The Albanian authorities finally returned the body of Konstantinos Katsifas to his family, 10 days after he was murdered by the Albanian Police Special Forces in the village of the Greek minority Vouliarates in Northern Epirus at the southern part of Albania.
It took 10 days and the mediation of the President of the Human Rights Association political party, Vangelis Doules, to the country’s President Ilir Meta for this to happen. In his letter, Vangelis Doules highlighted the humanitarian dimension of the issue.
The Archbishop of Albania, Anastasios, addressed a warm appeal to all officials as well:
“Let the body of Konstantinos Katsifas be buried according to the religious tradition. Let the souls of everyone find peace. Let the irresponsible noise stop. The rest can then be studied with objectivity and mutual respect”.
What is most impressing is that during this ten-day waiting period, the Greek government did not take any diplomatic steps to help Katsifas’ family take the body of their son.
The victim’s family believes that the Albanian authorities delayed the funeral, fearing that his funeral will turn into a demonstration of the Greek minority against the Albanian State.
The funeral will take place in Vouliarates on Thursday at 2:00 am (Greek time) and quite many people are expected to go there from all over Greece, as there has already been a great mobilization through the social media.
