Greek ethnic minorities in Albania are appealing en masse to Albanian courts to save their properties, claiming they have fallen victims of a systematic ‘land grab’ by ethnic Albanians possessing dubious ownership titles.

According to sources in the Greek minority municipalities of Foiniki, Delvino and Argyrokastro, 220,000 acres of land have already illegally swapped hands, going to ethnic Albanians. The illegal land transfer has been under way for the past 20 years, the same sources claim by the use of flagrantly forged title deeds.

As Greek minority site ‘himara.gr’ reports, the ‘Human Rights party’ in Albania, which represents the Greek community in the country, accused the Albanian government of committing ‘an ownership genocide’ in the villages of Vouno and Drymades in Chimara, after a series of property and business demolitions and the withdrawal of property titles from Greek families. Albanian police and demolition services have so far torn down 25 buildings and edifices in the villages asserting the areas are part of the Chimara development plans of the Albanian government.

The Greek community’s law suits claim that Albanians presents ownership titles based on the Ottoman era and clearly fake documentation. However, the Greeks are unable to find justice in the country’s courts, as they also mired in the general corruption prevalent in Albanian public life. In some extreme cases the land encroachers resort to violence against the rightful Greek owners.