by Pirro Prifti
Summary
In 1907, Alexandros Pallis, a prominent Greek intellectual of Arvanite descent, published the political pamphlet To Arvanitiko Zitima (“The Albanian Question”). Pallis openly advocated recognizing Albanian as Greece’s second national language, establishing Albanian-language schools, and creating an Arvanite University using Greek charitable funds. He called for unity among Greeks, Arvanites, and Muslim Albanians, whom he viewed as one people sharing the same blood. Warning against division, he famously declared: “The Slavs will devour us!” if they failed to unite. The pamphlet stands as a bold early 20th-century voice within Greek intellectual circles supporting full national rights and identity for Albanians.
In 1907, a small political pamphlet was published in Athens that today constitutes an interesting archival testimony: “Το Αρβανίτικο Ζήτημα” (The Arbanite Issue).
Its author was Alexandros Pallis, one of the most prominent intellectuals of Greek letters of that time, who did not hesitate to openly declare his blood. With a sharp dose of humor, he writes in the text that his surname in Albanian is related to the word ‘kopan’, so he jokingly calls himself “Lekë Kopani”.
This treatise, which is now preserved in the archives of the University of Thessaloniki, stands completely against what Palli himself calls “ALBANOPHOBIA” in the Greek press. At a time when official propaganda was fanning the flames of division, Palli calls on his compatriots for a radical strategic turn in favor of the Albanian cause.
He sees the Greeks, Albanians, and Muslim Albanians (whom in the political vocabulary of the time he calls ‘Turks’) as a single genetic and strategic bloc that must unite in the face of the Slavic threat.
His ideas were both pragmatic and courageous for the year 1907. He demanded that the Greek state offer Albanians every national right, starting from the principle: “Everything that is ours, let it be his too.”
Below are the key points and direct quotes where Palli openly sides with Albanian demands:
Albanian Language and Schools: Palli proposes something that at the time constituted a major taboo-breaking for the Greek state: “…Albanian should be declared as our other national language in Greece, and that the children of the Heir (to the throne), our little princes, should learn Albanian.”
Arbanit University: He suggests that one of the largest charitable funds in Greece (the famous Domboli legacy) be used exclusively for the education of Albanians: “…it should be used to establish an Arbanit University, either in Corfu or wherever the most suitable center is.”
Full National Support: He demands total institutional commitment to education and liturgy in Albanian: “If he wants instruction in his own language, we must offer it to him… If he wants churches and priests in his own language, we must help him have them.”
Call for Muslim Albanians: Seeing the divisive game of the times, he calls on Albanians of the Muslim faith not to turn religious differences into an obstacle to national unity: “…if it is appropriate for others to have a different religion, this should not make us Turks consider others as dogs and traitors.”
Warning for the Future: Palli closes this part of the treatise with a strong existential alarm about our common destiny: “Historical misfortunes have divided us, but it is time now to understand that we are one blood. Forgotten pasts. If we do not understand this, it is written that all three of us will perish nationally; the Slavs will devour us, and they will devour us quickly.”
This document is clear proof that within the intellectual elite of the early 20th century there were powerful voices demanding full recognition of Albanian identity and rights, seeing the Albanian factor as key to the future of the region.
Source
Pállis, Aléxandros A. To Arvanitiko Zitima: Gramma Alex. Pálli [The Albanian Question: Letter by Alex. Pallis]. Athens, 1907. 4 pp.
