Ethnic Greek man reported killed by Albanian police in shootout

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  • Carlin
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2011
    • 3332

    Ethnic Greek man reported killed by Albanian police in shootout

    Albanian police reportedly shot and killed an ethnic Greek man on Sunday after he opened fire against officers taking down a Greek flag at a World War II cemetery in the village of Bularat, some 6 kilometers from Albania's border with Greece.

    According to Albanian media reports the man, identified as 35-year-old Konstantinos Kacifa (Katsifas), opened fire against officers with a Kalashnikov assault rifle as they were taking down the flag he had raised at a cemetery for Greek soldiers who died in battle. The incident took place as the village, which is mostly ethnic Greek, marked the anniversary of Greece's entry into the war in 1940.

    Kacifa reportedly ran into the village firing his weapon and then into the mountains in an effort to evade arrest but was intercepted shortly after by a team from the Albanian police's special forces, who claimed that the 35-year-old shot at them before they opened fire and killed him.

    Kacifa, whose family hailed from the northwestern Greek town of Ioannina, was born and grew up in Bularat but had been living in Athens recently, according to reports. Photographs in Greek media show him dressed in military-style clothes, with a Greek flag patch on his arm.

    Police confirmed his death in a shootout, according to the Associated Press.

    URL:
    Albanian police shot and killed an ethnic Greek man on Sunday after he opened fire against officers taking down a Greek flag at a World War II cemetery in the village of Bularat, some 6 kilometers from Albania's border with Greece.
  • tchaiku
    Member
    • Nov 2016
    • 786

    #2
    Modern Greece doesn't even accept ethnic minorities in their country. Since when did they get the right to shoot for 30 mins with a AK-47 for their Bavarian copied flag?
    Last edited by tchaiku; 10-28-2018, 11:36 PM.

    Comment

    • Liberator of Makedonija
      Senior Member
      • Apr 2014
      • 1595

      #3
      Surprised a Macedonian hasn't done this in Egej to be honest. Sort of frustrates me a Greek went this far for such a small incident but our people will cop more for less
      I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

      Comment

      • Carlin
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2011
        • 3332

        #4
        Albanian point of view

        Rama responds to declaration of Greek Ministry about the killing of Greek extremist in Bularat

        URL:


        The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, reacted to the Bularat shooting, where a 35-year-old was killed by the Special Forces in a fire exchange.

        The man from Bularat, living in Greece, had decorated the entire village with Greek flags one night before taking his AK-47 and shooting against the police.

        The Greek Foreign Ministry reacted and considered the killing “unacceptable”. Right after that, the Albanian Prime Minister eesponded:

        “Dear neighbors. Instead of considering unacceptable the death of a lunatic who fired live bullets against our police, which only did its job, you should join us and thank God that no innocent life was taken today by the craziness of extremism”, Rama wrote on Twitter.


        RENEA Special Forces exchange fire and kill Greek extremist who terrorized village and attacked police

        URL:


        Kostandinos Kaçifa, the 35-year-old man who fired against the police today in Bularat, was shot dead by the Albanian Special Forces.

        Kacifa was known to the area as a Greek nationalist, but he lived in Greece. He had warned something on social networks.

        The Mayor of Dropull, Arqile Decka, said that they were speechless that this could happen in their area: “The boy looked very normal the evening of one day ago. The next morning he went shooting against the Gjirokastra police and hid in the mountains. He fired against the Special Forces that surrounded him, and died during the fire exchange.”

        At 10:00, when Bularat would organize the annual celebration for commemorating the Greek martyrs of the Italian war, he terrorized the village by firing his AK-47 rifle. Then he started shooting against the police officers who were approaching to neutralize him. His actions terrorized the village and put the officers’ lives in danger.

        Thankfully, his bullets only hit a police vehicle and a building in the village. The horrified residents said that the 35-year-old had arrived in Bularat one day earlier and had decorated the entire village with Greek flags for the Sunday’s celebrations.

        “He seemed as he had lost his mind. You couldn’t tell who he was shooting at. We heard the shots and we ran inside. It was horrible”, a woman says. “We knew him as a calm boy. I can’t believe that he did this”.

        Another senior citizen says that the police should have captured him, without having to kill him. “They shouldn’t have killed our boy. He deserved to be brought to justice for what he did, but not to be killed. He didn’t kill any officer. Even if he had killed any officer, he deserved to be brought to justice, not to get killed”, he said.


        Greek point of view

        The Albanian police kills Greek in Northern Epirus!

        URL:
        In October 2021 the prosecutor provocatively declared that Katsifas had...committed suicide, something that even the Albanian court didn't accept & re-opened the case


        UPDATE: According to the latest information, Katsifas was shot twice, once on his chest and once in the head. This, however, complicates the case as such wounds can be inflicted from a very small range, something that indicates to an execution.

        ———————————————————

        According to information from Northern Epirus in the southern part of Albania, a 35-year-old member of the Greek national minority has been shot dead by the Albanian police.

        The man, who has been identified as Konstantinos Katsifas, had raised a big Greek flag in honour of the Greek “OXI Day” anniversary in his village of Vouliarates.

        The police, however, although the village is inhabited by Greeks of the internationally recognized ethnic Greek minority, in a provocative move lowered the flag.

        Katsifas raised again, and when the police tried for a second time to lower it they begun to argue.

        He then started firing warning shot against Albanian police officers.

        After that he escaped to the mountainous area to avoid capture.

        Police forces in Argyrokastro called for the assistance of the Albanian Police Special Forces “Rinea” and a helicopter hurried to the region from Tirana.

        After the manhunt that followed, there was an exchange of fire where he shot against one of the police cars, before the special forces shot him dead.

        Every year, at the “OXI Day” anniversary, the villages of the Greek Minority in Albania decorate the streets with Greek flags, as they have the right to.

        However, the Albanian media constantly present this as a provocation against Albania, thus targeting the members of the minority.

        This is not the first time a member of the Greek minority has been killed.

        In August 2013 Aristotelis Goumas was murdered in Himara simply because he was speaking Greek in his own restaurant.
        Last edited by Carlin; 10-29-2018, 12:32 AM.

        Comment

        • Liberator of Makedonija
          Senior Member
          • Apr 2014
          • 1595

          #5
          Boy do those two stories differ
          I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

          Comment

          • Albo
            Member
            • May 2014
            • 304

            #6
            Profile of the Greek involved..make up ur own mind

            Katsifas Konstantinos is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Katsifas Konstantinos and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.

            Comment

            • Phoenix
              Senior Member
              • Dec 2008
              • 4671

              #7
              Originally posted by Albo View Post
              Profile of the Greek involved..make up ur own mind

              https://www.facebook.com/kostas.katsifas.14
              Probably not too dissimilar to anyone taking up the UCK cause...change the uniform and the flag and it boils down to the same evil.

              Comment

              • Carlin
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2011
                • 3332

                #8

                Comment

                • Carlin
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2011
                  • 3332

                  #9
                  Another Escalation?

                  About 2,000 Greek right-wingers announced they will attend the funeral of Katsifas




                  The Albanian authorities try to intimidate the Greek national minority



                  The Albanian authorities are trying to terrorize the Greek national minority of Northern Epirus, at the southern part of Albania, nine days after the execution in cold blood of Konstantinos Katsifas by the Albanian police special forces at the minority village of Vouliarates.

                  According to the villagers, the Albanian police has brought in for questioning many members of the minority without any official explanation.

                  According to reports from Albania, the authorities are alarmed by the rage among the members of the Greek minority and they try to intimidate the Greek population of the area as well as anyone who visits Vouliarates to support them and Katsifas’ family.

                  It’s been nine days since Katsifas’ execution and the Albanian authorities are still denying to return his body to his family for a proper burial.

                  According to the latest unconfirmed information that has leaked from Tirana, there is a possibility that his body will be returned on Tuesday.

                  Comment

                  • Carlin
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2011
                    • 3332

                    #11
                    Many Greeks who attended the funeral of Katsifas in Bularat chanted insulting messages directed against Albanians, such as "Albanian dogs", "Albanians go away, this is Greece", and also shouted "Northern Epirus is Greek and Macedonia is Greek." In the funeral procession was one Greek MP from New Democracy, as well as a couple of other officials.

                    На погребот на Кацифас извикувале „Ворио Епир е грчки и Македонија е грчка“

                    URL:
                    Голем број Грци, кои присуствуваа на погребот на Константинос Кацифас, во албанското село Буларат, покрај навредливите пораки кои ги извикуваа кон Албанците, како на пример „Албански кучиња“, „Албанци одете си, ова е Грција“, извикуваа и „Ворио Епир е грчка и Македонија е грчка“. Ворио или Севере


                    Голем број Грци, кои присуствуваа на погребот на Константинос Кацифас, во албанското село Буларат, покрај навредливите пораки кои ги извикуваа кон Албанците, како на пример „Албански кучиња“, „Албанци одете си, ова е Грција“, извикуваа и „Ворио Епир е грчка и Македонија е грчка“.

                    Ворио или Северен Епир, Грците го нарекуваат јужниот дел на Албанија.

                    Во погребната поворка беше и грчкиот пратеник од Нова демократија Савас Анастадиас, како и албанските поранешни министри и екс пратеници Спиро Ксера и Ванѓел Таво, кои се етнички Грци, како и лидерот на Партијата за заштита на човековите права, во која членуваат албанските Грци и актуелен пратеник Вангел Дуле, кој во изјава за медиумите побара побрзо да се открие вистината за убиството на Кацифас.

                    Сочувство на семејството му изрази, а присуствуваше и на погребот, кипарската европратеничка Елени Теохару, која пред некој ден изјави дека прашањето за Кацифас ќе го испрати до Европскиот парламент.

                    -Тој можеше да биде уапсен, но го убија. Го уби албанската полиција, изјави тогаш Теохару.

                    Во Буларат денеска има големо присуство на екипи на грчки и албански медиуми. На албанските медиуми семејството на убиениот не им дозволи да се приближат до нивниот дом а не давале ниту изјави за нив бидејќи „не ги признавале албанските туку само грчките медиуми“

                    Според албанските медиуми, на преминот Какавија, на албанско-грчката граница кај Ѓирокастро, каде има засилени мерки на контрола, приведени се двајца грчки државјани, кои со себе имале оружје и маски, додека на осум други грчки државјани не им е дозволен влез во Албанија, поради, како што се наведува „нивни екстремистички однесувања“.

                    Грчките министертва за надворешни работи и за одбрана претпладнево упатија апел за воздржаност до грчките граѓани кои се во Буларат.

                    Албанското Министерство за внатрешни работи, заради безбедносни причини има ангажирано свои претставници од сите сектори. Сепак не биле забележани во близина на погребната поворка униформирани лица, но селото беше надлетувано од полициски хеликоптер.

                    Инкау, Кацифас (35), албански Грк, кој поседувал и грчко државјанство, беше убиен на 28 октомври во престрелка со припадниците на албанската специјална полициска единица „Ренеа“. Тој и неговите две сестри долги години живеат во Грција, додека родителите во родното Буларат, кај Ѓирокастро, во близина на албанско-грчката граница.


                    According to protothema, tens of Greeks from the ethnic minority in Albania and Greek citizens who travelled there were arrested and are being held for questioning by authorities. According to sources, there are currently 20 Greeks being held at the Argyrokastro police station and are being interrogated.

                    URL:
                    Last edited by Carlin; 11-09-2018, 01:12 AM.

                    Comment

                    • Liberator of Makedonija
                      Senior Member
                      • Apr 2014
                      • 1595

                      #12
                      Made a martyr out of him already I see
                      I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

                      Comment

                      • Carlin
                        Senior Member
                        • Dec 2011
                        • 3332

                        #13
                        Athens wants clarification on Albanian ban on Greeks

                        Greece has urged Albania to abstain from actions that fuel tension in bilateral relations after the Foreign Ministry in Tirana labeled 52 Greek nationals personae non gratae and banned them from entering the Balkan country.

                        The 52 were among hundreds who attended the funeral on Thursday of an ethnic Greek who was fatally shot in a gun battle with Albanian police last month.

                        “At this sensitive juncture we expect Albania to refrain from statements and actions that strain our relations,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that it expected Albanian authorities to clarify the reasons for their decision.

                        “We remain dedicated to building bonds of trust; however we expect the same of our neighbors,” it said.

                        Earlier Friday, Albania’s Foreign Ministry alleged that the 52, who were not identified by name, participated in “extremist events” against Albania and made public statements challenging the country’s constitution, national security and public order.

                        “No one should mistake our prudence as weakness and no foreign national can violate the law, traditions and hospitality of this country without consequences,” the ministry said.
                        The funeral of 35-year-old Konstantinos Katsifas was attended by hundreds of Greek nationals – many of them holding Greek flags – who traveled on buses to the village of Bularat in southern Albania from Greece.

                        Also Friday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a Facebook post that Albania is “not at war with funeral caskets or provocateurs at funerals.”

                        “Those who came to provoke put their own flag to shame,” he said.

                        New Democracy’s shadow foreign minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos denounced the remarks by Rama as “unacceptable and provocative,” and accused the Greek government of “encouraging” the Albanian leader with its “silence.”

                        In a related development, 12 Greek nationals who had been detained by Albanian authorities after the funeral on Thursday on suspicion of instigating “racist violence” were released early Friday morning.

                        Greece has urged Albania to abstain from actions that fuel tension in bilateral relations after the Foreign Ministry in Tirana labeled 52 Greek nationals personae non gratae and banned them from entering the Balkan country.
                        Last edited by Carlin; 11-09-2018, 09:34 PM.

                        Comment

                        • Carlin
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2011
                          • 3332

                          #14
                          Albania bans right-wing Greek-Cypriot MEP Eleni Theocharous following extreme calls against its constitutional order

                          URL:
                          Tirana, Albania | 10 Nov 2018 (Tirana Echo) – Greek-Cypriot Member of the European Parliament Eleni Theocharous was declared ‘persona non grata’ today by the Government of Albania on the grounds of extremist calls to [...]


                          Tirana, Albania | 10 Nov 2018 (Tirana Echo) – Greek-Cypriot Member of the European Parliament Eleni Theocharous was declared ‘persona non grata’ today by the Government of Albania on the grounds of extremist calls to challenge the constitutional order and threaten public security as well as inter-ethnic harmony in the small Balkan country.

                          The joint decision by Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and its Ministry of Interior came after the extreme conservative MEP participated in the funeral of Kostantinos Kacifas, an ethnic Greek minority gunman shot dead by Albanian police two weeks ago.

                          The shooting came as a result of Kacifas firing with a Kalashnikov against Albania’s police forces in the southern Albanian village of Bularat, inhabited predominantly by members of the ethnic Greek minority, during a commemorative ceremony honoring fallen Greek soldiers on Albanian territory during the Greko-Italian war.

                          Theocharous, known for her extreme nationalist statements and her continuous political engagement against Albania, called the gunman’s shooting an ‘heroic resistance act’ and referred to southern Albania as ‘Vorio-Epirus’, a term used by Greek nationalists to claim Albania’s southern lands as part of Greek territory.

                          This is not the first time for Theocharous to get into trouble. Last year, Azerbaijan issued an international arrest warrant for the Cypriot MEP and two others, over their visit and support towards breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, currently under Armenian invasion.

                          Theocharous, 65, heads the Solidarity Movement of Cyprus and is part of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists parliamentary group at the European Parliament. She has constantly attacked Albania’s authorities during various meetings in Brussels, claiming that Albania does not respect the rights of the Greek minority, when in fact, the country is hailed globally for its excellent inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony.

                          Following a proposal by Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and after consultation with specialized security services of the country, the Ministry of Interior decided to declare Theocharous ‘persona non grata’ and approve MEFA’s request.

                          “This decision comes as an obligatory constitutional and legal response by the institutions of the Republic of Albania towards repeated extreme acts of Member of European Parliament Eleni Theocharous. Her statements which incite hatred and threaten the constitutional order of our country, encouraging territorial claims against the Republic of Albania, will no longer be delivered on Albanian territory,” – said Glevin Dervishi, a spokesperson for MEFA during an extraordinary press conference this evening in Tirana.

                          Albanian authorities are expected to pass on the decision through diplomatic channels and will consequently ban Theocharous from entering the country in the future.

                          “Greece is a friendly country and her people are a valuable asset in our traditional friendship capital. Those individuals or extremist groups who speak of hatred and division, be it in Greek or Albanian languages, will have no chance of undermining our common path for peace and strategic cooperation which serves the future of children in Albania and in Greece”, concluded MEFA’s statement.

                          The decision of Albania’s authorities follows a highly controversial funeral ceremony of Albanian-Greek citizen Kostantinos Kacifa, which has strained relations between Tirana and Athens during the past two weeks.

                          What was to be the funeral of an extreme and mentally disturbed gunman shot dead by Albania’s special forces after opening fire on them, turned into a manifestation of radical right wing Greek nationalists, with dozens of them crossing the border into Albania, some of them illegally, during early hours of the morning.

                          During the highly tense mortal ceremony, hundreds of radicals holding Greek flags marched through Bularat chanting “Bularat is Greece”, “Vorio-Epirus Greek land”, “We shall return and the land will tremble”, “Albanians get out of here”, “Macedonia is Greek” and “Vorio-Epirus will regain its freedom” – slogans which have deeply disturbed Albania’s public opinion.

                          According to Albanian media, several of them belonged to the radical right-wing political group Golden Dawn in Greece and around 46 people known to police records were turned back into Greece for fear of inciting radical conflicts in Albanian territory.

                          12 people were arrested following the tense funeral but later released by Albania’s police. Another 56 Greek citizens of radical tendencies were later declared ‘non grata’ by Albania’s Ministry of Interior.

                          Yesterday, the Hellenic Parliament held one minute silence in honor of Kacifas, a controversial move likely to pour fuel over the fire and potentially poison the overall good relations between the two Balkan neighbors. Greece is the biggest investor in Albania’s economy while more than 800,000 Albanians live and work in Greece.

                          Comment

                          • Albo
                            Member
                            • May 2014
                            • 304

                            #15
                            Tirana Condemns Murders of Albanians in Greece

                            Albania has called on Greek authorities to explicitly condemn what it suspects are the hate-motivated killings of four Albanians over the last month.

                            Albania's foreign ministry has condemned a wave of killings of Albanians in Greece and has urged the Greek Government to "stop the hate language that followed the events".

                            The latest victim was an Albanian aged 18 named Marios Isak, who was found dead in Kavala, northern Greece on Tuesday. The circumstances of the murder are unknown. He was the fourth Albanian killed in Greece in the last month.

                            Last week, a 63-year-old Albanian emigrant was found dead on the island of Corfu. Greek police said they had arrested a 44-year-old suspect over the case. No motives for the crime were provided but Albanian media maintained it was linked to the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn movement.

                            The ministry said it "strongly condemns the extremism and hate language that has followed these events and calls upon Greek authorities to condemn and stop any attempt by Golden Dawn or other extremist segments to violate the security and dignity of Albanians that work and contribute to this neighboring country.

                            "We should not become accustomed to their xenophobic calls through communication channels, or to the pathetic and nationalist victimization of some who do not miss any chance to attack Albania on a European level," the statement added.

                            Relations between Albania and Greece were strained last month when Albanian police shot dead Kostandinos Kacifa, 35, an ethnic Greek Albanian, after he opened fire with a Kalashnikov on 29 October.

                            Greek-Albanian relations have traditionally been poor. Greek nationalists have long laid claim to southern Albania, and Greece expelled thousands of ethnic Albanians after World War II, claiming they had supported the occupation.

                            However, Albanians have poured back into Greece since the fall of communism. About 600,000 Albanians live currently in Greece, having emigrated there for work over the last three decades. Many have now been born in Greece and hold dual citizenship.

                            Albania has called on Greek authorities to explicitly condemn what it suspects are the hate-motivated killings of four Albanians over the last month.

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