The Democratic Foundation of Chameria ( sq, Fondacioni Demokratik Çamëria/Shoqata Demokratike Çamëria, nl, Democratische Stichting Cameria) was founded in 2006 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, Netherlands, and it presents itself as an organization aiming to resolve
the issues created by the
expulsion of Cham Albanians.
Organization and aims
The organization has its committee in the Netherlands headed by
Lisen Bashkurti. The committee's declared aims are to better organize cooperation between the organization and Albanians interested in the matter. The members are Albanians living in the Balkans and Western countries. According to Bashkurti, goals of the Democratic Foundation of Chameria are the promotion and solution of the Cham issue and organization of Cham cultural activities. According to him, the organization wants diplomatic solutions based on public sensibility, diplomatic lobbies, collection and presentation of historical facts and usage of international justice organizations. According to its website, the organization aims to further the interests of inhabitants and former inhabitants of Chameria and all that is associated with this in the widest possible sense of the word. The website also says that DFC aims to resolve the issue with three main activities:
DFC annually organizes meetings in
Konispol, other places in southern Albania and
Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
where participants discuss on issues concerning the Cham issue. Some members of the Cham community have shown support for DFC's desire for the creation of the "Republic of Chameria" with protests and meetings. It has attracted support from such vocal figures in the Albanian society as
Koço Danaj and
At Nikolla Marku. On the other hand, the organization's structures have been accused by some members of the Cham community and supporters of the Cham issue of misusing and not properly addressing the issue. Regarding DFC' claims on the "Republic of Chameria", in 2018 Shpetim Idrizi, head of
PDIU, accused Lato of working against Albanian national interests and getting money from the Greek government.
Key persons
The foundation was until July 2019 chaired by
Festim Lato, who originated from
Vlorë
Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and lived in
Afferden, Netherlands. The leading people of the foundation are Cham Albanians, such as Kujtim Beci and Sali Beqiri. The foundation is assisted by
Dutch attorneys from The Hague, specialized on issues of minority rights, Ruud van Boom, and prof. dr. Liesbeth Zegveld, who have been committed to resolving the legal issues of Chams.
On 21 July 2019 Festim Lato was said to be found murdered in
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
. As of late 21 July it is claimed that instead the murder victim was Polish instead of Albanian, a body found in a canal near
Nigtevecht
Nigtevecht () is a village in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands with a population of 1,395. Formerly part of the municipality of Loenen; it has been part of the newly-formed municipality of Stichtse Vecht since 2011. It is situated about west ...
is now thought to be Lato.
Festim Lato was also the president of the
Chameria national football team, as well of the
Republic of Chameria, the claimed area of which was "approximately 10,000 square kilometres".
At 21 July 2019 the website was no more online. a self-proclaimed independent state, which has not been recognised by any country but was a member state of the
UNPO from 2015 until its suspension in 2019.
See also
*
National Political Association "Çamëria"
*
Chameria Human Rights Association
References
External links
*
{{Cham Albanians
Cham Albanian organizations
Chameria