Dendias: 'If the Chamerya issue comes up, your EU process may suffer'
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias reacted to the fact that Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Haka, whom he met in Tirana, brought the Chamerian Albanians to the agenda.
The foreign ministers of Albania and Greece met in the capital, Tirana, yesterday. The main agenda item of the meeting was the maritime jurisdiction areas between the two countries. At the joint press conference held after the meeting, Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Haka touched upon the problems related to the Chamerian Albanians living in Greece until the Second World War.
HAKA: “WE CAN DISCUSS THE PROPERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEMS OF THE CAMERIANS”
“We hope that the will to find a mutually agreed solution to a difficult problem such as maritime jurisdiction can be a constructive approach to start negotiations on other tragic and difficult issues inherited from the history of our countries and the Second World War. Like the need to repeal the war law left over from the Second World War, or the property and human rights issues of the Chameria community.” used the expressions.
REACTION FROM DENDIAS
Reacting to Albanian Foreign Minister Haka's mention of the Chamerian Albanians problem, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said, "Greece is ready to discuss the problems that it accepts exist.
There is no such problem for Greece.” said.
It was noteworthy that Dendias said that the effort to insist on such issues and try to negotiate could be an obstacle in Albania's EU membership process.
Dendias noted that the "state of war law" between the two countries could be lifted.
FM Dendias stated that they see the Greek national minority living in Albania and the Albanian community living in Greece as a bridge between the two countries.
THE CHAMERİAN ALBANIANS AND THEIR PROBLEMS
The Chameria region, which starts from the south of Albania, covers the region from Ioannina to Preveza in Greece.
Chamerian Albanians claim that forces under the command of Greek General Napoleon Zervas carried out massacres of Chamerian Albanians during the Second World War. It is stated that around 35 thousand Albanians had to flee to Albania from the Chameria region due to the events in which thousands of people lost their lives.
Chamerian Albanians want the events in 1944 to be recognized as genocide, to visit their homeland on the Greek border, and to surrender their property rights.
