C) THE SOCIALIST WORKERS’ PARTY OF GREECE AND ITS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE SO-CALL

C) THE SOCIALIST WORKERS’ PARTY OF GREECE AND ITS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE SO-CALLED GREEK MINORITY IN SOUTHERN ALBANIA

The existence of a so-called Greek minority in southern Albania (or in so-called Northern Epirus), did not fail to draw attention from the Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece. This so-called “Greek population” of southern Albania lived on a traditionally Albanian ethnographic territory and represented only 17% of the total population living in this region. We should mention at this point that the majority of these so-called “Greeks” living in southern Albania were in fact of Vlach origin. Even Eleftheros Venizelos, a symbol of Greek nationalism and expansionism, became involved in this issue when, during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, he said: “A good part of the Greek population living in southern Albania has the Albanian language as its mother tongue and appears to be of Albanian descent…” (E. Venizelos, La Grece devant le congres de la Paix, Paris, 1918.)

Ius Solis (the right to Albanian historical territory), as well as Ius Civitas (the right of the Christian and Muslim Albanian population representing 83% of the total population living in southern Albania), called for southern Albania to remain inseparable from the newly formed Albanian state. At the same time, the so-called Greek population demanded its right as a minority which included respect for its national, linguistic and cultural traditions within the majority. However, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece, even though this so-called Greek minority was only 17% of the total population, which lived in a traditionally foreign historical and ethnographic territory, demanded that this minority be given the right to self-determination and unification with Greece.

D) THE SOCIALIST WORKERS’ PARTY OF GREECE AND ITS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE MACEDONIAN NATIONAL QUESTION

The most important and main unresolved national question that arose in Greece after the Balkan and World War I, was certainly the Macedonian National Question. The vast majority of the population living in Greek occupied Macedonia, before its occupation, was of non-Greek origin (77.50%) and traditionally lived on its own Macedonian ethnic and historic territory. According to Ius solis (the right to the Macedonian historical territory), as well as ius civitas (the right of the Macedonian nation), the Macedonian National Question deserved a proper solution in favour of the Macedonian people. The right to the Macedonian historical territory, as well as the right of the Macedonian nation to have its own country, not only improved the Macedonian people’s historical legitimacy to Macedonia, but also pledged in favour of the Macedonian people. This Macedonian historical legitimacy for the Macedonian people to have their own country had a long standing historical continuity and stemmed from the existence of the prehistoric and ancient Macedonians. With the Macedonian people being indigenous to Macedonia for many centuries, as well as the natural process of assimilation, all newcomers arriving in the region over the long years, added to the process of natural symbiosis evolving into the formation of the modern Macedonian people living in Macedonian today and speaking the Macedonian language which is probably the mother of all modern Slavic languages. The formation of the historical Macedonian people based on evolution and symbiosis between newcomers and indigenous Macedonians, contributed to the formation of the modern Macedonian people who are the legitimate heirs to the entire Macedonian territory as well as the successors of all Macedonian cultural traditions. A similar historical, territorial and cultural encounter, based on historical processes and symbiosis, took place between the Dacians, Romans and Slavs who today have resulted into the modern Romanians.

The so called Greek population (Vlachs, Albanians, Turks, Latins, etc.) living in Greek occupied Macedonia was only a small minority amounting to about 22% of the total population. But, in spite of the fact that every factor was in favour of the Macedonian people, i.e. to have the right to their own Macedonian historical territory, as well as to be a Macedonian nation with historical legitimacy, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece refused to pay any attention to the Macedonian National Question. If the same Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece could demand for Greek minority rights and the right to self-determination for only 22% of the so called Greeks living in southern Albania, which represented only 17% of the entire population in this region, why couldn’t it demand for the right to self-determination for the large Macedonian majority living in Greek occupied Macedonia? Why was the Macedonian population, which amounted to 77.50% of the total population living in Greek occupied Macedonia, and, 83% of the non-Greek population living in Southern Albania and Western Thrace, denied the same rights? By all accounts, even though the so called Greek minority living on Macedonian soil was only 22% of the total population living on traditionally Macedonian ethnic and historical lands, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece, on one hand, saw this minority as an inseparable part of the Greek state and, on the other, left the Macedonian National Question unresolved. The Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece did not treat the Macedonian National Question seriously until 1924, when the CPG was forced to take a stand contrary to its wishes and convictions. But, as the CPG struggled to find a solution to the unresolved national and territorial issues plaguing Greece, it again opted for a resolution that would only benefit Greece. The Socialist Workers’ Party of Greece, and later the CPG, decided to keep the clearly non-Greek historical and ethnic territories (Greek occupied Macedonia, southern Albania and Western Thrace) for itself and ignored the unresolved national issues that existed in Greece. This attitude later shaped the CPG’s stand on the Macedonian National Question.