hired them, as well as for beastly atrocities against the civil population of occupied lands. It was the Sultan's Albanian regiment which initiated a terrible massacre of Bulgarians during the 1876 insurrection, shocking the whole mankind.
In 1878, the Russian troops defeated the Turks. In accordance with the preliminary treaty, signed in the outskirts of Istanbul, vast territories of the Balkan Peninsula were conveyed to Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and the newly re-established Bulgaria. At the Berlin Congress, the territorial acquisitions of Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro were significantly curtailed.
After that, Turkey did not already need the Albanian Prizren League, but "the process started", as Mikhail Gorbachov would say. Turkey required two years and a half to suppress the Albanian movement it had instigated itself. Still, the dream of Albanian statehood was alive, and was eventually implemented.
The Prizren League also promoted a plan of a "Great Albania", including also Kosovo, along with adjacent territories of today's Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and the present Macedonia (which, under the name of Western Bulgaria, was supposed to be integrated into the re-established Bulgarian Kingdom).
These dreams were revived after the fall of Enver Hoxha's regime. Actually, the Communist Albania also shared these ambitions – in particular, due to Joseph Stalin's quarrel with Josip Broz Tito, when Albania, for a short time, was regarded as USSR's major ally in the region of Western Balkans.
In the Soviet geographic and political literature of 1940s-1950s, one can find a reference to "oppression of Albanians" by neighbor reactionary regimes of Greece and Yugoslavia. This implied the idea of integration of all the ethnic Albanian-populated territories into Albania. In this way, the USSR made its own contribution into the Great Albania project.
The aggressive ambitions of Albanian leaders were fueled up also by historical versions, describing the Albanians as direct descendants of the Illyrians – the most ancient people of the Balkans. According to a number of historical sources, the Illyrians once populated the whole western half of the peninsula. Under this pretext, Albania has got claims for nearly the whole territory of the former Yugoslavia, along with Epirus – Greece's north-western territory. Contradicting to historical documentation, Albanian chauvinists are trying to prove that Epirus was once populated by the Illyrians, and that King Pyrrhus, who challenged Rome, was one of the father founders of Albanian statehood (which is thus declared the most ancient in Europe). According to the same legend, Italy's Albanian diaspora originates from Pyrrhus' warriors. Moreover, the Italian province of Apulia (Puglia), historically known as Japigia, was allegedly also populated by the Illyrians and it also therefore to be integrated into the hypothetical Great Albania.
THE ORTHODOX LEAGUE VS THE NEW OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Still, Albania's major claims target Balkan neighbors. Beside Serbia's Kosovo and the north-west of Greece, these claims are involving also parts of Macedonia and Montenegro. Macedonia is already undergoing a Kosovo treatment. Albanian nationalists are terrorizing the population, performing ethnic cleansing in the areas of compact residence of Albanians. The resistance of the Macedonian government is undermined with the de facto status of a restricted sovereignty of this country. Its very name is disputed by the Greek government, as Greece contains a province with the same name, and this hypothetically might encourage the state of Macedonia for territorial claims. Actually, the threat to Greece's integrity originates not from Macedonia but from Greece's own Albanian minority. Besides, Macedonia, as well as Kosovo, is under a permanent NATO occupation. Actually, Macedonia was forced to allow NATO troops to operate from its territory during the anti-Serbian operation in 1999. NATO troops, occupying Macedonia, conceal ethnic violence unleashed in this republic by the Albanians.
Albanians also actively penetrate into Montenegro. The territory of its Adriatic coastline is practically bought up by the Albanian mafia, one of the most dangerous and cruel in Europe. The last year's referendum on Montenegro's independence was conducted under strong pressure from Albania and Bosnia. If the described process is not ceased, Montenegro will gradually transform into a joint Bosnian-Albanian colony with direst consequences for the sovereignty of this small country.
Albania's hostility towards Greece, motivated by the invented Chameria problem, culminates on the date of June 27, since 1995 officially marked as "the day of genocide of the Chams". Albania's pressure upon Greece is likely to increase. In this process, Albania is going to enjoy support from a significant part of the Islamic community.
Turkey may second Albania's claims on Greece as well. Relevant options refer to the "exchange of populations" between Turkey and Greece after the war of 1919-1922. At that time, many Turks from Southern Thrace and Greek Macedonia moved to Turkey. Some political circles in Turkey, dreaming of re-establishing the Ottoman Empire, intend to create a "green belt" along the south-east of Europe, which suggests a territorial connection of Turkey, Albania and Bosnia for expense of lands annexed from Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia. This belt is also obviously designed to isolate Greece from the rest of Europe.
It is yet unclear how NATO, the European Union and the United States are going to deal with this conflict. Still, there are no grounds to believe that these sides would defend Greece. It is obvious that the double interest of Albania's integration into NATO and good relations with Turkey would prevail over the old Alliance-time relationship with Greece. At least today, the West is obviously instigating Albania for its claims and territorial expansion.
Under the described conditions, the Orthodox countries of the Balkan Peninsula have got only one guarantee of integrity, which suggests joint resistance to Albania. That means that Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro should establish a kind of a joint "anti-Albanian front". In its foreign policy, such an alliance is likely to be oriented, primarily, towards Russia. However, in order to make the alliance efficient, the Balkan neighbors should omit historical grudges towards one another – which all of them actually possess. Most significantly, these countries should do everything possible to bury the "Ahtisaari plan", and prevent secession of Kosovo from Serbia. A sufficient reason for this is the threat that the next Kosovo may be staged in Greece.
Number of shows: 2216
rating:
2.85
ENG 
