Vasil Bollano is Albanian by origin but is being paid by Greece. Himariots are originally from Northern Albania, that is Albanian highlanders called Malesori in Albanian, that is why the have clearly Catholic Albanian names like Leka, Shpata, Gjoni e.tc. This shouldn't be an issue if Greece wouldn't give 300 euros a month for everyone claiming a Greek heritage in Southern Albania, I know this from my own experience. Also they count Albanians of Orthodox faith as Greeks. They try to hide the genocide Greece committed on Albanians in occupied Albanien region Cameria that is today in Northern Greece. Look at Frenchman Lejeans's ethnographic map from 1861: http://www.promacedonia.org/en/dr/dr_map_19.jpg Yellow areas are Albanian. Where are the Greeks in Southern Albania ? If they were there for centuries the map should show.

Himara has Greek History going back 3000 years. 90 percent of Himara and its villages speak greek as their mother tongue. Bollanos has every right for what he asks. Albania has to honor the Corfu protocol of 1913, which it agreed to.

I WAS BORN AND RAISED, IN ONE OF THE ALBANIAN CITIES, FAR AWAY FROM DHRIMADHES. THE LANGUAGE THAT MY MOTHER TAUGHT, SPOKE, AND KNEW WITH TO MY BRODHERS AND I WAS THE GREEK LANGUICE. I HAVE TO SAY A BIG - THANK YOU- TO MY PARENTS FOR THAT. MY CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP THE SAME WAY AS I DID-WITH MY MOTHERS TONGUE(LANGUAGE)- THE GREEK LANGUAGE. HIMARA IS GREEK LAND. THE TRUE HIMARIOTS ARE GREEK. IT ISN'T ONLY VASILIS BOLANOS THAT WANTED HIMARA TO BE RECOGNISED AS A GREEK MINORITY - ALL HIMARIOTES [ with 7 vilages] WANTED HIMARA AND OUR LAND TO BE RECOGNISED AS GREEK IN THEIR GREEK LAND. ALBANIANS --RESPECT THE CORFU PROTOKOL OF 1913.

all this is paid by greek . all what the greek wants is seaside of that part of albania... and vasil bollano.. and dhe rest are just weak people.. selling nacional identity to greek .. is shame for this cheap people ,,,,

Hi Keshtjella you are right. Every bol-lano in Himara is paid every month.

Albanians should'nt talk about teritories.They try to still from all their neighbours.How many millions of euroes did they pay to Marthy Arthisary to give them Kosovo? Well Greeks can do the same. They (Albanians)claim everything is theirs; Kosovo,Macedonia, Montenegro .Greece..Who do they think they are.

What ever Vasil Bollano did it was highly Ilegal in any and every country. It is the same as the Governator of Texas to change all the signs to Mexican or Hispanic becasue at one time it use to be Mexico. Himara is Albania has been for thousands of years. Bollano is a paid pupet for Greek nacionalist that spend Millions to do things like this. This is another fact of the dirty politic amied at keeping down Albania in balkans. They can not handle Albania being over them in anything. Let look at the facts: all the Albanian emigrants in Greece are forced to change their name to Greek names other wise they will never be granted Jobs or right to stay there and work. I know of hundrets of cases to prove just that. These Greek nacionalist provoke the stability in Balkans and EU. It's a shame that Albania get treated like this in time they are not powerfull to defend them self. The time will come when they will be measuring eye to eye with other surranding goverments and than it might be to late for forgivness. Good luck Greek nacionalist enjoy your moment but remeber we are going to have the last laugh.

I am Dhimmiter Leka and I live in Janina (Ioanina in Greek) and I am an Albanian but no Albanian in Greece has any right. Despite the fact that Albanians comprise 20% of Greece population we have no rights at all. We cannot learn in our own language, that is Albanian, we cannot even speak freely in public because Greek state did not guarantee any minority rights. I am shocked to hear that so few Greeks have all possible rights that we cannot even dream in Greece. And, ironically, Greece is in the European Union!!! Greeks in Albania have all rights as minorities: they are taught in Greek in primary, secondary and even in the university in Greek language. They have their newspapers, radios and TV in Greek and their total number in Albania is 50.000! While there are today about 900 villages in Greece where Albanian is still spoken. The traffic signs that Mr. Bollano removed are signs of Ministry of Tourism which cover all Albania and they are written only in Albanian. While the signs concerning the Greek minority villages are written also in Greek. Did anybody ever sees traffic signs in Greece written in any other minority language in Greece? NO! Does any minority enjoys any right in Greece to learn their own mother tongue? NO! There are a lot of things to be changed here in Greece where I live and where I do not enjoy any right! Therefore, minority Greeks in Albania should come and see how we minority Albanians live in Greece and then they will understand how lucky they are to live in Albania!

We all know that northern Greece belongs to Albania. World very soon will learn the genocide committed by Greeks to Cameria, Albanian region (now is northern Greece). Currently the entire population of Chameria, has no rights of property and Greece has always punished them by not allowing Albanian schools, Albanian heritage, not allowing them to claim their lands or property. We are talking about thousands of Albanians in Chameria and not 50 Greeks like in village in Himare. How can 50 Albanians (tha claim are Greeks) that reside alongside 5000 Albanians in Himare say they want Greek signs etc etc. It sounds very suspicious because even though Albania does allow the 2% minority the right to have their schools etc but in return Albanian population in Northern Greece is punished and not given any right and we are talking for extremely large numbers of Albanians in Greece. The entire Cameria (the modern day norther Greece) It is also very suspicious that anyone stating they are Greeks, Greece in return pays them 300 euros a month. This is a serious propaganda and Albanian government should not fall to these provocations. Furthermore, Albania does not need to fall for Greek provocations to give something in return to Greece voting for Albanians EU membership. Albania does not need Europe, Albania has all it needs to be a very successful nation so NO TO EU if we have to sacrifice land, history, territory etc. We lost Cameria to Greece and still don't get any right so lessons are learned and mistakes should not be repeated and never will.

My name is Vicky. I have lived in Himare and I know that 95% of the himariots are Greek. They speak Greek language and they have Greek traditions. 21 years ago, I went to light a candle with my mother in low in a very small church in Himare, which was turned in a dirty depot with sacks of cement for a construction company, and I saw the written words "Isus Hristos Nika" in the Greek language. This church who knows for how long has been there. It means that this people is Greek. Himara is a Greek city. What is reality can not be changed from Albanians, who don't know the history of this people. The street signs are there to help people and the tourists. Most of the tourists in that area are from Greece and I think it is good culture to have signs written in both languages. It means civilization. I have seen too many signs in Greece written in Greek and English.It is good help for tourists. I think Mr. Bollano is right. As a mayor of this city he is trying to help. It is ignorance to restrict the language of the majority of the people in that area.