Albania, Macedonia Protest Greek Racist Chants

Albanians protested in front of the Greek embassy in Tirana and a small protest was held in front of the national theatre in Gjilan, Kosovo. Meanwhile, Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Greek ambassador to Skopje, Alexandra Papadopoulou, for talks on Monday.

After meeting with Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister Zoran Petrov, the Greek ambassador told reporters that the nationalistic and racist chants heard at the parade did not represent the Greek people.

“This is an isolated incident and should not be blown out of proportion. It should be condemned and it is being condemned. This doesn't represent the people of Greece, its position and mentality,” Papadopoulou told reporters after the meeting.

Yesterday Macedonian government spokesperson Martin Martinovski told media: “The Macedonian Government does not wish to comment on the latest provocations from Greece but we condemn all forms of hate speech, which do not contribute to the building of good neighbourly relations.” 

Reacting to the footage, Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta called on the Greek government to take serious steps in punishing those responsible for the “scandalous” incident.

“I believe that the Greek authorities should take severe measures against those responsible for this scandalous incident, which challenges the friendship and the constructive climate of the relationship between the two countries,” said Meta in a statement.

The protests in Albania came after video footage taken on Thursday in Athens at the military parade  appeared on the internet, showing soldiers of the Greek army shouting racist slogans against Greece’s neighbours: Albanians and Macedonians.

“They are Skopians, they are Albanians, we will make new clothes out of their skins,” and “You do not become a Greek, you are born one,” and “We’re going to spill your blood, Albanian pig” were some of the chants that could be heard from the footage.  

Several protests were held on Saturday in Albania following the publication of the video. A group of organisations, led by the civic movement Mjaft, rallied in front of the Greek embassy in Tirana, calling Greece the “shame of the EU”.

“In light of the severity of this incident, we cannot and should not be happy with just the selective firing of one of the soldiers involved or the occasional ambassador’s comment,” Mjaft said in a statement.

Greek media reported that the officers who were shouting the racist slogans were part of the Greek coast guard special forces unit. The head of the unit has been suspended and the army has launched an investigation to determine exactly who was involved in the incident.

“No idiot has the right to blacken his service and the celebration of a historic national day with racist slogans of hatred and xenophobia,” Greek Civil Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis was cited by Khatimerini daily as saying.

Greece has a large Albanian community living and working within its borders. Although bilateral political relations are good, the issue of Greece's reluctance to recognise the expulsion of the Albanian Cham minority from Greece at the end of World War Two is still open.

As for Greece's relations with Macedonia, the two countries are locked in a nearly two decade long “name” spat. Athens insists that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, indicates territorial claims against its own northern province, which is also called Macedonia. Athens also claims that an exodus of ethnic Macedonians from its territory during the Greek Civil War never happened.

Athens has blocked Skopje from entering NATO and EU pending a solution to the "name" row.