Translation
A Historic Moment: Today, in Këlcyrë , Albania, 573 fallen Greeks will be finally buried, after 78 years.
Greece’s long-standing request to Albania for the exhumation, recognition and burial of our fallen men is finally served. The religious burial ceremony of their bones will be held at noon Friday October 12, 2018 at the Këlcyrë Military Cemetery in Albania.
The agreement was concluded after two exhausting negotiation rounds successfully conducted by the current Foreign Minister with the Albanian side in the context of resolving the ongoing problems of the two countries, which took place first in Crete in November 2017 and the second in January 2018 in Korçe.
The religious burial ceremony of their remains will be held at 12:00 noon Friday.
Thus, in accordance with the agreement reached, the work that had begun in January in the Dragot region of Albania, for the search for and exhumation of the Greek fallen during the Greek-Italian War (1940-1941), and a question that was tempered by the Greek- Albanian relations for many decades is definitely closing, delivering the ultimate honor to those who gave their life for the fatherland. The 573 Greek fallen are added to the extra hundred more heroes of the 1940 Epic that have already been buried, with a religious ceremony held at the Albanian military cemetery of Bularat on 13 July 2018.
However, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the search and exhumation will continue in the areas of Kosinë, Këlcyrë and Përmet, according to the relevant decisions of the Joint Committee of Experts. Τhe Committee is responsible for the implementation of the relevant Intergovernmental Agreement between Greece and Albania, which provides for the search, exhumation, identification and burial of Greek fallen soldiers in war operations in Albania during the Greek-Italian War of 1940-1941, and the construction of cemeteries on the territory of Albania for their burial.