The Ioannina Committee, a national Albanian organization based in Ioannina, was formed. It was established during the Eastern Crisis of 1877 under the leadership of Abdyl Frashëri. Being convinced that Albania would be partitioned and Albanians were at risk of disappearing as a nation if its situation within the Ottoman Empire remained unchanged, the Ioannina Committee decided to take measures to address this threat. He presented a memorandum to the government in Istanbul, drawing attention of the Sublime Porte to the poor condition of Albania and demanding the unification of all Albanian-inhabited regions into a single province with an administration composed of Albanian officials, schools, and courts in the Albanian language, etc. The Ioannina Committee advocated for an anti-Ottoman liberation uprising to establish an independent Albanian state. For this purpose, it engaged with Albanian officers serving in Ottoman garrisons who expressed willingness to participate in the armed rebellion.
On the other hand, to secure international support, the Ioannina Committee sought a military alliance with the Greek government, whereby the Albanian side would support the liberation of Greek-held territories in Thessaly, Macedonia, and Thrace. In contrast, the Athens government would support the establishment of an independent Albanian state. Secret negotiations took place in Ioannina (July 1877) between Abdyl Frashëri and a representative of the Greek Foreign Ministry. However, no conclusion was reached because the Greek government did not support the idea of an independent Albanian state nor abandon its expansionist aims in Southern Albania. (In the photo: View of the city of Ioannina.)
Text: The history of the Albanian people – Vol. II , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Toena”, Tirana, 2002, page 139-142.
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioannina
Graphic processing: AHCF
