Türkiye again denies the Pontic genocide and remembers Tripolitsa

Ankara reacted sharply to memorial events genocide of the Pontic Greeksaccusing Greece in “distorting history.”

Ankara reacted sharply to memorial events genocide of the Pontic Greeksheld in Greece May 19. The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected the Greek statements as “baseless” and accused Athens of using history politically.

In the statement Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey it is stated that Greece allegedly promotes legally unfounded accusations against Turkey and uses the theme Ponta for political purposes. Ankara also criticized the fact that the genocide of Pontic Hellenism is taught in Greek schools.

The Turkish side again presented May 19, 1919 not as a date associated with the tragic page of Pontic Hellenism, but as the day of the beginning of the Turkish national struggle after the landing Mustafa Kemal Ataturk V Samsun. The statement said that this fight was waged against “occupying forces”among which Türkiye names and Greece.

Simultaneously Ankara tried to shift the conversation from the genocide of the Pontic Greeks to other historical subjects, mentioning Tripolitsa 1821 Asia Minor campaign, Smyrna 1919 and Greek “Great Idea”. That is, instead of answering on the merits, Türkiye is again using a familiar pattern: denial, counter-accusation and an attempt to present the memory of the victims as a political provocation.

What Ankara said

The Turkish statement states that legislative recognition Greece the memory of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks in 1994 allegedly became the basis for “baseless accusations” against Turkey. Ankara also expressed dissatisfaction with what it said were these materials being taught to children in primary and secondary schools.

It is especially significant that the Turkish Foreign Ministry called Greek references to Pontian genocide an attempt to cover up the defeat of the Greek campaign in Asia Minor and the crimes that Ankara claims were committed by the Greek army.

The statement also said that Greek authorities should “stop instrumentalizing history”Not “distort the facts” and move to the side “peace and cooperation” in bilateral relations. The set of words is, of course, familiar: first the denial of historical trauma, then lessons about peace. Diplomacy as it is, only with a very bad memory.

Full text of the statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry

“On May 19, 1919, when the founder of the Turkish Republic, the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturklanded at Samsun and began our national struggle against the occupying forces, which included Greeceis enthusiastically celebrated by the Turkish people as part of the Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day.

Greecehaving passed legislation related to the “Pontus” allegations in 1994, makes baseless accusations against our country that have no legal basis, constantly expands these baseless allegations and teaches them even to children in primary and secondary schools across the country through a circular from the Ministry of Education.

Greecewhose attempt at occupation to implement the “Great Idea” failed, is trying to hide the defeat it suffered and the serious crimes of cruelty it committed by again bringing to the agenda baseless allegations of “Pontus” against our country. War crimes and atrocities committed by the Greek army are recorded both in the reports of the Inter-Allied Commission of Inquiry and in Article 59 Treaty of Lausanne.

Greek authorities must stop using history for political purposes and remember not only the atrocities committed against Turks and other ethnic groups, starting with the massacre in Tripolice in 1821, but also the atrocities committed against the Turks and other ethnic groups in Western Anatolia, starting with the landings in Smyrna May 15, 1919.

We call Greece Instead of distorting facts and fueling enmity from history, take a position that will strengthen our bilateral relations in a spirit of peace and cooperation.”

Denial as a diplomatic line

Position Turkey on topic genocide of the Pontic Greeks not new. Ankara traditionally rejects the term itself “genocide”shifts the conversation to the plane of military events, mutual accusations and the consequences of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This line is used not only in relation to the Pontic Greeks, but also in a broader context tragedies of the Christian peoples of Asia Minor.

The Greek side, on the contrary, is considering May 19 as a day of remembrance of the destruction of Pontic Hellenism, deportations, massacres, forced expulsions and the destruction of the centuries-old Greek presence in the region Ponta. For the descendants of the Pontians, this is not a matter of diplomatic rhetoric, but part of family and national memory.

This is why Turkish references to Tripolitsa, Smyrna And “Great Idea” look not like an attempt at historical dialogue, but like a political maneuver. Instead of discussing the facts related to the fate of the Pontic Greeks, Ankara offers a list of counter-accusations. A convenient way to avoid answering the main question: what happened to the Greek population of Pontus and why does the memory of it still cause such a nervous reaction?

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