The Origin of the Universe-Cosmogonic theory and religions

Stephen Hawking

(http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-origin-of-the-universe.html)

The Origin of the Universe

Can you hear me?

According to the Boshongo people of central Africa, in the beginning, there was only darkness, water, and the great god Bumba. One day Bumba, in pain from a stomach ache, vomited up the sun. The sun dried up some of the water, leaving land. Still in pain, Bumba vomited up the moon, the stars, and then some animals. The leopard, the crocodile, the turtle, and finally, man.

This creation myth, like many others, tries to answer the questions we all ask. Why are we here? Where did we come from? The answer generally given was that humans were of comparatively recent origin, because it must have been obvious, even at early times, that the human race was improving in knowledge and technology. So it can't have been around that long, or it would have progressed even more. For example, according to Bishop Usher, the Book of Genesis placed the creation of the world at 9 in the morning on October the 27th, 4,004 BC. On the other hand, the physical surroundings, like mountains and rivers, change very little in a human lifetime. They were therefore thought to be a constant background, and either to have existed forever as an empty landscape, or to have been created at the same time as the humans. Not everyone, however, was happy with the idea that the universe had a beginning.

For example, Aristotle, the most famous of the Greek philosophers, believed the universe had existed forever. Something eternal is more perfect than something created. He suggested the reason we see progress was that floods, or other natural disasters, had repeatedly set civilization back to the beginning. The motivation for believing in an eternal universe was the desire to avoid invoking divine intervention to create the universe and set it going. Conversely, those who believed the universe had a beginning, used it as an argument for the existence of God as the first cause, or prime mover, of the universe.

If one believed that the universe had a beginning, the obvious question was what happened before the beginning? What was God doing before He made the world? Was He preparing Hell for people who asked such questions? The problem of whether or not the universe had a beginning was a great concern to the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. He felt there were logical contradictions, or antimonies, either way. If the universe had a beginning, why did it wait an infinite time before it began? He called that the thesis. On the other hand, if the universe had existed for ever, why did it take an infinite time to reach the present stage? He called that the antithesis. Both the thesis and the antithesis depended on Kant's assumption, along with almost everyone else, that time was Absolute. That is to say, it went from the infinite past to the infinite future, independently of any universe that might or might not exist in this background. This is still the picture in the mind of many scientists today.

However in 1915, Einstein introduced his revolutionary General Theory of Relativity. In this, space and time were no longer Absolute, no longer a fixed background to events. Instead, they were dynamical quantities that were shaped by the matter and energy in the universe. They were defined only within the universe, so it made no sense to talk of a time before the universe began. It would be like asking for a point south of the South Pole. It is not defined. If the universe was essentially unchanging in time, as was generally assumed before the 1920s, there would be no reason that time should not be defined arbitrarily far back. Any so-called beginning of the universe would be artificial, in the sense that one could extend the history back to earlier times. Thus it might be that the universe was created last year, but with all the memories and physical evidence, to look like it was much older. This raises deep philosophical questions about the meaning of existence. I shall deal with these by adopting what is called, the positivist approach. In this, the idea is that we interpret the input from our senses in terms of a model we make of the world. One can not ask whether the model represents reality, only whether it works. A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations, in terms of a simple and elegant model. And second, if the model makes definite predictions that can be tested and possibly falsified by observation.

In terms of the positivist approach, one can compare two models of the universe. One in which the universe was created last year and one in which the universe existed much longer. The Model in which the universe existed for longer than a year can explain things like identical twins that have a common cause more than a year ago. On the other hand, the model in which the universe was created last year cannot explain such events. So the first model is better. One can not ask whether the universe really existed before a year ago or just appeared to. In the positivist approach, they are the same. In an unchanging universe, there would be no natural starting point. The situation changed radically however, when Edwin Hubble began to make observations with the hundred inch telescope on Mount Wilson, in the 1920s.

Hubble found that stars are not uniformly distributed throughout space, but are gathered together in vast collections called galaxies. By measuring the light from galaxies, Hubble could determine their velocities. He was expecting that as many galaxies would be moving towards us as were moving away. This is what one would have in a universe that was unchanging with time. But to his surprise, Hubble found that nearly all the galaxies were moving away from us. Moreover, the further galaxies were from us, the faster they were moving away. The universe was not unchanging with time as everyone had thought previously. It was expanding. The distance between distant galaxies was increasing with time.

The expansion of the universe was one of the most important intellectual discoveries of the 20th century, or of any century. It transformed the debate about whether the universe had a beginning. If galaxies are moving apart now, they must have been closer together in the past. If their speed had been constant, they would all have been on top of one another about 15 billion years ago. Was this the beginning of the universe? Many scientists were still unhappy with the universe having a beginning because it seemed to imply that physics broke down. One would have to invoke an outside agency, which for convenience, one can call God, to determine how the universe began. They therefore advanced theories in which the universe was expanding at the present time, but didn't have a beginning. One was the Steady State theory, proposed by Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle in 1948.

In the Steady State theory, as galaxies moved apart, the idea was that new galaxies would form from matter that was supposed to be continually being created throughout space. The universe would have existed for ever and would have looked the same at all times. This last property had the great virtue, from a positivist point of view, of being a definite prediction that could be tested by observation. The Cambridge radio astronomy group, under Martin Ryle, did a survey of weak radio sources in the early 1960s. These were distributed fairly uniformly across the sky, indicating that most of the sources lay outside our galaxy. The weaker sources would be further away, on average. The Steady State theory predicted the shape of the graph of the number of sources against source strength. But the observations showed more faint sources than predicted, indicating that the density sources were higher in the past. This was contrary to the basic assumption of the Steady State theory, that everything was constant in time. For this, and other reasons, the Steady State theory was abandoned.

Another attempt to avoid the universe having a beginning was the suggestion that there was a previous contracting phase, but because of rotation and local irregularities, the matter would not all fall to the same point. Instead, different parts of the matter would miss each other, and the universe would expand again with the density remaining finite. Two Russians, Lifshitz and Khalatnikov, actually claimed to have proved, that a general contraction without exact symmetry would always lead to a bounce with the density remaining finite. This result was very convenient for Marxist Leninist dialectical materialism, because it avoided awkward questions about the creation of the universe. It therefore became an article of faith for Soviet scientists.

 When Lifshitz and Khalatnikov published their claim, I was a 21 year old research student looking for something to complete my PhD thesis. I didn't believe their so-called proof, and set out with Roger Penrose to develop new mathematical techniques to study the question. We showed that the universe couldn't bounce. If Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is correct, there will be a singularity, a point of infinite density and spacetime curvature, where time has a beginning. Observational evidence to confirm the idea that the universe had a very dense beginning came in October 1965, a few months after my first singularity result, with the discovery of a faint background of microwaves throughout space. These microwaves are the same as those in your microwave oven, but very much less powerful. They would heat your pizza only to minus 271 point 3 degrees centigrade, not much good for defrosting the pizza, let alone cooking it. You can actually observe these microwaves yourself. Set your television to an empty channel. A few percent of the snow you see on the screen will be caused by this background of microwaves. The only reasonable interpretation of the background is that it is radiation left over from an early very hot and dense state. As the universe expanded, the radiation would have cooled until it is just the faint remnant we observe today.

Although the singularity theorems of Penrose and myself, predicted that the universe had a beginning, they didn't say how it had begun. The equations of General Relativity would break down at the singularity. Thus Einstein's theory cannot predict how the universe will begin, but only how it will evolve once it has begun. There are two attitudes one can take to the results of Penrose and myself. One is to that God chose how the universe began for reasons we could not understand. This was the view of Pope John Paul. At a conference on cosmology in the Vatican, the Pope told the delegates that it was OK to study the universe after it began, but they should not inquire into the beginning itself, because that was the moment of creation, and the work of God. I was glad he didn't realize I had presented a paper at the conference suggesting how the universe began. I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to the Inquisition, like Galileo.

The other interpretation of our results, which is favored by most scientists, is that it indicates that the General Theory of Relativity breaks down in the very strong gravitational fields in the early universe. It has to be replaced by a more complete theory. One would expect this anyway, because General Relativity does not take account of the small scale structure of matter, which is governed by quantum theory. This does not matter normally, because the scale of the universe is enormous compared to the microscopic scales of quantum theory. But when the universe is the Planck size, a billion  trillion trillionth of a centimeter, the two scales are the same, and quantum theory has to be taken into account.

In order to understand the Origin of the universe, we need to combine the General Theory of Relativity with quantum theory. The best way of doing so seems to be to use Feynman's idea of a sum over histories. Richard Feynman was a colorful character, who played the bongo drums in a strip joint in Pasadena, and was a brilliant physicist at the California Institute of Technology. He proposed that a system got from a state A, to a state B, by every possible path or history. Each path or history has a certain amplitude or intensity, and the probability of the system going from A- to B, is given by adding up the amplitudes for each path. There will be a history in which the moon is made of blue cheese, but the amplitude is low, which is bad news for mice.

The probability for a state of the universe at the present time is given by adding up the amplitudes for all the histories that end with that state. But how did the histories start? This is the Origin question in another guise. Does it require a Creator to decree how the universe began? Or is the initial state of the universe, determined by a law of science? In fact, this question would arise even if the histories of the universe went back to the infinite past. But it is more immediate if the universe began only 15 billion years ago. The problem of what happens at the beginning of time is a bit like the question of what happened at the edge of the world, when people thought the world was flat. Is the world a flat plate with the sea pouring over the edge? I have tested this experimentally. I have been round the world, and I have not fallen off. As we all know, the problem of what happens at the edge of the world was solved when people realized that the world was not a flat plate, but a curved surface. Time however, seemed to be different. It appeared to be separate from space, and to be like a model railway track. If it had a beginning, there would have to be someone to set the trains going. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity unified time and space as spacetime, but time was still different from space and was like a corridor, which either had a beginning and end, or went on forever. However, when one combines General Relativity with Quantum Theory, Jim Hartle and I realized that time can behave like another direction in space under extreme conditions. This means one can get rid of the problem of time having a beginning, in a similar way in which we got rid of the edge of the world. Suppose the beginning of the universe was like the South Pole of the earth, with degrees of latitude playing the role of time. The universe would start as a point at the South Pole. As one moves north, the circles of constant latitude, representing the size of the universe, would expand. To ask what happened before the beginning of the universe would become a meaningless question, because there is nothing south of the South Pole.

Time, as measured in degrees of latitude, would have a beginning at the South Pole, but the South Pole is much like any other point, at least so I have been told. I have been to Antarctica, but not to the South Pole. The same laws of Nature hold at the South Pole as in other places. This would remove the age-old objection to the universe having a beginning; that it would be a place where the normal laws broke down. The beginning of the universe would be governed by the laws of science. The picture Jim Hartle and I developed of the spontaneous quantum creation of the universe would be a bit like the formation of bubbles of steam in boiling water.

The idea is that the most probable histories of the universe would be like the surfaces of the bubbles. Many small bubbles would appear, and then disappear again. These would correspond to mini universes that would expand but would collapse again while still of microscopic size. They are possible alternative universes but they are not of much interest since they do not last long enough to develop galaxies and stars, let alone intelligent life. A few of the little bubbles, however, grow to a certain size at which they are safe from recollapse. They will continue to expand at an ever increasing rate, and will form the bubbles we see. They will correspond to universes that would start off expanding at an ever increasing rate. This is called inflation, like the way prices go up every year.

The world record for inflation was in Germany after the First World War. Prices rose by a factor of ten million in a period of 18 months. But that was nothing compared to inflation in the early universe. The universe expanded by a factor of million trillion trillion in a tiny fraction of a second. Unlike inflation in prices, inflation in the early universe was a very good thing. It produced a very large and uniform universe, just as we observe. However, it would not be completely uniform. In the sum over histories, histories that are very slightly irregular will have almost as high probabilities as the completely uniform and regular history. The theory therefore predicts that the early universe is likely to be slightly non-uniform. These irregularities would produce small variations in the intensity of the microwave background from different directions. The microwave background has been observed by the Map satellite, and was found to have exactly the kind of variations predicted. So we know we are on the right lines.

The irregularities in the early universe will mean that some regions will have slightly higher density than others. The gravitational attraction of the extra density will slow the expansion of the region, and can eventually cause the region to collapse to form galaxies and stars. So look well at the map of the microwave sky. It is the blue print for all the structure in the universe. We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe. God really does play dice.

We have made tremendous progress in cosmology in the last hundred years. The General Theory of Relativity and the discovery of the expansion of the universe shattered the old picture of an ever existing and ever lasting universe. Instead, general relativity predicted that the universe, and time itself, would begin in the big bang. It also predicted that time would come to an end in black holes. The discovery of the cosmic microwave background and observations of black holes support these conclusions. This is a profound change in our picture of the universe and of reality itself. Although the General Theory of Relativity predicted that the universe must have come from a period of high curvature in the past, it could not predict how the universe would emerge from the big bang. Thus general relativity on its own cannot answer the central question in cosmology: Why is the universe the way it is? However, if general relativity is combined with quantum theory, it may be possible to predict how the universe would start. It would initially expand at an ever increasing rate.

During this so called inflationary period, the marriage of the two theories predicted that small fluctuations would develop and lead to the formation of galaxies, stars, and all the other structure in the universe. This is confirmed by observations of small non uniformities in the cosmic microwave background, with exactly the predicted properties. So it seems we are on our way to understanding the origin of the universe, though much more work will be needed. A new window on the very early universe will be opened when we can detect gravitational waves by accurately measuring the distances between space craft. Gravitational waves propagate freely to us from earliest times, unimpeded by any intervening material. By contrast, light is scattered many times by free electrons. The scattering goes on until the electrons freeze out, after 300,000 years.

Despite having had some great successes, not everything is solved. We do not yet have a good theoretical understanding of the observations that the expansion of the universe is accelerating again, after a long period of slowing down. Without such an understanding, we cannot be sure of the future of the universe. Will it continue to expand forever? Is inflation a law of Nature? Or will the universe eventually collapse again? New observational results and theoretical advances are coming in rapidly. Cosmology is a very exciting and active subject. We are getting close to answering the age old questions. Why are we here? Where did we come from?

Thank you for listening to me.

Περιουσίες Τσάμηδων και Αλβανών στην Ελλάδα (Άρση του εμπολέμου και διεθνής προστασία των δικαιωμάτων του ανθρώπου)

 Γ. Κτιστάκης Δ.Ν., Δικηγόρος, ειδικός επιστήμονας της Νομικής Σχολής Κομοτηνής

Εισαγωγη

 

Η περιουσία των Τσάμηδων, κύρια αιτία ρήξης με τον χριστιανικό πληθυσμό στο μεσοπόλεμο
Τα περιουσιακά στοιχεία των Τσάμηδων αποτέλεσαν τον κύριο λόγο ρήξης με τον χριστιανικό πληθυσμό κατά τον μεσοπόλεμο. Οι ξένες επεμβάσεις (Αλβανίας και Ιταλίας) δεν ήταν ασήμαντες. Ωστόσο, το πιθανότερο είναι ότι δεν θα είχαν βρει έδαφος αν δεν υπόβοσκε η αγωνία των Τσάμηδων για την πράγματι σημαντική περιουσία τους.
Σε αυτό το συμπέρασμα συγκλίνουν τα ακόλουθα:
Όταν η Τσαμουριά [1] πέρασε στην Ελλάδα κατά τους Βαλκανικούς πολέμους, οι περισσότεροι Τσάμηδες επέλεξαν την ελληνική ιθαγένεια, σύμφωνα με το άρθρο 4 της Συνθήκης των Αθηνών του 1913. Κύρια εξήγηση της επιλογής της ελληνικής ιθαγένειας ήταν η διατήρηση των μεγάλων τσιφλικιών τους στην Ήπειρο [2].
Με την εφαρμογή του νόμου 2521/19203, ξέσπασε δυσφορία ανάμεσα στους Τσάμηδες γιατί πολλοί από αυτούς ήταν ιδιοκτήτες γης, ζούσαν αποκλειστικά σχεδόν από το γεώμορο και θεώρησαν τις αποζημιώσεις, που τους επιδικάστηκαν για τη σύμφωνα με τις διατάξεις του νόμου παραχώρηση της σοδειάς στους κολλήγους, ανεπαρκείς [4].
Ανησυχία στην περιοχή προκάλεσε και το από 22 Νοεμβρίου 1922 νομοθετικό διάταγμα "Περί επιτάξεως ακινήτων δι' εγκατάστασιν προσφύγων και απαλλοτριώσεως οικοπέδων δι' ανέργεσιν προσφυγικών συνοικισμών"[5], αν και η εφαρμογή του φέρεται να έγινε στην Τσαμουριά με "πνεύμα επιείκειας"[6].
Η πιεστική ανάγκη αποκατάστασης των προσφύγων από την Μ. Ασία οδήγησε λίγο αργότερα στην δέσμευση ή και στην απαλλοτρίωση, μεταξύ άλλων, και κτημάτων των Τσάμηδων[7]. Μάλιστα, με απόφαση του Ν. Πλαστήρα επετράπη η κατάληψη των ακινήτων εν γένει και προ της καταβολής αποζημίωσης. Σε διπλωματικό επίπεδο, αυτό προκάλεσε συνεχείς αλβανικές κατηγορίες σε βάρος της Ελλάδας στην Κοινωνία των Εθνών [8]. Σε διμερές επίπεδο, η αλβανική κυβέρνηση πίεσε για την ειδική ρύθμιση, μέσω συμφωνίας, των αποζημιώσεων των περιουσιακών στοιχείων των μουσουλμάνων "αλβανικής φυλής ή υπηκοότητας" [9]. Σε τοπικό επίπεδο, οι σχέσεις Τσάμηδων (μουσουλμάνων) και χριστιανών (προσφύγων και μη) εντάθηκαν κατακόρυφα. Χαρακτηριστικά αναφέρεται ότι τον Φεβρουάριο του 1925 εγκαταστάθηκαν 18.000 πρόσφυγες από την Μ. Ασία στα χωριά των μουσουλμάνων που θεωρήθηκαν ανταλλάξιμοι και ετοιμάστηκαν να φύγουν για Τουρκία. Όμως, η ανταλλαγή ματαιώθηκε (μεσολάβησε ξαφνική απόφαση του στρατηγού Πάγκαλου της 23ης Ιανουαρίου 1926) και οι Τσάμηδες επέστρεψαν στα σπίτια τους και στα χωράφια τους στα οποία είχαν ήδη εγκατασταθεί οι χριστιανοί πρόσφυγες. Η τριβή μεταξύ των δύο ομάδων πληθυσμού μετριάστηκε μόνο μετά την άνοιξη του 1926 όταν σταδιακά οι πρόσφυγες μετακινήθηκαν προς τη Θεσσαλία [10].
Ο αγροτικός νόμος του 1926 με τα άρθρα 3 και 5 διαφοροποίησε τις περιοχές Θεσσαλίας, Άρτας, Ηπείρου, Μακεδονίας και Θράκης. Σ' αυτές τις περιπτώσεις επέτρεπε την απαλλοτρίωση και στα κάτω των 30 εκταρίων κτήματα. Ο λόγος ήταν ότι σε αυτές τις περιοχές εγκαταστάθηκαν πρόσφυγες. Έτσι, όμως, πλήττονταν οι μικροϊδιοκτήτες Τσάμηδες [11].
Το 1926 υπογράφηκαν από τον στρατηγό Πάγκαλο τέσσερις διμερείς συμβάσεις με την Αλβανία [12]. Λίγο μετά την ανατροπή του (πάντοτε το 1926), εισήχθησαν στην Βουλή για κύρωση. Η μία από αυτές ("Περί εγκαταστάσεως και προξενικής υπηρεσίας") αποσύρθηκε τελευταία στιγμή από την συζήτηση στην κοινοβουλευτική επιτροπή γιατί στο άρθρο 3 όριζε ότι οι Αλβανοί υπήκοοι, κτήματα των οποίων στην Ελλάδα έχουν απαλλοτριωθεί, δικαιούνταν αποζημίωση μεγαλύτερη από εκείνη που προβλεπόταν βάσει της αγροτικής νομοθεσίας.
Η κυβέρνηση Βενιζέλου, επιθυμώντας την ηρεμία στον πληθυσμό της Τσαμουριάς, ψήφισε το 1930 και το 1931 ειδικούς νόμους για την "εύλογη" (ευνοϊκή) αποζημίωση των Τσάμηδων και την ταχύτερη διευθέτηση των περιουσιακών εκκρεμοτήτων [13].
Αντιθέτως, η δικτατορία του Μεταξά υιοθέτησε το 1937 νόμο για την αναγκαστική απαλλοτρίωση των υπολειπόμενων αλβανικών περιουσιών στο όνομα του αναδασμού της γης. Η καταβολή των σχετικών αποζημιώσεων καθυστέρησε υπερβολικά.
Οι προηγούμενες επεμβάσεις στα περιουσιακά στοιχεία των Τσάμηδων οδήγησαν στον προοδευτικό εκτοπισμό τους από γη και σπίτια με αποτέλεσμα, αφενός τα τοπικά μίση14, αφετέρου την αναζήτηση ξένου προστάτη στην υπό Ιταλική κατοχή (1939) "Μεγάλη Αλβανία" [15]. Ήδη, πριν τον Οκτώβριο του 1940 χίλιοι πεντακόσιοι Τσάμηδες είχαν εκτοπισθεί στην Χίο, στην Κρήτη και σε άλλες απόμακρες περιοχές της χώρας [16]. Η ρήξη με το κεντρικό ελληνικό κράτος συντελέστηκε ουσιαστικά πριν τον πόλεμο εξαιτίας των περιουσιακών στοιχείων των Τσάμηδων [17].(συνεχιζει... )

1 "Τσαμουριά" ονομαζόταν η περιοχή κατά τη Τουρκοκρατία. Σύμφωνα με έναν συγγραφέα, η ονομασία δεν είναι ούτε αλβανική ούτε τουρκική. Αποτελεί παραφθορά του Θυαμουριά (μεσαιωνικό όνομα της Θεσπρωτίας) από τον τοπικό ποταμό που στην αρχαιότητα λεγόταν Θύαμις και σήμερα Καλαμάς. Βλ. Α. Παπαδόπουλου, Άπειρος Χώρα, εκδόσεις Λιβάνη, Αθήνα 1992.
2 Β. Κραψίτη, Η ιστορική αλήθεια για τους μουσουλμάνους Τσάμηδες, Αθήνα, 1992, σελ. 54.
3 Ν. 2521/1920 "περί παραχωρήσεως της εσοδείας των κολληγικώς καλλιεργουμένων γαιών και συμπληρώσεως της αγροτικής νομοθεσίας", Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως του Βασιλείου της Ελλάδος, τεύχος πρώτο, 3.10.1920, αρ. 227, σελ. 2222.
4 Σημείωμα του επιθεωρητή αγροτικής αποκατάστασης προσφύγων με τίτλο "Περί θρησκευτικών μειονοτήτων της Τσαμουριάς" [Γιάννενα, 4.9.1923], συνημμένο σε έγγραφο του Υπουργείου Γεωργίας προς το Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. 1926, Γ/68/Χ).
Εφεξής, όπου αναφέρεται ως πηγή το Ιστορικό Αρχείο του Υπουργείου Εξωτερικών (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε.), λαμβάνεται υπόψη ότι δεν κατέστη δυνατή η άμεση πρόσβαση στο συγκεκριμένο αρχείο αλλά πρόκειται για έμμεση πηγή: όλες οι σχετικές αναφορές αντλούνται από το έργο του Δ. Μιχαλόπουλου, Τσάμηδες, εκδόσεις Αρσενίδη, Αθήνα, 1993.
5 Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως του Βασιλείου της Ελλάδος, τεύχος πρώτο, 23.11.1922, αρ. 243, σελ. 1459.

6 Έκθεση της 2ας Μαρτίου 1923 του Γενικού Διοικητή Ηπείρου προς το Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. 1923, Α/5[3]).
7 Βλ. κατωτέρω 1.4.1.1.1.
8 Βλ. κατωτέρω 1.4.1.2. και 1.5.1.2.
9 Βλ. κατωτέρω 1.5.1.1.
10 Έκθεση του Γ.Δ. Ηπείρου προς το Υπ.Εξ. στις 30.9.1927, Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. Βλ. Λ. Διβάνη, Ελλάδα και μειονότητες, Νεφέλη, Αθήνα, 1995, σελ. 233-238.
11 Σε έκθεση του Κ. Μητρομελέτη, Γενικού Επιθεωρητή του Υπουργείου Γεωργίας για τα απαλλοτριωθέντα κτήματα των Τσάμηδων, κρίνει την απαλλοτρίωση ως "αμελέτητον, παράνομον και αντισυνταγματική, διότι πρόκειται περί πυκνοκαλλιεργημένων μικροϊδιοκτησιών" (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. 1935, Α/4/9/2.).
12 Βλ. κατωτέρω 1.5.1.1.
13 Βλ. κατωτέρω 1.4.1.1.2. και 1.4.1.1.3.
14 Τον Σεπτέμβριο του 1936 έλληνες κάτοικοι της Τσαμουριάς ανέφεραν στον Διευθυντή Κρατικής Αμύνης ότι φοβούνται ότι οι μουσουλμάνοι συντοπίτες τους "θέλουσιν στραφή καθ' ημών όντων αόπλων, διότι ούτοι κατέχουσιν άπαντες όπλα" και ζητούσαν από το "νέον ορθοποδίζον κράτος" να στείλει τμήμα στρατού για την προστασία τους (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. 1936, Α/4/9α,β, α.π. 18452). Βλ. Λ. Διβάνη, ό.π., σελ. 255.
15 Ήδη, τον Απρίλιο του 1936 ο νέος Γενικός Διοικητής Ηπείρου ζητά από το Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών την ανάκληση προηγούμενης διαταγής του που απαγόρευε τη λήψη οποιουδήποτε πιεστικού μέτρου κατά των Τσάμηδων, γιατί διέβλεπε τον κίνδυνο να εξεγερθούν (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. 1935, Α/4/9/1, α.π. 7809). Την ίδια εποχή ο Έπαρχος Παραμυθίας ζήτησε να σταλούν μυστικοί πράκτορες στα Τσαμοχώρια γιατί υπήρχαν φήμες για εξέγερση (Ι.Α.Υ.Ε. 1935, Α/4/9/1). Βλ. Λ. Διβάνη, ό.π., σελ. 255.
16 Γ. Μαργαρίτης, "Η σκοτεινή πλευρά των εθνικών θριάμβων", Ο Πολίτης, τ.117, 1992, σελ. 45.
17 Ε. Μαντά, Οι μουσουλμάνοι Τσάμηδες της Ηπείρου (1923-2000), ΙΜΧΑ, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2004, σελ. 47 κ.επ.. Γ. Μαργαρίτης, Ανεπιθύμητοι συμπατριώτες, Βιβλιόραμα, Αθήνα, 2005, σελ. 133-215, ιδίως, σελ. 140-145.

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Kur “shtyllat” ku mbeshteten orgjite mendore te Kristo Frasherit i merr era...

ARRA GUNGË E EPIRIT

Nga ARDIAN VEHBIU

Historiani Kristo Frashëri, në disa numra të Gazetës Shqiptare, polemizon me teza të historianëve grekë në lidhje me Epirin e Vjetër dhe banorët e tij në shekuj.

Çështja e natyrës etnike të Epirit të Vjetër në lashtësi dhe në mesjetë i ka ndarë historianët në të dy anët e kufirit shqiptaro-grek.

Dy tezat ekstreme – njëra se Epiri i Vjetër ka qenë gjithnjë etnikisht grek dhe tjetra se Epiri i Vjetër ka qenë iliro-shqiptar në mënyrë të vijueshme – nuk janë të vetmet që qarkullojnë, as më të besueshmet.

Megjithatë, të thuash se epirotët nuk kanë qenë grekë nuk do të thotë,automatikisht, se epirotët kanë qenë ilirë (kjo duhet mbështetur veçmas), as se ilirët e dikurshëm (të supozuar) të Epirit janë trashëguar si shqiptarët e sotëm të Jugut.

Gjithsesi, polemika është tërheqëse në vetvete.

Një pjesë e argumenteve që sjell Frashëri kanë natyrë gjuhësore-etimologjike dhe meritojnë vëmendje.

Kështu, ai thotë ndër të tjera se:

Emri Bylis vlerësohet si një toponimi tipike ilire me rrënjë fjalën “ballë”, në kuptimin e kryes. Për t’u bindur për këtë përmbajtje etimologjike shqipe mjafton të kujtojmë se sllavët e quajtënGllavinicë (nga Gllavë: Krye), kurse në një burim mesjetar grekKefalini (nga Qefali: Krye). Pra, në të dyja rastet kemi një përkthim në sllavisht dhe në greqisht të toponimit ilir Bylis (= ballë, krye).

Unë nuk di se kush e ka barazuar emrin Bylis me fjalën “ballë”; por jam në gjendje të them se ky barazim nuk qëndron nga ana fonetike; meqë kalimi ngay-ja e Bylis-it në a-në e fjalës ballë është shumë problematik. Nuk ka asnjë shembull që një fjalë e lashtë, indo-europiane, greke e lashtë, ilire ose edhe latine me y tematike, të ketë përfunduar me a tematike në shqipen e sotme, me rregullsitë fonetike të shqipes; Bylis do të kish përfunduar në diçka si Bull(sh)ose Byll(sh), po të kish qenë në gojën e shqiptarëve pa ndërprerje. Sipas të njëjtit arsyetim, nuk ka shumë gjasë që fjala e sotme ballë, së cilës i është pranuar etimologjia indo-europiane, të ketë pasur formën Bylis në lashtësi. Përndryshe, barazimet Gllavinicë = Qefali = Ballsh janë të besueshme në vetvete, edhe pse pa lidhje me ekuacionin Bylis = Ballsh.

Më tej, Frashëri shprehet edhe për origjinën e emrit të krahinës Dropull, për të diskutuar nëse ky duhet shpjeguar patjetër nga Hadrianopolis, apo nga një formë *Drinopolis, si qyteti i lumit Drin(os), që kalon aty; duke vërejtur, me këtë rast, se toponimi Drin është ilir dhe ndeshet anembanë trojeve të Ballkanit të banuara nga këto fise. Kjo është e vërtetë, meqë veç Drinit në Shqipërinë e Veriut, ka edhe një Drina në Bosnjë, veç emrave të përrenjve që ndeshen aty-këtu, gjithnjë në Veri të Shqipërisë.

Mirëpo këtu ka një problem me vetë emrin e lumit; sepse një Drin, në Shqipërinë e Jugut, do të ishte rotacizuar në Dri-Driri (sikurse bri-briri, fre-freri, Mërti(r)-Mërtiri, ulli-ulliri, mulli-mulliri, etj.; të gjitha forma që dalin me n- në gegërishte:brini, freni, Martini, ullini, mullini). Pse të ketë mbetur Drini në Jug i parotacizuar, në një kohë që rotacizmi, si rregull, ka prekur edhe emrat e vendeve (khs. Vlorë, nga Aulona)? Vallë ngaqë nuk ka qenë pandërprerazi në gojë të shqipfolësve? Apo ngaqë ka pasur ndonjë enklavë gege aty?

[Meqë jemi në temë, unë nuk e kuptoj pse s'e ka përsiatur njeri mundësinë e prejardhjes së toponimit Dropull nga një sllavishte mesjetare Drinopolje, ose fusha e Drinos-it. Ndoshta Tannhauser ka më shumë informacion për këtë.]

Në fakt, mungesa e rotacizmit në emrin e lumit Drin(os) më kujtoi edhe një rast tjetër, që u ka hapur kokëçarje gjuhëtarëve: fjala qen, e cila mbahet si huazim latin, por që si i tillë duhej të ishte rotacizuar në toskërishte, si qé-qeri. David Luka ka shkruar një artikull të hollësishëm për këtë çështje tani së voni. Edhe pse ka ndonjë zë që e quan qen si fjalë autoktone dhe mungesën e rotacizmit aty e shpjegon me një geminate: *kannis (n-të geminate ose të dyfishta, nuk janë rotacizuar në shqipe: khs. hënë, punë, etj.), unë do të anoja nga shpjegimi që qen, në toskërishten, është huazim i vjetër nga gegërishtja (i mesjetës së hershme, por pas përfundimit të rotacizmit në toskërishte).

Gjithsesi, Drin(os) mund të jetë toponim ilir në Epir, por mosrotacizimi i fjalës e dëmton tezën e vijueshmërisë ilire-shqiptare në ato troje.

Frashëri tingëllon më bindës kur merret me historinë e Krishterimit në Epir; edhe pse teza e tij se “historia e provincave epirote na çon tek konkluzioni se tek të dy Epiret mbisundonte elementi ilir” më duket pak e sforcuar. Të thuash që epirotët e lashtësisë kanë qenë të ndryshëm prej grekëve, dhe që epirotët e lashtësisë – thesprotët, kaonët, mollosët – kanë qenë ilirë janë dy teza të ndryshme; e para nuk e provon të dytën; dhe e dyta mbetet për t’u provuar, pa çka se historianët shqiptarë, siç mund të pritej, e marrin për të mirëqenë.

Mare nga: http://ardianvehbiu.com/

Gazeta Shqiptare -Sipas gjuhetarit me te shquar midis historianeve, z K. Frasheri
Si dëshmi të helenizmit të Epir it-të-Ri, historiani grek E. Chrysos sjell emrin e qytetit Bylis (sot: Ballshi në Mallakastër). Duket se ai nuk e njeh opinionin që mbisundon në historiografi, në të cilën emri Bylis vlerësohet si një toponimi tipike ilire me rrënjë fjalën "ballë", në kuptimin e kryes. Për t'u bindur për këtë përmbajtje etimologjike shqipe mjafton të kujtojmë se sllavët e quajtën Gllavinicë (nga Gllavë: Krye), kurse në një burim mesjetar grek Kefalini (nga Qefali: Krye). Pra, në të dyja rastet kemi një përkthim në sllavisht dhe në greqisht të toponimit ilir Bylis (=ballë, krye).
Një tjetër argument që përmend historiani grek Chrysos është përpjekja e tij për të hetuar origjinën e emrit të Dropullit. Siç dihet, jo pak historianë mendojnë se toponimi "Dropull" e ka burimin te emri i qytetit të lashtë Hadrianopolis (qyteti i themeluar nga perandori romak Hadriani, pra qyteti i Hadrianit). Por ka edhe një tezë tjetër shumë bindëse, e cila e sheh burimin e toponimit Dropull, dikur Drinopul, Drinopolis, te emri i lumit Drino, siç quhet edhe sot, që përshkon luginën e Gjirokastrës, pra qyteti i Drinos. Eqerem Çabej shkruan se lumi Drin, trajta e hershme ilire Drin, grekët e vjetër Drinos, latinët Drinus, sllavët Drim është, sipas gjuhëtarëve, toponimi ilire. Është mjaft i përhapur në botën ilire: Drini në Shkodër, Drina në Bosnjë, Drini i Zi në Strugë, Drini i Bardhë në Pejë. Ka edhe përrenj me emrin Drin, si në Lumë, në Shtip (Maqedoni) e gjetkë. Emri i krahinës Dropull, dikur Drinopull, ????????? greqisht, e ka origjinën pra te lumi Drin dhe jo te qyteti antik Hadrianopolis. Shtojmë me këtë rast se Drinos, ??????? e ndeshim edhe më herët se kur jetoi perandori romak Hadrian. Në një nga mbishkrimet e Butrintit edhe si emër fisi, ndoshta emri i banorëve të luginës së lumit Drinos. (K. Boxhori, Dh. Budina. Disa mbishkrime të pabotuara të theatrit të Butrintit. Në: "Studime historike", 2, 1966, f. 189). Lumi Drin i ka dhënë emrin krahinës Dropull nëpër të cilën kalon lumi, nga Drinopull, Drnopull, Drropull ????????? te grekët (ashtu si lumi Mat i dha emrin krahinës së Matit). (Shih më gjerë E. Çabej, Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes, vëll. III, Tiranë 1987, f. 320). Duket se historiani grek Chrysos nuk e pranon karakterin ilir të dy toponimeve të përmendura, mbasi kërkon medoemos të na mbushë mendjen qoftë edhe me përdhunë, se ato janë me origjinë helene.
Për të provuar helenizmin e të dy Epireve, historianët grekë zakonisht i referohen edhe historisë kishtare. Sipas tyre, krishterimi në të dy Epiret erdhi nga Lindja, duke nënkuptuar me këtë krishterimin grek. Në të vërtetë, ky pretendim nuk ka asnjë mbështetje. Apostulli i parë, i cili e përhapi krishterimin në të dyja trevat ishte Shën Pali, i cili pa pikë dyshimi ishte i lidhur më tepër me Romën se sa me Kostandinopojën, mbasi kjo nuk ekzistonte në kohën e tij. Kisha e krishterë jo vetëm në Epirin-e-Ri, por edhe në Epirin-e-Vjetër ka qenë deri në fillimin e Mesjetës (shek. VI), vazhdimisht e lidhur me Romën. Madje, në shekullin II të krishterët e Nikopojës i dhanë Romës edhe një kryeprift - Papën Eleuterin. Peshkopatat e krishtera i mbajtën lidhjet me Romën edhe pas vitit 395 kur të dy Epiret u përfshinë në Perandorinë Bizantine.
Dëshmi e padiskutueshme e përhapjes dhe e konsolidimit të krishterimit në viset shqiptare nga Perëndimi, është terminologjia kishtare e ritit dhe e liturgjisë që ka përvetësuar dhe që ka akoma në përdorim jo vetëm kisha katolike, por edhe kisha ortodokse shqiptare. Siç e kanë argumentuar linguistët, terminologjia e të dyja kishave është e njëjtë, mbasi te të dyja është me origjinë latine. Të tilla janë për shembull termat: kryq (crux), shenjt (sanctus), meshë (missam), kishë (eçlesia), pagëzim (baptistum), kungim (comunionem), bekim (benedictionem), mallkim (maledictionem), krezhmë (crisma), pendim (penitentiam), lavdi (laudem), këmbanë (campanum), shpirt (spiritus), qiri (cera), ferr (infernus), paradis (paradis), mrekulli (miraculum), agjinim (jenunare), i kërshterë (cristianus), Kërshndella (Cristi natalia), rushaje (rosarium). Ky fenomen shpjegohet vetëm me faktin se terminologjia kishtare ka hyrë në gjuhën shqipe në Antikitetin e vonë kur edhe viset jugore të Shqipërisë, e kishin kthyer fytyrën nga Roma. Origjinën e përbashkët të fillimeve kishtare nën ombrellën e Perëndimit e tregojnë edhe trajtat e njëjta që kanë te shqiptarët e të dy riteve të krishtera, emrat e shenjtorëve të hershëm si: Shën Pjetri, Shën Pali, Shën Ndreu, Shën Mitri, Shën Gjoni, Shën Gjergji, Shën Gjini, Shën Mëhilli, Shën Mërtiri, Shënd'Ëlliu, etj.etj.
Lidhjen kishtare me Romën jo vetëm të Epirit-të-Ri, por edhe të Epirit-të-Vjetër e dëshmojnë edhe qëndrimi i peshkopëve të tyre në koncilet kishtare të përbashkëta të periudhës para skizmës së hershme, pra para ndarjes së Kishës Perëndimore me Kishën Lindore. Këtu nuk është vendi për të trajtuar gjatë këtë histori, të cilën historiani grek Chrysos e kalon në heshtje. Do të përmendim vetëm qëndrimin e tyre në koncilin e Efezit të vitit 431. Edhe pse ky koncil u mbajt me pjesëmarrjen e peshkopëve të kishave të Perandorisë Bizantine, peshkopi i Nikopojës, Donati dhe peshkopi i Dodonës, Theodori u rreshtuan në krahun e peshkopëve ilirë të Epirit-të-Ri - të Eukarit, peshkop i Durrësit dhe të Feliksit, peshkop i Apollonisë dhe i Bylisit, - të cilët së bashku me peshkopin e Shkodrës, Senecioni dhe të Dioklesë, Kostanci, nuk pranuan tezën e perandorit bizantin për nënshtrimin e tyre ndaj pushtetit perandorak. Historianët me autoritet të historisë kishtare e vënë në dukje se përçarja në gjirin e koncilit të Efezit kishte afërsisht një karakter etnik, mbasi peshkopët e viseve greke e mbështetën platformën e perandorit të Kostandinopojës, kurse ata që e kundërshtuan midis të cilëve ishin dhe peshkopët e Epirit-të-Vjetër dhe Epirit-të Ri, përfaqësonin popullsitë jo greke. Distancimi i peshkopëve të të dy Epireve nga Kostandinopoja vazhdoi të thellohej deri në atë shkallë sa perandori bizantin Justinian krijoi në vitin 535 në Shkup një kryepeshkopatë të kishave ilire të lidhur me Romën. Historia e provincave epirote na çon tek konkluzioni se tek të dy Epiret mbisundonte elementi ilir. Në fillim të shekullit VI, sikurse del nga Synecdemus-i i Hieroklit, në trevën jugore ilire vazhdonte të ishte në fuqi ndarja administrative e saj në katër provinca: në Epirin-e-Vjetër, Epirin-e-Ri, Dardani, Prevalitani. (Hieroclis Synecdemus, 651, 653, 655, 656. Shih: Ilirët dhe Iliria te autorët antikë, Tiranë 1965, ff. 455-456). Disa dhjetëvjeçarë më vonë, gjatë mbretërimit të Justinianit, numri i provincave jugore ilire u pakësua nga katër në tri. Provinca e Prevalitanisë me qendër Shkodrën, u suprimua. Viset e saj u bashkuan me provincën e Epirit-të-Ri, e cila vazhdoi të kishte për qendër Durrësin. Përfshirja në Epirin-e-Ri të viseve që ndodheshin në Provincën e Prevalitanisë pa dyshim vise ilire, është një dëshmi më tepër që flet në favor të identitetit etnik të provincave që mbanin të njëjtin emër Epir. Gjatë sundimit romak nga historia njerëzore e Epirit njohim shumë pak emra njerëzish. Janë emra të elitës administrative dhe shoqërore, të cilët mund të tregojnë edhe përkatësinë e tyre etnike. Kështu për shembull, një nga familjet më të shquara të aristokracisë së Epirit ishte ajo e klearkëve (Klearchoi) në shekullin IV me origjinë nga Thesprotia (Çamëria). Klearku (plaku) ishte anëtar i Senatit të Kostandinopojës, kurse nipi i tij Klearku (i riu) prefekt i Kostandinopojës dhe prefekt pretorian i Illirikumit në fillim të shekullit V. Një tjetër epirot i shquar i cili quhej Marcellinus, ishte guvernator i Sirisë më 382. Ndër më të shquarit epirotë të Antikitetit të vonë ishte pa dyshim filozofi Priscus, kryetar i Akademisë së Platonit në Athinë. Ai i qëndroi besnik fesë pagane edhe pasi krishterimi u shpall fe zyrtare e perandorisë. Për këtë arsye, perandori Julian, i cili iu kundërvu fesë së krishterë, e ngarkoi në poste me përgjegjësi në fushën e kulturës. Pas vdekjes së Julianit, Prisku u kthye në Akademinë e Athinës, ku dha mësime për mëse tridhjetë vjet. Për të shpëtuar nga persekutimet e Kishës së krishterë, ai u strehua në Epir. Ndër familjet e tjera të shquara, të cilat i trajton historiani E. Chrysos, duhen përmendur prej tyre dy pronarë të mëdhenj tokash - ajo e Paulas nga Roma me prona në Nikopojë dhe ajo e Paulinëve (Paulinus) nga Pella, me prona në Epirin-e-Vjetër dhe në Epirin-e-Ri. Sikurse shihet, vetëm emri i familjes së Klearkëve ka tingull helen. Të tjerat anojnë nga gjuha latine. Përdorimi i emrave dhe i mbiemrave latinë nuk tregon medoemos se mbajtësi i tyre ishte romak. Madje, edhe përdorimi i emrit helen nuk do të thotë medoemos se mbajtësi i tij qe grek. Ne kemi një mori qytetarësh, madje dhe perandorësh, të cilët mbajnë emër të përveçëm nga fusha e onomastikës latine (si për shembull perandori Justinian), madje edhe helene (si për shembull perandori Anastas), të cilët dihet me siguri se nuk qenë as romakë, as grekë, por ilirë. Historiani grek E. Chrysos, duke folur për selinë peshkopale Euria (më vonë Shën Donati dhe në ditët tona Paramithia), lë të kuptohet se emri i qytetit i takon greqishtes. Sipas një legjende, shkruan ai, Donati, peshkopi i parë i Euresë, të cilin kisha e ka shpallur shenjtor (Shën Donati), vrau një dragua në vendin e quajtur Chamaigephyrai dhe aty shpërtheu një burim uji për qytetin e tij. Chrysos shkruan se Euroia mund të përkthehet "rrjedhë e bollshme". Duket se ai nuk e ka vënë re se në toponimin Euroia > Uroia > Ujë-roia > Ujë i rrjedhshëm > Ujë i bollshëm. Si rrjedhim, toponimia lë të kuptohet se banorët e Euroia-s gjatë Antikitetit të vonë kanë qenë ilirë, pra paraardhësit e shqiptarëve.

Konferenca e trete panhimarjote-prezantime

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/58280601?access_key=key-elrirgd5x6kgbstxmpc

17-18 Korrik, Konferenca e 3-te Panhimarjote-Hotel Bellevue, ne Dhermi

post by Dr. Kristaq V. JORGJI [dhermijorgji@yahoo.com]
Ky mesazh eshte per te bere lajmerimin e radhes per Konferencen 3te Pan-Himariote. Me poshte, keni programin e fundit te Konferences.

Komisioni organizues ju ben me dije se grupi i kontribuesve nga Tirana do te kete ne dispozicion nje mikrobus me date 17 Qershor 2011 per te ardhur nga Tirana ne Dhermi dhe Kthimin nga data 18 Qershor 2011. Do te njoftoheni ne vazhdim per vendin dhe oren e e takimit per te marre mikrobuzin.

Per kontribuesit e tjere, ardhja dhe largimi jane me mjetet e tyre per tecilet ne do te luteshim qe te merni kuponat e karburantit (nese do te vini me makinat tuaja); sikurse biletat e udhetimit nese do te vini me mjete jo-personale. Shpenzimet per udhetimin sikurse edhe qendrimin dhe hotelin per konferencen do te mbulohen nga organizimi i konferences.

Konferenca do te zhvillohet ne mjediset e Hotel Bellevue, ne Dhermi. Do t'ju luteshi te merrni parasysh se akomodimi do te behet ne dhoma dyshe. Bashkengjitur po ju nisin edhe ftesen (ne MS Publisher).

Te Gjithe autoret qe kane emrin ne ftese jane te lutur , te pergatisin prezantimin e tyre ne Power Point apo jo, por duke mos kaluar kohen e programuar.

Ju lutemi te kontaktoni, ne rast pyetjeje.

Dita I, e premte 17 Qershor 2011

16. 30 Hapja e Konferences

16. 35 Pershendetje nga Autoritetet Lokale

16. 40 Pershendetje nga te ftuarit

Seanca e Parë

17.00 Priamo Bollano Himara me historine e saj

17.15 Jani Koci Historia e hershme e Himares

17.30 Ferit Duka Himara ne dokumentet Osmane

17.45 Irena dhe Minella Gjoni Kapetanata e Bregdetit

18.00 Llambro Ruci Spiro Milo, Gjenerali dhe Greqishtja e tij

18.15 Kristaq Jorgji Misioni i murgjeve baziliane ne Himare– Faza I

18.30 Pushim per Kafe

18.45 Pëllumb Xhufi Stratiotet Himariote

19.00 Priamo Bollano Venomet e Himares

19.15 Llazar Gjergji, Niko Nesturi Origjina e familjeve ne krahinen e Himares

19. 30 Romeo Hanxhari Udhetaret e huaj ne Himare gjate shekujve XVIII

19.45Petrika Thengjilli Himara nga rregjistrat turke tek Leak

20.00 Minella Gjoni Marredhenjet e Himares me Ali Pashen

20. 00 Mbyllja e Dites se pare

Dita II, e shtune 18 Qershor 2011

08.30 Artan Gjika, Priamo Bollano Himara gjate viteve te para te shtetit shqiptar dhe viteve te mbreterise .

08.45 Marko Gjikopulli, Minella Gjoni Arsimimi ne Bregdet– Shkolla Dhermiut dhe Shen Vasilit

09.00 Llambro Ruci Mendime mbi te foluren greke ne Himare

09.15. Foto Bixhili Aspekte te kultures Himariote

09.30 Spiro Nika Monumentet Fetare ne Bregdet

09.45 Irena Gjoni Areali mitollogjik i Bregdetit te Jonit

10.00 Skender Sala, Perikli Gjirazi Monumentet Natyrore ne zonen e Himares

10.15 Spiro Thodhorjani, J. Hanxhari, Th. Ruci Pasurite Natyrore

10.30 - 10.45 P. Hoxha, A. Vranaj, R. Konomi Natyra dhe njeriu ne zhvillimin e infrastruktures

10.45-11. 00 Pushim Kafe

11.00 Natasa Gregoric Studime antropollogjike ne zonen e Himares

11.15 Margarit Gjoka Mendime mbi kendveshtrimin e historiografisë shqiptare

11.30 Priamo Bollano Himara gjate lufterave Ballkanike e vitet e luftes I Boterore

11.45 Fatos Lubonja

11.45. Konkluzione dhe mbyllja e Konferences

Albania’s political crisis, a deadlock in the way of European integration

02/06/2011 Author : Alba Cela

Recommendations for EU involvement in Albania

Introduction On May 10th the observing mission of OSCE/ODHIR called the local elections process of May 8th in Albania “competitive, transparent”[1] and admitted that the Election Day was relatively calm. However they emphasized once again the aggressive climate of the electoral campaign which marked the process and influenced some of its problems. Few could believe that after one of the most violent and incident prone campaign that Albania has seen in roughly twenty years of democracy, a normal election day would follow. However that did not turn out to be good news either since A very slow counting process followed raising political tensions especially in the two largest cities, Tirana and Durres. The final decision of who is going to be Tirana’a mayor stands now on the hands of the Electoral College, the highest authority to decide on electoral issues, since the Central Election Committee reversed the first results which gave Edi Rama, current opposition leader and mayor, a thin victory of plus ten votes. In a disputed process contested by the opposition members at the CEC, part of the votes cast in the capital were recounted and gave a preliminary victory to the other contender, Lulzim Basha. Protesters including MPs camped outside the CEC gates for days and the tensions have brought Albania as the Economist argues “on the brink of a return to violence.”[2] With the rationale that given the ongoing situation there can be no fruitful discussions about Albania’s EU integration, President of the EU Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule cancelled their scheduled visits to Tirana. A two year long crisis yet to be solved On January 21, four people were shot dead at the gates of the Prime Minister’s office in Tirana, they were part of a protest that had turned out violent during the later part of the day. An investigation was launched and foreign experts were called to assist the Attorney General’s office. This has been the most dramatic culmination of a two year long political crises in Albania. At the core of this crisis stands the refusal of the Albanian opposition to acknowledge the results of the parliamentary elections of June 2009, a refusal based on claims that large scale fraud and intimidation occurred during Election Day. The opposition tried to advocate for its requests for complete post-election transparency with a variety of ways including parliamentary boycott as well as a 200 person hunger strike in the capital’s boulevard. They backed down on the strike with the involvement of EU high level officials who tried to secure negotiations between Edi Rama and Sali Berisha, negotiations which were limited to a dinner and otherwise have failed. This ongoing crisis has polarized the society into aggressive division lines pro and against the ruling majority and coalition. Most importantly this crisis has paralyzed the work of the parliament regarding important law that have to be passed with a 2/3 majority, laws that are required to progress in the path of integration. The violent incidents that augmented disproportionably with the electoral campaign of this April have also been a negative mark on Albania’s democratic performance. Incidents of the campaign included: wounding of the Inspectorate of Construction director, explosive blast in the houses of political party activists and in the electoral tents, a stabbing of a teenager, weapon rivalry between flag carrying militants and confrontation between police and MPs again few meters from the PM office. These are not minor incidents and the OSCE has immediately issued reports that the campaign is being conducted in such a way that the number of incidents has increased even compared to elections done in much earlier times.[3] The international factor has invested heavily in sending messages to both political sides to tone down the rhetoric, to collaborate about the reforms and to solve this impasse for the sake of the country’s European future. In a joint statement the President of the Parliamentary Union, the President of the and Hungary’s president criticized the Western Balkans for a problematic halt of reforms and mentioned specifically the two year political crisis in Albania as one of the factors.[4] The burdens of the past, the challenges of the present As Bernd Fischer a well known scholar on Albanian history observes, “The most brutal aspects of the Hoxha regime are long gone […] , But some aspects of its authoritarian rule live on: the elite’s general disregard for the well-being of the people and for the best interests of the state, brutal and intolerant politics, and the lack of a rule of law. These have obstructed the path to Albania's self-declared goals of establishing a functioning democracy, a sustainable market economy, and Euro-Atlantic integration.”[5] The communist regime is not to be forgotten when accounting for recent political developments that would otherwise show an inexplicable lack of democratic culture. Yet the 50 years under totalitarian rule do not account for everything. Albania stepped on the track of reforms and has achieved some positive records such as membership into NATO and the granting of a visa-free regime. Some would argue that these achievements are less due to Albania’s progress than due to geopolitical interests of other parties involved, however this would obstruct the reality that does show improvement signs. Elections however have always been a problem. The first case in which a normal rotation of power was realized was in 2005, when the Socialist PM Fatos Nano stepped down peacefully, 14 years after the downfall of the communist regime. That was the first and the only case. Albania hence has failed to go through ea series of accepted elections and rotations of power which would install a sustained climate of stability. The strength of the political crisis has shown its effects with serious ramifications throughout the Albanian society. The Albanian media has suffered from attempts to control its activity from both parties in a dispute about using ready-made cassettes that cover campaign activities. The Media Monitoring Board and the Central elections Committee passed back and forth confusing statements and memos about the compulsory use of these cassettes exerting pressure on several TV channels. The polarization and aggressive debate fueled by the crisis has resulted in negative outcomes for the media. Some implications in the economy are already present. There is nothing that scares away foreign investment more than political instability. As Andi Balla argues in a recent editorial in Tirana Times, more negative effects are to be expected for tourism this summer.[6] If the political crisis lingers on for too long more and more Albanians will suffer from the economic side effects resulting in more restless youth ready for more incidents, a vicious cycle of violence in-the-making. Security aspect Loss of lives during protests and grave incidents threatening citizens’ lives during electoral campaigns make Albania resemble Middle Eastern and North African states with disreputable systems and lack of democracy. The fact that the lives of citizens are being endangered by what should have been normal political processes raises severe doubts about the country’s general security situation. The same applies to better and more sophisticated approaches to civil emergencies when there is a potential risk for the institutions. There is a need to draft clearer responses to different degrees of danger and hence apply a more proportional response. Until complete transparence of events is made security analysts and policy makers will lack the necessary information to analyze the scenarios and draft appropriate responses to them. The performance of the state actors responsible for maintaining order has been praised by ambassadors[7] and other international actors with the exception of the incident where the head of the Police delayed the execution of the Attorney General’s arrest order for the soldiers accused of being responsible for the January 21 deaths. The International actors have invested heavily both in the technical and financial side for the sate police and hence have exerted maximum pressure in holding them accountable to high standards of performance and professionalism. The same should be done to the political class. As former Albanian President, Rexhep Mejdani, argues Albanian actors responsible for national security still need to absorb the very concept of “individual security” and invest in “posing limitations to the executive power as well as increasing transparency for the sake of security.” [8] This would call for a large comprehensive effort to avoid escalations of incidents and above all guarantee the lives of citizens as well as the protection of institutions while respecting human rights and democratic values by adopting the bets European practices that are relevant to this enterprise. Recommendations: more EU involvement It seems that the international community is gradually accepting the problematic elections as a normal feature of Albanian political scene with a general stance summarized as “ the next elections should be better than the last ones.” Albania is a member of NATO since April 4, 2008 and the standards required from its elections should be the same as those for every other member country. The EU needs to urge the solution of the political crisis in Albania by stating clearly the penalties if the political class fails to find a middle way. This should be combined with a positive approach that gives hope to Albanian citizens and especially young people in the country. Hungarian prime minister has rightly added “The Hungarian Presidency urges the start of negotiations as early as possible with Albania, … the postponement of negotiations will only further decrease the chances of establishing internal political stability in that state.[9]” In general a more active approach from the EU has the potential to assist the situation. The EU should claim its principal role in assisting Albania to overcome this crisis in order to send Albanians the clear message that they are accountable to. Coordination and common participation in the relevant actions and statements from US Ambassador , EU delegation head and OSCE head of the Mission in Albania has proved beneficial during the electoral campaign and later on and should continue until the crisis has receded. Increase the pressure So far the representatives that have visited Albania, and these visits have been very frequent, have been in the level of envoys on behalf of higher authorities. Such is the case with Miroslav Lajcak, Managing Director of the European External Action Service, who has several times visited Tirana representing in fact Baroness Catherine Ashton. The highest representative of the United States visiting Tirana for the purpose of discussion the dialogue between the two political parties has been Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, Thomas Countryman. The cancellation of the visit by Presdient Barroso while sending a clear signal to the political class that the crisis is halting all negotiations for integration, can also be interpreted as a missed opportunity to criticize the political leaders while being present in Tirana, which would enhance the message’ [10] It might be beneficial if higher ranking figures come to Tirana and send directly in the presence of political figures the stakes of the situation and urge for a solution. Experience has shown that when confronted with direct pressure leaders of political parties have yielded some of their radical posture and have accepted compromise. As Slovak scholar Szpala has noticed, “In these circumstances the two sides can probably only be brought round to a compromise by a strict reaction from the EU, including the announcement of severe sanctions that will encompass for example the suspension of the process of extending the EU to Albania and the freezing of EU funds combined with direct mediation by representatives of the European institutions on a clearly higher level.”[11] Encourage young politicians and young activists An interesting observation has been made by a young Bulgarian reporter while accounting for the events of January 21. In finalizing her article, Topalova says that “may be it is time in Albania too a new generation of younger and non-burdened by the past politicians to appear. Thus the catharsis will be genuine.”[12] The EU should invest directly in supporting, educating and training a young generation of politicians and leaders and affiliating them with the bets practices and standards of the EU institutions. This will achieve a two fold mission. First it will prepare a generation that is ready to steer the country towards EU and then manage the political affairs accordingly. Second it will serve as a measure towards keeping off such long-term crises which has a strong personal dimension from current leaders. Final words So far Albania has been described as a stabilizing factor in the region and even as a “security producer.”[13] Albania’s neutral and constructive role in the many conflicts that have characterized the Balkans during these last two decades has been remarkable. Considering that most of these conflicts involved Albanian ethnic groups in neighboring states this achievement is praiseworthy. In order for this to continue though, Albania should walk in the integration path with a steady step and the current severe political crisis is becoming more and more of an obstacle. With the internal situation unstable and with grave political and security incidents waiting to happen in an unpredictable way there exist little chance that Albania still can maintain its stabilizing role. There is a role for the European Union to play in order to overpass this crisis using the right sticks and carrots for the political class responsible for the situation. [1] ODHIR: Mistrust and Political war. Top Channel: 10/5/2011 http://top-channel.tv/english/artikull.php?id=736&ref=lajme Accessed on May 12, 2011. [2] http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/05/trouble_tirana [3]Interim Report, http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/77016,Accessed on April 21, pp.5-6. [4] European Union web portal, 4 April 2011. http://www.eu2011.hu/news/orban-friends-enlargement-should-join-forces [5] Fischer, Berndt “Albania’s Long Dress Rehearsal”, Transitions Online (30 March 2011), http://www.tol.org/client/article/22288-albanias-long-dress-rehearsal.html Accessed on April 29, 2011 [6] Balla, Andi: “Tourism and the elections” In: Tirana Times, 27.04.2011, p.1 [7] See for ex: “Ambassador Arvizu congratulates police for professional behavior during SP rallies” http://www.abcnews.al/lajme/aktualitet/2/3670 [8] Mejdani, Rexhep: Some reflections on Reviewing the Security Document, In: Hroni, Sotiraq (Ed.): Mbi Zhvilimin e strategjise se sigurise kombetare”( On the development of the strategy of national security), pp.26-47 at pp.34-35. [9] http://www.eu2011.hu/news/orban-friends-enlargement-should-join-forces [10] Freizer, Sabine “The Dangers of Albania's Disputed Election” ( 20 May 2011), International Crisis Group, http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/europe/balkans/albania/the-dangers-of-albanias-disputed-election.aspx ( Accessed on May 22, 2011) [11] Szpala, Marta “The political crisis in Albania is growing’, http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/ceweekly/2011-01-26/political-crisis-albania-growing (emphasis from the author) [12] Topalova Evelyna, EU Inside portal (January 26, 2011), http://www.euinside.eu/en/news/political-crisis-in-albania-deepens [13] Mejdani, Some Reflections on Security Document, p.40.