Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus
Encyclopedia
The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded on February 28, 1914, in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars
, by the Greeks living in southern Albania
(Northern Epirotes).
The area, known as "Northern Epirus
" to Greeks and with a substantial Greek population, was taken by the Greek Army during the First Balkan War
(1912–1913). The Protocol of Florence however, had assigned it to the newly established Albanian state. This decision was rejected by the local Greeks, and as the Greek army withdrew to the new border, an autonomous government was set up at Gjirokastër
, under the leadership of Georgios Christakis-Zografos
, a distinguished local Greek politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with tacit support from Greece
.
In May the autonomy was confirmed by the Great Powers with the Protocol of Corfu
. The agreement ensured that the region would have its own administration, recognized the rights of the local population and provided self government under nominal Albanian sovereignty. However, it was never implemented because in August the Albanian government collapsed. The Greek Army re-occupied the area after the outbreak of World War I
(October 1914). Northern Epirus was slated to be ceded to Greece following the war, but the withdrawal of Italian support and Greece's defeat in the Asia Minor Campaign resulted in its final cession to Albania in November 1921. In 1925 Albania's borders were fixed by the Protocol of Florence, and Greece abandoned any claim regarding Northern Epirus.
, liberated Ioannina
and soon afterwards advanced further north. Himarë
was already under Greek control from 5 November 1912, after a local Himariote, Gendarmerie Major Spyros Spyromilios
, led a successful uprising
without initially facing resistance. At the end of the war Greek armed forces controlled most of the historical region of Epirus
, reaching a line from the Ceraunian mountains
(above Himarë) in the Ionian coast to Lake Prespa
to the east.
At the same time, the Albanian independence movement gathered momentum. On 28 November 1912, in Vlorë
, Ismail Qemali
declared the independence
of Albania, and soon, a provisional government
was formed, which however exercised its authority only in the immediate area around Vlorë. Elsewehere, the Ottoman general Essad Pasha
formed a "Central Albanian Senate" at Durrës
, while conservative Albanian tribesmen still hoped for an Ottoman ruler. Most of the area that would form the Albanian state was occupied by the Greeks in the south and the Serbs in the north.
The last Ottoman census conducted in 1908 counted 128,000 Orthodox Christians
and 95,000 Muslims in the region. Of the Orthodox population, an estimated 30,000 to 47,000 spoke Greek exclusively. The rest of the Orthodox community were bilinguals, speaking an Albanian patois
at home and being literate in Greek only, which they also used in their cultural, trading and economic activities. Moreover, they expressed a strong pro-Greek feeling and were the first that supported the following breakaway autonomist movement. Considering these conditions, loyalty in Northern Epirus to an Albanian government, headed by a competing variety of exclusively Muslim leaders, could not be guarantied.
. Both these powers were seeking to control Albania, which, in the words of the Italian Foreign Minister, Tommaso Tittoni
, would give either "incontestable supremacy in the Adriatic". The Serbian possession of Shkodër
and the possibility of the Greek border running a few miles south of Vlore was therefore strongly resisted by these states.
On September 1913, an International Commission of the European Powers convened, that would determine the boundary between Greece and Albania. Under Italian and Austro-Hungarian pressure it was determined that the region of Northern Epirus should be ceded to Albania. The delegates of the commission were aligning themselves into two camps: those of Italy
and Austro-Hungary insisted that the districts were Albanian, while those of the Triple Entente
(United Kingdom
, France
, Russia
) took the view that, although the older generations in some villages spoke Albanian
, the entire younger generation was Greek
in its intellectual outlook, sentiment, and aspirations.
, acceded to this in hopes of a favorable solution to Greece's other outstanding problem, the recognition of Greek sovereignty over the islands of the North Eastern Aegean
.
This turn of events was highly unpopular among the pro-Greek party in the area. The pro-Greek Epirotes felt betrayed by the Greek government, because it did nothing to support them with firearms. At the same time, the gradual withdrawal of the Greek army would enable the Albanian forces to take control of the region. Consequently, to avert this possibility, they decided to declare their own separate political identity and self-governance. Georgios Christakis-Zografos
, a distinguished Epirote statesman from Lunxhëri
and former Greek foreign minister, took the initiative and discussed the situation with local representatives in a "Panepirotic Council". Consequently, on 28 February 1914, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was declared in Gjirokastër and a provisional Government was formed to support the state's objectives.
Christakis-Zografos himself became president of the provisional government. In his speech, on 2 March, he explained that the aspirations of the Northern Epirotes were totally ignored and the Great Powers not only rejected the possibility to become autonomous inside the Albanian state, but also refused to give even guarantees about their fundamental human rights. Zografos concluded that they will not accept the destiny which the Powers had imposed upon them:
The flag of the new state was a variant of the Greek national flag
, consisting of a white cross centered upon the blue background and surmounted by the imperial Byzantine eagle
in black.
In the following days, Alexandros Karapanos
, Zografos' nephew and a MP for Arta
, was installed as foreign minister. Colonel Dimitrios Doulis
, a local from Nivice, resigned from his post in the Greek army and joined the provisional government as minister of military affairs. From the first days he managed to mobilize an army consisting of more than 5,000 volunteer troops. Moreover, the local bishop, Vasileios of Dryinoupolis
, took office as minister of Religion and Justice. A number of officers of Epirote origin (not exceeding 30), as well as ordinary soldiers, deserted their positions in the Greek Army and joined the revolutionaries. Soon, armed groups, such as the "Sacred Band
" or Spyromilios' men around Himarra, were formed, in order to repel any incursion into the territory claimed by the autonomous government. The first districts that joined the autonomist movement outside of Gjirokastër
were Himarë
, Sarandë
and Përmet
.
The Greek government was reluctant to take any overt initiatives in support of the uprising. Military and political officials continued with carrying out a slow evacuation process, which began in March and ended on 28 April. Officially, any form of resistance was discouraged, and assurances were given that the Great Powers and the International Control Commission (an organization founded by the Great Powers, in order to secure peace and stability in the area) would guarantee for their rights. Following the declaration in Gjirokastër, Zografos sent an communication message to local representatives in Korçë
to join the movement too; however, the Greek military commander of the city, Colonel Kontoulis, was very strict in following his official orders and declared martial law, threatening to shoot any citizen, who would raise the Northern Epirote flag. When, in Kolonjë
, the local bishop Spyridon proclaimed the Autonomy, Kontoulis had him immediately arrested and expelled.
On March 1, Kontoulis ceded the region to the newly formed Albanian gendarmerie, consisting mainly of former deserters of the Ottoman army and under the command of Dutch and Austrian officers. On March 9, the Greek navy blockaded the port of Sarandë
, one of the first cities that had joined the autonomist movement There were also sporadic conflicts between Greek army and Epirote units with a few casualties on both sides.
, the revolt was in full motion from the first days of the declaration, and the autonomist forces managed to successfully engage the Albanian gendarmerie as well as Albanian irregular units. On the other hand, Zografos, seeing that the Great Powers would not approve the annexation of Northern Epirus to Greece, suggested three possible diplomatic solutions:
On March 7 Prince William of Wied arrived in Albania and in an attempt to take control over Northern Epirus intense fighting occurred north of Gjirokastër, in the region of Cepo
, where Albanian gendarmerie units unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate south, facing resistance from the Epirote side. The following days a provisional settlement brokered by the Dutch Colonel Thomson in Corfu
(March 11). The Albanian side was ready to accept a limited Northern Epirote government, but Karapanos insisted on a complete autonomous status, solution that was rejected by the Albanian delegates and negotiations reached a deadlock. Meanwhile, Epirote bands entered Erseka
and continued to Frashër
and Korçë.
At this point, with the exception of Korçë, the entire region claimed by the provisional government was under its complete control. On March 22, a Sacred Band unit from Bilisht
reached the outskirts of Korçë, joined the local guerillas and fierce street fighting took place. For a few days the Northern Epirote units had the city under control, but when Albanian reinforcements arrived on March 27, Korçë was brought again under the control of the Albanian gendarmerie.
In the meantime, the International Control Commission, in order to avoid a major escalation of the armed conflicts with disastrous results, decided to intervene. On May 6, Zografos received a communication to initiate negotiations on a new basis. Zografos accepted the proposal and an armistice was ordered the next day. The time the cease-fire order was received, the Epirote forces had secured the Morava heights near Korçë, making the city's Albanian garrison's surrender imminent.
Negotiations were carried out in the island of Corfu
, where, on 17 May 1914, Albanian and Epirote representatives signed an agreement known as the Protocol of Corfu. According to its terms, the two provinces of Korçë
and Gjirokastër
that constituted Northern Epirus would acquire complete autonomous existence (as a corpus separatum
) under the nominal Albanian sovereignty of Prince Wied. The Albanian government had the right to appoint and dismiss governors and upper-rank officials, taking into account as much as possible the opinion of the local population. Other terms included the proportional recruitment of natives into the local gendarmerie and the prohibition of military levies from people non-indigenous to the region. In Orthodox schools, the Greek language would be the sole medium of instruction, except for the three first classes. Greek were also made equal to Albanian in all public affairs. The Ottoman-era privileges of Himarë were renewed, and a foreigner was to be appointed as its "captain" for 10 years.
The execution and adherence to the Protocol was entrusted to the International Control Commission, as was also the organization of public administration and the departments of justice and finance in the region. The creation and training of the local gendarmerie was to be conducted by Dutch officers.
The agreement of the Protocol was ratified by the representatives of the Great Powers at Athens on 18 June, and by the Albanian government on 23 June. The Epirote representatives on an assembly in Delvinë gave the final approval to the terms of the Protocol, although the delegates from Himara protested claiming that only Union with Greece could be a viable solution. During early July the cities of Tepelenë and Korçë
(July 8) came under the control of the provisional government of Northern Epirus.
, the situation in Albania was unstable and political chaos emerged. While the country was split into a number of regional governments. As a consequence of the anarchy in central and north Albania, peace was not completely restored despite the Protocol signed in Corfu, and sporadic armed conflicts continued to occur. Prince Wilhelm departed the country on September 3. In the following days an Epirote unit without approval from the provisional government launched an attack on the Albanian garrison in Berat
and managed to capture for a few days its citadel, while Albanian troops loyal to Essad Pasha
initiated small scale armed operations.
Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos was worried by these events, especially with the possibility that this unstable situation would spill over outside Albania and trigger a wider conflict. On 27 October, after receiving the approval of the Great Powers, the Greek army entered the area for a second time. The provisional government formally ceased to exist, declaring that it had accomplished its objectives.
of Argyrokastro and Korytsa.
The politically unstable situation that followed in Greece during the next months, with the National Schism between royalists and Venizelos’ supporters, divided Greece into two states. This situation led the Italian
(in Gjirokastër
) and French
forces (in Korçë
), according also to the development of the Balkan Front, to enter the area in September 1916, after approval of the Triple Entente. When the war ended (1918) the tendency to reestablish the autonomy of the region continued.
Under the terms of the Paris Peace Conference
of 1919 (the Venizelos-Tittoni agreement), Northern Epirus was to be awarded to Greece, but political developments such as the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and strong Italian opposition in favor of Albania ceded the area finally to Albania in 1921.
In February 1922 the Albanian Parliament approved the Declaration of Minority Rights. However, the Declaration, contrary to the Protocol of Corfu, recognized minority rights only in a limited area (parts of Gjirokastër
, Sarandë
district and 3 villages in Himarë
), without implementing any form of local autonomy. As one immediate consequence, all Greek schools in the excluded area were forced to close until 1935, also in violation to obligations accepted by the Albanian government at the League of Nations
. On the other hand, Albania's present borders were set in 1925 and Greece finally abandoned its claims to Northern Epirus.
With the ratification of the Protocol of Corfu the term "Northern Epirus", which was the state’s common name -and subsequently "Northern Epirotes" its citizens- acquired official status. However, after 1921, when the region was finally ceded to Albania, these terms were considered to be associated with Greek irredentism action and did not acquire any legal status by the Albanian authorities On the other hand, anyone that made use of them was persecuted as an 'enemy of the state'.
The autonomy question remains on the diplomatic agenda in Albanian-Greek relations
as part of the Northern Epirote issue. In the 1960s, the Soviet
General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev
asked his Albanian counterpart about giving autonomy to the Greek minority, but this initiative was without any results. In 1991, after the collapse of the communist regime in Albania, the chairman of the Greek minority's organization Omonoia
called for autonomy for Northern Epirus on the basis that the rights provided for under the Albanian constitution were highly precarious. This proposal was rejected, thus spurring the minority's radical wing to call for union with Greece. Two years later, when Omonoia’s chairman explained in public that the Greek minority’s goal was the creation of an autonomous region inside the Albanian borders based on the provisions of the Protocol of Corfu, he was immediately arrested by the Albanian police. In more recent times (1997), some Albanian analysts have claimed that the possibility of a Greek minority-inspired breakaway Republic is very much alive.
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, by the Greeks living in southern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(Northern Epirotes).
The area, known as "Northern Epirus
Northern Epirus
Northern Epirus is a term used to refer to those parts of the historical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans, that are part of the modern Albania. The term is used mostly by Greeks and is associated with the existence of a substantial ethnic Greek population in the region...
" to Greeks and with a substantial Greek population, was taken by the Greek Army during the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
(1912–1913). The Protocol of Florence however, had assigned it to the newly established Albanian state. This decision was rejected by the local Greeks, and as the Greek army withdrew to the new border, an autonomous government was set up at Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
, under the leadership of Georgios Christakis-Zografos
Georgios Christakis-Zografos
Georgios Christakis-Zografos was a Greek politician, minister of foreign affairs and president of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus .-Studies & early career:...
, a distinguished local Greek politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with tacit support from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
In May the autonomy was confirmed by the Great Powers with the Protocol of Corfu
Protocol of Corfu
The Protocol of Corfu , signed on May 17, 1914, was an agreement between representatives of the Albanian Government and the Provisional Government of Northern Epirus, which officially recognized the area of Northern Epirus as an autonomous region within the Albanian state...
. The agreement ensured that the region would have its own administration, recognized the rights of the local population and provided self government under nominal Albanian sovereignty. However, it was never implemented because in August the Albanian government collapsed. The Greek Army re-occupied the area after the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(October 1914). Northern Epirus was slated to be ceded to Greece following the war, but the withdrawal of Italian support and Greece's defeat in the Asia Minor Campaign resulted in its final cession to Albania in November 1921. In 1925 Albania's borders were fixed by the Protocol of Florence, and Greece abandoned any claim regarding Northern Epirus.
Background
Northern Epirus and the Balkan Wars
In March 1913, during the First Balkan War, the Greek Army, after breaching the Ottoman fortifications at BizaniBattle of Bizani
The Battle of Bizani took place in Epirus on March 4–6, 1913. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the approaches to Ioannina, the largest city in the region.At the...
, liberated Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
and soon afterwards advanced further north. Himarë
Himarë
Himarë is a bilingual region and municipality along the Albanian Riviera in southern Albania and part of the District of Vlorë. Apart from the town of Himarë, the region consists of 7 other villages: Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Iljas, and Palasë....
was already under Greek control from 5 November 1912, after a local Himariote, Gendarmerie Major Spyros Spyromilios
Spyros Spyromilios
Spyros Spyromilios was a Greek Gendarmerie officer who took part in the Greek struggle for Macedonia and the Balkan Wars. He was born in Himara, Ottoman Empire, modern southern Albania, or known as Northern Epirus among Greeks...
, led a successful uprising
Himara revolt of 1912
The Himara revolt , was a Greek uprising during the First Balkan War that took place in the region of Himara , on...
without initially facing resistance. At the end of the war Greek armed forces controlled most of the historical region of Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, reaching a line from the Ceraunian mountains
Ceraunian Mountains
The Ceraunian Mountains is a coastal mountain range in southwestern Albania. The name is derived from Ancient Greek Κεραύνια ὄρη, meaning "thunder-split peaks"....
(above Himarë) in the Ionian coast to Lake Prespa
Lake Prespa
Prespa is the name of two freshwater lakes in southeast Europe, shared by Greece, Albania, and Macedonia. Of the total surface area, belongs to Macedonia, to Greece and to Albania...
to the east.
At the same time, the Albanian independence movement gathered momentum. On 28 November 1912, in Vlorë
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
, Ismail Qemali
Ismail Qemali
Ismail Qemal Bej Vlora or commonly Ismail Qemali and in Turkish İsmail Kemal Bey or İsmail Kemal Vlora , was a distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement, founder of the modern Albanian state and its first head of state and government.-Life:He was born in Avlonya to a noble family...
declared the independence
Albanian Declaration of Independence
The Albanian Declaration of Independence is the declaration of independence of the Albanian Vilayet from the Ottoman Empire. Albania was proclaimed independent in Vlorë on November 28, 1912.-Background:...
of Albania, and soon, a provisional government
Provisional Government of Albania
The Provisional Government of Albania is the first Government created by Assembly of Vlorë in 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignation in 22 January 1914 and by Fejzi Bej Alizoti, until the coronation of William, Prince of Albania.- Government...
was formed, which however exercised its authority only in the immediate area around Vlorë. Elsewehere, the Ottoman general Essad Pasha
Essad Pasha
Essad Pasha Toptani or Esad Pasha Toptani , primarily known as Essad Pasha, was Ottoman army officer, Albanian deputy in Ottoman parliament and politician in the early twentieth century in Albania...
formed a "Central Albanian Senate" at Durrës
Durrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...
, while conservative Albanian tribesmen still hoped for an Ottoman ruler. Most of the area that would form the Albanian state was occupied by the Greeks in the south and the Serbs in the north.
The last Ottoman census conducted in 1908 counted 128,000 Orthodox Christians
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
and 95,000 Muslims in the region. Of the Orthodox population, an estimated 30,000 to 47,000 spoke Greek exclusively. The rest of the Orthodox community were bilinguals, speaking an Albanian patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
at home and being literate in Greek only, which they also used in their cultural, trading and economic activities. Moreover, they expressed a strong pro-Greek feeling and were the first that supported the following breakaway autonomist movement. Considering these conditions, loyalty in Northern Epirus to an Albanian government, headed by a competing variety of exclusively Muslim leaders, could not be guarantied.
Delineation of the Greek-Albanian border
The concept of an independent Albanian state was supported by the Great European Powers, especially by Austro-Hungary and ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Both these powers were seeking to control Albania, which, in the words of the Italian Foreign Minister, Tommaso Tittoni
Tommaso Tittoni
Tommaso Tittoni was an Italian diplomat, politician and Knight of the Annunziata.-Biography:Tommaso Tittoni was born in Rome, to which he returned in 1870, because his father, Vincenzo, a devotee of the Risorgimento, was forced in 1860 to flee the Papal States.He studied law and, after graduating,...
, would give either "incontestable supremacy in the Adriatic". The Serbian possession of Shkodër
Shkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
and the possibility of the Greek border running a few miles south of Vlore was therefore strongly resisted by these states.
On September 1913, an International Commission of the European Powers convened, that would determine the boundary between Greece and Albania. Under Italian and Austro-Hungarian pressure it was determined that the region of Northern Epirus should be ceded to Albania. The delegates of the commission were aligning themselves into two camps: those of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Austro-Hungary insisted that the districts were Albanian, while those of the Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
(United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
) took the view that, although the older generations in some villages spoke Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
, the entire younger generation was Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
in its intellectual outlook, sentiment, and aspirations.
Protocol of Florence
With the delineation of the exact boundaries of the new state, the region of Northern Epirus was awarded to Albania, under terms of the Protocol of Florence, signed on 17 December 1913. Thus, on 21 February 1914, the ambassadors of the Great Powers delivered a note to the Greek government asking for the evacuation of the area by the Greek army. The Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios VenizelosEleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
, acceded to this in hopes of a favorable solution to Greece's other outstanding problem, the recognition of Greek sovereignty over the islands of the North Eastern Aegean
North Aegean
The North Aegean is one of the thirteen regions of Greece. It comprises the islands of the north-eastern Aegean Sea, except for Samothrace, which belongs to the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, and Imbros and Tenedos which belong to Turkey....
.
Declaration of Independence
Georgios Christakis-Zografos
Georgios Christakis-Zografos was a Greek politician, minister of foreign affairs and president of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus .-Studies & early career:...
, a distinguished Epirote statesman from Lunxhëri
Lunxhëri
Lunxhëri is a municipality in the district of Gjirokastër, Gjirokastër County, Albania. The municipality consists of the villages Qestorat, Dhoksat, Këllëz, Mingul, Nokovë, Erind, Gjat, Kakoz, Karjan and Valare....
and former Greek foreign minister, took the initiative and discussed the situation with local representatives in a "Panepirotic Council". Consequently, on 28 February 1914, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was declared in Gjirokastër and a provisional Government was formed to support the state's objectives.
Christakis-Zografos himself became president of the provisional government. In his speech, on 2 March, he explained that the aspirations of the Northern Epirotes were totally ignored and the Great Powers not only rejected the possibility to become autonomous inside the Albanian state, but also refused to give even guarantees about their fundamental human rights. Zografos concluded that they will not accept the destiny which the Powers had imposed upon them:
The flag of the new state was a variant of the Greek national flag
Flag of Greece
The flag of Greece , officially recognized by Greece as one of its national symbols, is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white...
, consisting of a white cross centered upon the blue background and surmounted by the imperial Byzantine eagle
Double-headed eagle
The double-headed eagle is a common symbol in heraldry and vexillology. It is most commonly associated with the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. In Byzantine heraldry, the heads represent the dual sovereignty of the Emperor and/or dominance of the Byzantine Emperors over both East and...
in black.
In the following days, Alexandros Karapanos
Alexandros Karapanos
Alexandros Karapanos was a Greek politician and diplomat. He was born in from Arta and died in Athens.He was the son of the politician and archeologist Konstantinos Karapanos. He studied law and political science in Paris and at 1899 he joined the Greek diplomatic corps and became the country’s...
, Zografos' nephew and a MP for Arta
Arta, Greece
Arta is a city with a rich history in northwestern Greece, capital of the peripheral unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia . Arta is famous for its old bridge located over the Arachthos River, situated west of downtown...
, was installed as foreign minister. Colonel Dimitrios Doulis
Dimitrios Doulis
Dimitrios Doulis , was a Greek military officer, from Nivica in modern southern Albania .His father was Kitsios Doulis, hero of the Greek War of Independence...
, a local from Nivice, resigned from his post in the Greek army and joined the provisional government as minister of military affairs. From the first days he managed to mobilize an army consisting of more than 5,000 volunteer troops. Moreover, the local bishop, Vasileios of Dryinoupolis
Vasileios of Dryinoupolis
Bishop Vasileios of Dryinoupolis was one of the most important religious figures of the Greek Orthodox church in Northern Epirus of his time and member of the provisional Government of Northern Epirus ....
, took office as minister of Religion and Justice. A number of officers of Epirote origin (not exceeding 30), as well as ordinary soldiers, deserted their positions in the Greek Army and joined the revolutionaries. Soon, armed groups, such as the "Sacred Band
Sacred band
The term Sacred Band, also Sacred Company or Sacred Squadron can refer to one of the following military units:In the ancient world:* Sacred Band of Thebes* Sacred Band of Carthage...
" or Spyromilios' men around Himarra, were formed, in order to repel any incursion into the territory claimed by the autonomous government. The first districts that joined the autonomist movement outside of Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
were Himarë
Himarë
Himarë is a bilingual region and municipality along the Albanian Riviera in southern Albania and part of the District of Vlorë. Apart from the town of Himarë, the region consists of 7 other villages: Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Iljas, and Palasë....
, Sarandë
Sarandë
Sarandë or Saranda is the capital of the District of Sarandë, Albania, and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. The city of Saranda has a...
and Përmet
Përmet
Përmet is a town in Albania, capital of Përmet District. The population is 7,717. It is flanked by the Vjosë river, which runs along the Trebeshinë-Dhëmbel-Nemërçkë mountain chain, between Trebeshinë and Dhëmbel mountains, and through the Këlcyra gorge....
.
Greece’s reaction and evacuation
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
to join the movement too; however, the Greek military commander of the city, Colonel Kontoulis, was very strict in following his official orders and declared martial law, threatening to shoot any citizen, who would raise the Northern Epirote flag. When, in Kolonjë
Kolonje
Kolonjë is a small village in Gjirokastër District, Gjirokastër County, southern Albania, located northwest of the city Gjirokastër which is about 30 minutes away. The village has a festival every year on the 10th of May called Dhjet Maj , when everyone who has left the village returns to celebrate...
, the local bishop Spyridon proclaimed the Autonomy, Kontoulis had him immediately arrested and expelled.
On March 1, Kontoulis ceded the region to the newly formed Albanian gendarmerie, consisting mainly of former deserters of the Ottoman army and under the command of Dutch and Austrian officers. On March 9, the Greek navy blockaded the port of Sarandë
Sarandë
Sarandë or Saranda is the capital of the District of Sarandë, Albania, and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. The city of Saranda has a...
, one of the first cities that had joined the autonomist movement There were also sporadic conflicts between Greek army and Epirote units with a few casualties on both sides.
Negotiations and armed conflicts
As the Greek army withdrew, armed conflicts broke out between Albanian and Northern Epirote forces. In the regions of Himarë, Sarandë, Gjirokastër and DelvinëDelvinë
Delvinë is a small town in Vlorë County in southern Albania, 16 km northeast of Saranda. Delvinë is the seat of the Delvinë District. Delvinë has lost over a third of its citizens since 1990, having a population of 4,200 .The city is built on a mountain slope...
, the revolt was in full motion from the first days of the declaration, and the autonomist forces managed to successfully engage the Albanian gendarmerie as well as Albanian irregular units. On the other hand, Zografos, seeing that the Great Powers would not approve the annexation of Northern Epirus to Greece, suggested three possible diplomatic solutions:
- Full autonomy under the nominal sovereignty of the Albanian prince.
- An administrative and cantonal system autonomy.
- Direct control and administration by the European Powers.
Cepo
Cepo is a municipality in the Gjirokastër District, Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality consists of the villages Fushëbardhë, Zhulat, Taroninë, Mashkullorë, Palokastër, Çepun, Kodër, Plesat, Kardhiq, Prongji and Humelicë....
, where Albanian gendarmerie units unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate south, facing resistance from the Epirote side. The following days a provisional settlement brokered by the Dutch Colonel Thomson in Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
(March 11). The Albanian side was ready to accept a limited Northern Epirote government, but Karapanos insisted on a complete autonomous status, solution that was rejected by the Albanian delegates and negotiations reached a deadlock. Meanwhile, Epirote bands entered Erseka
Erseka
Ersekë is a town in southeastern Albania. Founded in the 17th century, Erseka is the capital of the Kolonjë District. Situated at the foot of the Gramos mountains, it is a small alpine town at 1050 meters in altitude, making it one of the highest towns in Albania.-History:The Kolonja range was...
and continued to Frashër
Frashër
Frashër is a municipality in the Përmet District, Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality consists of the villages Frashër, Zavalan, Ogren-Kostrec, Gostivisht, Miçan, Vërçisht, Kreshovë and Soropull.-Notable people:...
and Korçë.
At this point, with the exception of Korçë, the entire region claimed by the provisional government was under its complete control. On March 22, a Sacred Band unit from Bilisht
Bilisht
Bilisht is a city of about 12,000 people. It is the local capital of Devoll District, south-eastern Albania. The city is 9 km from the border with Greece at Kapshticë. The closest Greek town across the border is Krystallopigi in the Florina Prefecture. Bilisht is at about 800–850 meters above...
reached the outskirts of Korçë, joined the local guerillas and fierce street fighting took place. For a few days the Northern Epirote units had the city under control, but when Albanian reinforcements arrived on March 27, Korçë was brought again under the control of the Albanian gendarmerie.
In the meantime, the International Control Commission, in order to avoid a major escalation of the armed conflicts with disastrous results, decided to intervene. On May 6, Zografos received a communication to initiate negotiations on a new basis. Zografos accepted the proposal and an armistice was ordered the next day. The time the cease-fire order was received, the Epirote forces had secured the Morava heights near Korçë, making the city's Albanian garrison's surrender imminent.
Protocol of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, where, on 17 May 1914, Albanian and Epirote representatives signed an agreement known as the Protocol of Corfu. According to its terms, the two provinces of Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
and Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
that constituted Northern Epirus would acquire complete autonomous existence (as a corpus separatum
Corpus separatum
Corpus separatum is used with regard to Jerusalem according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan which used it to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem in the 1947 municipal boundaries "plus surrounding villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis;...
) under the nominal Albanian sovereignty of Prince Wied. The Albanian government had the right to appoint and dismiss governors and upper-rank officials, taking into account as much as possible the opinion of the local population. Other terms included the proportional recruitment of natives into the local gendarmerie and the prohibition of military levies from people non-indigenous to the region. In Orthodox schools, the Greek language would be the sole medium of instruction, except for the three first classes. Greek were also made equal to Albanian in all public affairs. The Ottoman-era privileges of Himarë were renewed, and a foreigner was to be appointed as its "captain" for 10 years.
The execution and adherence to the Protocol was entrusted to the International Control Commission, as was also the organization of public administration and the departments of justice and finance in the region. The creation and training of the local gendarmerie was to be conducted by Dutch officers.
The agreement of the Protocol was ratified by the representatives of the Great Powers at Athens on 18 June, and by the Albanian government on 23 June. The Epirote representatives on an assembly in Delvinë gave the final approval to the terms of the Protocol, although the delegates from Himara protested claiming that only Union with Greece could be a viable solution. During early July the cities of Tepelenë and Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
(July 8) came under the control of the provisional government of Northern Epirus.
Instability and disestablishment
Soon after the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the situation in Albania was unstable and political chaos emerged. While the country was split into a number of regional governments. As a consequence of the anarchy in central and north Albania, peace was not completely restored despite the Protocol signed in Corfu, and sporadic armed conflicts continued to occur. Prince Wilhelm departed the country on September 3. In the following days an Epirote unit without approval from the provisional government launched an attack on the Albanian garrison in Berat
Berat
Berat is a town located in south-central Albania. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of around 71,000 people. It is the capital of both the District of Berat and the larger County of Berat...
and managed to capture for a few days its citadel, while Albanian troops loyal to Essad Pasha
Essad Pasha
Essad Pasha Toptani or Esad Pasha Toptani , primarily known as Essad Pasha, was Ottoman army officer, Albanian deputy in Ottoman parliament and politician in the early twentieth century in Albania...
initiated small scale armed operations.
Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos was worried by these events, especially with the possibility that this unstable situation would spill over outside Albania and trigger a wider conflict. On 27 October, after receiving the approval of the Great Powers, the Greek army entered the area for a second time. The provisional government formally ceased to exist, declaring that it had accomplished its objectives.
Greek administration (October 1914-September 1916)
During the Greek administration, and while the First World War continued, it had been agreed between Greece, Italy and the Great Powers that the final settlement of the Northern Epirote issue should be left to the future, after the war ended. In August 1915, Eleftherios Venizelos stated in the Greek parliament that "only colossal faults" could separate the region from Greece. After Venizelos' resignation in December however, the succeeding royalist governments were determined to exploit the situation and pre-determine the region's future by incorporating it formally within the Greek state. In the first months of 1916, Northern Epirus participated in the Greek elections and elected 16 representatives for the Greek Parliament. In March the region's union with Greece was officially declared, and the area was divided into the prefecturesPrefectures of Greece
During the first administrative division of independent Greece in 1833–1836 and then again from 1845 until their abolition with the Kallikratis reform in 2010, the prefectures were the country's main administrative unit...
of Argyrokastro and Korytsa.
Italian-French occupation and Interwar period
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
(in Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
) and French
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
forces (in Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
), according also to the development of the Balkan Front, to enter the area in September 1916, after approval of the Triple Entente. When the war ended (1918) the tendency to reestablish the autonomy of the region continued.
Under the terms of the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
of 1919 (the Venizelos-Tittoni agreement), Northern Epirus was to be awarded to Greece, but political developments such as the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and strong Italian opposition in favor of Albania ceded the area finally to Albania in 1921.
In February 1922 the Albanian Parliament approved the Declaration of Minority Rights. However, the Declaration, contrary to the Protocol of Corfu, recognized minority rights only in a limited area (parts of Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
, Sarandë
Sarandë
Sarandë or Saranda is the capital of the District of Sarandë, Albania, and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. The city of Saranda has a...
district and 3 villages in Himarë
Himarë
Himarë is a bilingual region and municipality along the Albanian Riviera in southern Albania and part of the District of Vlorë. Apart from the town of Himarë, the region consists of 7 other villages: Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Iljas, and Palasë....
), without implementing any form of local autonomy. As one immediate consequence, all Greek schools in the excluded area were forced to close until 1935, also in violation to obligations accepted by the Albanian government at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. On the other hand, Albania's present borders were set in 1925 and Greece finally abandoned its claims to Northern Epirus.
The Northern Epirote issue and the autonomy question
From the Albanian perspective, adopted also by Italian and Austrian sources of that time, the Northern Epirote movement was directly supported by the Greek state with the help of a minority of inhabitants in the region, resulting in chaos and political instability in all of Albania. In Albanian historiography, the Protocol of Corfu is either scarcely mentioned, or its interpretation grounded on different positions: it is seen as an attempt to divide the Albanian state and as a proof of the Great Powers' disregard for Albania's national integrity.With the ratification of the Protocol of Corfu the term "Northern Epirus", which was the state’s common name -and subsequently "Northern Epirotes" its citizens- acquired official status. However, after 1921, when the region was finally ceded to Albania, these terms were considered to be associated with Greek irredentism action and did not acquire any legal status by the Albanian authorities On the other hand, anyone that made use of them was persecuted as an 'enemy of the state'.
The autonomy question remains on the diplomatic agenda in Albanian-Greek relations
Albanian-Greek relations
Albanian–Greek relations are foreign relations between Greece and Albania. Albania maintains an embassy in Athens and consulates in Ioannina and Thessaloniki...
as part of the Northern Epirote issue. In the 1960s, the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
asked his Albanian counterpart about giving autonomy to the Greek minority, but this initiative was without any results. In 1991, after the collapse of the communist regime in Albania, the chairman of the Greek minority's organization Omonoia
Omonoia (organization)
Omonoia is a social, political and cultural organization in Albania that promotes minority rights for the Greek minority in the south of the country....
called for autonomy for Northern Epirus on the basis that the rights provided for under the Albanian constitution were highly precarious. This proposal was rejected, thus spurring the minority's radical wing to call for union with Greece. Two years later, when Omonoia’s chairman explained in public that the Greek minority’s goal was the creation of an autonomous region inside the Albanian borders based on the provisions of the Protocol of Corfu, he was immediately arrested by the Albanian police. In more recent times (1997), some Albanian analysts have claimed that the possibility of a Greek minority-inspired breakaway Republic is very much alive.
See also
- EpirusEpirusThe name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
- Postage stamps and postal history of EpirusPostage stamps and postal history of EpirusThe postal history of Northern Epirus, a region in the western Balkans, in southern modern Albania, comprises two periods; 1912–1916 and 1940-41. Northern Epirus was under Greek administration during the First Balkan War , but it was then awarded to the newly founded Albanian state by the Florence...
- List of Greek countries and regions
Official documents
- Documents Officiel concernant l' Epire du Nord, 1912-1935. Digital library of the Parliament of Greece.