[ALBSA-Info] Kathimerini on Omonia

[Agron Alibali]

Opinion
Greek minority

By Stavros Lygeros
In view of Albania's parliamentary elections in June,
the Socialist Party has already sounded out the ethnic
Greek Omonia party about the possibility of forming a
coalition. Albanian leaders favor such outcome because
they need Athens's political and economic support,
especially if Silvio Berlusconi finally wins the
Italian parliamentary elections.

However, the socialists have not abandoned efforts to
capture the hearts and minds of the Greek minority. 

A few months ago, they carried out extensive
vote-rigging to prevent the election of the Omonia
candidate in Heimarra. Now, they insist on support for
their own candidate in the Dropoli district, promising
rewards on other levels. But Omonia should not aim to
increase its number of deputies in the next Albanian
parliament. It should try to consolidate politically
its position in ethnic Greek-dominated districts
rather than be given parliamentary seats where the
Greek element is numerically low...

Experience demonstrates that the overwhelming majority
of minority deputies who were elected by other parties
have failed to defend the institutional interests of
the minority and have rather played into Albanian
hands...

Athens has to finally realize that it is not just a
question of moral obligation, it is also in its
geopolitical interest that ethnic Greeks remain in
their homelands, for they function as an obstacle to
Albanian expansionist visions.


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