[MGSA-L] Two more articles on Chams and other "non-existent problems" in Greece

[George Baloglou]

On Mon, 7 Nov 2005, Greek Helsinki Monitor wrote:

> Two more articles on Chams and other "non-existent problems" in Greece
> http://cm.greekhelsinki.gr/index.php?sec=192&cid=1323

Baltsiotis' article led me to Miranda Vickers' "The Cham Issue: Albanian
National & Property Claims in Greece", written in April 2002 and available
at https://da.mod.uk/CSRC/documents/balkans/G109/download; Baltsiotis
calls her a "universally accepted scientist", and her acceptance is
certainly not his fault but the responsibility of all those who are ready
to tolerate claims/arguments like this: Greece's yoghurt industry would
benefit from a return of the Chams and the grazing of hillslopes that,
following their expulsion, have turned into forests as dense as those of
Ottoman times (p.16) -- so dense that "wolf population has increased over
the past three decades and is now on a par with wolf numbers in Ottoman
times" (endnote 53) :-) [If you think of this as a marginal example,
please read her brief account of the Greco-Italian war (pp. 5-6) to see
how ignorant she is...]

Vickers does not like the concept of religion-based identity/ethnicity, and
states that clearly in her epilogue. If we believe her, and possibly
Karkayiannis as well, Christian Albanians/Chams -- not Arvanites defining
themselves as Greeks -- were spared by EDES and left behind in Thesprotia
to this day: this would suggest that it was primarily the Muslim rather the
Christian Chams who collaborated with the occupiers (and were subsequently
persecuted by EDES), thus strengthening the very concept she is against
... and confirming the Hellenic convictions of such Albanian-speaking
Christians of Thesprotia.

Of course it is well known that collaborators could be pardoned as long as
they were willing to participate to the Civil War -- *on either side*...
In his "Three Forms of Political Justice: Greece, 1944-1945" ("After the
War was Over", pp. 24-41) Mark Mazower states that EDES turned against the
Chams after they refused to join the fight against ELAS: I cannot comment
on that claim, but I notice that it is consistent with Margaritis' citing
of a couple of Cham collaborators fighting *along* with EDES after the
Germans left.

Mazower's source on this is "Albanian Minority in Epirus, 1940-1944",
Public Record Office, London, War Office file 204/9348. The credibility --
or rather thoroughness -- of this source is dubious, as it leads Mazower to
state that "such actions [against Greek villagers], it seems, were not
supported by many of the local beys, nor by the Mufti" -- a statement
refuted even by anti-nationalist Karayiannis' article.

Conclusion? This is a marginally understood incident of Greek history, and
more research -- into primary sources in particular -- waits to be done;
so far I do see a tendency to stress EDES persecution of the Chams but
cover up or at least underrate Cham atrocities ... and possibly overlook
the role played by pre-1912 tensions between Muslims and Christians...

Karkayiannis' article may also be found in
http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_columns_2_06/11/2005__162599

Baltsiotis' article (which extends into the broader issue of
Greco-Albanian relations) may also be found in
http://193.218.80.70/cgi-bin/hwebpressrem.exe?-A=404233&-w=&-V=hpress_int&-P

                                                                  GB