The Central Committee of the Northern Epirote Struggle (KEVA; Kentriki Epitropi Voreioepirotikou Agonos: Central; Greek: Κεντρική Επιτροπή Βορειοηπειρωτικού Αγώνα),[1] was an resistance faction composed of ethnic Greeks whose goal was to overthrow the regime of Enver Hoxha and seek the annexation of the Northern Epirus, which is located in southern Albania.
The organization was led by various individuals, including Stefanos Venakidhis, who also served as the secretary of KEVA and worked for the National Bank of Greece, and Nikolaos Pagos, a doctor and deputy chairman of KEVA. The president of this faction is Archbishop of Greece Seraphim, a former ally of Napoleon Zervas and member of the resistance group ELAS. The organization had a significant number of members in Greece and Southern Albania. They had a strength of about 7,300 ethnic Greek men.[4]
^Heraclides, Alexis; Kromidha, Ylli (2023-09-28). Greek-Albanian Entanglements since the Nineteenth Century: A History. Taylor & Francis. ISBN978-1-000-96375-5. There were various Northern Epirote organisations active in Greece, whose numbers tended to rise through the years. The most important one by far was KEVA (Kentriki Epitropi Voreioepirotikou Agonos: Central Committee of the Northern Epirote Struggle), which had been set up in 1943 during the German occupation and functioned as the central coordinating body of all the Northern Epirus organisations in Greece, save one named Selasforos that retained its independence. KEVA which was based in Athens had regional committees in loannina, Corfu, Thessaloniki and Patras. It was headed by Metropolitan Panteleimon as president until his death in 1969.
