Albanians call for the rule of the Crescent and not the
Cross.


F.O. document:
(1066 - January 8th, 1914), Pages 339, 340, 341 and 342

Monastir Dec 11/1913 , report from the British Deputy
Council

C. A. Greig

Still in Monastir waiting impatiently the hour of our
return to Korcha. But this is an epoch of uncertainty. How
often I have wished to write to you but the consciousness
that the main service was not free witheld me. Beside I did
not dare to make public what my eyes have beheld this last
year.

It is just a year since the Turkish army entered Kortcha
after their defeat in the Monastir. What amazed us was that
though starved to death they only begged; nothing was taken
by force.

The Kortcha people gave them as much as they could to
satisfy their hunger. Many that could not procure food were
fed on roots and grass. It was never expected that with
such a large starved army that order wull prevail. The
Turkish military authorities took possession of the public
buildings and used them, but private property was fully
respected. They slept like dogs in the open air though the
weather was bad. The cave were their only shelter and the
deep mud their mattrass. All were anxious to know what the
future will bring. Different rumours were scattered but we
could not depend on them for there was no communication
with the outside world. The Kortcha people expected to be
liberated. But by whom?

One night we were unexpectedly wakened up by rifle shots
which lasted five or six hours. We thought that a fight is
taking place somewhere near Kortcha. Djavid Pasha the
general commander of the Turkish army had set free to the
amunition that was in the outskirt of the city and the
small number of soldiers that were left on guard there
fought bravely with the avantgarde of the Greek army. Most
of them fell in the fight. There is a tragic incident of a
young Moslem Albanian who fought heroically from a minaret
in Plassa a village two hours north Kortcha until all his
ammunition was used up. After he was captured instead of
being taken prisoner, his body was mutilated and thrown to
dogs. Then all the village of Plassa was burned down. This
is what a Christian nation can do in the 20th century.

The same night the Moslem women of Dishnica a small village
north of Kortcha had to flee to our city in a panic just as
they had come out of their beds, barefooted, dragging their
children and old people along with them. They knew they
were going to have the same fate as their neighbours of the
near villages which were devastated and where the Greeks
committed unspeakable Cruelties. Their homes were pillages,
many of them burned down and the rest destroyed.

For hours and hours Moslem Albanians came pouring into the
city. It was the most lamentable sight I have ever behold.
No one can imagine the reality of the fact without seeing
it.

When the army of invaders entered it was wellcomed by the
people of Kortcha who hoped that the banner of the Cross
would bring joy and peace to the nation, but events soon
showed that their banner did not bring what it indicated
but instead cruelties and destruction especially to the
Mohammedan Albanians population.

The spoil which was brought from the many destroyed and
burned villages by the army attracted our attention. The
peace and respect of the private property which was enjoyed
during the stay of the Turkish army was trespassed by the
“Christian” invaders. The first thing they did was to
destroy the Albanian element which they named as Albanian
propaganda and the traitors of the country. They started to
persecute imprison and exile all those Albanians who would
not say they were Greeks.

As the public buildings could not hold them they entered
private houses whether wanted or not. They made pillage
wherever they could and not a Moslem Albanian was left
without being personally robbed. Right after the army was
quartered orders were issued that all the people should
speak Greek because “Kortcha was a pure Hellenic city”. And
all effort was made to prove to Europe that it was so,
though they knew they were deceiving not only the Powers
but themselves too.

Mass meetings were forced and with the ad of the bayonet
they got all the signatures that they needed to send to
London and prove that Kortcha, the educational and
political center of Albania, was Hellenic!

Pen can never describe the great misery and discontent that
prevails among our poor population. The critical time for
us (the Albanian school) was at Easter Eve just after Mr
Kenedy was expelled (he is an American missionary and was
expelled at about twentyfour hours notice because he was
connected with Albanian school) from the country, when to
our great surprise regular troops surrounded our school
building. This lasted three nights and all our friends with
great anxiety watched constantly to come to our rescue for
rumours were scattered that wished to burn us alive.

The above incidents are insignificant as compared with the
cruelties which I can never write down. The world must be
amazed that nations calling themselves Christian can either
through greed or anger commit such barbarisms on their
brethren. What we expected from the Turks we got in
abundance from “Christians”. Instead of liberty and peace
for which we fought for so many years, (the Albanian school
was kept up for twenty years in the face of great oppositon
from the Turkish government) they brought all the debasing
elements of their “civilization”; with unbridled appetites
and passions which are a great disaster to our invaded
places.

Yes; the Allies fought side by side simply for the
devastation and extermination of our nation and is it
surprising when I say the plain truth that the population
at present under the Servian and Greek banners are calling
for the rule of the Crescent and not the Cross.




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