Country: Albania

Group: Greeks

Date Finalized: February 2, 2022

Team: Mason McNeel (lead), Anthony Un (lead), Hajer Rahee, Ashlee Greenier, Isabella Boker, Hannah Goldman, Domenik Valdivia

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Approximate Time Period: 1912 – 1990

The Albanian government recognizes ethnic Greeks as the largest minority group in the country with the majority of the Greek population residing in southern Albania (Minority Rights Group, 2015). The most recent census of the Albanian Greek population took place in 1989 (pop. 58,758), so there is no reliable estimate for the current Greek population. In the past, Albania exposed the Greeks to disproportionate discrimination because of their use of a minority language and strong adherence to Orthodox Christianity (Human Rights Watch, 1996; Pettifer, 2001). The data collected is evaluated as a 3/3. Unbiased and reputable third-party entities have conducted significant research concerned with Greek minority rights in Albania.

Albanians and Greeks dispute the origin of the Greek minority in Albania, with Albanians claiming the Greeks arrived in the 18th century as agricultural workers under Albanian feudal lords. Greek historians claim Greeks living in Epirus have been there since pre-Christian times, and were not recorded due to a lack of official distinction between the region of Epirus and the region of Albania (Minority Rights Report 2015).

After independence in 1912 (Prifti & Biberaj, 2021), the government closed Greek-language schools in support of the national Albanian language (Pettifer, 2001). By 1934, the government had almost completely eliminated access to Greek language education. After the transition to a communist government in 1944 (Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, n.d.), the Albanian government attempted to dilute and forcibly assimilate the Greek population by encouraging ethnic Albanians to settle in predominantly Greek areas and moving ethnic Greeks to areas that lacked a Greek population (Human Rights Watch, 1996; Minority Rights Group, 2015; Vickers, 2010; Pettifer, 2001). Further, the communist government denied ethnic language education outside of minority zones and banned all religious practice nationwide (Human Rights Watch, 1996; Minority Rights Group, 2015; Pettifer, 2001). Due to the Greeks’ close connection to the Orthodox Church, the government’s ban on religious practice disproportionately affected the Greeks (Human Rights Watch, 1996).

In 1967, the Albanian Party of Labour (PLA) set out to eradicate organized religion, including the Orthodox Church. This resulted in the destruction of churches and Greek language religious texts (Pettifer 2001). Many ethnic Greeks who left Albania during or immediately after communist rule claim that many Greeks were forcibly entered into political prisons for partaking in cultural festivals or for acting as ‘Greek Spies’, although these individual claims are difficult to corroborate (Stavrou 1984). While ethnic Greeks in Albania were around 10% of the population during communist rule, the gulags of Albania were 40% Greek (Lastarria-Cornhiel 1998).

After the fall of the communist government in 1990, the Albanian government began the process of democratization, providing the Greeks religious freedom and language education (Human Rights Watch, 1996). Currently, every settlement in the Greek minority zone has Greek language education for the first eight or nine grades of school (Council of Europe, 2008; Minority Rights Group, 2015). Additionally, the Greek language is the only ethnic minority language available for teacher training (Council of Europe, 2008). However, government imposed territorial restrictions appear to still have some presence across Albania which has led to Greeks residing outside of minority zones to accuse the government of withholding minority rights and Greek language education (Council of Europe, 2008). It is unclear whether the Albanian government continues to officially recognize minority zones. The Greek population has made demands for more greek language education outside of the minority zone, but the Albanian government has rejected these requests (Council of Europe, 2008; Minority Rights Group, 2015).

Sources

  1. Council of Europe: Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. (2008). Advisory committee on the framework convention for the protection of national minorities: Second opinion on albania. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4938ef322.html
  2. Estonian Institute of Historical Memory. (n.d.). Communist dictatorship in albania. https://communistcrimes.org/en/countries/albania
  3. Human Rights Watch. (1996). Human rights in post-communist albania. https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=search&docid=3ae6a7f30&skip=0&query=minorities%20in%20albania
  4. Minority Rights Group. (2015). Greeks. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/greeks/
  5. Prifti, P. R. and Biberaj, . Elez (2021, March 10). Albania. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Albania
  6. Pettifer, J. (2001). The Greek minority in Albania in the aftermath of communism. Conflict Studies Research Centre. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/38652/2001_jul_2.pdf
  7. Vickers, M. (2010). Balkans series: The greek minority in albania – current tensions. Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/111787/2010_01_$Balkan%20Series%200110%20WEB.pdf