41335 - Tribute to C. Katsifa

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Athina Kehagias

I ought to thank you in a strange manner, but simply on behalf of Constantinos, I don’t think that he did all that he did, in order for us to honor him here in Boston, that’s what just consequently happened. And for us, because we also experienced the day he was murdered, on the 28th of October as we were at Vouliarates, I believe that it is very important to understand that what occurred there, as the priest referred to these facts as well, for all those who aren’t well aware, bare in mind that the police had been targeting him for about a month, as he had told our own in Greece, he knew that the end was near, and as told in his own words, that’s what occurred on that day. The police provoked him because they took down the flag in front of him, consequently Constantinos went home and returned with another flag and a gun, he raised the flag and standing next to it he told them: if you want take it down now. Constantinos didn’t shoot a single bullet, the bullets we’ve heard when we were at the event were the bullets of the police, then on, Constantinos went up the hill, and it was there that he decided to come down unarmed and was in actual fact executed, or maybe the correct word was, he was murdered by the special forces brought over by the Albanian authorities. And I want you to know that this sacrifice will certainly not be in vain, because it awakened many people who weren’t aware of what Northen Epirus realy stands for. And I would like to tell you the following. Don’t forget that it constitutes a ethnic minority, and not merely a minority. This actually means that we have the right to raise Greek flags across the entire territory of Albania, to be taught Greek and to teach Greek throughout the territory and not merely within the minority zone. Therefore don’t get confused regarding a religious minority or merely a minority, and bare in mind that what we took as an ethnic minority is simply because we were ripped off of our Northern Epirus, because they were ripped off of Kosovo. At this point of time, when you hear about Albania and Kosovo be aware that what they are afraid of is what will happen in regards to Northern Epirus, because it’s all about a double exchange. Consequently, with this act they wanted to stop the process and they forgot that we are Greeks, and that we take into account our people and not our land, therefore every human is important and as a result, we will not forget what they did to Constantinos and wait and see that they will not forget it either.
Thank you very much, good on you.

St. John the Baptist Greek Church. Boston, 09/12/2018