Vasil Bollano ( el, Βασίλης Μπολάνος, ''Vasilis Bolanos'', born July 7, 1958) is the chairman of Omonoia and representative of the Greeks living in Albania.

History

In 2007, Bollano asserted that the Greek community of Albania deserved the same rights as the Albanians in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. On April 21, 2009 he was sentenced to six months in prison and a 3800 euro fine, for removing road signs in the municipality. Bollano objected to the signs, which had been installed by national authorities, because they were written in Albanian only, and not in Greek also. Bollano appealed against the decision arguing that the installment of road signs was a matter of municipal jurisdiction, and the appeal court overturned the initial sentence. In December 2009, after investigation of Vlora department of prosecutions, he was indicted for abuse of power and falsification of official documents after issuing illegal building permits along the Albanian southern coast. On May 24, 2010, a bomb exploded on Bollano's apartment, causing damage to his house and nearby parked cars. The former mayor's house also came under attack during the previous elections. Bollano was the former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Himara municipality, in Southwestern

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 ...

. An ethnic

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, Vasil Bollano is the president of ''Omonoia'', which represents the rights of Albania's Greek minority, as well as a member of the

Unity for Human Rights Party el, Κόμμα Ένωσης Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων , logo = PBDNj logo.png , leader = Vangjel Dule , foundation = 1992 , ideology = , position = Centre , colorcode = , ...

. On May 8, 2011, he lost in the

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

to Jorgo Goro of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

. Although Bollano lost the elections, his coalition secured the greatest number of seats in the municipal council.

References

Mayors of places in Albania Living people People from Himara 1958 births {{Albania-mayor-stub