by Nikos Doukas

The efforts for a Great Albania have moved to a new stage. According to the decisions of the Albanian summit at Kavouri Athens, which were not announced, but come out gradually, the new policy of the Albanians is the two Albanian states. The Albanians, after they realised that the direct annexation of Kosovo to Albania will cause intense international and local reactions, changed policy and follow the "independent" Kosovo plan. They know very well that if Kosovo becomes independent, it will be a de facto second Albanian state, which soon will unite with Albania. The Albanian intentions are gradually revealed with actions like the interview of the Albanian prime minister to "Eleftherotypia" and the presentation by the Kosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova of the flag of the new Albanian state, for which they also found an ancient name: Dardania. The Albanians of course do not miss out Chameria from their plans, where, under the pretext of the "return of property", they want to settle Chams.

More specifically, on 15th December the Albanian prime minister gave a revealing interview to the Greek newspaper "Eleftherotypia". The "socialist" (actually, like most Albanian politicians, he is a chauvinist) prime minister confirmed the mentioned before scheme for a Great Albania, but tried slyly to pull the wool over our the eyes, saying "it is not a Great Albania, but two Albanian states". We quote representative excerpts from the interview:

Nano: Today in the era of globalization there is no such issue as borders between states of the same nation. Take for example the Germans or the Arabs in the Middle East or the European Union where the member-states maintain administrative autonomy, eg. Tyrol (he leaves a loophole for Greece and Chameria). What we have to do is to translate to a national and regional level the functional models that have been applied in the world. So let there be two, instead of one, Albanian states. We all have to understand and support in Kosovo the reasonable solutions that have been applied by other states.
Eleftherotypia: Why do you support the policy of minority zones in Albania, a legal obstacle eg. in the case of Himara? The only explanation I can think of is the strategic importance of the area.
Nano: If we start an academic debate about where and when in Albania appeared the first Greeks (he implies that the Greeks came after the Albanians in Northern Epirus) and if we generalize that in all Balkan nations, everybody will bring historic evidence supporting their views. However there is no legal obstacle for the Greeks in Albania, wherever they are (he is lying since the Albanian government forbids the education in Greek outside the limited zones).
Eleftherotypia: Why does the Albanian side raise the issue of an Albanian minority in Chameria?
Nano: If we follow the traditional way of thought, there will always be traditional enemies. Extremist circles from both sides will find causes to give rise to problems (he comes forward as a moderate, before confirming that he raises the Chameria issue). However if there are Chams claiming financial damages, their claims should be legally met.
Eleftherotypia: A recent problem is the withdrawal of the Greek UN force from Albania.
Nano: In my opinion there is no problem to continue the military cooperation between the two countries, which is part of the regional security policy and the stability pact. However there is a paradox: anyone in Albania, not only the leader of the opposition Berisha, could ask: the Greek military force is here to build eg. a hospital (he humiliates the Greek soldiers as servants of the Albanians), but under what status? Of a country which typically maintains a state of war with Albania from World War 2? It is at least ridiculous (in other words the Greek UN force in Albania did not "complete its mission", as the Greek government announced, but was badly driven out by way of reprisals).

Of course the Albanian plans for the two Albanian states (Albania and "Dardania") were known before the Nano interview. On 29th October the Kosovar leader Ibrahim leader Ibrahim Rugova presented, after his victory in the Kosovo municipal elections, the flag of "Dardania". It is a blue flag with a two-headed eagle in the center. He explained that the flag, with the inscription "Dardania" on the two-headed eagle, symbolizes the ancient Kosovo. In Albania and Kosovo the "Dardania Bank" is also active, a bank created with German assistance (2.400.000 marks). Of course the Kosovar Albanians have no relation with the ancient Dardanians, since their majority came to Kosovo during the Tito communist regime. The encyclopaedias write for the wiped-out Dardanians the following:

Illyrian tribe sallying from the area around the sources of the Vardar and White Drin rivers and spread to Upper Moesia. There were powerful and active during the ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine times. They were proverbially dirty, that's why the ancient Greeks said: "He is having a bath thrice in his life, like a Dardanian". Their country was rich in mines and the most important cities were their capital Skupi (Skopje) and Naissus (Nish) (the "Dardanian" Rugova will demand them too).

Links Chameria Albanian Army of Kosovo

All these happen in consequence of the policy of many Greek politicians, who are delighted when the Albanians clamour and threaten for "Chameria" and the rest, so as to force to silence and immobility those who care for the liberation of the occupied by the Tirana Northern Epirus. The foundations for the many (now they talk about two, but they go for four: Albania, "Dardania", Tetovo, Chameria) were laid by the Albanians in the summit on 2 December at Kavouri Athens, in the heart of Greece. A summit which not only was not prevented by the Greek government, but on the contrary was coorganized.