THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN EPIRUS:
This month marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus. Though shortlived, this expression of the national aspirations of the Greeks of Northern Epirus was paid for in blood and then sacrificed by traitorous deceit. It is a tragic story that needs to be retold and remembered even though it has been forgotten in the mad rush to rewrite history and establish a "New" Europe. After the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913, Greek interests collided with Italian imperialistic aims in the region of Epirus. The capture of Jannina in the First Balkan War had put Greece in possession of an ancient seat of Greek culture, whose schools had done much to keep the flame of Hellenism burning during the Turkish occupation. It also added a large chunk of essentially Greek territory to the Kingdom of Greece. The justice of the Greek claims to annex Southern and Central Epirus was so obvious that they could not be disputed. On the other hand, Northern Epirus, or as the Italians called the district "Southern Albania", Greek claims were at odds with the Italian ambition to make the Adriatic an Italian Lake. Northern Epirus may be roughly described as the triangular tract of country of which the base is the stretch of coast between a point a few miles south of Valona and a point on the mainland opposite the town of Corfu, while the apex of the triangle is the southern extremity of Lake Ochrida. It was inhabited by Greeks and Albanians, partly Christians and partly converted Moslems, in about equal proportions; the Christians being probably slightly more numerous. Northern Epirus, however, was an integral part of Epirus to which historically it had always belonged. Its Greek character is attested to by the fact that Greek was the official language when it was ruled by Ali Pasha, early in the nineteenth century and it was practically independent of the control of the Sultan. The district remained predominantly Greek in spite of the influx of Albanians from the north and the emigration of Greeks to other countries. The intensely patriotic spirit of the Northern Epirotes was illustrated by the sizable contributions made to Greece by natives of this district, such as the brothers Zappa, who built the Exhibition Hall in Athens which bears their name, called the Zappeion. There were, moreover, 238 Greek schools in Northern Epirus besides numerous other public and religious institutions.
During the Balkan Wars, Venizelos, anxious to avoid any friction with Italy, came to a private understanding with the Italian Government that the Greek Army should not occupy Valona or Berat. The Italians in return verbally agrees not to oppose the Greek annexation of Northern Epirus. As a proof of good faith, the Greeks evacuated the small but strategically important island of Sasseno at the entrance of the Gulf of Valona, which had been ceded by Great Britain to Greece with the Ionian Islands in 1864. At the conclusion of the Balkan Wars, the Great Powers created an independent Albania; whereupon Italy and Austria demanded the evacuation by Greece of Northern Epirus. The Greek Government naturally appealed to the Powers, urging that the question should be decided on the basis of self-determination by the inhabitants, and won the support of the Triple Entente. Pressure from Italy and Austria however, led to a compromise by which a commissioner was dispatched to the district to ascertain the language of the inhabitants instead of taking a plebiscite as to whether they wished to belong to Greece or Albania. At the same time, the Albanians, under Ismail Kemal Vlore, requested that the Great Powers grant them a state. To this purpose, they held a national council at the port of Avlona (Vlore) and proclaimed their independence on November 28, 1913. The result was that the Commission established by the Protocol of Florence decided that Northern Epirus should form part of the Albanian State. On January 31, 1914, the Great Powers demanded that Greece withdraw her troops from Northern Epirus otherwise they would not recognise Lesbos, Chios and Samos (also liberated during the First Balkan War) as Greek. The Greek Government acquiesced in this decision and withdrew its garrisons from the area which they had occupied during the Balkan Wars. During the Balkan Wars, Greek troops liberated all of historic Epirus including Koritsa, Argirokastro, Agios Saranda, Klisoura and Chimara. The Northern Epirotes reacted immediately and on February 16 by establishing a provisional government under Giorgios Christakis Zografos. The following day, independence was proclaimed in Argirokastro. The Albanians reacted violently, committing atrocities against the Greeks in the towns that were surrendered to them by the Greek Army ( Koritsa and Kolonia). The Northern Epirotes took up arms and were quickly reinforced by Greek volunteers from all over Greece. A war ensued between the Northern Epirotes and the Albanians, who were lead primarily by Italian officers. The following is a brief time-line of the campaign:
* March 2: The Greek Army leaves the Chimara area. The Albanians attack the village of Vouoni. They are quickly repulsed.
* March 7: The forces of Northern Epirus defeat the Albanian Army at Kodra.
* March 15: Northern Epirus forces attack the Albanian Army forcing them out of Klisoura.
* March 20: The local Greeks of Koritsa liberate their town from the Albanian occupiers.
* March 24: The Albanian Army recaptures Koritsa.
* April 9: Albanian troops are repelled at Piliouri.
* April 12: An Albanian unit is decimated by Cretan volunteers at Logara.
* April 18: The Albanian Army occupies Fort Busi on the Chimara-Agios Saranda road.
* April 25: The Northern Epirus Army, after a 3-day battle, routs the Albanian Army who flee leaving 500 dead on the battlefield. The government of Albania agrees to negotiate with the Northern Epirus government accepting all its interim demands.
* April 26: Negotiations begin at Corfu.
* May 5: The Protocol of Corfu is signed. As a result of the drubbing administered by the Greeks of Northern Epirus, Greece, Albania and the Great Powers recognize Northern Epirus' Greek character and accept its autonomy. The religious, linguistic and educational rights of its population are established, a clear recognition of the special interest of Greece in that region.
Unfortunately for the Greeks of Northern Epirus, the shortsighted policies of the King Constantine and the monarchist governments that replaced the architect of the Megali Idea, Eleftherios Venizelos, would relegate them to a permanent foreign occupation and destroy their dream of becoming part of Greece. King Constantine and his wife were very close to the German royal family. Their strong ties to Germany would subsequently cause them and their monarchist supporters to abandon the interests of Hellenism in lieu of a foreign policy that tilted in favor of Germany and her Bulgarian ally. They sabotaged the Allied efforts in Macedonia which were supported by Venizelos, including the surrender of a key defensiive position, the Rupel Fort, to German and Bulgarian forces. This action effectively gave up the hard won Greek sovereignty over Macedonia, but Greece was also deprived, as a result of this infamous treachery by her own Government, of control over Northern Epirus, which had been occupied by her with the consent of the Allied Powers at the beginning of the war. The Italians were only too ready to believe that the Greeks would betray Northern Epirus, just as they had abandoned Eastern Macedonia to the Bulgarians. The Italian Government, therefore, was able to make a case to the other Powers that it was essential that this region should be taken over by Italian troops. Italian occupation, which was based on Valona, was eventually extended until an Albanian front was created which linked up with the Allied Macedonian front. Thus, the distrust of Greece engendered by the Greek monarchist government gave Italy the opportunity of gaining a foothold, which she later refused to give up, upon territory which she had long coveted and thus a golden opportunity slipped through Greek fingers, to redeem the Greeks of Northern Epirus. Sad but true. Lest we forget.
Who I'd like to meet: "The size of Greece should be measured from North using a line
that starts at the estuary of river Voiousa (Aoos)"-
Ioannis Kapodistrias 30-10-1828.
Today, the term "Northern Epirus" refers to the area, which despite its unquestionable Hellenity and its long-lasting, heroic struggles, remains out of the borders of the Hellenic state.
Since the ancient times Epirus, which Aristotelis called "Ancient Greece", was historically, ethnologically and geographically united and undivided. Its split in North and South is purely a technical fabrication of foreign diplomacy which took place at the beginning of our century with the unjust and mercenary cession of the northern part of the, then, newly formed state of Albania.
Ethnologically Northern Epirus is determined between Genousos river and today’s borders of Greece - Albania. At that place and lower (at south), at the prefecture of Argirokastro and Koritsa there is the main bulk of the unredeemed Hellenism, which, nowadays, can be counted at more than 400.000 inhabitants.
Northern Epirus, as part of a united and undivided Epirus, follows - in general terms - the historic fate of Hellenism which gives Northern Epirus its national descent and its cultural physiognomy. Northern Epirus has met, at times, and for more than 4 years not only free Hellenic Administration but also its own, in 1914 (Independent Northern Epirus).
As for its life, it glitters spirit and Greek beauty. All those facts that compose and form its life and give its particular character are Greek. The customs and morals of its people, the legends and traditions, the songs and the dances, the popular art and the costumes, the spirit and beliefs are all Greek and prove the Hellenity of its inhabitants.
..I AM A CRIMINAL......My premise is simply that government, not only at the federal level but in particular at the state & local level, has grown so gorged & bloated that it has become virtually impossible for any of us to remain "law-abiding citizens." In order to be law-abiding, one must first know & understand the law. Now I ask you, in today’s society how many people really know, let alone understand, "the law?" Moreover, how many policemen really know or, more importantly, understand the law? Do the lawyers & judges, who are charged with the protection of America’s most sacred document, even understand the law? Judging from the number of appealed judgments these days, it would appear that even these "protectors of justice" are unable to effectively untangle the thicket of jurisprudence created by the endless loads of fertilizer produced by the various legislatures.
American Revolution (1775-1783, conflict between 13 British Colonies in N. America & their parent country, Great Britain. It was made up of 2 related events: the American War of INDEPENDENCE (1775-1783) & the formation of the American government as laid out by the Const. of the U.S. in 1787, First, the war achieved INDEPENDENCE from GREAT BRITAIN by the colonies, Second, the newly CREATED U.S. OF AMERICA, established a REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT, IN WHICH PROWER (resided with the people). 14th Amend. Clause discusses the rights of Naturalized & American born citizens, No state can enforce any type of law that can deprive or take away priviledges of citizens, state cannot take away the freedoms of life, property or liberty without due process, nor deny them equal protection of the law. The idea that laws & legal proceedings must be fair. The Constitution guarantees that the government cannot take away a person’s (BASIC RIGHTS) to life, liberty or property, without due process of law, Courts have issued numerous rulings about what this means in particular cases. Due Process is BEST defined in one word- FAIRNESS. Throughout the U.S. History, it’s constitutions, statutes & case law have provided standards for FAIR TREATMENT OF CITIZENS BY FEDERAL, STATE, & LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. These standards are known as due process. When a person is treated UNFAIRLY by the government, including the COURTS, he is said to have been DEPRIVED of or DENIED DUE PROCESS.
In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the mere public display of fuck is protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments
and cannot be made a criminal offense. In 1968, Paul Robert Cohen had
been convicted of "disturbing the peace" for wearing a jacket with
"FUCK THE DRAFT" on it (in reference to conscription in the Vietnam War). The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals and overturned by the Supreme Court. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
In 1983, pornographerLarry Flynt, representing himself before the U.S. Supreme Court in a libel case, shouted, "Fuck this court!" during the proceedings, and then called the justices "nothing but eight assholes (referring to Justices Chief Justice Warren E. Burger had him arrested for contempt of court, but the charge was later dismissed on a technicality...
In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the mere public display of fuck is protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments
and cannot be made a criminal offense. In 1968, Paul Robert Cohen had
been convicted of "disturbing the peace" for wearing a jacket with
"FUCK THE DRAFT" on it (in reference to conscription in the Vietnam War). The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals and overturned by the Supreme Court. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
In 1983, pornographerLarry Flynt, representing himself before the U.S. Supreme Court in a libel case, shouted, "Fuck this court!" during the proceedings, and then called the justices "nothing but eight assholes (referring to Justices Chief Justice Warren E. Burger had him arrested for contempt of court, but the charge was later dismissed on a technicality...
Prosecutor: A Government Official Who CONDUCTS Criminal or Quasi-Criminal Case's In Criminal, Municipal or Traffic Court. The American People Have A Tendency, When They Walk into A Courtroom, They Think They Have To Talk To The prosecutor, So The prosecutor Can Down Grade The Charge, MAKING The U.S. People (THINK) There Getting Over, But In (Reality) (MONEY CAMES OUT OF YOUR POCKET WITH AN ILLEGAL CONVICTION) or WITHOUT LEGAL DUE PROCESS. WOW, If It's That Easy Maybe We Can All Come Up With A Major WORLD PERFECTED SCAM. DID THE AMERICA PEOPLE KNOW THAT WHAN THEY ARE CALLED IN COURT TO CONTEST THERE CASE. Not only the (physical element) OF THE OFFENSE must be (PROVEN) thats why your there, But also a (mental element) OF THE OFFENSE MUST BE PROVEN BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, For A Conviction To Be Sustained.>>> We ARE ALL In AN ECONOMICAL WAR, WITH THE COURT SYSTEM OF ARE OWN NEGLECT IN THE LAW: The General Public Who Are Not Wealthy, Cannot Afford Spiraling Attorney Fees. With Attorney Fees, Spiraling About $200 AN HOUR, More People Who Can't Afford The Tab-Or Choose Not To Pay Do To Incompetence Of The JUDICIAL SYSTEM Are Getting ECONOMICALLY SLAUGHTERED & DEPRIVED TO JAIL TIME DO TO, NOT PAYING FINES, COSTS, & FEES. To FORCE A LAWYER OR PUBLIC DEFENDER ON A DEFENDANT CAN ONLY LEAD HIM TO BELIVE THAT THE LAW CONTRIVES AGAIST HIM
.> The defendant & NOT HIS OR HER LAWYER OR THE STATE WILL BEAR THE PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF A CONVICTION. It Is The Defendant, Therefore, who must be free personally to decide whether in her or her particular case counsel is to his or her own detriment, his choice must be honored out of that respect for the individual which is the lifeblood of the law.
Prosecutor: A Government Official Who CONDUCTS Criminal or Quasi-Criminal Case's In Criminal, Municipal or Traffic Court. The American People Have A Tendency, When They Walk into A Courtroom, They Think They Have To Talk To The prosecutor, So The prosecutor Can Down Grade The Charge, MAKING The U.S. People (THINK) There Getting Over, But In (Reality) (MONEY CAMES OUT OF YOUR POCKET WITH AN ILLEGAL CONVICTION) or WITHOUT LEGAL DUE PROCESS. WOW, If It's That Easy Maybe We Can All Come Up With A Major WORLD PERFECTED SCAM. DID THE AMERICA PEOPLE KNOW THAT WHAN THEY ARE CALLED IN COURT TO CONTEST THERE CASE. Not only the (physical element) OF THE OFFENSE must be (PROVEN) thats why your there, But also a (mental element) OF THE OFFENSE MUST BE PROVEN BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, For A Conviction To Be Sustained.>>> We ARE ALL In AN ECONOMICAL WAR, WITH THE COURT SYSTEM OF ARE OWN NEGLECT IN THE LAW: The General Public Who Are Not Wealthy, Cannot Afford Spiraling Attorney Fees. With Attorney Fees, Spiraling About $200 AN HOUR, More People Who Can't Afford The Tab-Or Choose Not To Pay Do To Incompetence Of The JUDICIAL SYSTEM Are Getting ECONOMICALLY SLAUGHTERED & DEPRIVED TO JAIL TIME DO TO, NOT PAYING FINES, COSTS, & FEES. To FORCE A LAWYER OR PUBLIC DEFENDER ON A DEFENDANT CAN ONLY LEAD HIM TO BELIVE THAT THE LAW CONTRIVES AGAIST HIM
.> The defendant & NOT HIS OR HER LAWYER OR THE STATE WILL BEAR THE PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF A CONVICTION. It Is The Defendant, Therefore, who must be free personally to decide whether in her or her particular case counsel is to his or her own detriment, his choice must be honored out of that respect for the individual which is the lifeblood of the law.
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law: it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administation of the criminal law the end justifies the means - to declare that the Government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal - would bring terrible retribution. Against that pernicious doctrine this Court should resolutely set its face." Justice Louis Brandeis in Olmstead v. U.S., 277 US at 485. (1928)
Part 5. False: The prosecutor & judge will respect you if you confess immediately upon being arrested.
True: Prosecutors will think you’re pretty stupid if you confess to the police, but they’ll be happy because it’ll be much easier to win the case against you. Judges don’t particularly care whether you confess to the police or not, as long as you accept a plea bargain before the case has to go to trial. From a strategic standpoint, admitting guilt is only valuable if you hold it in reserve, so that your lawyer can use it as leverage to cut a deal for you. Confessing before negotiating is like going to buy something you really want, putting all your money on the table and asking, “How much does this cost?”
Above all, do not ask for or accept advice from the officers who have stopped you. They are not there to act as your advocate or judge. Remember that they’ve been trained to put you at ease, to get you to trust them. Their job is to find, arrest and help convict the suspect. And that suspect is you.
Part 4. False: If you don’t tell your side of the story to the police, you’ll lose your chance to talk your way out of being prosecuted.
True: You cannot assume that police officers are neutral, listening to both sides & deciding who’s at fault. It’s their job to collect potential evidence against people. Prosecutors aren’t neutral parties, either. It’s their job to prove people guilty. So if you’re a suspect & you tell your side of the story to the police and the prosecutor—who, by definition, are not on your side—you will be hurting yourself. The right person in whom to confide is your own defense lawyer. Your lawyer will then help you tell your story to the judge &/or jury, who are the only people whose job it is to listen impartially to you.
Look, you’re busted. There’s no way you’re getting out of this. The best thing you can do for yourself at this point is tell the truth. If you take responsibility now, it’ll look a lot better when you get to court.
Part 3. What’s your problem? We’re just trying to clarify what’s happened here. & since you say you haven’t done anything wrong, what’ve you got to be afraid of?
False: If you don’t answer questions, you must be hiding evidence of guilt.
True: The constitutional right to remain silent would be useless, if exercising it branded you as guilty. That’s why, if you invoke your right to remain silent, the police & prosecutor are forbidden to use it against you in court. In fact, during trial, if a prosecutor even implies that you’ve remained silent out of guilt, your defense attorney can object and call for a mistrial!
When we’re done here, I’m going back to the station & write my report. That’s what the DA’s going to use to decide who to prosecute & for what charges. Right now, all I have for my report is how the other guy said it happened. Of course, you don’t have to talk to me, but as far as my report’s concerned, this is your last chance to tell your side of the story
Part 2. Do you understand?” at the end, because they don’t want people to stop & think. Immediately after reading the warnings, an experienced cop will start asking easy questions about age, marital status, employment, etc. Once suspects have been obediently answering a long string of these questions, they will find it very uncomfortable to stop in the middle, even though the inquiry has shifted from personal background information to pointed questions about the crime under investigation.
When a suspect doesn’t immediately start babbling, law enforcement agents have very effective tricks for getting people to start talking. The following are common arguments the police use when they’re trying to convince you to answer questions. Notice the false assumption in each one:
Part 1. In 1966, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that officers must recite the Miranda warnings before questioning arrestees, police across the country were outraged. They were sure that suspects would never again confess or even make a few incriminating statements. However, a year or two later, the police had stopped fussing. They discovered that giving the Miranda warnings had very little impact on suspects’ behavior. Instead of remaining silent or asking for a lawyer, most suspects whom the police arrested went right ahead & answered questions, completely ignoring the warnings.
Now, decades later, the public seems to feel that the Miranda warnings are just part of the arrest ritual, the stage that comes between being handcuffed & being put into the back of the squad car. After all, most officers read the rights in a bored monotone, without any emphasis. So an arrested person is likely to think that the Miranda warnings aren’t very important (though this is actually the last best chance you have to help yourself). Some officers even refrain from saying,
Those who so glibly dismiss as 'mere legal technicalities' the procedural guarantees of the Constitution limiting law-enforcement activities forget that nothing is more basic to civil liberty than freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment by policemen who are masters, not servants, of the law. The most characteristic symbol of the police state is the ominous rap on the door at night. Freedom from the fear of that rap is the basic condition for the exercise of every other form of freedom. 'The history of liberty', Mr Justice Frankfurter once observed, 'is the history of the observances of procedural safeguards.'
For as long as men have sought to be free, arbitrary arrest has been a mark and measure of despotism. In every land and time, men have protested and fought against it. It has been a principal cause of every major uprising against established government. It was one of the grievances of the English barons against King John in 1215 and prompted their insistence in Magna Carta that 'no free man shall be taken or imprisoned...except by the legal judgement of his peers or b
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me & causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned & an era of corruption in high places will follow, & the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands & the Republic is destroyed." Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins) Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
..
"If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are EDUCATED & form their own opinions, then those in power wWORK FOR US. In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method & the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility & community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us & the enveloping DARKNESS."
The idea prevails with some -- indeed, it found expression in arguments at the bar -- that we have in this country substantially and practically two national governments; one, to be maintained under the Constitution, with all of its restrictions; the other to be maintained by Congress outside and independently of that instrument, by exercising such powers as other nations of the earth are accustomed to exercise.
"I take leave to say that if the principles thus announced should ever receive the sanction of a majority of this court, a radical and mischievous change in our system of government will be the result. We will, in that event, pass from the era of constitutional liberty guarded and protected by a written constitution into an era of legislative absolutism.
"It will be an evil day for American liberty if the theory of a government outside of the supreme law of the land finds lodgment in our constitutional jurisprudence. No higher duty rests upon this court than to exert its full authority to prevent all violation of the principles of the Constitution." See Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901), Harlan dissenting.
