The Northern Epirote Issue At Present
—From the Protocol of Corfu, signed by Epirote and Albanian delegates, May 17, 1914:The Orthodox Christian communities are recognized as juridical persons, like the others. They will enjoy the possessions of property and be free to dispose of it as they please. The ancient rights and hierarchical organization of the said communities shall not be impaired except under agreement between the Albanian Government and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Education shall be free. In the schools of the Orthodox communities the instruction shall be in Greek. In the three elementary classes Albanian will be taught concurrently with Greek. Nevertheless, religious education shall be exclusively in Greek.
Liberty of language:The permission to use both Albanian and Greek shall be assured, before all authorities, including the Courts, as well as the elective councils.
These provisions will not only be applied in that part of the province of Corytza now occupied militaritly by Albania, but also in the other southern regions.
While violent incidents have declined in recent years, the ethnic Greek minority has pursued grievances with the government regarding electoral zones, Greek-language education, property rights. On the other hand minority representatives complain of the government's unwillingness to recognize the possible existence of ethnic Greek towns outside communist-era 'minority zones'; to utilize Greek on official documents and on public signs in ethnic Greek areas; to ascertain the size of the ethnic Greek population; and to include more ethnic Greeks in public administration. There have been many minor incidents between the Greek population and Albanian authorities over issues such as the alleged involvement of the Greek government in local politics, the raising of the Greek flag on Albanian territory, and the language taught in state schools of the region; however, these issues have, for the most part, been non-violent.
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