Ethnic Greek mayor charged over removing road signs

[Angelo]

Ethnic Greek mayor charged over removing road signs
Thu 29 May 2008, 15:34 GMT

[-] Text [+] By Benet Koleka

TIRANA (Reuters) - An ethnic Greek mayor in Albania has been charged for removing road signs in his area and demanding they include Greek place names, officials said on Thursday.

Sokol Malaj, the lead regional prosecutor, said Vasil Bollano had overstepped his authority and his actions disrupted traffic on a roughly 60-km (40-mile) stretch of road.

"Mr. Bollano has the right to manage the road inside his municipality, but not beyond. He issued an illegal order and damaged the signs," Malaj told Reuters by phone. The signs were written in English.

"My witnesses say he told them the signs would be put back only if they are written in Greek," Malaj added. "Someone visiting the area for the first time wouldn't know where to go."

The indictment issued by the prosecutor requested for the mayor to be tried on charges of abuse of office.

Bollano is on his third term as mayor of the western Himara region, an ethnically mixed area stretching over the southern half of Albania's coastline across from the Greek island of Corfu.

Bollano has come to symbolize the push for more rights for Albania's ethnic Greeks, especially the use of their language.

The large Himara region is mixed, with Albanian and Greek-speaking villages next to each other among rolling hills and olive groves.

Bollano told Reuters the signs bearing the words "Himara Municipality" and the emblems of the European Union and Albania, had been put up without his knowledge and in breach of the law.

"The language was not the issue, the official rules and competences were the issue," he said. "The signs were also written in English, and they could well be written in Greek. It is the municipality council that has to decide about it."

(Editing by Ellie Tzortzi and David Fogarty)

[Angelo]

Albania Indicts Ethnic Greek Mayor
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Bollano's move caused chaos around Himara, allege officials29 May 2008 Tirana _ An ethnic Greek mayor in Albania has been indicted after he ordered the destruction of road signs because they were not bilingual.

Mayor Vasil Bollano from the town of Himara on Albania’s coast, ordered the removal of the signs in December 2007 arguing that the signs should have also been in Greek, because he considers the area a Greek minority zone.

The removal of the signs caused road chaos because they were along a section of Albania’s coast which is very popular with tourists.

Prosecutors have filed charges against Bollano for abuse of power, arguing that his actions were against the law and cost Albanian taxpayers roughly €170,000.

Bollano’s statements have got him in hot water before. He previously declared large swathes of southern Albania are Greek land and claimed autonomy for the area.

Estimates of the Greek minority in Albania range from three to seven percent of the total population.

[Psaltis]

Eukeria gia tous alvanous gia na tiranisoune tous ellines pou menoun eki

[gmellos]

Originally Posted by Angelo
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Albania Indicts Ethnic Greek Mayor
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Bollano's move caused chaos around Himara, allege officials29 May 2008 Tirana _ An ethnic Greek mayor in Albania has been indicted after he ordered the destruction of road signs because they were not bilingual.

Mayor Vasil Bollano from the town of Himara on Albania’s coast, ordered the removal of the signs in December 2007 arguing that the signs should have also been in Greek, because he considers the area a Greek minority zone.

The removal of the signs caused road chaos because they were along a section of Albania’s coast which is very popular with tourists.

Prosecutors have filed charges against Bollano for abuse of power, arguing that his actions were against the law and cost Albanian taxpayers roughly €170,000.

Bollano’s statements have got him in hot water before. He previously declared large swathes of southern Albania are Greek land and claimed autonomy for the area.

Estimates of the Greek minority in Albania range from three to seven percent of the total population.

Just another example of hatred and racism towards the Greek people by Albanian authorities!!!!!

[Angelo]

The Albanian gouvernment must respect 1914 corfu Protocol agreement

[antonio]

Originally Posted by Angelo
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The Albanian gouvernment must respect 1914 corfu Protocol agreement

The Corfu Protocol wasn't just an agreement between Albania and Greece. England, France, Germany, Austria, Russia and Italy also signed the Corfu Protocol and need to fulfil their duties by pressuring Albania to fulfill its obligations under that protocol with respect to the rights of the Greek population in Northern Epirus to autonomy.

Does anyone on this forum have access to the text of that protokol? Does it layout specific boundries for Northern Epirus? Or was that to be determined by plebicite?

Ευχάριστο

[Prokomenos]

Thats going to be a tough one to find the exact protokol. I searched google and found nothing except basic info about it.

[antonio]

Originally Posted by Prokomenos
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Thats going to be a tough one to find the exact protokol. I searched google and found nothing except basic info about it.

Yeah, I couldn't find it in English. I was hoping maybe there was a copy in Greek floating around on the internet somewhere. Thanks anyway.