Greek lawmakers hold a minute of silence during a special session in Parlaiment on May 19 to mark the anniversary of the Pontic Greek Genocide. [Giorgos Zahos/Intime News]
Greek leaders on Monday commemorated the Remembrance Day of the Pontic Greek genocide, the deliberate and systematic destruction of the indigenous Greek community in the Pontus region, northeast Turkey, in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and its aftermath.
“The memory of the victims of the Pontic Genocide calls on us to remain united, determined and committed to the values that underpin the peaceful coexistence of peoples,” said President Konstantinos Tassoulas, in his message.“This day is a reminder of the need to defend historical truth and to work tirelessly for the international recognition of the Genocide, as an act of justice and moral restitution.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, despite the time that has passed t”he memories remain vivid. We remember the mothers who lost their children. The men who were violently separated from their wives. The elders who were uprooted from the land where our ancestors had lived for over three millennia.”
The Pontic Greeks who made it to Greece “did not simply revive morals and customs. They built new cities, enriched our culture and became the backbone of the modern state. We therefore owe the Pontic community not only a debt of memory but also a debt of gratitude.”
