TY - JOUR
TI - The Infl uence of Minorities – Greek in Albania and Albanian in Greece – On Greek-Albanian Relations after 1991
AU - Stawowy-Kawka, Irena
TI - The Infl uence of Minorities – Greek in Albania and Albanian in Greece – On Greek-Albanian Relations after 1991
AB - 
	The article proves that both Greece and Albania saw a clear dependence of the minority policy from history and its exploitation in the current foreign policy. In Albania, the law, enacted by the communist authorities, is still in force, and so is the principle by which national minorities live exclusively in the so-called minority areas. With regard to the acquisition of Albanian or foreign citizenship, the government in Tirana applies the principle, which is in line with the declaration of the League of Nations, signed by Albania on 2 October, 1921, and even today, it cites this legal solution. Still, nationality it is dependent on the entry in the National Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, in which the nationality of each Albanian citizen is determined. This law has been modified by the authorities in Tirana as a result of pressure from the European Union. The situation of Albanians in Greece is even worse. The following are prohibited: free use of the term ‘Albanian’, setting up organisations or publishing national magazines. Also, there are no schools with the Albanian language as the medium of instruction in Greece. However, the Albanian minority has the right to establish their organisations, cultural societies and issue magazines published in the language of their fathers without specifying their national character. Currently, Greeks in Albania have their schools, they enjoy the support for the Greek clergy in Orthodox churches and form their own political parties and associations of both a cultural and educational nature. In turn, Greece has no intention whatsoever of starting a discussion about the establishment of a school with the Albanian language as the medium of instruction in Filiates (known as Filat in Albanian), although such a demand has been presented by its residents. For the Greeks, the problem of the Chams (Albanians in Greece) does not exist, and the Cham people only have support for their eff orts in Albania. The support that Tirana received from Athens is signifi cant, when it was applying for NATO membership, and Greece’s positive attitude towards the Albanians in their eff orts to join the European Union. From Tirana’s point of view, it is much more crucial in the current situation than admitting by Athens that Albanians live in Greece.
VL - 2016
IS - Volume XXIV
PY - 2017
SN - 2451-4993
C1 - 2543-733X
SP - 147
EP - 161
DO - 10.4467/2543733XSSB.16.010.6252
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/ssb/article/wplyw-mniejszosci-narodowych-greckiej-w-albanii-i-albanskiej-w-grecji-na-relacje-grecko-albanskie-po-1991-roku
KW - the Albanians in Greece
KW - the Greeks in Albania
KW - the Balkans
KW - ethnic minorities
KW - Omonoia
KW - Chameria