Greece demands Albania probes into murder of ethnic Greek

ATHENS, August 14 (Itar-Tass) -- The Greek Foreign Ministry on Monday
demanded the Albanian authorities investigate the murder of Aristotelis
Goumas, a member of the Greek ethnic minority. He was beaten to death on
Thursday in the town Himara by three Albanians who, according to
witnesses, demanded that he should not dare speak Greek in his own store.
The Albanian police arrested six suspects but issued no official
statement about the incident, which the local press was quick to describe
as an "unfortunate accident."
On Friday, Goumas was buried in Himara, and his death angered the
Greek minority in Albania. A crowd of Himara residents blocked the highway
between the Albanian towns of Saranda and Vlora to urge the authorities to
punish the offenders and to take measures to protect ethnic Greeks in
Albania.
Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekuras described the
incident in Albania as "an unacceptable criminal act."
He said "such criminal acts are intended to foment ethnic tensions
with unforeseen consequences and undermine relations between Greece and
Albania."
He demanded that the Albanian government "ensure fair and prompt
administration of justice, which would be the only practical response to
the justified concerns of the Greek ethnic minority."